For my birthday in 2017, we went for another staycay and this time, it was at Ritz Carlton Hotel! It was special because it’s my first birthday since I became a missus. Alright alright, just trying to justify the hotel stay…

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The Ritz Carlton Hotel is 5-star hotel with panoramic views of the city. We had 2 nights of the room at a promo rate. My first impression of the hotel was that it’s very kids-friendly. How did I know? My sister and my niece were around when we checked-in as we wanted to let my little niece ‘swim‘ in my bathtub. I learnt that young guests between the ages of 4 to 12 can embark on an expedition around the lobby located on Level 3 to collect animal stamps on their Adventurer Passport. These young guests will then receive gifts when they complete the expedition! When the staff saw my niece, they handed her a piece of paper for colouring. The staff also directed us to a room where there were supposedly some activities for children! However, we did not check it out further as my niece was more interested to go for her ‘swim‘ in my room instead!

My room had a view of the Sports hub and Kallang River. The moment I opened the room door, I found that the room was sooooo spacious!! Unlike most rooms that were rectangular and long, this room was squarish and therefore looked extremely spacious. And because our bed faces the the window, I could see the street lights from the flyover and sunrise while lying on bed! Of course, if you prefer to enjoy the cosiness in the dark, you could lower the blinds.

That night after dinner, we received an envelop and fruit platter from the hotel. Although I believe they do this for all guests, I still think it’s a very thoughtful gesture when they address guests by their names! We also visited their hotel pool, something we wouldn’t miss doing whenever we go for our staycation! It’s a regular shaped pool, nothing very fanciful. But I remember seeing round inflated balls floating around the pool. So we have fun throwing the balls to the kids who were sharing the pool with us!

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This is one of the rare occasions we stayed in a hotel in the city. Honestly, I never thought I would stay here, if not for the promo rate that I happened to learn about! As always, staycations are good alternatives for travelling overseas! And as I always say, it’s the company that matters!

On our 5th pak-tor anniversary in 2015, hubby and I decided on a staycay at a relatively new hotel, the Marina Bay Sands (MBS). During our pak-tor time, we saw how MBS rose from a flat ground to an iconic landmark in Singapore. We also worked there part-time as theatre ushers while we were still studying. So, we thought it might be nice to stay in 1 of those rooms!

We booked 2 nights for our stay. Rooms were slightly cheaper if they face Gardens by the Bay. Therefore, we decided to go with that option and we didn’t regret it! Personally, I was more keen to face the greenery and the sea compared to high-rise buildings at the CBD. As we opened the room door, the curtains of the room opened at the same time, revealing a gorgeous sight. The view of the garden and sea was awesome! There was also a spacious ensuite toilet.

That afternoon, we headed to Clarke Quay for our 1st reverse bungy ride. Hubby had always wanted to try and it also happened to be the day where I was in the ‘why-not‘ mood! We had seen many people doing it. So, I was mentally prepared for the ride. Before we shot up into the sky, the staff was counting down with us. Part of me actually thought that he would trick us and that we would shoot up at the count of 2! But he didn’t. We shot up at ‘3’! Hubby was amazed at how I could scream non-stop when we bounced up and down! Although I tried to open my eyes to look around me, the elastic band made me feel like we were flying! When we finally landed back on ground, both of us were actually a little dizzy. After the ride, we decided to take a slow stroll all the way back to MBS. It was super relaxing.

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We opted for rooms with breakfast. For breakfast, we were given 3 options: room service, buffet at Rise at level 1 of the hotel or at another restaurant at level 57 of the hotel. We chose room service for the 1st morning and breakfast at level 57 for the other morning. Tip: The restaurant at level 57 has outdoor seats. If you are afraid of heights, request for a table inside the restaurant (that’s if you even manage to get yourself up to that level..hahaha)

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Of course, the highlight of the hotel was the infinity pool the faces the CBD area at the roof of the building! Only hotel guests are allowed into the area. So it is a must-do if you stay at MBS!! And many people chose to stay here because of the pool! During the day, it was crowded with many other guests. Once in awhile, there would be staff coming to take photographs of you. A number tag would then be given for you to choose and purchase your photos at the photobooth. If you have your phone with you, you could just get their help to take some photos too! I trust that they will know the best angle.

On the other side facing the garden, there were several smaller jacuzzi pools. Due to the crowd, you would be really lucky if you could get a jacuzzi pool to yourself! One way to avoid crowds would be to go there at night, sometime after dinner. We did that and it was awesome! However, be prepared to jump around in the cold water for awhile before you can really enjoy yourself. Don’t forget, you are at level 57 of the building!

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That night, it was my turn to give the present I made to hubby! It’s a board game I called Lovopoly! The board was cut out from a much larger piece of cardboard and the grids were painstakingly measured and hand-drawn. Each of the grids represent a place or a country we have visited before. Chance and community cards were all replaced with wishes and favours for one another. And of course, houses were replaced with tents and hotels, places we slept before during our pak-tor time! Now, this board game is inside some frame! I think we can’t really bear to play on it lest we spoil it!

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I mostly choose hotels in Sentosa for staycation. But this one in the city is really amazing and different from the rest I feel. It really gives me a holiday vibe when we stayed there! It’s no wonder why it has become one of the touristy spots in Singapore!

currently Oasia Resert Sentosa

It was time to plan for hubby’s birthday again! Having brought him to camping in a tent at East Coast Park last year, I thought we could do a staycay at a hotel this time round. Naturally, I began looking through hotels in Sentosa first and decided on Mövenpick Hotel.

It was located just next to the Imbiah Station, really convenient for non-drivers like us! I was rather impressed with the service at check-in. The staff even walked us to our room! And once she opened the door, I was stunned. It was definitely not the room type (Classic Premium King) I had booked. I saw the living area… This must have been a suite! No, I did not book that… It was only then that I realised they had upgraded our room to a suite in the Heritage Wing!

2 possibilities: maybe it was because I indicated it was my hubby’s birthday (birthday privilege??) or because it was a weekday (off-peak perks!). Regardless of the reason, I was more than happy to have gotten a free upgrade to the Heritage Suite which faces the Merlion!

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Overall, it was a pleasant and comfortable stay. I’m pretty sure that’s because of the company I had (aka hubby). If I were to visit that hotel again, I would be keen to try their Onsen Suite! It’s a room with your own onsen pool!

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W Hotel Singapore is a 5-star luxury hotel situated at Sentosa Cove, at the Eastern tip of the island. It is next to the marina and surrounded by beautiful landscapes and yachts.

The hotel converts 2 of its restaurants into the breakfast buffet area in the morning. There was quite a good variety of food as you can see in those photos above. Guests were free to walk around the 2 restaurants as different kinds of food were located in both restaurants.

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I understood from hubby that the room was slightly more expensive than usual because our wedding anniversary this year fell within the Chinese New Year period. There were also more tourists on holiday during this long break. If you are looking for a staycation in Singapore, you can consider W Hotel Singapore for its idyllic location and modern facilities!

What do you look for in a wedding venue? For me, there were a few things:

1. The venue has to be able to fit all my guests. Both hubby and I came from a big family. And to us, it was important to invite them all. Hence, all the smaller venues were struck off the list immediately.
2. Preferably, the hotel should have only 1 ballroom. Why? This is so that chances of staff getting overwhelmed is lowered, especially on super auspicious days where many people choose to get married! Ours happened to be 1 of those days.
3. A designated reception area that’s not shared with another ballroom. Haven’t we been to weddings whose reception area is shared with other weddings and almost landed ourselves at the wrong ballroom?!
4. Nice ambience. Come on, who would not want to hold their wedding in a pretty place right?
5. Located at Sentosa will be a bonus! Yes, I really love Sentosa! I traveled there every day for about 8 months when I was working part-time and continued to go there a few times a year. Sentosa makes me feel like I’m on a holiday. Afterall, it’s across the sea, isn’t it?

In our bid to search for our dream venue, hubby and I visited close to 10 hotels all around Singapore. Well, the reward was that my bargaining skills for complimentary privileges improved and I also got to try the fruit juices of many different hotels too!

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Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa will forever hold a very special place in my heart because this is where I married the love of my life…

It is a 5-star heritage hotel. There are various room options ranging from deluxe rooms, suites, villas as well as a mansion. What I felt was special about this place was the lush tropical setting of the resort that even had a spice garden and an old bunker within. Unlike most hotels in Singapore which goes up up up vertically, this resort spans quite a large area. For rooms that were further away, buggy services were available. Oh and did I mention, the free-roaming peacocks are familiar sights among hotel guests?!

To be honest, prior to our wedding, I did not know about this resort. It is about 5 minutes walk away from the Imbiah station. Buses in Sentosa stop outside the resort too. I remember the day when we were supposed to meet the wedding coordinator to find out more about their wedding packages. I had almost wanted to cancel it because I didn’t know it’s exact location then. I’m so glad we went ahead to take a look at the resort. I fell in love with the glass pavilion!

Natural light filled the pavilion. Together with the decorations, the pavilion was gorgeous! We held our solemnization here which could fit up to 50 guests seated. To top it off, I arrived with my dad in a buggy! Hubby and I also got to ring the wedding bell to announce our marriage to everyone! We were so glad the rain stopped just in time for our important moment!

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The evening moved on very quickly to our dinner. To be honest, everything flashed past me very quickly. I could hear none of the songs I painstakingly chose for the night; I forgot the faces of people who came to take photos with us; I could not remember the taste of the champange we had… I am thankful for the photos and videos we had to help us remember the day. To sum it up, our guests and us had a wonderful evening.

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As our bridal suite was a distance away from the ballroom, we had a changing room (converted from conference room) with an attached toilet just in front of the ballroom. So, it was really very convenient for us to change our outfits and of course use the spacious toilet. After our dinner ended, there was a buggy to send us back to our suite and then deliver our items back to us. For parents bringing young children, do note that there is no nursing room available. A changing station is available in the handicapped toilet. (this was something I found out after attending a wedding there with my baby)

Wedding, fortunately (or unfortunately), is once in a lifetime. There will not be another day where I will get to change into so many pretty gowns and be treated like a princess. Therefore, I will think it is important to chose a venue that will take care of your needs. We were also lucky to have met a very thoughtful coordinator and banquet manager whom we trusted to run the event smoothly. And the team did a wonderful job!