Who says families can’t still enjoy staying at trendy resorts too?
I’m the first to admit I had wrongly believed W Hotels were “too cool” for families. The pictures of luxury resort W Singapore at Sentosa Cove did look terribly tempting though.
With 3 kids in tow, we decided to give it a shot on our Singapore stopover returning Australia to Abu Dhabi – I mean look at that pool! Would we feel out of place? Enough to keep the kids entertained with no kids club? Let’s take a look…
This post is part of our family accommodation reviews and South East Asia series
The W Singapore Rooms
We stayed in a Fabulous Twin Queen with an extra bed to fit 5. Although it was cosy with the extra bed the room was still quite a reasonable size. The beds were very comfortable and we had fun playing with the ‘moods’ in our room!
Undoubtedly when it comes to room styling W hotels are amongst the best and W Singapore didn’t disappoint. The bathroom included a bathtub which we’d been lacking for a couple of weeks so was greatly appreciated!!! And every extra little amenity kit you could think of was on hand.
For those not wanting the close quarters of a twin room, they have interconnecting Fabulous rooms. There are also several suite options available and “Away” rooms with private plunge pool, for those perhaps on a romantic escape instead! We had great views from our balcony down to the pool and marina.
Meal times at Kitchen Table
The all-day dining option at W Singapore is The Kitchen Table. Stylishly in keeping with the rest of the hotel, they offered an extensive banquet of Asian and international cuisine, so we were sure to find something to suit all fussy little palettes (believe me we have a few).
The live noodle station was a favourite and the grown-ups really enjoyed the extensive range of curries and spicy dishes. For those dining with young kids, plastic plates and cutlery could be provided on request if you are worried about any breakages. There also seemed to be a plentiful supply of high chairs.
Breakfast times are very busy so they also have an overflow room into adjoining restaurant, Skirt. I felt they were somewhat trying to shuffle families off to this room which was a bit of a pain given how many trips backwards and forwards we have to make to the buffet with 3 kids….
The range is incredibly extensive though and one of the more impressive we’ve seen to keep us going all morning. There are room service options available as well as a poolside bar and WooBar for daytime snacking and Skirt.
The Pool & Facilities
Without a doubt, the highlight for us at W Singapore was the pool! What a great chilled out set up they had. Open 24 hours a day you could take your time, no towel police and worrying about vouchers.
A few large bean bags are available for use in the pool (a few more at times would have been helpful but I guess they don’t want them to crowd the pool).
There are no lifeguards on duty so close supervision of your kids is required, but with temperature-controlled waters, no problems joining in on the fun too!! For younger ones, there’s also a smaller wading pool area.
There’s plentiful deck chair space around the pool – no need for 6am rising to reserve your spot! And no need for frantic waving when you want to order from the pool bar – a discreet little buzzer sits at your table for when you’re ready to order and they’re super quick and efficient.
We didn’t have time to use the spa but the AWAY spa menu looked truly amazing and an extensive range of equipment in the gym, FIT. We even saw morning yoga classes in action by the pool!
Visiting the rest of Sentosa from W Singapore
Sentosa Cove is actually quite hidden around on the eastern side of Sentosa. This makes it an enjoyable relaxing retreat amongst the luxury apartments and marina, but a little further away than other hotels from the main family attractions.
Immediately adjacent to the hotel is Quayside Isle, a boardwalk which includes a wide variety of restaurants if you’d like to mix things up from the hotel and a small collection of boutique shops and supermarket. Or you can simply walk along the marina and marvel at all the stunning boats!
The hotel is serviced by one of the free Sentosa transit buses which make a circuit around every 25 minutes – the concierge can provide you with a current timetable for your visit.
** Check out W Singapore’s Stay for Fun packages which include attraction tickets!! **
Whilst there are literally dozens of attractions to visit on Sentosa, our recommended highlights for those with young kids are:
- Mosh! – a digital playground for under 12’s, also part of Palawan Kidz City
- Adventure Cove Waterpark – adventure rides to lazy rivers, toddlers pools even snorkelling in a coral reef!
- Universal Studios Singapore – with 7 different themes zones a movie-lover favourite – you can see a full review by Our 3 Kids vs the World
- SEA Aquarium – claims to be the largest aquarium in the world with over 100,000 marine creatures!
- Take the Singapore Cable Car over to Mount Faber and Siloso point for the most amazing views
- Walk the Fort Siloso Skywalk and explore Fort Siloso (free!)
Those with older kids may also want to add Mega Adventure Park with its zip-lining, climbing, bouncing and a whole host of outdoor adventures.
We recommend pre-booking attraction tickets with Klook – the leading ticketing agent in the region with big savings against the prices buying at the door!
If you buy a Sentosa Fun Pass you can access up to 19 attractions, spread between 1 to 5 days – up to 70% saving! (full disclosure – we are Klook affiliates!)
Globetrotters Recommend
As you can probably gather, we were pretty chuffed with our W Singapore experience, in fact, I’d say it’s catapulted its way to being one of our favourites.
The fact that we did not have any problems, the extra bed was provided without comment or complaint (with towels!) and we were made to feel welcome as a family at every stage.
It was a seamless, enjoyable and completely relaxing escape with the kids. Our only regret? Â Very cliche, but we didn’t have long to spend in Sentosa and Singapore! 2 days is nowhere near enough to enjoy everything on offer.
If you want to see the highlights of Singapore and have some relaxing time, it’s more sensible to organise 4 to 5 days in Singapore.
Fast facts & booking W Singapore
Rooms: 240
Price: Starting from $383SGD ($280USD) for a 40sqm wonderful room per night through to suites from $1000 – $2300SGD per night ($735 – $1690USD)
Booking: Via the hotel’s website, our favourite hotel bookings site booking.com, or check prices use price comparison tool Hotels Combined.
They are also part of the Starwood Preferred Group so SPG points can be used (Now Marriott Bonvoy)
Location: At Sentosa Cove, Sentosa Island, approximately 30 minutes from Changi Airport. Expect a family-sized limousine from the airport to cost $60SGD
Other Inclusions: Free valet, wifi & transit bus on Sentosa
Alternatives: Looking to stay on Sentosa but have a lower budget? Try the Costa Sands Resort
A great detailed guide to hotels in Singapore for all budgets can be found here.
Thanks to all the staff at W Singapore for their hospitality and a warm welcome to Singapore
Disclosure: We were provided with complimentary accommodation and meals at Kitchen Table for the purposes of conducting a fair and impartial review. All opinions as always remain our own. This article also contains affiliate links – our full disclosures policy can be found here.
© Our Globetrotters
We are a party of 5 as well!
And we really want to stay at the W Sentosa too!
Did you add the bed upon arrival or when booking? Did they allow you?
We were booked as a party of 5, but still needed to remind and wait on arrival for the extra bed to be brought in. They said it would be tight but compared to many hotels we’ve stayed at, it fit fine, we could still access the balcony and move around the room.
Wow!! Great architecture. Singapore is like a gold mine of vivid architectures. And this hotels is not an exception. I liked the oval sittings in the first pic. Something uniqur to see on the net today!! Thanks for sharing the Info.
Is that for real? how much was the expenses? a 24/7 pool with no restrictions! me and my friends need to experience that! Thanks for sharing this article! i’ll definitely save this for my future reference! we’ve been planning another Singapore trip sometime in november to celebrate our anniversary at work. keep up the good work and safe travel always!
24 hours pool?!! This hotel is so on my list!! thanks for sharing!
wow i’ll include this in my bucket list. singapore has always been our go to place whenever we’re in asia. being a family friendly place is one sure thing we love the most about now that we always tag along our little one with us. thanks for sharing this 🙂
We visited Singapore earlier this year for three days with my young daughter, and as you mentioned it’s not enough, as there’s so much to see and do around Singapore. Glad to read you guys had a fantastic time!
oh so right, its the first time we went with kids and I had a huge list of things to do – but you know kids as soon as they see a pool that’s it they’re settled in!!! There will be a next time for sure.
Sounds like a wonderful stay indeed! The room does look really spacious too.
We took this before we added the extra bed but even then there was still room to walk past to the balcony – by most hotel standards it was excellent!
looks amazing a real Asian paradise. our kids would love the pool area. There looks to be so much to do in the surrounding areas making this an ideal place to stay
For sure I could see your Marley living in the pool!! and superb spot for exploring or getting away from it