When we heard that our Sydney travel plans got cancelled in July due to the stupid coronavirus, we were devastated. It was the trip that we anticipated for more than a year, and we were just excited to attend the Hillsong conference, go on mini road trips and slurp some oysters at their famous fish markets. And not to forget a few days of really, really good night sleep. If you do not have kids, or if your little ones can sleep through the night, good on you, because we have absolutely zero idea why our darling Olivia still wakes up between 2 to 10 times per night.
In short, we needed the trip. To unwind, to relax, and to sleep.
Yes, so we were devastated.
A few weeks gone by, till early August, when my wife's birthday is around the corner, and I thought what better gift is there than a good staycation (albeit without our little one). The first place that popped to my mind was Sentosa, I mean, what better place is there to feel like a good staycation? We stay in the CBD by the way, so a hotel in town isn't much of a difference.
AND.
They have an excellent promotion starting only at $328 NETT for an "Indulgent WONDER" 2D1N staycation at either Equarius Hotel or Hotel Michael. And that's not it. It also includes the following:
Stay in Deluxe Room (Equarius Hotel or Hotel Michael)
Set Breakfast for two
Two S.E.A. Aquarium Adult One-Day Tickets
SGD$50 F&B Dining Credit
Complimentary RWS Invites $30 per stay
Complimentary parking
Our stay at Resort World Sentosa
My wife has something against Hotel Michael's interior, so I booked Equarius Hotel instead.
Because of the social distancing measures, all check-ins are staggered, so we had ours arranged at 3pm. Proper measures like contact-tracking, temperature screening, declarations, and 1-meter apart queues are set in place, oh by the way, hotels have to meet strict regulations and screening to be approved for staycations.
So you can rest in peace. Oh, I mean stay with peace.
We got one of their best rooms - the Deluxe Suite, and oh God, it is gorgeous. And I mean drop-dead gorgeous. I mean, just check out this living room area, it is also equipped with Nespresso coffee maker, dozen TWG teabags to fix your caffeine needs. There was so much space that Olivia kept running around.
The last time we had a room like this was probably two years ago at Fullerton, where we got the two-storey Loft Suite, on our wedding day. I mean, just check out their bed.
One of my favourite places is their bathroom, separate toilet area, shower, and bathtub area, two basins, a huge mirror, and it's probably bigger than our own bedroom. It is packed with all the basic necessities , toiletries, and a hair dryer. Basically everything you need for a quick getaway.
We can't complain about the view, where we get a nice panorama view of Harbourfront, Adventure Cove, and the cable cars.
So they know it's my wife's birthday, so they prepared a teddy bear and a hand-written, hand-drawn and painted card. I mean if I got to rate this hotel already, it's like 12, over 10 marks. Beautiful customer service right there.
S.E.A Aquarium
We have always wanted to bring Olivia to see the fishes, but now with the darn social distancing measures (again), here are a few things to note when you go to S.E.A Aquarium.
1. You got to pre-book your dates.
2. It closes real early at 5pm on some days.
It was already 4pm when we reached there, and we had to get another ticket for my helper. But. All tickets were sold out. And the queue was like 40 minutes long, meaning to say that even if we get in, we would have only 20 minutes top to explore.
That's the moment I knew.
I got to use my charm (jk, I told them it was my wife's birthday). I talked to the manager, and by the grace of God, she sold me another ticket, gave us birthday perks, and even escort us by the back door, so we can skip the queue! Give her a raise, RWS!
Basically, Olivia was excited, like off the roof excited, she was running around, "wow"-ing at the fishes, and when the kid is happy, the parents are.
Good-bye Olivia
With a heavy heart and some tears, we sent Olivia back home with our helper. Every night Olivia sleeps with us, and that explains our desperate need for sleep. So we pray that she is able to sleep well for the night, which she did (and that back to her old self when we came back).
After the fun-packed and tiring afternoon, we rested and prepped for dinner. What's better than a nice soak?
Birthday Dinner at Osia
The package comes with a $50 dining credit, which could be utilised at several restaurants and eateries at RWS. So with that, I booked dinner reservations at Osia - a modern Australian restaurant that specialises in steak and grill.
More details here: https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/restaurants/osia/overview
Atas pricing and atas portions
When I booked, I stated it was for a birthday celebration, but we didn't expect a cake because we paid and were about to leave when the waiter approached us. We jokingly commented that their rating just went up 0.5 marks. Here I also want to give praise to the Indian waiter who sung the birthday song in Mandarin. Give him a raise, RWS!
Thank God for 7-11 beside the restaurant, where we got some cup noodles and alcohol. Sitting at the balcony with a view, enjoying maggi with your favourite person is one of the best things in life. My wife commented "I'm happy because of maggi."
Award ceremony
Breakfast (inclusive in package)
After one of the best night rest after having a kid, we had a nice breakfast at Fratelli Trattoria. Basically, there were three choices - Western (buns and eggs, as shown below), Greek (yoghurt, cereal, etc), and Local (nasi lemak). We went for the safe choice and ended up with two western set.
And so our staycation ended, a short escape to fantasy, and back to reality.
Endnote
I don't usually go for staycation, because I rather save the money for overseas travel. But special occasion requires special plans, so if you are like me, wanting a short getaway, or perhaps just a good night rest, I highly recommend RWS Equarius Hotel.
Just so to let you know, the current promotion ends at 31 August, but you could book your stay before 16 October, so what are you waiting for? Christmas ah.
Check out Resort World Sentosa's other promotion over here: https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/reopening/hotels
This post is partially sponsored by Resorts World Sentosa.