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Its Premier Garden Room is big and luxurious, and we love the hotel’s facilities, food, and service. If you want to impress and be impressed, this is probably your hotel.
The Capella Singapore is one of our favourite hotel experiences in Singapore. That shouldn’t surprise anyone when its Premier Garden Room can cost more than the suites of some hotels. But the hotel went all out to convince us we got what we paid for. There was the room itself, generous in space, features, and luxury. There were the three swimming pools, complimentary access to its Auriga Spa’s wet facilities, complimentary afternoon tea at its classy Library, and probably the best breakfast buffet in Singapore. And then there was that great unquantifiable bringing it all together: excellent service throughout our stay. Even beach access was convenient: a five-minute walk from the swimming pools led us to a private entrance to Palawan Beach.
We review anonymously and pay for everything. All opinions expressed here are our own and all information is correct as of our last stay or visit and subject to change without notice.
At 77m2, the Premier Garden Room dwarfs most other hotel rooms and even some suites. In our room, that space included a walk-in wardrobe to park our luggage in, out of sight and out of the way. The hotel staff did just that, after walking us from the lobby, before giving us a little tour of the room. Its most striking feature however introduced itself the moment we stepped in: the windows running along the length of the room, presenting a panoramic view of the greenery outside. This also filled the room with natural light; to curb overheating during the day, the blinds and curtains automatically closed after we left the room and opened when we returned. A closer look revealed a door amid the windows leading to a balcony outside with a bench for contemplating the view in fresh air. Alternatively, the view could be enjoyed from inside the room sprawled on the divan or the bed.
Setting the mood, classical music played over the in-room Bose sound system from the moment we arrived — but there was no reason to stick to this. We loved that we could stream our smartphone playlists through the DVD player in the room. The DVD player and sound system also hooked up to the 48-inch TV, one of the largest TVs we’ve seen in our reviews — all set for movie night. The Library lends DVDs free of charge, though it didn’t seem to hold many copies of the same title, if at all[1]. Alternatively, there was also a wide selection of TV channels: 48[2], including HBO and Cinemax for English movies.
The complimentary in-room coffee and tea selection and minibar were also generous. In addition to tea from Frankfurt-based tea company Ronnefeldt, there was a Nespresso Inissia single-serve espresso machine. That wasn’t all: the contents of the mini-fridge — orange juice, Coke, and San Pellegrino sparkling water — were also free. For more options, the (non-complimentary) in-room dining menu included wines and spirits by the bottle.
The bathroom didn’t disappoint either, presenting us with double sinks in its vanity and a window-side bath tub, complete with a view of the greenery outside. A call to housekeeping produced a wonderful honey-scented bubble bath. Deeper in the bathroom, past the separate toilet room, was also a shower room big enough to fit two people. To top it all off, the toiletries were by the Australian prestige skin-care brand Aesop: geranium leaf body cleanser, rind concentrate body balm, its classic shampoo, and its classic conditioner.
See our in-depth review and pictures of this breakfast buffet.
Our favourite among all the breakfast buffets we’ve reviewed is the one served at the Knolls restaurant. It’s not cheap but we’d come back over and over. The highlight was its little menu of seven items made to order. Eggs Benedict, wonton noodles (there were soup and dry versions), laksa, roti prata, buttermilk pancakes, brioche French toast, and baked waffles — each was superb. Then there was the buffet table itself which wowed us with its excellent execution of such basics as hash browns, bacon, congee, croissants, and bread. The buffet even included sparkling and still mineral water for when we tired of the freshly-squeezed sugar cane and fruit juices.
The breezy al fresco terrace one level below the lobby down the hill hosts the hotel’s Cuban-inspired bar called Bob’s Bar. We loved lounging on the outdoor beds overlooking the swimming pool, especially on weekend evenings when the bar hosts a live band. However, drinks here were not cheap compared to other hotel bars we’ve reviewed. While there was a good selection of other drinks, rum was clearly the star here. The spirits menu included 74 rums divided into English, Spanish, French, Japanese, overproof, spiced, and limited edition rums. The bar also served the hotel’s own bespoke rum called Navegante from the Foursquare distillery in Barbados by rum-blender Richard Seale, also available for purchase at the Knolls restaurant. Navegante rum also featured notably in the cocktail menu which revolved almost exclusively around rum. In addition to classic rum drinks, there was a good selection of unique drinks — including tiki drinks and punches — to keep rum enthusiasts interested.
The in-room dining remains the best we’ve tasted. We loved the seared marinated beef rib eye which came juicy and infused with flavour and seasoning from its marinade atop a pillow-soft bed of mashed potato. We were a little less impressed by the pan-seared sea bass which we felt needed more aggressive seasoning and might have worked better with risotto instead of orzo pasta. But then we bit into the sweet and sour crispy US Berkshire pork from the hotel’s modern Cantonese restaurant Cassia, crust giving way to melting fat and tender meat.
The in-room breakfast service also met the high bar set by the breakfast buffet at the Knolls restaurant. The eggs Benedict was just as good as the ones served at the buffet, oozing rich orange-red yolk over ham and toasted English muffin as we cut into it. The Belgian waffles were also no less superb than the buffet’s, its crispy crust housing a soft light interior, especially slathered with the accompanying honey, mascarpone, and berries. From the list of breakfast sets, we ordered the American breakfast (continental, heritage, healthy, and Japanese sets were also available). Our scrambled eggs turned out creamy and luscious, contrasting with the bacon which was salty, crispy, and streaked with fat all at once.
The Capella Singapore offers 30 acres of facilities and grounds to explore, though much of it involves walking along unsheltered driveways and roads to its villas and club residences. We found the abundant greenery relaxing but lamented the lack of pedestrian walkways and shelter which might have made for a more enjoyable stroll. We think the Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa remains the one to beat in this regard.
To better hit the highlights, the hotel provides a heritage tour. Our tour began with the two Tanah Merah colonial buildings — our first sight of the hotel as we came up its driveway. Built in the 1880s as a mess and barracks for British Royal Artillery officers, they now house the hotel’s lobby, Library, and Cassia restaurant. Our tour then continued by buggy around the hotel grounds to visit the five Heritage Trees chosen for conservation by the Singapore Heritage Trees Panel (mind the mosquitos though). Our last stop was the hotel’s 436m2 three-bedroom colonial manor — its highest-tier of accommodation — which, lucky for us, was unoccupied at the time and open to the tour.
The hotel also hosts one of the largest — if not the largest — art collections we’ve seen in a hotel. Because its paintings and sculptures are arranged such a large area across the hotel — some in places easy to miss — we felt the hotel’s art tour was actually quite useful. Not only did our guide direct us to all the art pieces, she also opened the doors to some of the less-accessible pieces. The least accessible piece was also the one we liked best: the massive glass sculpture by American artist Nikolas Weinstein hanging from the ceiling of the grand ballroom.
The Knolls restaurant offered snacks, condiments, and drinks for purchase, including the hotel’s bespoke Navegante rum from the Foursquare distillery in Barbados by rum-blender Richard Seale.
One floor above the lobby in the Tanah Merah colonial buildings is the hotel’s Library. We must confess: we love it. It’s a literal Library with actual books on its shelves, including an original copy of Noel Barber’s 1981 novel Tanamera, apparently inspired by its own Tanah Merah. It also housed a collection of DVDs and board games which guests could borrow to play in their rooms. More importantly — most importantly — it served free food for hotel guests. In the afternoon, the staff laid out sandwiches, cakes, pastries, desserts, and other deliciousness — adding to the cookies, fruit, coffee, tea, and soft drinks available throughout the day.
There are not one but three separate swimming pools set into the hillside facing the sea: an adults-only pool next to the Knolls restaurant, a family-friendly pool, and a lap pool. While the division into three pools limited the size of each individual pool, it also thinned out the crowd. With children restricted to the shallower and larger family-friendly pool and exercise swimmers heading for the lap pool further downhill, the adults-only pool enjoyed greater quiet for leisure swimmers to soak the day away. There was something for everyone.
Any poolside dining is probably best enjoyed in the upper two pools — the insect population seemed especially attracted to the solitude of the lap pool. Finger food options were limited to just chicken satay and fish and chips. Healthy rice dishes were also available, accompanied by steamed vegetables and a choice of either poached chicken breast or poached sea bass slices. Desserts included sorbets, ice cream, fruit, and — from the children’s menu — a chocolate chip cookie served with milk. The beverage selection included a limited list of cocktails, milk shakes, smoothies, and wines served by the bottle.
The 24-hour gym is located next to the Knoll restaurant near the adults-only swimming pool. The gym was bright and spacious, lit by floor-to-ceiling windows facing the greenery outside. The gym wasn’t especially large, but it did possess a rather fancy piece of equipment: a Kinesis Personal Vision[1].
Next to the gym is the Auriga Spa, which won five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide for the seventh year in 2017. Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore named Auriga Spa the Best Mother-Daughter Spa and the Capella Singapore the best spa-cation its 2018 Spa Awards. Using products from the Organic Pharmacy, the Auriga signature massages are “based on the varying energies of the lunar cycle”[1]. These include the New Moon (based on Swedish massage), the Waxing Moon (aroma massage), the Full Moon (“energy work”), and the Waning Moon (to enhance lymphatic flow). The last of these, the Waning Moon, was the Best Organic Experience in Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore’s 2018 Spa Awards. All four Auriga signature massages cost SGD212[2] for 60 minutes.
For hotel guests however, access to its wet facilities was free of charge, even without a treatment. The spa recommended a ritual alternating between the hot and cold therapies provided in its wet facilities. The ritual went through its herbal steam room, its ice fountain (for a body rub of crushed ice), its warm and cold aromatherapy experience showers, and finally its vitality pool. We’re not sure if the ritual did us much good but we liked how it structured our experience and encouraged us to try all the wet facilities.
1 The Knolls | Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297
+65 6377 8888
