Raffles Sentosa Singapore, the city’s first all-villa property, opens its doors today on 1 March 2025 as Singapore’s second Raffles property, some 138 years after the iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore opened along Beach Road in 1887. Here’s what to expect.
RAFFLES SENTOSA SINGAPORE
Perched atop a hill and nestled within 100,000 square metres of tropical greenery on Singapore’s Sentosa island (and located right next to sister hotel Sofitel Sentosa Singapore Resort & Spa), the resort is 15 minutes away from Singapore’s Central Business District and less than 30 minutes away from Singapore Changi Airport by car.
Interiors come courtesy of Yabu Pushelberg, the design firm behind Rosewood Guangzhou, Aman Tokyo‘s Residences, Park Hyatt Shenzhen and The London EDITION. The ultra-luxurious resort features 62 contemporary private pool villas surrounded by exuberant tropical gardens, from the 225sqm Sunset One-Bedroom Pool Villa and 515sqm Royal Villa to the 650sqm Raffles Presidential Villa. The entry 211sqm Garden One-Bedroom Pool Villa is suitably spacious, with a 1.2m deep private pool, smart technological flourishes (including wireless charging) and a beautifully-appointed living room set within a standalone space separate from the bedroom and bathroom. Bathroom amenities are courtesy of Ortigia, an Italian brand from La Bottega.
The arrival experience is suitably Raffles Hotel-esque. Your car travels up a meandering driveway and passes a dramatic black horse sculpture in the middle of a grand fountain (said to represent leaps forward and new beginnings) before pulling into the porte-cochère, upon which one of the hotel’s fabled Raffles Doormen welcomes you into the property. Past the stately, tall front doors (a very Yabu Pushelberg staple), you are welcomed with a refreshing cognac-based Sentosa Sling, a beverage created specially for the resort using up-cycled watermelon skins as well as house-grown lemon leaves. (I may have been the first guest ever to throw the orchid garnish from the Sentosa Sling into the grand fountain, a newly-introduced ritual meant to bring prosperity and good tidings in lieu of the customary peanut shell littering in Raffles Hotel Singapore‘s Long Bar.) A Raffles Buggy then transports you to your villa to complete the check-in process and kickstart your stay.
The resort’s key wellness facility is the Raffles Sentosa Spa, set within a heritage building which formerly served as SoSPA for Sofitel Sentosa Singapore Resort & Spa. Currently in its soft opening phase, the spa will offer 13 treatment rooms, a 22m lap pool, pools with waterfall features, a mud pool, outdoor whirlpool, indoor hot & cold pools, steam rooms as well as a fitness centre. Guests who crave longer laps than their private pools can accord can make use of the hotel’s 30m outdoor pool which is flanked by sun beds and private cabanas.
For events, the resort offers two event ballrooms, both of which boast gorgeous colour-changing LED orchid-shaped crystal chandeliers which were handcrafted by Czech glass artist Lasvit.
The hotel plans to introduce a complimentary shuttle service to Harbourfront MRT in the near future. In the meantime, guests would have to make their way to the adjacent Sofitel Sentosa Singapore Resort & Spa to enjoy the shuttle service. During my visit, a Raffles Buggy ferried me to the connection link into the sister hotel’s premises, and I found myself at the shuttle pick-up point within 6 minutes.
DINING
Breakfast is offered at Empire Grill, the resort’s poolside signature Italian restaurant which is helmed by Chef Bjoern Alexander, the cluster director of culinary. Instead of a traditional buffet, the restaurant presents its breakfast offerings on a tiered stand with your choice of mains including the Heritage Breakfast (French toast with peanut butter, kaya toast and poached egg) and the English Breakfast (sunny side eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato, English pancakes, banana, pecan nuts).
Past breakfast hours, Empire Grill currently offers a soft launch menu pending its official opening. The Grilled Eggplant was a luscious affair, while the Grilled Lamb with Corn Rib – surprisingly bearing no trace of gameyness whatsoever despite its rare visage – was assisted by perky chimichurri and a rather brilliant and addictive mala coconut sauce that needs to be bottled and sold. The menu also offers an intriguing Negroni selection, including the Seared Negroni, which tasted like a juicy charred pineapple and played like a Singapore Sling-esque doppelganger in a Negroni suit.
Overlooking a 100-year-old ficus tree and possible sightings of flirtatious peacocks, Raffles Room is the destination for the famed Raffles Afternoon Tea, while the adjacent Chairman’s Room offers a refined selection of whiskies, cognacs and fine wines as well as a range of cocktails such as the Celestial Old Fashioned (chrysanthemum, whisky, black lemon, bird’s nest) and Tanglin Moon (jackfruit seed gin, green tea, orange), both of which mask sinisterly boozy intentions underneath floral, refreshing flavours.
Elsewhere, Royal China will serve refined Cantonese cuisine while Iyasaka by Hashida will offer Japanese omakase experiences. Both restaurants are scheduled to open within the coming weeks.
Comments are closed.