[Tia Maria]

I thought I'd post this in a more obvious place, as I'm hoping someone will be able to answer:

We're looking for some R&R in Singapore. We want a family hotel where we don't have to keep the kids quiet and they are free to run about!

Anyone been here?

www.shangri-la.com/en/property/singapore/rasasentosaresort

I've had a quick look on the website and they only seem to allow us to book 1 adult and 1 child per room - are the rooms small?

Any other good Singapore beach hotels?

Do UK passport holders and NZ passport holders need visas for Singapore?

Do we need to get any ..... jabs (*shudders* :( )?

What's the weather like in Singapore in November/December?
Cheers

Tia

[Moorf Junior]

Hi Tia,

On our way back from a visit to NZ, we stayed at the Sentosa Resort Hotel on Sentosa Island on the far south. We only stayed the night so cant really say 100% that its kid friendly and we didnt use any of the facilities, BUT I can say its a brilliant hotel and right next to the beaches of Sentosa which you get direct acess too. I'm also pretty sure there was a sort of pleasure park on the island too.

http://www.beaufort.com.sg/

I had no problem booking a room for the 4 of us, although when we got to the room we discovered there was only a single double bed so kids were sleeping on the sofa's lol.

I would defo stay again at this hotel, very clean, very polite and top rooms for little money, we even had a Mercedes limo to the airport for just £10! :)

Hope this helps :)

[Hibiscus]

Hi Tia,

Sorry I can't help on the child-friendly or beach hotel part because I usually visit Singapore on business trips and stop at a smaller hotel on the edge of Little India (Albert Court Hotel) when I pay myself as an antidote to the corporate style hotels. That said, of the corporate ones the Shangri-La has the most amazing lunch buffet, Traders is attached to a shopping centre with restaurants and a supermarket so good when I used to do longer consultancy stints there and Raffles The Plaza is a big modern hotel across the road from the real Raffles so handy to pop across for a S'pore Sling.

UK passport holders do not need a visa, you just fill in an entry card on the way in and they take the exit part off you on the way out.

No jabs are needed.

The weather is usually pretty consistent temperature-wise around 30-ish C but can get humid. I try to remember to take a compact umbrella with me, the downpours may be quick but they can be heavy!

[Moorf Junior]

oh yeah, reminds me of two things - Raffles wouldnt take a reservation as we had kids so dont bother with them. And if you wear glasses, take them off - as soon as the airport sliding doors open to the outside world they steam up and you cant see anything! lol

[Kerry and David]

I would agree that Sentosa, is a great location next to the beach or is easy to get to for the day if you stay towards the city/marina.

We went in November and it is humid but bearable. We loved Singapore as its is so clean, safe, the people are so friendly and it has the bonus of a great city (especially for shopping:o ) and the beach of Sentosa Island which we spent the day on.

We will go back on our way to NZ.

Kerry

[Rusty]

Hi
we stayed there on the way back from NZ 2 1/2 years ago now. The Allson Hotel on Victoria street was recomended to us and was really nice at a good price (at the time, family of 4 in a room, and a swimming pool about 7 floors up). A few roads from Raffles and some markets.
Only went to Sentosa for a day, pink dolphins, nice beach and a cable car trip over the bay come to mind.
Enjoy.

[willowshouse]

We stayed there in June .. it was fab!

After looking on the website I phoned up to make the booking because I couldn't figure out if I was allowed 2 adults and 2 kids to one room .. they were very helpful. Officially the room has a king sized bed and a rollaway bed and we just decided that because it was for one night only we'd let the little one sleep with us .. but when we got there we got a better room (suite?) with a gorgeous sea view and it had king size bed and double sofa bed. Give them a ring because they do have other options .. adjoining rooms etc.

The food is really good, breakfast buffet has everything from bacon and eggs to samosas, sushi, noodles, continental .. you won't be disappointed.

They have table tennis and electronic games for kids as well as a kid's playroom thing .. didn't use it at all though as our two just wanted to be in the pool.

I'd definitely stay there again and can recommend it as a good family hotel.
Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.

Dawn

[Tia Maria]

Thanks everyone! Its seems to get a definite thumbs up, so I don't think we'll be looking any further.

Willowshouse - that was exactly the kind of information I wanted to know! :clap I'll give them a ring.

Cheers

Tia

PS Do kiwis need a visa to travel to Singapore - the littlest one will be on his NZ passport?

[thezorbster]

We stayed there too and littl'un loved every minute - especially the swimming pools. There's a great free shuttle service along Sentosa to take you up to Dolphin lagoon, toboggan run etc, we just had a really fun time there. Nice pizzeria just along the beach from the hotel too. Nice aquarium a few minutes walk from hotel. Didn't spend too much time in the city itself as we found the heat and humidity really bad for Sarah but we were on route from the UK and just wanted a real chillout touristy time - Sentosa is ideal for that.

Can't help with the visa question but travelling from the Uk we were just given visas on entry to the country - it's not something we had to apply for before we arrived. Also re jabs - none are necessary, we checked that out before we went.

Have fun, Sarah keeps asking when we can go back!

[Tia Maria]

thezorbster wrote:

We stayed there too and littl'un loved every minute - especially the swimming pools. There's a great free shuttle service along Sentosa to take you up to Dolphin lagoon, toboggan run etc, we just had a really fun time there. Nice pizzeria just along the beach from the hotel too. Nice aquarium a few minutes walk from hotel.

Sounds perfect!

Is there also a shuttle bus from the airport or did you arrange airport transfer with the hotel?

Cheers

Tia

[thezorbster]

We just got a taxi from the airport - about $30 I think. From what I remember there was a taxi desk near the exit from the airport, we just walked up, booked, were given a number so there was no fighting over the next cab etc and waited about 10 mins until ours turned up. They do large taxis too if you have lots of luggage. On the return the hotel arranged it for us.

If you keep your Singapore airlines boarding pass there is a bus you can get around the city and also from Sentosa island - it costs $2 and you can hop on and off all day as you please. It takes you round the main tourist attractions in Singapore like Raffles, Botanical gardens etc so was quite a cheap way of getting around. Not manybuses into Singapore from Sentosa but plenty in Singapore itself.

Just a tip if you're planning on visiting Raffles - men are not allowed inside wearing shorts! OH was banned whereas Sarah and I were allowed in to gawp. She was most indignant and went up to the doorman and demanded to know why he wouldn't let her daddy in. It's only the main foyer region though, the rest is ok.

Dolphin show had pink dolphins - very pink they were too! Toboggan great fun - bit like the one in Rotorua if you've done that. There's a lovely long mosaic fountain/stream type thing near the toboggan run on the walk up to the Merlion - I thought it was lovely, so colourful and unusual. Ooh, wish I was going back too!

[Tia Maria]

Couple more questions:

1) Now we have to come out of transit, did it take you long to clear customs/passport control etc?

2) Was it easy to get a large taxi, (for family of 5), at night 8/9pm ish?

3) How long before your check-in time did you have to be at the airport?

We had hoped to stay at the transit hotel but it is fully booked, they have offered to put us on the waitlist but with a baby we just can't risk it.

Cheers

Tia

[Smiler]

Tia

We were there in June. It was really quick clearing customs etc and we were out of the airport in around 30 mins max. That was around the same time as you'll be arriving.

Sing$17.00 got us a taxi for 3 adults into town but we had a lot of luggage in the boot. There were bigger people carrier taxi's in the queue too.

Sorry can't remember the time we had to check in exactly, it was either 2 or 3 hours but I dragged OH to the airport early anyway as we had tax to claim back and I wanted to look at the shops. :laugh :laugh :laugh

Does it say on your tickets?

[KelvinAng]

Couple more questions:

1) Now we have to come out of transit, did it take you long to clear customs/passport control etc?

2) Was it easy to get a large taxi, (for family of 5), at night 8/9pm ish?

3) How long before your check-in time did you have to be at the airport?

We had hoped to stay at the transit hotel but it is fully booked, they have offered to put us on the waitlist but with a baby we just can't risk it.

Cheers

Tia

Hi Tia,

(1) As mentioned, the customs should be pretty quick. I'd be surprised if it takes more than 30 minutes!

(2) Large taxis are hardly seen on the roads. They tend to only service the airport and major hotels, and you have to specifically call for them or make arrangement with your hotel to get them for you. There's a surcharge of I think S$8 for them "London cabs" or "Maxi cabs" on top of the metered fare, and if you're going to or coming from the airport, an additional airport surcharge is also levied.

Regular taxis can and will only take 4 passengers. I think it's easier to hire two regular taxis than one London cab or Maxi cab.

(3) I believe the check-in time is 2 hours before flight. Plenty to shop or eat at the airport, so that should ease the boredom.

(4) As for hotel... if you are ok with backpacker hostels, I've heard very good comments for this particular one: The Inn Crowd (http://www.the-inncrowd.com/). Linkin Park is playing in Singapore on the 13th November so I'm not sure if rooms are still available, but you might want to call them up and ask.

Kelvin

[Tia Maria]

Thanks everyone, we're slowly getting sorted out, I should probably just leave all this to the travel agents but you save so much money doing it yourself I just can't help myself!

Cheers

Tia

[sizzlingbadger]

Hi Tia if you're flying Singapore Air then why not take the stop over option with them ? Or have you not got enough time in between ?

Maybe worth contacting them and finding out as it's often cheaper to go through them and you can get free transfers to the hotel.

[Tia Maria]

I might try that, we have now found a place but found out this morning that Google had failed to deliver our 'confirmation of reservation' message, so I'll wait till later and phone the hotel to see if they still have the room.

Cheers

Tia