[Hotel Review] - Amara Sanctuary Resort (2 Bedroom Villa), Sentosa Island, Singapore (8 - 10 Oct 12)

Location

Amara Sanctuary Resort is located on Sentosa Island, a southern island in Singapore popular with tourists and locals alike. The resort is sandwiched between the Integrated Resorts where one can find the casino and theme park and the beach area. The central location of the resort makes heading towards the beach or the integrated resorts a breeze.

Hardware

The villa we were in is a 2 Bedroom villa. Upon entering the villa we were welcomed by a pavement that leads to a patio with dinning table and chairs. Further ahead the patio, occupying the centre, is the private plunge pool. The size of the pool is just nice for 2 persons, but since this is a 2 bedroom villa, it seemed a tad small for path of four. The condition of this pool is kept clean and certainly very well maintained. There are also jacuzzi function at the side of the pool. At the far end of the pool is where one can find places for suntanning. Due tot he pool location, this area makes it quite hard to get a good tanning spot.

Private in villa plunge pool

There are 2 separate buildings that greeted guests on either side of the pool. On the left of the pool, one can find a room with 2 single beds. There is a mosquito net hung from the ceiling and the 2 beds are being pushed to form 1 bed, tucked under the net. As we did not sleep in this room, merely used it to stow our baggage,  I can't comment on the sleep quality on the beds in this room. In the bedroom area, one can also find a small study desk tucked neatly at one corner. There is a corridor that leads to the outside area of the villa, before that one can find a small bathroom and toilet on one side and a minibar area on the other side. This room has all it needs to be self sufficient.

Interior of the room with 2 single beds

The other building on the right of the pool is where one can find the master bedroom. This room features a queen size bed. Sleep quality is decent on this bed. There is no study table in this room as the bed took up a large portion of the property. There is a TV tucked on one of the corner of the room and a small arm chair. Further ahead the bedroom is a room for toilet. After the toilet one can find the outdoor portion of the room. There are 2 sinks at the outdoor area and a bathtub tucked at the end of the outdoor area. To the right of the tub is where one will find an outdoor shower area. There is a door between the bathtub and the swimming pool to provide privacy.

The facilities in the villa need more attention to the maintenance. The signal for wifi is weak in the villa and the "Do Not Disturb" and "Make up Room" lights does not work.  There are chippings on the dinning chairs and table. As the central theme of this villa is outdoor, there are inevitably insects, cockroaches and lizards crawling around. If this bothers you, do choose a none outdoorish room.

Heartware

Service is a mix in this resort. While the service at the check in is fantastic, it seemed to stop there.  Checking in was a breeze and the staff at the check in counters always makes one feel welcome. They are always spotted with smiles on they face and are very knowledgable with Sentosa and Singapore.  However we had to wait for 1 hour before we were being checked in. This is where staffs can pay more attention to waiting customers and perhaps be more proactive to suggest activities for waiting guests. After checking in, staffs failed to advise us where the villa is located and we were left hunting for the villa. In my previous experience staying in this resort, we were being carried on a buggy to our room. But not this time round. The least the staffs can do is to advise guests where their accommodation is being located.

Local snacks displayed in the lobby for guests to enjoy

Overall

Overall stay in this resort is decent and nothing quite fantastic. The only drawing point is this is perhaps the only one villa with private plunge pool in Singapore and the only thing fantastic about this villa is its swimming pool. While the villa with private pool offers maximum privacy, however infrastructure seemed needed more attention on maintenance. The Air conditioning in the master bedroom is rather weak and took a long time to cool the room down. Staffs can pay more attention to details when rendering their service to guests.