Capella Mar21 – To celebrate Mommy’s Birthday!
The experience started way before the scheduled stay. From exchanges between the Culturist the various activities were lined up prior to our stay. 24 hr prior to check in we received an email from the hotel according us of an early check in at 1030am which was great since the first activity we were going to was the Scavenger Hunt at 10am.
We rose bright and early and strolled up closer to 10.
Turning into The Knolls, Sentosa.
We take the elevator from the basement to Level 3 where the Lobby Lounge and Living Room are located.
The JTwins relax and sip on the Capella welcome drink while Daddy checks us in…
Hunt began fairly on time with the Culturist rolling out the treasure map rolled up nicely in a scroll.
[Spoiler alert] If you need a picture of the Scavenger hunt map, feel free to click here for the Capella Scavenger Hunt map!
After 6 questions and a mad rush around the sprawling grounds (Art Gallery, Grand Ballroom featuring Singapore’s 1st circular, pillarless ballroom with a famous ceiling glass tube centrepiece, multiple art installations and heritage flora throughout the vicinity, including the renown Johor fig!) we rendezvous’d back at the flag off point for our final clue which was to locate none other than the mascot, Paul the peacock (no not just any other peacock but a stuffed fluffy one snuck inconspicuously around the gardens by the front foyer. And very quickly post orders from our very competitive J Twin Mommy we split up, combed the area and soon enough found one tucked away at the bottom of the tree.
With the bird in hand (literally) we kids raced back to the porch and claimed the 1st prize, a box of Capella-baked choc-chip cookies (as consolidation for the runner-ups) and as if that weren’t sufficient a $50 dining voucher. A sweet victory. To which the kids quipped in unison. And of course we got to keep the (stuffed) blue birds.
“Best hotel ever!” quipped the JTwins. And even before seeing the room!
We wait out the next hour basking in the LivingRoom with all day snacks and drinks equipped with alfresco option on both side wings which doubles up as additional capacity.
The lounge dragon tells us there is the option to head to the beach and promptly issues us temp access card in case we didnt have our keycards on hand thereafter provides us directions to the private access to the beach. Note this is a private walkway access to the same publicly-accessible Palawan Beach. Access is by registration only which can be done online or in our case by the hotel-allocated wrist bands with slated timings. It was a little adventure trying to navigate our way thru the ‘secret garden’, past the famed 3-layered pool, and even having opportunity to spot Paul the peacock live in the feather!
Tier 1…
Tier 2…
And the 3rd which is more like a little private lap pool… we eventually spent most of our pool time at the 2nd which was more kid-friendly and had some inflatables, including our favourite Unicorn!
Peak-a-boo Paul the peacock…
Eventually we arrived at the secret gate and made our way down some flights of stairs!
We hung around only a bit trying to collect seashells, an activity which soon became apparent to us was almost non existent given the sheer magnitude of folks crowding around the shady spots like hugely scarce real estate.
Back to the room which was nicely situated on the 5th floor overlooking the south China Sea. This was an upgrade to the Sentosa Suite, from the lead in Premier Garden/Deluxe Ocean facing room (thanks to AMEX which Daddy kept quipping!). We were escorted to the room and given a nice 1st timers welcome orientation around the sprawling property (which we thankfully also got acquainted with thru our little scavenger hunt earlier in the morning).
Room was situated on the 5th Floor on the East Wing overlooking the oval.
Room was setup with a king bed with a separate living area.
Amenities were from the famed Aesop line up, equipped with 2 bathrooms and a nice tub by the window with a magnificent view of the sea.
Very well thought out amenities (care pack on Capella drawstring bag, separate beach kit with insect repellent to ward off those pesky sand flies and mozzies at dusk), and a fully stocked fridge bar which guest relations mentioned was complimentary (note the magic word) and could be restocked once per stay (not that we requested that anyway since there was already an abundance). Mommy was visibly excited by the Aesop amenities…
The room also has an accessible balcony with panoramic views – and electronically controlled curtains /blinds across full length windows. Perfect for a birds eye view of the canopy of the Pulai, Angsana and Johor fig trees, the fame 3 tiered pools and Palawan/Siloso beaches as well as the sea lined with vessels on layup at the anchorage.
There was also a long bench table across the bedroom which was a great setup for any Work from Home or in our case the customary Jtwins prep time…
Not to mention there was also the balcony literally with a bird’s eye view of the South China Sea.
One of the things Daddy’s a sucker for – our little thank you cards! 🙂
Once that was out of the way we headed back over to the Living Room.
Chilling over afternoon tea with (what else) but tea and butter scones and our usual favs AJ and OJ with less ice. AGAIN, SO MUCH to eat.
As there was still some time left before our Boba Making Session (Build Your Own Boba, BYOB), we headed back to our room and lo and behold were greeted with a surprise titbit platter (with muruku, bacon sandwich bites and More scones!). But the punchline was actually a birthday cake for Mummy and Sweet and Choc for Didi and I (customized and emblazoned with our own names in chocolate of course) – aww they actually remembered! How decadent! Did I mention they even had the ensemble decked out with a gift scented candle and fancy birthday card (yes nicer than the cheapo one daddy rewrote and regifted mummy from last year! Yay he thought we didn’t notice. (How sneaky!) though Daddy kept chiming about the relevance of the 2 oranges given its no longer Chinese New year. Anyway we could agree nonetheless the Capella folks were just so nice.
By 1 we were at Bob’s Bar getting seated for our BYOB session. Alas, that was the same Aunty (Jie Jie) who facilitated our Scavenger Hunt earlier in the morning who was now running the Boba session. She could really remember our names (plus points for that for sure!) and sat us down at one of the designated tables laid out with Boba and tea.
Next up was the Little Stars Cullinary Experience held at Chef’s Table, a little functional kitchenette + cosy dining setup across the alfresco terrace from Bob’s Bar. No drama on the mad rush akin to what we were probably spotted doing to clinch top spot in scavenger hunt and we were in good time so a short stroll across was now the order for the day. Guess who we would bump into again?
She offers us our chef’s hat (daddy says its called Toque Blanche in his rubbish French from Fancy Nancy!) and apron which Didi was initially hesitant to don but did after much cajoling and boy did he look like a cutesy pie.
I think Didi and I really enjoyed the session, that little maestro in the making…
Next up was Sustainable Art and Craft at the Sales Gallery, not the Art Gallery unbeknown to us!
Here’s where Mommy was really hands on – like in her own studio…
While walking there though we walk past the ballroom which was all setup for the afternoon movie matinee the next day (we were on the wait list for this screening of Jumanji 2 – The Next Level) which though didn’t come thru since everyone else ahead of us showed up on movie day, was still neat despite not having out own teepee since the nice chaperon still handed us hot popcorn and drinks, and to mention him apologising profusely for something he really wasn’t particularly responsible for. Note pix were taken the day before!
Back in our room chillaxing over our fav Disney+ after Art and Craft workshop (yes we dig this – way cooler than Netflix these days) when Ding Dong the bell rings. Daddy gets the door and after a couple of exchanges tell us it was a turn down service. Wow. Nothing short of a Wow there since despite Daddy turning down the turndown service he didn’t turn down rock candy and more waters (still water). Didi and I with our own tele despite watching the same Trolls movie!
Note customary Mummy Koa (Koala) and friends with their newly acquainted Capella natives Paul and Paul-ine the peacocks (or peahen?).
Breakfast at the Knolls was noting short of marvellous. Great service, servers attentive to details and definitely no cheapskate prefix on limitation(s) on order quantity.
We even noticed at one point a baby in the table adjacent to us crying inconsolably. Despite attempts by her parents to pacify her it seemed futile one of the female servers rushed over with what looked like 2 Paul-line the peacock(hen) plushies and as if it were magical the crying stop as abruptly as it started.
Cry or no cries we thoroughly enjoyed breakkie.
Only Downside was the breakfast with peacocks only happened with our plush given there was neither sight nor sound of our feathered friends (we were told they usually frolic around from 9-10ish) so perhaps today being Monday meant the cocks/hens sleeping in a bit more to beat the blues.
We did take a stroll around the lush gardens after that hefty meal…
Taking some pix around the Trump-Kim memorial plaque (Daddy says it was a really historic moment and this commemorates that meeting).
Lunch was ordered from Knolls which the server then carted over in a mobile food heater tucked beneath the push cart turned into table and plated nicely in non other than the Capella fashion (Daddy said they exceeded expectations again since he was expecting this either in a takeaway box or at best a food tray!).
On the way to the car after (extended) checkout we catch on a ride in a buggy and what do we spot? None other than a lonesome peacock probably looking for his gang. Well at least he was following the traffic direction!
All in stellar amenities, well thought out kids activities, marvellous surroundings and impeccable service makes Capella Singapore a win for fun-filled family staycation with the coveted JTwins’ seal of approval. We’ll be back!