Melanie C.
Yelp
Just got home from a great stay at the W. We only spent a night (you know, in case we didn't like it), and we had a very good time.
When I was first selecting a hotel on Sentosa for our staycation, I thought many of them seemed very similar at the same price point. It is after I visited the actual hotels that I realized that the W has a much superior location. It's situated in Sentosa Cove, which is a residential area. To provide for the locals, there are some interesting restaurants at Quayside, and also 2 grocery stores and a Guardian pharmacy, just in case you want to buy non-overpriced snacks and drinks, or you forgot something. It's next to the Marina, which looks beautiful at night, and the area is generally well-lit and safe for long romantic walks. The Capella, and the Amara Sanctury seemed nice, and I've seen their buildings too, but their locations are just not as good - quiet but not connected.
We chose to eat at the hotel, and the Skirt restaurant was excellent (I'll write a review for that separately). If we do come back again, I would try the restaurants next door.
The pool was nice, and you can barely smell the chlorine. However, the sides are slippery when you're getting out of the pool, and my husband injured himself slightly. Someone who used to work at the W told me that the slippery sides is a known issue. It would be good if they could fix it.
The room was spacious, and I like that you can choose different mood lightings. The one thing that was problematic in my room was that the shower door wasn't tight, and the bathroom floor outside the stall got really wet after the shower. They do have a tub, which I should have used, but baths take so much longer.
One more thing that could be improved is the shuttle schedule. The W is nicely connected to the rest of the island by Sentosa Bus 3, which drops you off at the doorstep and runs every 35 min. W also runs its own shuttle bus, which has irregular intervals (every hour to every 3 hours), and makes different stops each run. It was a little confusing trying to figure out how to get to the hotel around check in time without taking a cab. Getting out, there is a shuttle that drops you off at Vivo City leaving 20 min after check out time, so that was good.
Overall, I think the W hotel is a great location for a quick getaway that doesn't require too much traveling. I would choose Sentosa over Bintan any day (Will be writing a review about that too) -- better value for accommodation, amenities, and food.