Hotel Review: Equarius Hotel Singapore (Deluxe Room)
Keywords: Hotel - Room review - Resorts World Sentosa - Resort
Month of visit: July 2021
Youtube video review: Deluxe Room (Equarius Hotel Sentosa, Singapore) | Hotel Review
Equarius hotel is nestled in the quieter end of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) on Sentosa island. There are various ways to get into Sentosa, namely by Sentosa Express, bus, driving in and even on-foot via the Sentosa Boardwalk. That being said, this hotel is rather secluded and gives off a resort vibe that is hard to come by in Singapore. Fortunately, a resort shuttle bus is available for seamless transportation between hotels within RWS. Equarius hotel offers rooms and suites as well as exclusive villas for those who are looking for an exclusive experience.
We had booked the entry level deluxe room courtesy of a good rate on Klook. We paid $228 (after SRV deduction) and the package included breakfast as well as a $20 resort dining voucher. You can find the rate here. During our stay, the guest demographic was largely young couples and families.
Hotel facade.
Our check-in experience was slow and tedious. In fact, since we had arrived earlier before the official check-in time, it could have been worse for us as we saw an extremely packed lobby at about 3PM. Our party was split up and only one of us could queue to check-in while the rest waited at a designated seating area. The waiting felt endless and the staff who managed the queue was overwhelmed by the crowd and disorganised. We had waited about 40 minutes to get to the front of the line.
Checking-in during our stay.
The main reason for the lengthy delay we experienced was the self check-in kiosk that guests had to navigate. It was time consuming because of the information we had to manually key in and paragraphs of texts we had to read. We observed that many guests struggled and hotel staffers went around to assist them. This automation was completely redundant in our opinion as it did not decrease contact with staff and made the check-in experience very unpleasant.
Self check-in kiosk.
The lift lobby and walkways of the hotel were carpeted and guests have to walk a long distance to reach the lift lobby from the main lobby. As such, dragging luggages across the carpet can be challenging. During the pandemic period, all guests had to present their IC (physical or digital) for verifications before being allowed to enter guests-only areas.
The lift lobby and walkway leading to our guest room.
Deluxe room
Do check out this spacious deluxe room in our immersive 360-degree room tour below.
360-degree room tour of the room.
The deluxe room was fully carpeted with the exception of the balcony and bathroom. The condition of the room was moderately dated with hardly any visible refurbishments done since the hotel opened over a decade ago. Immediately on the right was a built-in luggage rack and some cabinets. To the left was the bathroom.
Entrance of the Deluxe room.
The bathroom was fully marble and had a double vanity area. Interestingly, a privacy blind could be rolled up to view the bedroom area through a large glass panel. There was a small television (which did not work) near the magnifying mirror at the side of the vanity area. A plugged in hairdryer could be found in a drawer below this area.
Double vanity area.
Bathroom amenities were provided by Vitaminspa with standard items like dental kits, mouthwash, hand soap and comb all provided.
Bathroom amenities provided.
At the end of the bathrrom was a large bathtub wrapped in marble tiles. The rubber lining surrounding the outer perimeter of the bathtub was loose and unsightly.
A large bathtub.
The WC and standing shower areas were separated. These spaces were large and the showers come with both a rain shower and a hand held shower. Bath gel and shampoo came in large bottle dispensers.
WC and standing shower.
Diagonally opposite the bathroom was a small wardrobe which contained bedroom amenities such as an extra pillow, clothes hangers, a built in safe, luggage rack, bathrobes, ironing set, flashlight and two pairs of bedroom slippers.
Wardrobe area with standard bedroom amenities provided.
Adjacent to the wardrobe was a pantry area with complimentary instant coffee, tea and drinking water provided. A travel kettle was also available to boil water. Beneath this counter top was a mini-fridge which was empty during our stay.
Pantry area with a mini-fridge.
Heading towards the main bedroom area, a small seating space with an L shaped fabric sofa and a round coffee table greeted us. This seating space had direct view of the television and was situated just beside floor to ceiling windows which gave good views of the surrounding vicinity.
A comfortable seating area by the window.
The main bedroom area was very large with a king sized bed in the middle. Above the bed was the glass panel that overlooked the bathroom. When the roller blinds were drawn, a floral wallpaper was revealed.
Main bedroom area.
The two bedside tables were fairly simple, with a telephone on one of them. Conveniently, power sockets and light switches were easily accessible from the bed.
Bedside tables with accessible light switches and power sockets.
At the far end of the room was a medium sized flat screen television that was mounted on the wall and could be pivoted. Directly below it was a work desk for business needs.
Work desk with a mounted television that could be pivoted.
The entry level room comes with a balcony with two rattan chairs and a low table. The balconies do not have a great level of privacy as neighbouring rooms have views of our balcony.
A spacious balcony.
Our room faced the adventure cove and sea which was very lively. If you wish to have a more peaceful setting, you may opt for the rainforest view on the other side of the hotel.
Views from the balcony.
Facilities
This hotel has a very nice outdoor terrace area with lush greeneries and sunbeds. A number of cabanas were scattered around this area too. The pool was extremely large. Essentially, there were two pools connected by a narrow area underneath an overhead bridge. Surrounding the perimeter of the pool were beach villas which had direct pool access.
A beautiful pool with lush greeneries.
The fitness centre was very spacious and was well equipped with free weights and exercise machines. Despite its size, safe management measures only allowed five guests within the premise at any one time so advanced booking is recommended.
A well equipped fitness centre.
Dining Highlights
Breakfast was served daily at the Forest restaurant. Guests may opt to take away the food to their room if they wish to do so. For dine-in, a short one-hour slot will need to be reserved in advance.
Breakfast in Forest restaurant
The restaurant was situated on the ground floor and had high ceilings and many floor to ceiling glass windows to allow natural light in.
Forest restaurant which served breakfast.
The restaurant offered limited breakfast varieties with guests only allowed to choose one set from two options (either the Western or Local). The local set changes on a daily basis.
A limited breakfast menu.
Beverages were fortunately free flow but the only coffee option they had was cappucino which was odd.
Free-flow beverages during breakfast.
Both the sets came in a tray together with a fruit bowl, fruit yoghurt and two pastries. To be honest, the food looked much better in the photos than it tasted. The western set items were not fresh and tasted bland while the Nasi Lemak was one to forget.
The western and local set.
Concluding remarks: This hotel is largely popular for young couples and families because of its competitive price and good resort vibes. However, the room was quite dated and service was well below average partly because most of the staff were part-timers and lacked training in the hospitality industry. We will likely not return to this property.
Location:
Equarius Hotel Singapore
Website:
https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/hotels/equarius-hotel/overview
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