We had an amazing, comfortable family staycation dampened by some unfortunate/unexpected hotel policies that would have made this our first choice getaway in SG.
Whats great: JW Marriott South beach has many features in its favour when compared to other hotels within the Marriott group in Sg
- free parking (westin does not), close proximity to an MRT station (sheraton does not), executive lounge access for children (before 7pm; sheraton and marriott tangs ban children outright; W Sentosa that doesn't have a lounge).
The staff in general were professional, friendly and helpful - from the bellhops, to the check in to the exec lounge staff. Special mention to the remote customer service staff on the app. I thanked them for the welcome gift of mochi and macaroons which my kids loved, and when we came back after dinner, we got a second welcome gift that made them squeal in delight - consisting of an even bigger box of macaroons, and jars of oreo and gummy bears.
The evening spread served at the executive lounge is probably the best we have had to memory. As it was a Thurs, the theme was Thai food. The unagi sushi and the hams were outstanding. I understand this is the current rotation according to days:
Mon asian
Tues/sat japanese
Wed/sun western
Thurs thai
Fri korean
We were very grateful for the upgrade to the Premier room on the 11th floor that offered a spectacular view of the padang. The humongous bathroom and living area that included a >2m long sofa provided a comfortable stay. The shower area was larger than 1m x 1.5m and the WC had an automated toto washlet bidet that has a proximity motion sensor to open the lid. The extra long bathtub allows an adult male to be almost completely submerged. Neat! The complimentary TWG tea packets and nespresso capsules are great choices. I especially loved the firm foam pillows; they are the first pillows I have ever found comfortable in our frequent travels. My only suggestion for improvement would be to provide more hooks in the bathroom to hang clothes.
Strange no outside food policy at executive lounge:
This is rare occurance amongst the tens of marriott hotels we have stayed in recent times; in other hotels they would even proactively serve us kids cutlery and offer us drinks to go with our takeaway food. We don't quite understand the rationale for this, as the lounge was almost empty. We complied and took our lunch to our room, where the inevitable happened - the kids dropped food, stepping on and imbedding them into the carpeted floor. This strange policy would create extra work for the housekeeping staff as a result.
Another unexpected policy: Breakfast is limited to the executive lounge (for platinum elite and above members) rather than at the hotel restaurant. Too bad the absentminded wife didn't opt for the breakfast buffet as the welcome benefit. Sadly the spread at the lounge was quite small and the quality of food didn't quite match the exceptional standards of the previous night. While the omelette and scrambled eggs were decent, most of the other food wasn't. For example, the hashbrown was cold, the char kuay teow was bland without any char (wok hei), and au pain chocolat wasn't fresh/crispy.
Lastly, another concerning safety issue we encountered during our stay:
The 18th floor was undergoing spray painting of the walls. I could see the continual thick mist of poisonous fumes drift to the swimming pool area. This is commonly understood to be harmful especially to children. Perhaps such noxious activities should be done after hours when guests are not using the pool?
Until we get another chance to try out the breakfast buffet here, W Sentosa still remains our favourite staycation destination.