A staycation on Sentosa – with a side of Singapore colonial history
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A staycation on Sentosa – with a side of Singapore colonial history
While on a staycation at The Barracks Hotel Sentosa, this writer gets a lesson on Singapore's colonial military machine history.
On a staycation at The Billet, army veterans Winston Wong and Khor Sing Hong take guests on a tour of the historical building. (Photo: The Barracks Hotel Sentosa)
18 Sep 2022 07:07AM (Updated: 20 Sep 2022 01:34PM)
Stepping onto the grounds of The Barracks Hotel, I about forget that I'thousand in Sentosa. While other hotels on the island – such as Capella Singapore, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort and Spa , and Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa – promise an escape into a tropical paradise, The Barracks has an altogether dissimilar draw.
Housed in a erstwhile British military base, the hotel was once the habitation of drafted soldiers. Built in 1904, it was known every bit the Blakang Mati Military Billet, with Blakang Mati referring to Sentosa'southward old name before it was changed to something less ominous. The edifice is now completely converted and began a new life every bit a luxury hotel in 2019.
Over one weekend, I checked into The Barracks at the invitation of the hotel. To enhance the guest experience on the property, the hotel launched ii tours this year – the Billet Heritage Tour and Colonial Charm Tour – that allow staycationers to rediscover a slice of Singapore's history, dating as far back as the 1800s.
While the Billet Heritage Bout is complimentary for all guests, the Colonial Charm Tour is office of a staycation parcel available for booking till Dec 31.
As a history buff myself, I was intrigued. After all, staycations in this pandemic age are all about rediscovering Singapore, and so why not learn a thing or two?
STUNNING HOTEL GROUNDS
The Barracks Hotel comprises two blocks which business firm a total of only 40 rooms and suites. With fewer rooms as compared to other hotels on the island, this means a more than intimate, personalised experience.
In the vicinity is a third block that houses the Mess Hall, where restaurants and eateries tin be found. These include French eating place Le Faubourg, Japanese restaurant Hide past Hide Yamamoto, Eurasian eating place Quentin's Bar & Restaurant and Indian restaurant Royal Taj.
The grounds of the hotel are stunning. Once a parade square, at that place's a beautiful, verdant lawn, flanked by purple palm trees.
During the stay, my guest and I were put upwards in the Premier Pool Admission Room. At 39 sq m, the room isn't large by any means, but features all the creature comforts ane might await of a luxury hotel.
The pattern of the room pays homage to the building's rich history. Furnishings are inspired by original pieces in one case used by the military. These include a vintage-looking desk-bound and a mini bar reminiscent of a travel torso, likewise every bit timber sliding doors separating the bedchamber from the bathroom.
The spacious bathroom features a standalone Apaiser bathtub forth with a carve up shower surface area and his-and-hers vanity sinks. Adding a contemporary modern touch are marble details and rose gold fittings.
A dorsum door directly leads to an outdoor patio and the hotel's lap pool, where we enjoyed evening and morning dips. Breakfast, all-day refreshments and evening canapes are served at The Living Room, a cardinal glasshouse situated between the two blocks. The Nasi Lemak came highly recommended by hotel staff for breakfast, and certainly did not disappoint.
Amenities-wise, the offering isn't as broad every bit other Sentosa hotels. For one, the hotel doesn't have its own spa, though we were happy to while our fourth dimension abroad at the cute lap pool.
Notably, mosquito patches were thoughtfully left for us in our room, a friendly reminder that this was the tropics, after all.
A TRAVEL THROUGH Fourth dimension
An 60 minutes after check-in on twenty-four hours one, we embarked on the first tour on our itinerary – the Barracks Heritage Tour. Curated by heritage specialist Jerome Lim, the bout is guided by two friendly and personable army veterans, Winston Wong and Khor Sing Hong, armed with several stories to tell. Both in their 70s, Wong and Khor used to serve and stay at The Billet back when it was still a armed services base of operations.
Wong started off the bout with a quick lesson on the military history of Sentosa, taking united states through Sentosa's lines of defense and its iv forts, Siloso, Connaught, Imbiah and Serapong. He even whipped out a hand-drawn map, which helped the states to visualise how the area looked like dorsum in the quondam days.
The map detailed features such as the erstwhile kampung surface area located merely outside the Blakang Mati Armed forces Barracks, and how soldiers forged friendships with the locals. Wong himself was good friends with the pengulu's (hamlet leader) girl, and yet keeps a photo of her till this day.
Khor then took united states of america on a walking tour of the Billet, detailing aspects of the building that have been retained or restored. He shared how soldiers would slumber in bunks without any doors, and how the hotel's lap pools were once where the soldiers' washrooms were located.
Along the way, Khor shared light-hearted stories well-nigh the breakfast served in the canteen (lots of curry and fish), showing the states personal photos of his time serving in the army.
The next day, we embarked on the Colonial Charm Tour. We were informed prior to our stay that there would be some walking involved, and to wearing apparel comfortable for the bout.
A little intimidated by the corporeality of walking needed, our fears were put to residuum when we were picked up in a Mercedes-Benz by our tour guide and a driver. It was a rainy day, but thankfully, the skies cleared upwardly just every bit we reached our kickoff stop, the Fort Siloso Skywalk.
While information technology's typically an eleven-storey climb to the top, nosotros opted instead to take the shuttle bus. Once up, nosotros were greeted with a scenic view over Sentosa and information technology was hard to believe that I had never been up here earlier.
The adjacent stop on our bout was Mount Imbiah, where we visited the Mount Imbiah Bombardment. This defence post was built in the 1880s as part of Singapore's littoral defense force and was last used in the 1930s. Despite all the redevelopment works to plough Sentosa into a recreation island, the remains of the battery have been largely preserved.
After spending the afternoon in Sentosa, we were and so driven over to Gillman Barracks, Dempsey and Seletar Estate. Gillman and Dempsey are both former colonial barracks, while Seletar Estate was once domicile to Royal Air Force personnel and their families.
Along the style, we also visited St George's Church, a garrison church building congenital by British troops in the 1910s. Its architecture is quite dissimilar whatsoever other, built with blood-red bricks and featuring a beautiful stained glass window above the altar.
Throughout the tour, one thought crossed my mind – had it not been for this staycation, I wouldn't take taken the fourth dimension to relearn Singapore's colonial and military history. Sentosa is known as a beach getaway today, but information technology'southward easy to forget that it one time played a vital function in Singapore's defense.
More than just a stay at a fancy hotel, the Barracks staycation turned out to be quite a revelation. Information technology felt a little bit like picking upwardly my history textbooks again, and one thing's for sure – in that location'due south ever something to larn when it comes to stories of Singapore's by.
CNA Luxury was invited for a 2D1N stay at The Barracks Hotel Sentosa
To book the hotel'south Colonial Charm Tour staycation packet, click hither
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/experiences/barracks-hotel-sentosa-staycation-singapore-280496
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