Early December, we took a 3 day break for a staycation in Singapore’s central business district at Mandarin Oriental. We are not big fans of staycation but it turned out to be a really relaxing getaway from our ‘work from home’ drill. For me, work from home has turned out to be more exhausting as I find it difficult to completely switch off. Although I checked emails occasionally, it was lovely to be pampered for a bit!
Check-in was super smooth. It took about 10-15 mins in total. Folks in Singapore would appreciate this because there are so many horror stories floating around about 4 hour waiting time in check-in queues at other hotels.
I found the room to be quite nice and the ocean view was beautiful. I chose this over Marina Bay view because I didn’t want to stare all day at my office building!
What did we do as soon as we got to our room? Called for in-room dining, of course! Since it was raining, we enjoyed a platter of hot samosas and spring rolls.
We had booked MO Bar at sunset. They have a gorgeous menu of stunning cocktails and I chose the prettiest one called Sarimanok–a combination of mango, citrus and rum! In all my excitement I dropped some of my drink towards the end but the bar staff was sweet enough to treat me to another one. Their service is really good. MO Bar is named one of Asia’s Best Bars!
Dinner was at Melt Cafe–a three course meal of soup, salmon and chocolate dessert. This was part of our staycation package along with breakfast. On our second day we topped up and went for the buffet. Liked the Indian selection, desserts and seafood. Breakfast is brought to the table in light of Covid. Options are plenty– Roti Prata with chicken curry, eggs benedict, congee, nasi lemak, waffles, pancakes, fruits, coffee and tea.
Due to covid, guests are required to book their pool and gym slots well in advance through whatsapp. Pool slots are for 2 hours while gym is for an hour. I found the process quite convenient. I couldn’t find a slot for day 1, but got an afternoon slot for day 2 and morning slot for our last day.
The hotel pool is quite nice with floating beds on the side and a nice view of the Singapore skyline. Sadly it was raining almost the entire duration of our pool slot on day 2 so we enjoyed our pizzas and cocktails under the shelters! Day 3 pool slot greeted us with bright sunshine which we enjoyed with laps!
We had lunch at Dolce Vita on our final day by the pool. Loved the beetroot and goats cheese salad there.
I jogged the full circuit around Marina Bay on one of the evening and it was a superb route. I was wondering why I never took the opportunity earlier given I work right there!
We were given late check out as part of the package so we checked out around 6pm on day 3. I truly felt refreshed and recharged. This year has been extraordinary in so many ways. One of them was a total embargo on travel, business or person. As someone who loves travelling, it definitely felt constricting. So, this tiny pause to break monotony worked wonders.
As we move towards the new year, I wish all of us and our loved ones are blessed with good health and happiness.
Voyage Treasures 
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