Looking for a unique and offbeat staycation in Singapore that won’t break the bank this upcoming Valentine’s Day and March school holidays?
Then come journey with me (and the Mister) to the Wild West of Singapore together with Raffles Marina!
Wild West Staycation at Raffles Marina
For context, the Wild West Staycation at Raffles Marina is priced at $120++ for a 2D1N stay from Sunday to Thursday, and $150++ for a 2D1N stay for Friday, Saturday and the Eve of Public Holidays which you can book HERE!
This price includes breakfast for 2 at the Marina Bistro, complimentary usage of all the Raffles Marina club facilities including the swimming pool, gym and free parking for guests!
Also inclusive in the staycation package is a free fishing permit at the Raffles Marina Breakwater (U.P $40) from 8am-10pm, free live fishing bait (200g), free storage of your catch at Marina Bistro and even complimentary cooking of your catch at Captain’s Table Chinese Restaurant!
An extra bonus that Raffles Marina guests can enjoy is a huge discount (20-30%) off their partner attractions within the vicinity – Mandai Wildlife Group, Asia Pacific Breweries and Singapore Discovery Centre, making it a perfect base for you to explore the West side of Singapore with these discounted tickets!
Read on to find out more about my personal experience on this awesome staycation with Raffles Marina!
How to Get to Raffles Marina?
To start off, there are four main ways to get to Raffles Marina namely:
- Driving. Recommended if you have a car because free parking is inclusive for guests with a sheltered option.
- Taking the bus
- Taking the MRT to (EW32) Tuas Link (yes the last stop on the East-West line (Green)) where Raffles Marina is located next to it within a 5 minutes walking distance.
- Hailing for a Taxi/Grab/GoJek – the most convenient option
We opted for the last option since we had a number of bags and we could reach our staycay place in comfort!
Checking In
Let’s first check into our rooms to kick-start our staycay right at Raffles Marina! All you need to do is head to the reception area located on the right side of the grandiose lobby area for your check in time at 3pm. It was done very swiftly, just needing only your IC before you are issued with the card key.
The card key will come with a complimentary breakfast coupon, a slip of paper containing the WiFi user and password, fishing bait voucher, a parking coupon (if needed) and two access cards.
Raffles Marina Standard Room Tour
Our first impression the moment we stepped into our Standard room is this = wow, it is super spacious!
To the right of the room is where you can find the flat screen television, mini fridge and vanity/study table.
Other essentials you can find here include the phone, hair dryer and tissue paper alongside important information about the hotel and a care pack containing a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a mask. Oh and complimentary Vitamin Water and chocolates are provided for each guest which is a nice touch and they can be found in the mini fridge!
The room is big enough for a small sitting area for two next to this table and of course, the balcony that oversees the lobby atrium from above. We didn’t have an issue with any outside noises during our stay at all so you can be well assured of a good night’s sleep here at Raffles Marina!
Meanwhile, here’s our double bed with a framed photo of Raffles Marina hanging on the wall behind us. What I really like is that bedroom slippers are provided and can be found at the bedside tables next to the bed!
Next to the bed is another seat, a set of wardrobes where you can find plenty of hangers, drawers and a safety deposit box. The wardrobe doors can also be slid open from the bathroom side making it super convenient to grab your clothes after a shower!
There is also a small table area where you can find essentials including a kettle, two glasses, tea cup and saucer with complimentary coffee, tea and sugar packets alongside two bottles of water.
Finally, we have the bathroom which was also very spacious and has everything you need from the toilet, shower with a rain shower/hand held wand option with great water pressure, as well as plenty of bathroom amenities courtesy of Raffles Marina – body wash, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, comb, dental kit, shower cap and plenty of hand, face and body towels that were nice, fluffy and thick!
The only amenities you’ll probably need to bring along will be your facial soap, make up wipes and all your personal items that you need 🙂
Raffles Marina Facilities
Next, let’s explore the facilities! As mentioned, the Wild West staycation package comes with complimentary access to all the on-site club facilities including a fully equipped gym with a variety of equipment that you’ll need for a quick gym session during your staycation as seen below. Running on the treadmill facing the window is great because it has a view of the marina!
We really love the huge swimming pool area as it comes with multiple pools with a jacuzzi and even slides for kids and adults alike!
I would recommend spending a couple of hours here chilling by the pool and even taking plenty of photos as the place is very photogenic giving off an overseas resort “feel” – perfect for your Instagram or Tiktok feed!
Anyone feeling those Bali vibes yet? 🙂
Just a note that you will need to register at the security office in advance to enter the pool, and use the gym with one hour timeslots due to the COVID19 restrictions. Pool towels are also provided at the security office upon request and can be returned at the members’ lounge.
Other facilities and amenities around include the members lounge, plenty of vending machines to dispense drinks and snacks at reasonable prices, coin operated washers, dryers and massage chairs!
Not forgetting if you drive – free parking at your choice of the open air carpark, or the sheltered multi-story carpark.
It’s also here at Raffles Marina where you can fully kick back, relax and enjoy the picture perfect view of the marina area and docked yachts around. They look great during the day and even in the evening to admire.
A must do is to take a stroll by the breakwater and view the beautiful raffles marina lighthouse especially in the evening.
If you’re lucky, you can also catch the sunset like what we did – great for capturing those sunset photos and ootds with a gorgeous backdrop.
Dining Options at Raffles Marina
Hungry, and wondering what are the dining options available on site? Your three dining options include:
1. Marina Bistro
Marina Bistro is where most guests or people visiting the breakwater or lighthouse would come to have a meal as it offers the best view of the marina and sea in a casual and comfortable al-fresco setting. Reservations in advance are highly recommended especially during the evening as this is the best place to catch the sunset.
In our case, we had two meals here including the complimentary breakfast the next morning where you can choose between American, Continental or Asian Breakfast options.
We both opted for the American option which came with a choice of orange juice or a fruit platter, two eggs of your style of choice, toasted bread or Danish pastries option, a choice of meat (sausages, ham or bacon) served with a crispy hashbrown, cucumber, tomato and a side of garnish. Complimentary coffee or tea (refillable) is also included in the set and it’s really a filling one that made our morning right paired with a beautiful view!
Our second meal was a lunch, courtesy of Raffles Marina where we had a mix of Western and Asian – their famous Nasi Goreng Istimewa and fish and chips for mains before finishing off with ice kachang and a warm chocolate lava cake served with ice cream to end off our staycation here on Day 2. Note that portions are pretty generous and super value for money!
2. Captain’s Table Chinese Restaurant
The other restaurant available at Raffles Marina is Captain’s Table Chinese Restaurant where we enjoyed a dinner for two on Day 1 of our staycation. Similar to Marina Bistro, reservations are highly recommended as this Chinese speciality restaurant is also a popular place for families and couples to dine.
Beyond the ala-carte menu and family set meals for sharing, a recommendation is to go for their Executive Set Menu A/B priced at $19.80++ (with a min of 2 sets per table) which is better for couples. Do note however that the Captain’s Table Executive Sets are not available during the CNY period from now till 15 February 2022.
This 5-course set comes with all my favourite food including double boiled sea delicacies soup to start off, followed by a choice of mains – their signature coffee ribs for me and a wok grilled wagyu beef with black pepper sauce for the mister.
Off the menu, we also tried their salted egg prawns that were an absolute delight, a must order off their ala-carte menu if you are dining here at Captain’s Table!
The Executive Set Menu A also comes with an individual portion of vegetables, stir fried broccoli with straw mushrooms and this lovely garlic and spring onion fried rice which tasted heavenly!
We washed all of this down with a pot of chrysanthemum tea and dessert of sweet watermelon slices and we were stuffed for the night. Recommended to have your meal here if you can!
3. Discovery Pub
Discovery Pub is only open on Fridays and weekends in the evening from 5pm at Raffles Marina.
So if you’re in the vicinity, or just looking for some light snacks paired with drinks to relax with your buddies in a charming setting reminiscent of being onboard a cruise ship – this place is definitely for you!
Wild West Staycation Perks
Perk #1
Personally, I feel that one of the biggest perks of the Wild West Staycation is that you can get your hands on the free fishing permit at the Raffles Marina breakwater from 8am-10pm (U.P $40-50 nett charge for public access) with free live fishing bait, free storage for the catch of your day at Marina Bistro and complimentary cooking of your catch at Captains Table!
Since all these are already inclusive in your stay, it makes sense for you to utilize them by bringing your own fishing rods, or renting a fishing rod for $15/rod to do some fishing from the fishing shop located by the carpark area.
The uncle manning the shop is really very nice and helpful – he can demonstrate how to use the fishing rod if you’re new to it like me, pack your bait and even loan you a sunhat for free if you’d like!
I took them all because I was totally a newbie at all of this, but I did come equipped with a UV jacket, shades and plenty of sunscreen lotion as there is no shelter by the breakwater. I would also recommend bringing your own stool and shelter (if any) as you need to be prepared for a long wait to catch any fish.
In case you were wondering – we really tried, but failed catching any so we went back empty handed to the uncle 🙁
More importantly, at least I had plenty of fun with the mister snapping photos, trying my hand at casting the line and just ticking off my first time fishing in my entire life – something I thought I would never ever do, till this staycation at Raffles Marina and I would recommend this experience to you too 🙂
Perk #2:
The second biggest perk is that Raffles Marina has partnered with a few local attractions in the vicinity (West) offering amazing promotions!
- Tiger Brewery Tour at 30% off
- Singapore Discovery Centre at 20% off (selected attractions)
- Mandai Wildlife Group Wildlife Private Tours at 15% off
You can get the special promo codes upon making your booking with Raffles Marina and these will be valid during the dates of your staycation, and on the day of your check out.
So choose to explore the West on the day of check in, or be like us – leave your bags here at the club after checking out and get ready to explore!
We went to the Tiger Brewery Tour first as it was a mere 5-10 mins away by Grab where we learnt more about the history, beer making process, a peek into the factory and more importantly, had a drinks party at the Tiger Beer tavern with 5 sampling tickets to get your choice of Tiger beer pints, Tiger beer cocktails and more.
Did I mention that we also had a Tiger Beer bottle to takeaway as a souvenir too? It’s super worth it for the price of $14 for Raffles Marina guests (U.P $20)!
From the Tiger Brewery Tour, we took another Grab to Singapore Discovery Centre, located around 10-15 mins away to try our hand at our first escape room at Black Lake Facility for a price of $24 per pax (U.P $30) and embark on our first XD ride for $8 (U.P $10) – again, all booked using the promo codes that were issued to us by Raffles Marina upon booking the Wild West Staycation!
Personally, I highly recommend checking out the Black Lake Facility Escape Rooms as there are different levels and stages to tackle – one game is not enough!
(Above Photo Credits: Singapore Discovery Centre)
If you’re super ambitious, you can also squeeze in a visit to one of the parks at the Mandai Wildlife Group as you can get 15% off their private tours for a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes and to get up-close in person with wildlife in a special tie-up promotion with Raffles Marina!
(Above Photo Credits: Mandai Wildlife Group)
Suggested Itinerary
To round it all off, here’s my suggested itinerary for a 2D1N Wild West Staycation at Raffles Marina for you:
Day 1 – Check-in
- Chill by the pool, check out the facilities
- Collect your free fishing bait and go fishing at the breakwater
- Enjoy the sunset at the breakwater and Raffles Marina Lighthouse
- Have dinner at Captain’s Table Chinese Restaurant or Marina Bistro
Day 2 – Check-out
- Enjoy your free breakfast at Marina Bistro
- Chill by the pool or work out at the gym
- Check out by 12pm and leave bags at the hotel
- Head out to explore the surrounding attractions using the promo codes – choice of Tiger Brewery/Singapore Discovery Centre/Mandai Wildlife Reserve
- Head back to the hotel to collect your bags and head home!
Indeed, there’s no better way to explore the wild west of Singapore than at Raffles Marina!
So what are you waiting for? Book your staycation HERE today!
Note: This post is brought to you by Raffles Marina, but all opinions are of my own!
x
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♥ mitsueki
