Hi my lovelies! I am finally ready to write about my awesome staycation at Hard Rock Hotel, Resorts World Sentosa! A few weeks ago, to celebrate Ming’s 30th birthday, we took a few days off work to enjoy S.E.A. Aquarium, Universal Studios Singapore, popped by Adventure Cove Waterpark very briefly, and caught The Addams Family musical! ♥ Well, next Tuesday I turn 28, and we’ll be going back to Sentosa for another staycation! ;)
This post is so going to be full of faaaaab photos, and I honestly don’t know how to begin. On our previous staycation, we picked Hotel Michael, which offered us a fantastic view of the Kingdom of Far Far Away from the comfort of our room. Truth be told, I had wanted to stay at Hard Rock Hotel for the longest time! However, there were no rooms available when we booked our last staycation. I’m so happy we managed to secure a room there this time!
And so our adventure begins.
Welcome to Hard Rock Hotel, where rock stars live and nobody sleeps!
The day we were due to check in, we left home super early because we wanted to enjoy the island and all that it has to offer as much as we could. Check in time was 3pm, but we arrived early in the morning at the hotel to deposit our luggage before heading over to S.E.A. Aquarium, which Ming had always wanted to visit!
It was a pleasant surprise when I received a call from the hotel at around 11am (whilst we were at the aquarium), informing us that our room was ready. I thought that was well done because they could have left us to check in at 3pm instead of letting us have the room earlier. So, kudos! I thought I’d show you around the room first. ;)
Here we are, in the hotel lift – isn’t it absolutely GORGEOUS?! At Hard Rock Hotel, everything is about bling and glam. You truly feel like a rock star!
This was our room, a Deluxe decorated in gorgeous purple, grey and white.
Oh yes, the room’s pretty dim when you first enter. In fact, the entire hotel (the lobby, lifts, corridors, bar, restaurant, gift shop) is so dimly-lit, it took me a while to get used to the environment. I always rush up to the windows and pry the curtains apart the moment I step into any hotel room! I love letting the sunlight in. :)
Now isn’t that much better! ;D
I adore everything about the room – the purple, grey, orange, black and white. Every corner of the room exudes coolness.
Now now now… What did I just say about bling? Even the lamp is full of awesome! Hard Rock Hotel truly pays attention to every detail.
Overall, the bathroom is generally of a decent size, equipped with a nice, cosy vanity area and a shower stall. However, I’d highlight that its separate toilet is small enough to rival that of Studio M Hotel’s. If you’re nit-picky about bathrooms, this probably isn’t up your alley.
Whilst Hotel Michael gave us an impressive view of Universal Studios, Hard Rock Hotel offered us a rather different one – our room faces Adventure Cove Waterpark. Honestly, even though I wasn’t expecting a splendid view given the hotel’s location on the island, I was still strangely disappointed. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t a huge fan of the Waterpark, or it could be due to the fact that Hotel Michael spoilt me silly! :P My only consolation was that I could see VivoCity clearly; it’s one of my favourite malls! :)
Just for the fun of it, I decided to show you a comparison photo of the view from our room at Hotel Michael last October. :)
This was shot at around 7am, you know, one of those beautiful mornings when you wake up and draw the curtains apart only to see purple-hued skies and the Kingdom of Far Far Away…
Right, so off we went to the S.E.A. Aquarium, which opened to the public sometime late last year. Ming, being a marine… fanatic (OK, I don’t think he’ll be pleased to know that I used the f-word on him), has been talking about visiting since waaaaay before it was fully constructed. When we bought the staycation package, they included 2 adult passes to the Aquarium, so we were pretty thrilled!
I took hundreds of shots there, but I’m just going to pick a few of my favourites to share with you. Of course, that acts as a sort of teaser too, so that you’ll visit the aquarium to see for yourself just how beautiful the place is! :P
To describe the aquarium as breathtaking is a major understatement. Upon entering, we were simply awestruck by the sheer beauty that surrounded us. This giant cylindrical tank is one of my favourite sections, and is but a tiny fraction of the gorgeous, magical place. Little did we know, more magic awaited us that day…
When we first laid eyes on this magnificent blue space, we just stood there, enthralled and completely mesmerised by its awesomeness. ❤ At this point, you’ll be fascinated by the amazing view, with Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy playing in the background.
One of Ming’s many obsessions – sea jellies! These jellyfishies are illuminated by multi-coloured lights; what you see here is a collage I’ve assembled without using any photo filters! :) Amazing aren’t they! They seem to be dancing ever so gracefully.
These are what I refer to as rainbow fishies! When I first saw them, I literally went, “OMG!!!” :’) To me, this is Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Hey Jade, I didn’t forget!” and whenever I look at this photo, I feel so very happy. You may think I’m mad, but I am seriously obsessed with all things rainbow!
Apart from the rainbow fish, some of my other favourites include what I call “The Royal Blues”, a group of teeny tiny royal blue fish in a very blue section. They are so gorgeous!
There is a happy story behind this photo. See, that day was Ming’s birthday and we had left the aquarium to have our lunch, and thereafter took a dip in the pool back at the hotel. It was late in the evening and we decided to head back to the aquarium one last time before it closed for the day (the ticket allows same-day re-entry). When we went by the dolphins section (it was around 7pm), there was nobody and this uber cute dolphin swam down, knocked on the glass and looked at us! It was the best birthday gift from Mother Nature. We were so happy, we talked about it for hours. It was such a pleasant surprise! Perhaps the dolphin knew it was a special day? :)
The sharks are housed in a section towards the exit of the aquarium. Saving the best for last? :) If you so please, there’s an Il Gelato Di Bruno shop just next to the shark section, so you can have some ice-cream whilst shark-watching (which we did when we returned to celebrate our 11th anniversary the following week). I especially love this silhouette shot!
After our wee adventure at the aquarium, we left to grab a bite and thereafter briefly dropped by Adventure Cove Waterpark. As it was Youth Day (and therefore a school holiday), the crowd at the Waterpark was crazy. Unfortunately, we didn’t find it attractive enough to warrant queueing up for the rides and ended up just strolling through without participating in any of the activities the park offered. Which turned out to be a blessing for us because it started to pour about 15 minutes into our visit and everybody had to take cover!
We decided to return to the hotel to unpack and rest. Later in the afternoon, we spent some time at the hotel pool. I adore the view here; it’s so calming and peaceful! We swam on our first and last days (didn’t visit the pool on the second day as we spent our entire day at Universal Studios and in the evening went to see The Addams Family musical).
There’s a bar by the pool, too. And they play pretty awesome music! When I look at this photo, Marina and The Diamonds’ Primadonna goes on loop in my head.
On days like these, I pray I don’t bump into anyone I know. Simply because, as evidenced by the collage below, I am capable of acting completely spastic.
It being Ming’s birthday, and there being a fabulous Starbucks store right on the island, we decided to hang out there and I got the birthday boy a slice of birthday cake. In fact, that was our first visit to the Starbucks Reserve Store, and that visit made me a Starbucks convert. I don’t know if it’s cos of the wonderful memories created that day, or the glass facade of the store that allowed in plenty of afternoon sunlight by that gorgeous window seat, but that store has since become my favourite Starbucks outlet.
A slice of his favourite Peanut Butter Stack, and a Chocolate Molten Cake for me. He’s a true peanut butter lover! And me? Just a regular chocolate addict. As we enjoyed our cakes, we couldn’t help but feel excited about the next day – the day we’d visit Universal Studios yet again! :)
That night, since we didn’t have anything planned, we simply decided to venture around the resort and snap a few photos. Remember what I said about the hotel being dimly-lit? Well here, I’ll show you!
“That’s Ming in the corner”… :P On every level, right next to the guest lifts, is a chair. From my observation of the surrounding environment and atmosphere, its sole purpose is to allow you to pretend to be a rock star.
Well, if the day view of the hotel didn’t impress you, take a look at this! I miss the night we stood right here, when I snapped this shot. I miss Hard Rock Hotel!
I love wandering about Sentosa at night because it allows me to observe the magical silence of the island. I do stuff like stand at the gantry of Universal Studios Singapore, just staring at it and anticipating the next day’s adventures. If you think I sound like a fanatic, guess what? You are absolutely right!
Being able to observe the spinning Universal globe late at night is one of the simplest pleasures in life. It brings me so much joy to just admire it, not knowing what the next day will bring. Universal Studios brought me joy during a time when I needed it the most, and this is something I don’t expect many people to understand. For me, USS means a great deal and will always have a supremely special place in my heart.
The next morning, we reported bright and early at the globe – before 8am! That’s because our package entitled us to breakfast at Starbot Cafe, located at Sci-Fi City in USS. So we get to enter super early! :D
Of course, every visit to USS warrants the classic globe shot! It’s difficult to have one taken without getting photobombed, though! It being around 7:50am in the morning, we had plenty of chances to perfect the shot! ;D
I LOVE being first in line! So far we’ve always been the first to wait at the gantry. I love the feeling of rushing into the theme park, jumping, shouting in joy, and heading towards the Transformers ride as the first riders of the day. That day, we had to have our breakfast first. After breakfast, we get early access to the Transformers ride too. How cool is that!
When we arrived, we waited at the gantry for our lovely escort. Yes, the staff will personally ensure that you arrive at Starbot Cafe safely, heh. :P
Welcome to Starbot Cafe! :) To be honest, prior to this visit, I had checked out their regular menu, and I wasn’t exactly impressed. BUT the breakfast we were about to have changed my impression of Starbot Cafe forever – I now deem it one of my favourite places!
I absolutely adore this sign outside Starbot Cafe! I’m really into all things rainbow, swirly, starry, celestial…
This is the interior of Starbot Cafe – and yup, we were the FIRST! :D
I was super excited about getting started, but I didn’t forget to snap pics of the buffet spread for you! ;D
At Starbot Cafe, the breakfast buffet is an East West spread, which is so mad awesome! I love East West-themed meals. :) The buffet selection begins with bread, condiments, yoghurt and fruit.
What’s breakfast without some muffins and pastries? :) If you’re here, you MUST try the blueberry muffins! IMO they’re better than the chocolate ones. They also serve century egg and chicken congee (very nice!), a variety of eggs, fried noodles, nasi lemak, waffles, baked beans, hash browns, and sausages. Yummy!
Moving on, they’ve got an assortment of cured meats, char siew pau, siew mai, milk and cereal, and finally coffee, tea and juice. I am quite happy with the selection and I think the food is pretty good. my favourite item of the whole buffet has got to be their blueberry muffin! Haha! :) The nasi lemak and accompanying chilli were good too, and so were the scrambled eggs.
It’s time to ride the movies! That’s Bumblebee saying HI! :) Right after our hearty breakfast, we headed for the exciting ride. It’s definitely one of my favourite attractions at USS – I never get tired of it!
Here’s me with my 3D battle glasses on! First on the ride that day, too… OK, I know you’re perhaps getting a little irritated with my obsession with being the first! :P
Also located within Sci-Fi City are the world’s tallest dueling roller coasters – Battlestar Galactica! I am so, so proud to say that we’ve got these at USS! Who doesn’t appreciate a thrilling ride? ;P However, recently they closed it – I wonder why – and I hope it’ll re-open by this time next week cos I’ll be back! :)
I always make it a point to head home as soon as possible, said “home” being the Kingdom of Far Far Away, where Papa Frog, Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots, Gingy, Fairy Godmother and gang await… :)
Here we are – welcome to Far Far Away!
Nothing – and I do mean NOTHING, not even the Disney castle – can replace this in my heart. I still remember the first time I laid eyes on this place – it was my birthday last year – how fascinated I was! It always feels like the first time, every time. Whenever I go to VivoCity, I gaze across the seas at the turrets of the castle, admiring its beauty from afar.
I deem this to be another quintessential shot – nobody leaves Far Far Away without having one taken with the magnificent crown fountain!
I’d waited soooo long to see Papa Frog King Harold again! Mega excited to greet him that morning. His fountain was under renovation that day, though. We shall see if they’re done by next week!
Every time I return to the Kingdom, I would run towards the Fairy Godmother’s shop. Don’t ask me why – I guess it’s due to sheer excitement! Every time, I’d request for a such a shot to be taken, one of me standing right outside her shop… I find this photo sort of hilarious because I almost look like I’m not even there!
We received news that the Fairy Godmother would appear at 11am at her shop, so I sat and waited patiently!
And appear she did, as promised! I was so happy to finally meet her in the flesh! I told her I’m a big fan. :D
Our conversation went like this:
Me: I’m a big fan!
Her: Why thank you dear! [referring to Ming] And is he your Prince Charming?
Me: Haha! Yes he is!
Her: [to Ming] And is she your Princess?
Ming: Yes!
Her: How wonderful!
On my last visit, I bought a couple of Gingy cookies – which, may I inform you, that I still have not yet eaten to date! Since I have decided to keep them preserved for memories’ sake, I bought another this time from Gingy’s House of Sweets, the process of which has been briefly documented in the collage below. Oh yes, I’m obsessed like that!
Would you look at just how happy Gingy is! In fact, he looked so happy as I camwhored with him, that a couple of girls came up to me and asked me where I bought him from. I maintain that I would have done well had I chose to study marketing. :P
Did you know, besides Gingy’s House of Sweets, the Fairy Godmother’s shop stocks Gingy cookies too? :) Here we have Gingy trapped in a jar in the Fairy Godmother’s shop!
If you’re feeling thirsty, grab a potion to go along!
On my previous visit, I bought a Gingy plushie. I think I’m putting the Princess Fiona plushie on my wish list! The one of her in her signature green dress. :)
Shrek, Fiona and Puss came by too, and we had our group photos taken! :)
Since I’m writing about the Kingdom, I thought I would share a shot of it I took later in the evening, before the park closed for the day. :)
After having tons of fun at the Kingdom, we promptly headed to our next stop – Ancient Egypt! Here’s we took the Revenge of the Mummy ride. It was my second time on the ride, and I’m so pleased to say that whilst I almost died the first time, I survived beautifully the second! It isn’t scary any more.:P
Some hours have passed and we craved a break! Celebrity Cafe & Bakery (located at Hollywood Street) is one of my favourite spots to dine. I fell in love with the place the first time we went there!
I’ve always been attracted by their cute character bakes, such as these Sesame Street Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes!
But did you know, I’m more obsessed with red velvet cake! So order it we did. And some iced green tea to go along! :) This cake is mad yummy; please try it on your next visit!
Another reason why I love to dine at Celebrity Cafe, is that we get to see some of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars interacting with visitors right outside the cafe, on the streets. :)
Later, we got our chance with Frankie, who was his usual ghoulish self! I’m sure he’s pretty pleased now that Halloween is coming up in a couple of months. :) Still no luck meeting Beetlejuice, though! It’s been 3 visits and I haven’t had the chance to even meet him. :( Next week, perhaps?
I had the urge to eat some cotton candy when I saw them selling it outside the cafe! My hero promptly bought it for me.
Blessed I am! A giant cotton candy twice the size of my head. We had so much fun sharing this!
Monster Rocker I am! This is a MUST-WATCH for me. I have to see the show no matter how late it is – even if it starts at 6pm, I’ll hang around until it’s show time. I hope to watch this on my birthday next week! I simply adore the monster crew too much. Maybe I’ll get a photo op with them one day!
Yet another of my favourite attractions is Steven Spielberg’s Lights, Camera, Action! - this you should never miss. It’s probably your only chance to get caught in the middle of a hurricane – fire, storm, wind, the works!
That evening, we reluctantly left USS and headed back to our hotel to refresh ourselves for the next item on our itinerary – dinner, followed by The Addams Family musical at Festive Grand Theatre! :)
When I first found out that they were gonna bring the musical to Sentosa, I was so excited! It was such a blessing that the opening night coincided with our staycation. :) I got us tickets the night before! It was a damn good show!
Whilst at Festive Grand Theatre purchasing the tickets, we noticed that they had The Addams Family-themed desserts for sale! I had my eye on the Wednesday Addams cupcakes…
Unfortunately though, on opening night, they didn’t have any more Wednesday Addams cupcakes left. :( Ming got me the Pugsley Addams macaron instead! :) The following week when we returned to celebrate our anniversary, I managed to have my cupcake – pics in the next post!
That night, as we traipsed back to the hotel, we couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness because we were due to check out the next day. :(
Every day we’ll walk past Hard Rock Cafe, and every day we tell ourselves that one day we should visit for a meal or drink. There’s simply too much good food on this island, and there’s only so much we can eat in a day! Next time, Hard Rock Cafe, next time…
Despite heading back with a heavy heart, the candy trees outside Candylicious never fail to cheer me up! I love looking at them all lit up at night.
The next morning, we rose real early – to have breakfast at Starz Restaurant! Our package entitled us to a complimentary breakfast during our stay. :)
Breakfast starts at 7:30am daily, but we were there super early cos we intended to maximise our time there. You can probably tell that I was feeling rather tired then, from this photo! I had my awesome fuchsia Adidas tote with me, swimming gear all packed and ready for our final dip in the pool before checking out. :)
Similar to Starbot Cafe, the breakfast buffet spread at Starz Restaurant was East West-themed. :) Here you’ll find the usual baked beans, eggs done in a variety of ways, hash browns, sausages… and my favourite roti prata! Also, local delights such as fried bee hoon, nasi lemak, congee with accompanying condiments, siew mai and char siew pau adorn the tables. The prata is very good, but I prefer the nasi lemak and char siew pau over at Starbot Cafe.
A selection of salad and cured meats, fruit and cereal.
The star of the buffet spread (for me) was undoubtedly the pastries section! Their pancakes and chocolate croissants were SO GOOD. SO GOOD. I almost had trouble controlling myself! Haha… :P
Time for a final dip in the pool before we head back! We probably spent 2 hours at the pool that day. I was feeling pretty bloated by then, after breakfast, so I was grateful to spend some time stretching in the water.
It was a fabulous staycation! I am really excited about our upcoming one and I hope it will be just as awesome. In my next post, I’m gonna show you pics from our anniversary celebration at Ocean Restaurant by celebrity chef Cat Cora, located within S.E.A. Aquarium. :)
In the meantime, perhaps you could share with me your favourite staycation spots, or your experience at / favourite parts about Resorts World Sentosa? :)
J