Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa

I had read the negative reviews online, but decided to book the Larkhill terrace suite anyway, against my better judgment. HUGE MISTAKE.
The issues started before I had even stepped in to the hotel. I had spoken to the concierge in advance to enquire about early check in. The person at the desk assured me that they would call me back at 2.30pm to confirm if the room was ready (check in time was 3). Unfortunately, I received no such call back at the stipulated time. At 315 I asked if I could check-​in, as I had a cranky and exhausted toddler who was greatly in need of a nap. The clueless staff told me he had no idea if my room was even ready. When I arrived at the counter, the staff there all seemed sheepish and befuddled, as if they were all there on their first day of work attachment. The guests at the check in queue appeared annoyed and disgruntled. I know now why…
The next day when I took a shower, I realized that the water was not draining properly, leading to severe flooding. I had to finish washing my hair in the sink. Not only was the toilet area flooded, but the water seeped out into the main room and created puddles in the bedroom. Whilst housekeeping was mopping up the mess, my toddler unfortunately slid and fell, bumping the back of his head very hard on the floor.
I had called the concierge in advance that morning, to send someone to pick up the bags at noon. Noon came and went, yet the porter was nowhere to be seen. By then desperate to leave this godawful sorry excuse of a «hotel» I called reception but no one picked up. I then proceeded to call concierge, room service, housekeeping, even the emergency number, but no one bothered to pick up for more than 15 minutes. Makes me wonder what happens if there was a an axe murderer in my room.
When I arrived at reception (finally) and demanded to speak to the manager, I was curtly informed by her that the clogging was caused by a clump of MY hair, and that I would not be receiving any discount. Call me demanding, but when I pay $ 800 a night for a hotel room, I would not expect a plumbing system straight from the medieval ages.
With regards to the discount I think the management was entirely missing the point. the brusqueness I encoutered served to confirm the cavalier attitude of the staff. In fact the manager had to call the housekeeping to verify if I was telling the truth. She only believed when I showed her the huge bruise on my son’s skull.
I could not believe that I was still expected to pay the full sum given:
1. The defective shower
2. Flooding of the room
3. My son sustaining a nasty fall as a result
4. Incompetent staff.
They finally agreed to waive the cost of the sub-​par breakfast which frankly was quite pathetic considering the ordeal I went through .
Amara charges the rate of a 5star hotel but fails to deliver on EVERY front. Their abysmal service was on par with that of a cheap motel.
Never in my lifetime will I return. I implore anyone thinking of booking a room to read this review in advance. Go only if you enjoy being fleeced

A hideaway retreat with an infinity pool and so much more.
Located on Sentosa Island, Amara has it’s own driveway and is close to the monorail. WIth glass windows all around, the lobby is open and welcoming.
The lobby is pretty awesome, there is a small cart with snacks, peach iced tea, and iced water that you can have anytime.
Our room was located on the third floor and it was very spacious, had a comfy bath tub and you can see peacocks roaming around the resort.
To get to attractions on the island, you can easily access the monorail station or take a stroll. Amara was quite centrally located but also far enough away from the busier resorts/​casino where screaming children are running around. At any point of your stay if you get bored of being stuck on an island, you can take the monorail using the free pass which is included in your accommodation to access the main island and get to food courts and shopping just 3 stops away!
I wish I could spend a whole week at Amara and fully explore Sentosa Island.

If you were to ask me where you should stay in Sentosa, I would most likely say Amara. The past two or three times I have stayed here we were decked out at Larkhill Terrrace Suites, a whitewashed row of colonial style houses. It’s a perfect blend of a villa feel without being secluded from everyone else.
I love the semi-​private pool that’s just outside of the suite. There’s also a very comfortable sun bed by the outdoor area of the suite that’s a stone’s throw away from the edge of the pool. This means I could be suntanning from there while conversing with someone by the pool.
So far I have only had good experiences with Amara, mostly because I chose to stay at Larkhill which is far from the hustle and bustle of the usual hotel-​going crowd. If you do decide on Amara, be ready to splurge on a Larkhill Suite because it’s the best way for you to appreciate this place.

For the price you pay (300 a night for the balcony suite and 1000 a night for the villa), there are better options for a staycation. The balcony suite — while it has a private, small jacuzzi — is not as private as you think as there are people staying in the unit above yours who can look down and see you soaking in the jacuzzi. If you want to jump around naked this isn’t a good choice.
Moving on to the villa, for 1000 a night you get a separate living room, private bedroom and a private pool along with an alfresco shower. Who the heck takes an alfresco shower in the middle of a (made-​up) jungle with the potential that cockroaches and lizards could crawl in and interrupt your bath? The bath tub was also filled with leaves and I don’t see how you can soak in there — again, the openness is a problem. Bedroom is pretty tiny considering its a villa and the only saving grace is the private pool.

Reading the other reviews, I’m left with a thankful feeling that my experience was better than my fellow Unilocalers. My suite was lovely, the grounds were lush, the meeting facility well-​tended, and my local peacock Hugo welcomed me back at my room each night.
Now, I was moved here from the downtown Amara after an electrical fire forced me and my meeting out of that property. Perhaps as a result the staff was more focused on making my stay good. I’m not sure. Regardless, I’ll take it. While I wouldn’t rate this as a five-​star hotel, I will give it a solid 4.

This is really not a good place to host seminars or workshops. The venues are all either too large or too small. They are really not set up for MICE. The room views are ok. The pool is quite tiny. If you are just there for a holiday it is probably quite ok but service is not exactly great. staff feels lofty and haughty, not exactly friendly

I am reluctant to call this place a sanctuary because throughout my stay, I was constantly nerve-​wrecked by the screams echoing from Universal Studios. But I must be fair and say that Larkhill Terrace is drop-​dead gorgeous (and slightly further from the mad roller-​coasting people). If you are planning to splurge, this would probably be it. The whitewashed colonial houses face lush forests and is pretty much the epitome of class and relaxation.
One saving grace was that Amara is where Thanying is located so you can get to enjoy some awesome Thai food to nurse your headache and woes of having to stay in a standard room.

Booked a studio for the weekend. As a «5-​star» hotel, we expected an all-​round 5-​star experience but were pretty disappointed. I shall attempt to provide an unbiased review.
Check-​in: Check-​in was terrible (yes, this is an unbiased review) and left us slightly annoyed. First, we were charged TWICE for the room (so make sure to check). The woman at the counter asked for the credit card and swiped it. Thought she had taken it to double-​check our booking but this was apparently not the case — she wanted to charge us an extra $ 570 for our lovely stay. Wow.
We got there at 2 (standard time to check-​in right?) and they told us our room was not ready. Left my number and told them to give us a call when the room was ready. They gave us our Sentosa Play Passes and left us without any explanation of where to go /​what to do (even though they weren’t busy).
So we wandered off and played and waited,… but they still hadn’t called us by 5. During this time when checking with the bank, I realised that $ 1000+ was put on hold… what the hell? The booking had already been paid for a week ago.
At 5pm we headed back to the hotel and asked a man at reception what the deal was. He confirmed it’d been charged twice and said he’d call the bank to release the charges held. He upgraded us to Verandah Suite. Finally checked in to a gorgeous room.
However, when at check-​out we asked someone else about this and he told us this was a «normal procedure» where they put $ 570 on hold for «security»…
The annoying part is we never found the actual explanation or answer.
The staff were absolutely lacking in initiative and seemed completely uninformed and clueless.
Hey Amara, here’s a tip: 5* rooms and 1* service does not a 5* resort make.
Room: Really gorgeous colonial style, perfect. Only problem is the noise from Universal Studios! We were awoken several times by announcements and people screaming (on the roller coasters)… that really, really shattered the tranquility. Maybe it would’ve been better in some other part of the hotel, but definitely not where we stayed.
Apologies for this lengthy review but I figure Amara needs all the help it can get.
The rooms were brilliant which is why it gets the 2-​stars but never again for this standard of service.