Singapore’s Capella provides a peaceful and secluded stay within 10 minutes of all the Sentosa action

Sentosa always seemed to be Singapore’s answer to someone emptying the contents of a children’s toy box onto an island.

Universal Studios, water parks, cable cars, zip-lines, luge tracks, beaches, aquariums. It’s perhaps why it never overly appealed — a firm commitment to push fun, fun, FUN. And we forgot the mini-golf and the indoor go-karting.

Yet Capella, secluded and held in 12ha of tropical gardens, proves itself the antithesis and, in many ways, Singapore’s most peaceful property — even with all that FUN lingering down the road.

At its literal core are two handsome and restored 1880s Tanah Merah colonial bungalows, a firm reminder that Sentosa wasn’t always Singapore’s great recreational playground. Once a former military outpost, before that time it was known as Pulau Blakang Mati, the rather less inviting “Island Behind Death”. It was eventually renamed Sentosa, meaning peace and tranquillity (and a necessary clap here for the government’s marketing department).

The first impression of Capella is not so much resort as softly spoken retreat. The architecture by Foster + Partners manages the difficult trick of making a contemporary hotel sit comfortably beside the aforementioned buildings that have been around since the British were trying to work out what to do with Singapore.

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For design and architecture nerds, time here is a must to understand the connectivity that on paper makes little sense, with snaking and ochre-set contemporary curved wings that extend outwards, Medusa-like, from the white colonial colonnades a rare feat in adaptive reuse.

The rooms follow the same large, clean and contemporary lines. A generous amount of natural light is framed by expansive windows that look out across the dense greenery towards the city (equally, water views spill from rooms to the south) and a tight outdoor patio of a couch and the unwelcome hug of humidity. The bathroom proves the size of some Sydney apartments, with a deep bath accompanied by those same views and a set of bath salts, separate shower and the sort of amenities that make you briefly question why you don’t actually live in a hotel.

The minibar, naturally, is better curated than most people’s and the personal delivery of Capella tea and madeleines is most welcome.

Service here is attentive if pleasingly understated — that’s not to suggest limited in any way, rather, you’re allowed to breathe and to wander and discover at will. Here there’s no aggressive luxury theatre or army of people repeatedly asking if everything’s OK (because it is — more than OK, thanks). Staff seem to appear when required and disappear when not, a trick that’s harder than it sounds to properly execute and which is aided by the WhatsApp concierge befitting a property of this expanse.

Much attention is given to Capella’s main tiered and cascading pool, set against lushly dense tropical foliage and a soundtrack of cicadas. Find a bed, open the snack menu, take the offered waters and be lost to the thought you’re actually tucked up in a tightly held and bustling global city, being so far removed from what a usual Singapore stay looks and feels like.

The hotel actually has three pools. Beyond the main is a pool for adults only with a lower lap pool that’s quieter still. You’ve also got the sea with direct beach access at the bottom of the property.

Food is where Capella becomes even more interesting. Cassia, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, is located in one of the colonial bungalows and takes Cantonese cuisine seriously, the cooking precise and assured, the room handsome without being stiff. This is the kind of restaurant where the meal is the reason you don’t leave the hotel one night.

There’s Bob’s Bar, with views to the sea, a relaxed atmosphere and easy Western menus, so too the timeless appeal of The Pineapple Room and its elevated cocktails. Fiamma is the poolside setting for a memorable and broad buffet breakfast — some of the pastries a match for Paris, and be sure to try the signature pandan kaya roll — with impressive, Italian-led menus served across lunch and dinner.

For families, Capella is a particularly clever hotel. Its Island Explorer program gets children into the gardens and away from glowing devices, with activities designed around the natural and cultural history of Sentosa. It’s luxury hospitality acknowledging kids don’t necessarily want to sit quietly beside an infinity pool reading and contemplating just how decent life’s turned out — they want to do something. And Sentosa provides plenty of opportunity.

It’s another reason Capella works so damn well: it doesn’t try to compete with the island’s attractions, rather, it acts as the counterpoint to them.

It means you can spend the morning grazing, relaxing or exploring the beaches or the rainforest, the afternoon being hurled through the air at alarming speed and be back at Capella in time for a treatment, a drink and a decent dinner. Or spend the entire day doing almost nothing — both are legitimate.

Capella Singapore proves the grown-up corner of the Sentosa toy box — beautifully designed, blissfully calm and clever enough not to suck the fun out of the island.

Because, let’s face it, fun is rather the point down here.

CAPELLA SINGAPORE 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore PRICE From approx. $1,680 a night per room

INSIDER Don’t treat Capella as somewhere to hide from Singapore, the city being just over 10 minutes away, which means easy exploration of one of Asia’s great metros while staying at what feels like a private tropical estate. Of the “outside” adventures, avoid the obvious and the overrun, and wander Little India with time at Tekka Centre, the increasing cool of Geylang area and designer charms of New Bahru. capellahotels.com