SINGAPORE — A new entertainment precinct by Shangri-La Group as well as three new beach clubs have joined the slew of attractions on Sentosa, as the island destination’s revitalisation continues apace.
The Palawan @ Sentosa, which opened on Wednesday (July 26), is Shangri-La Group’s first standalone lifestyle and entertainment precinct in the world. It comprises eight leisure experiences, such as a three-level electric go-kart circuit named HyperDrive and an 18-hole mini golf course.
Spanning 183,000 sq ft along Palawan Beach, The Palawan will also have two new beach clubs.
One is the family-oriented Splash Tribe, which comes with a sandcastle-themed wet play zone and an infinity pool. The other, named +Twelve, has 12 cabanas with private plunge pools and a main pool with a swim-up bar.
A third beach club, Tipsy Unicorn Beach Club by home-grown hospitality group Tipsy Collective, is slated to open on Sept 1 on Siloso Beach, taking over the space formerly occupied by Wave House.
It is the largest project yet by Tipsy Collective, best known for its heartland venues offering food, drinks and live music, such as Tipsy Penguin in Tampines and O/T Bar in Woodlands.
Spanning a combined 24,000 sq ft of indoor and outdoor space, the 500-seat venue comprises private cabanas, daybeds and VIP lounges. The space can also be converted to hold events like large group parties and grand celebrations.
Like its sister heartland venues, Tipsy Unicorn will have live bands on the roster.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sentosa has been steadily bolstering its line-up of leisure experiences for visitors of all ages.
Last September, it launched the Central Beach Bazaar complex, which comprises grab-and-go street food sold from trucks; Sentosa SkyJet, the tallest fountain in South-east Asia; and the daytime Sentosa Musical Fountain, which transforms into outdoor show Wings of Time after sundown.
In June, it was announced that popular children’s edutainment theme park KidZania is set to return to Palawan Beach in early 2024, after a $3 million makeover that will include new attractions and experiences.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said it saw a total of 13 million visitors to Sentosa from April 2022 to March 2023. This is a rise of 38 per cent from the same period in the previous year.
Before Covid-19, the island drew an average of 19 million visitors a year, 80 per cent of whom were international guests.
“To further strengthen Sentosa as a premier island destination, we are continually reinventing the experiences and offerings on the island,” said SDC chief executive Thien Kwee Eng.
“The introduction of The Palawan @ Sentosa and Tipsy Unicorn Beach Club, which comes hot after our recent announcement of KidZania’s return to Sentosa, represents the transformation that we are undergoing to deliver unique and world-class experiences for both local and global visitors,” she added.
There are more developments to come. Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa, the second Raffles property in Singapore, is expected to open by the fourth quarter of 2024 at a location near Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa. It will have 62 contemporary villas, each featuring a private swimming pool and terrace.
Construction is also under way on Sentosa SensoryScape’s two-tiered walking thoroughfare, which links Resorts World Sentosa and the island’s southern beaches. The half-kilometre linkway, which will cost $90 million to build, is an experiential sensory public park with vessel-like structures containing gardens designed to stimulate the five senses.
Set to be soft-launched in the first quarter of 2024, its completion will mark the first milestone of the blueprint for the Sentosa-Brani Master Plan, to be rolled out in phases over the next two to three decades.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
