Hotel: Capella Singapore, Sentosa Island

WHAT did I expect on Sentosa Island? An extension of Singapore, I suppose, complete with high-rise architecture and five-star formality.

Sentosa

WHAT did I expect on Sentosa Island? An extension of Singapore, I suppose, complete with high-rise architecture and five-star formality. I had not anticipated a sojourn in a resort so green and serene that it could be tucked away in one of Bali's quieter corners.

Sentosa is hardly a secret but many travellers may baulk at the notion of staying in Singapore's "backyard destination" and not in the city proper. To those sceptics, I say, give it a go - Sentosa is about 20 minutes by road from the CBD and when you are across the linking Gateway Bridge, contemplating flower-filled roundabouts, boardwalks and glimpses of sandy shore, it feels like a dose of holiday tonic.

Capella is a gorgeous Norman Foster-designed property with 112 rooms, suites, manors, villas and long-stay residences hemmed by 12 hectares of trimmed gardens and bordering rainforest. Expect strolling peacocks, flashy red lipstick palms, sheltering heritage trees such as angsana hardwoods, and orchids galore.

The integrated estate unites the colonnaded colonial style of two 1880s heritage-listed red-roofed buildings, which once housed British officers of the Royal Artillery and Coastal Defence Command, with curvy contemporary accommodation wings overlooking three tiers of swimming pools and the South China Sea beyond.

The pool villas and colonial manors dotted through the grounds are fabulous retreats but, for my Singapore dollars, just put me in a spacious Premier Seaview room with a long balcony framed by trees and a spare, spacious design that has everything you need, with no silly frills (although the Nespresso machine, walk-in wardrobe and whooshing electronically controlled curtains are cool touches). If you want a jacuzzi on your balcony and bifold doors open to sea breezes, book a Constellation room.

Personal assistants are on call 24 hours a day to attend to guests' requirements and the library in the main building is a lovely spot for reading or discussing touring arrangements with staff over tea, pastries and sliced tropical fruit.

The service at Capella is tip-top - a small misstep occurs during my two-night stay but it is rectified with such speed and panache that it is almost pleasing to have been able to put the resort's well-drilled team to the test.

Dining: Breakfast and casual meals are taken at The Knolls, facing the first-tier pool and with tables on the terrace or in a pretty airconditioned space segmented into dining alcoves. The excellent breakfast buffet covers a great Asian selection as well as cooked-to-order egg dishes. If you are lolling poolside, waiters appear with complimentary bottles of water.

Do not miss Cassia, the jewel box Chinese restaurant in the colonial wing. It's small, exquisitely detailed and with a menu of regional delicacies that rise far above the stir-fried Cantonese norm. Go for the degustation selection - perhaps double-boiled soup with crab claw, bamboo pith and sea whelk in Thai young coconut; wok-fried fish paste noodle with shredded chicken; and Tianjin pear infused with tangerine tea.

Cassia's executive chef, Lee Hiu Ngai, offers special seasonal and celebratory menus, too. For instance, to mark the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Snake, he served dishes featuring eel (crispy deep-fried and shredded or enlivened with black pepper sauce). If sea bass is on his degustation menu, in any mouth-melting and gingery variety, please don't pass it up.

Everyone's talking about: The resort's namesake, Capella, is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere's Auriga constellation. The on-site Auriga Spa is bright and beautiful, too, with products by The Organic Pharmacy and nine "experience rooms" featuring private attached gardens, a vitality pool with ice fountain, aromatherapy showers and a herbal-infused steam room.

Auriga Spa smells beguilingly of roses, sandalwood and jasmine and often features tailored astrological readings for guests by visiting gurus. Its comprehensive spa menu includes therapies inspired by Singapore's Malay, Chinese, Peranakan and Indian heritage plus treatments based on the four phases of the moon.

It may all sound like celestial mumbo-jumbo but I can attest to the calming benefits of the 90-minute Senja Sunyi ritual (which needs to be performed at dusk when the moon is rising - a "spiritual" time of day). It's a sublime combination of applications of rose and pomegranate body balm, long flowing strokes and a massage with warm moonstones to "smooth tangled nerves". Call that stretcher now - the only downside is how to stay awake for an evening meal.

Hot tips: Capella boasts Singapore's only fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms so, if you want a real treat, book a package that includes the classiest of chauffeured airport transfers or a shopping package by Roller around Singapore's high-end boutiques and malls. Expect to be sent off, and welcomed back, with cups of iced peach tea and chilled hand towels. Also be sure to look at Capella's considerable artwork collection, particularly around the reception area. Aside from permanent hangings, there are pop-up exhibitions of pieces on loan from collectors and galleries including, on my recent visit, a Dali and a Rodin. As you arrive up the sweeping driveway, the huge rust-coloured interlocking arc sculpture on the lawn is by French conceptual artist Bernar Venet.

Stepping out: Sentosa boasts such delights as "the world's largest themed wind tunnel", adventure parks and 3D extravaganzas. Most of the attractions are designed for children, especially around Resorts World and Merlion Plaza, so unless you are travelling with your family, treat Capella Singapore as an enclave and don't venture further than Palawan Beach or Sentosa Golf Club (with privileged access for Capella guests).

In Singapore proper, head to Australian chef Ryan Clift's Tippling Club up on Dempsey Hill for out-there fusion fare and matched cocktails.

On the city side of the Sentosa Gateway Bridge, the VivoCity mall, with a soaring design based on waves, is terrific; it's right next to the Singapore Cruise Centre, which is handy if, like an increasing number of Australians, you arrive by ship. Mid-range boutiques for good-value fashion and skincare buys include Uniqlo, Armani Exchange and Sephora.

Essentials: Capella Singapore, 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297. Phone [phone]. This month, the resort is marking its fourth birthday with Capella Celebrates packages from $S699 (about $545) a night, plus taxes, for overnight accommodation for two from Sunday to Thursday inclusive, breakfasts, $S50 food and beverage credit a day and 15 per cent off treatments at Auriga Spa. More: capellasingapore.com.