Midrange
Costa Sands Resort Sentosa
Offers simple "kampung" huts max 3 people for $50/36 peak/off-peak and new air-con chalets max 2 people for $125/98; there are additional discounts for trade union NTUC members. In addition to the nearby beach, guests can use a swimming pool.
Treasure Resort
Formerly Sijori Resort, the prewar colonial building may interest architecture buffs, but beach lovers will be disappointed to find that it's plonked down in the middle of the island far from the coastline and the interior is badly in need of a renovation. At least there's a pool.
Top end
Amara Sanctuary
Surrounded by 3.5 hectares of tropical rainforest, this hotel features 120 rooms in a converted British army barracks as well as 10 standalone garden villas. Three pools, in-house spa, easy walk to the beach. Disabled-friendly.
Siloso Beach Resort
Opened in 2006, this resort looks like a minimalistic city hotel, all black paint and green glass, accidentally built on a tropical island. Despite the name, the resort is not on the beach, but across the road from it.
Hotel Michael
Designed by and named after architect Michael Graves, but mostly in shades of lime.
Festive Hotel
Family-oriented hotel where most rooms feature a special loft bed for the kids. More upmarket than you'd think.
Sentosa features a sprinkling of resort hotels catering to those who want a beach holiday within striking distance of the city.
Capella Singapore
Luxury resort designed by Foster+Partners, built around two colonial-era bungalows. Main building and private villas, spa and restaurant.
Rasa Sentosa Resort
Run by Shangri-La Hotels, with 459 rooms this is by far the largest hotel in Sentosa, offering a rather generic package holiday experience. The main selling point is that this is the only full-fledged beachside resort in Singapore.
Four new hotels have opened at the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort, but while good deals are on offer, expect to deal with construction noise until at least mid-2010. All share the same reservation number, +65-65778899, and can also be booked online at Resorts World Sentosa (http://www.rwsentosa.com).
Crockfords Tower
All-suite hotel exclusively for casino high rollers. Even if you aren't staying here, take a peek at the lobby and its several million dollars' worth of Chihuly glass.
Singapore Hard Rock Hotel
Corporate rock for wannabe rockstars. The lagoon-style pool with real sand is nice though, and the Rang Mahal Pavilion is among the better options.
Sentosa is not a particularly convenient base for sightseeing elsewhere in Singapore, and most of the accommodation targets visitors looking for a simple beach holiday. However, there's a race on to complete new hotels before the casino opens, and the new monorail has improved access to the mainland, so some excellent deals can be found if you scout around.
Budget
Camping on Sentosa is not allowed, and the only campground on the island has closed. Camping is possible on St. John's Island, the Sisters Islands and Pulau Hantu, but free camping permits from the Sentosa Development Corporation tel. +65-62750388 are required.