Index
Day 1: San Francisco
Day 2: Flying
Day 3: Layover
Day 4: Brunei
Day 5: Christmas
Day 6: Return
Brunei
The breakfast buffet at The Empire Brunei was perhaps the least impressive part of the stay. The setting is beautiful and the size of the spread looks good, but something about it was decidedly lacking in protein options. The whole hotel itself was built a few years in the past and it definitely shows in some of the details, particularly the rooms, although the hotel still holds up as the very best in Brunei.
Wandering the grounds revealed an impressive swimming pool in addition to main building/dining/lobby, a modest set of beaches, and the two little headlands they recommended for sunrise/sunset. Everything was well-tended although it looked like some areas were closed due to it being low season (?) or low demand (?), in particular some of the villas, which were best described as... large. There was some sports equipment setup on the beach but overall a bit less in the way of amenities than I expected given how large the hotel is, although honestly, maybe people come here for golf instead? There's supposedly a nice golf course, although it is understandably closed to pedestrian traffic. Overall feel ended up being nice enough, almost beachy but not quite, and a bit short of the very newest in most lavish and polished resorts around today.
Another efficient ride back to the airport in one of The Empire Brunei's Lexus, quick trip through immigration and security to exit, and found the second of two (!) Coffee Bean locations inside Brunei's modestly size airport. The Philly cheesesteak was a bit odd an offering for what is originally a Los Angeles-based coffee chain, but given I was feeling deprived of protein so far, a bunch of beef and cheese did the trick. Not to be out-done, Singapore Air's Boeing 737 MAX 8 for the return flight served their trademark laska (yum) for a meal on the short flight, and they made sure their Christmas decorations were all in tip-top shape.
Usual stay at the JW Marriott South Beach Singapore had two noticeable differences from the usual. First was the room, which I think was just rotated 90 degrees vs. the usual layout-- affects the bathroom access a tad but not much else different. Second was the presence of ham and turkey for Christmas Day in their Executive Lounge, along with panettone and some more Christmas-y desserts. Since it was Christmas, I decided heck with the calories and wandered across the Helix Bridge to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands afterwards, to check out the Christmas display (not as impressive as last year) as well as grab some won ton noodle soup at the food court. Definitely did not need the extra calories, and was not the best won ton noodle soup, but as usual it hit the spot.