Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands stands on the south shore of Marina Bay in Singapore, three 55-storey hotel towers joined at the top by a park in the shape of a ship. It opened in 2010 as an integrated resort developed by Las Vegas Sands, and within a few years its silhouette had become the image of the city. The hotel itself is one of the largest in the world, with 2,561 rooms, and the SkyPark infinity pool, reserved for hotel guests, is the reason most of them book.

History

Singapore decided in 2005 to allow two casino resorts, and Las Vegas Sands won the Marina Bay site in 2006 with a scheme by the architect Moshe Safdie. Construction on reclaimed land took four years and cost several billion dollars. The resort opened in stages from April 2010, with the grand opening on 23 June 2010 and the SkyPark the following day. The ArtScience Museum, its lotus-shaped building at the water's edge, opened in February 2011. The Singapore Grand Prix, run on the streets around the bay since 2008, now passes beneath the resort each year. A fourth tower and a new arena are under construction next to the existing complex. The three towers' rooms and suites were renovated through 2023 and 2024.

Architecture and design

Safdie's design rests on three towers that lean towards each other as they rise, each formed of two curved slabs joined by an atrium. At the 57th floor the Sands SkyPark bridges all three, a platform 340 metres long and about 200 metres above the ground, cantilevered beyond the end tower to form an observation deck. The infinity pool on the park runs 150 metres along the city side with the skyline as its edge. At ground level the three towers share a single lobby of great height, and across the road the podium holds the casino, the Shoppes mall with its indoor canal, the convention centre and the theatres. The ArtScience Museum, with its ten petals, and the glass pavilions on the bay complete the composition.

Rooms and suites

The hotel's 2,561 rooms and suites are spread across the three towers, with views either of the bay and the city skyline or of Gardens by the Bay and the Strait. The Paiza suites on the upper floors have their own club and check-in, and the Sands Premier and Club rooms give access to lounges. Only hotel guests may use the SkyPark pool; other visitors buy tickets for the observation deck.

Dining

The resort holds restaurants from several well known chefs: Cut by Wolfgang Puck, Waku Ghin by Tetsuya Wakuda, Spago on the SkyPark, Bread Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay and Lavo on the 57th floor with its terrace over the bay. Alongside them are dozens of other restaurants and bars in the Shoppes and the towers, and Ce La Vi on the SkyPark is the rooftop club. The choice runs from hawker-style food courts to tasting menus.

Wellness

Banyan Tree Spa occupies the 55th floor of Tower 1 with treatment rooms and a relaxation area, and the fitness centre on the SkyPark level is open around the clock. The SkyPark pool, with its sun decks and bar, is the main attraction.

Weddings and events

Sands Expo and Convention Centre is one of the largest meeting complexes in Southeast Asia, with the Sands Grand Ballroom among the biggest pillarless ballrooms in the region, exhibition halls on several levels and hundreds of smaller rooms. It hosts trade fairs, congresses and corporate conventions for tens of thousands of delegates, and weddings range from banquets in the ballrooms to ceremonies on the SkyPark or in the glass Event Plaza on the bay.

Location

Bayfront MRT station is directly beneath the Shoppes, and Gardens by the Bay, with its Supertrees and conservatories, lies behind the hotel. The Helix Bridge leads across the bay to the Esplanade and the Civic District, and the financial district is a short walk around the water. Changi Airport lies about 20 minutes away by car. For a luxury hotel in Singapore where the building is the attraction, there is no other choice.