MARINA BAY SANDS REVIEW: THE ONE WITH THE INFINITY POOL
During our recent trip to Singapore we stayed at the Marina Bay Sands - a hotel that has been on our bucket list from the moment it was built. Did it live up to the hype? Or were we let down, read our review.
The Marina Bay Sands
The Marina Bay Sands boasted the most innovative and modern design we had ever seen in a hotel. It contains three tower blocks and a 'ship' anchored across the top. At 57-storey's high, you are pretty much guaranteed to get a room with a view. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property in the world at S$8 billion.
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The resort features 2,561 rooms, a 1,300,000 square foot convention and exhibition centre and the 800,000 square foot "The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Mall" which contains the iconic ArtScience Museum, 2 large theatres (for plays such as The Lion King), 7 celebrity chef restaurants, 2 floating crystal pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world's largest atrium casino. The complex is topped off by a 340-m long Skypark with a 150m infinity pool overlooking the city.
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The Location
The Marina Bay Sands sits on Singapore's unique bay front, which at night displayed an amazing light show that we could watch from the bay, our room, or the infinity pool. The hotel is attached to a shopping plaza, casino and the stunning Gardens by the Bay which made it perfect to get around on foot. However, the Bay area is a hub of it's own and an expensive one at that. If you are wanting to eat or shop in the bay area, expect to pay quite a lot.
Luckily for us, the local train line, the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) was easy to utilise, it allowed us to catch a quick train to Clarke Quay which offered much more reasonable dining and shopping options.
A picture of Marina Bay Sands Shopping Center Gondola
The Rooms
We stayed in a Premier Sea Room for around $500 a night, and for the money we paid, we honestly felt that the rooms were quite ordinary. We have stayed in nicer rooms for half the price. However, what made the Marina Bay Sands worth the money was the view from our balcony overlooking the beautiful Gardens by the Bay and of course the infinity pool. Included in the room was your standard amenities such as a shower, bath, robes and cable television.
If you are planning to stay there, you are more than likely staying there for one reason, the infinity pool, which itself can justify a purchase in many travellers to get that memorable photograph.
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The Infinity Pool
Speaking of memorable photographs, the infinity pool is even more breath taking than what you have seen in pictures online. The pool goes to the very edge of the rooftop, you literally feel like you are swimming towards the skyline. Every night we would throw on our dressing gowns and walk shoeless into the fancy elevator, go up to the 57th floor and spend hours in the pool and jacuzzi marvelling at the views and light show below. The experience we had in the infinity pool is one that hotels will need to try very hard to top.
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Service
As we were outside the hotel experiencing everything there was to do in Singapore, we didn't find ourselves needing to use customer service at all during our stay. Check-in was standard, the line was about 10 minutes and our bags arrived shortly in our room. We made friends with a local worker whom we met on the water gondola at the shops and later that night at the pool. He was more than happy to tell us local spots to go to and happily took a photograph with us.
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Amenities
There is so much to do at the Marina Bay area, you can almost have a 3 day holiday without leaving. Alongside the casino, museum and shops there are entertainment options on every night. As pointed out in the location segment of this review, we found the restaurants at the hotel to be quite pricey. There are a wide range of dining options including Chinese, modern asian, indian, italian and more.
The skypark at Marina Bay Sands
Final Thoughts
Overall, we feel like staying at the Marina Bay Sands made our trip unforgettable and an experience we will always cherish. The 'wow' moments we receive from friends and family members when we tell them where we went is priceless. Even though the rooms were standard, the surrounding atmosphere, shops, casino, museum and infinity pool more than make it worth a stay. We were very happy to finally cross this off our bucket list.
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Price: $AUD610 per room per night for triple share.
Travel Tip: If you are finding it hard to fit the Marina Bay Sands into your budget, we still recommend staying at least one night to experience the infinity pool, it's hard to explain the marvel of swimming above a city, one that needs to be seen in person.
Have you stayed at the Marina Bay Sands? Is it on your bucket list? Leave a comment below, Tweet us or leave a post on Facebook.
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