Marina Bay Sands Review

Marina Bay Sands Review | The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore became a landmark right after its grand opening in 2011. Singapore desperately needed this hotel. Already facing a slowing world economy, the south-east asian metropolis regularly gets hit by the “Haze” – a nasty men-made smog coming from neighboring Indonesia. And until 2011 Singapore had nothing touristy to offer but a Raffles-Hotel and a water spitting Mer-Lion. Temperatures are at 31 to 34 degrees celsius year in year out. Humidity is high. What to do? To attract tourists it needed something with air con, shops, theatre, casinos, restaurants and fancy light shows. Marina Bay Sands offers all that. It became the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion, including the land cost. The resort counts 2,561 hotel rooms, a convention centre, a mall, a museum, two theaters, seven restaurants, two floating pavilions, and of course a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. Marina Bay Sands is topped by a 340-meter-long SkyPark with infinity pool. Now imagine you book a stay in the MBS. What can you expect?

We booked 3 nights at Marina Bay Sands in August 2016. It was a special offer I stumbled upon in the web: $250 per night. This is what we experienced …

1) When arriving at the Hotel lobby get ready for long queues, comparable to busy ticket counters at main train stations. Your first impression will be right: This doesn’t feel like arriving for a US$350-per-night stay.

2) The hotel rooms are average. Nothing fancy. Predominantly cold colors, modern style. Yes, you got this one right too: the MBS interior designers have chosen a cheap way to stuff 2,500 rooms with furniture.

3) In case you head towards to the infinity pool; prepare yourself not to be alone up there. It will be very crowded. Make yourself comfortable at the infinity pool right at opening hours (6am) or late at night, maybe one hour before closing. You might be lucky holding onto a lounge chair until 11:15pm, when the final whistle blows.

4) Breakfast at Marina Bay Sands: This one deserves credit where credit is due. We give it a 10 out of 10. Nice facility, nice food, nice atmosphere.

5) The view: not complaining. Both sides of the hotel are indeed scenic. Let’s just hope you don’t arrive there during Haze.