Singapore: The Marina Bay Sands
The Marina Bay Sands hotel is one of the biggest hotels in the world and one of the most recognised structures in the world. Let me share a couple of facts I’ve dug up that you may not have known about Singapore’s most iconic building.
Singapore decided to allow a select number of companies to construct integrated resorts in a bid to attract more tourists to the city-state. An integrated resort means there are multiple entertainment facilities available which includes a casino, a hotel, shops, restaurants, facilities for shows, and much more. In the process, the winning applicants were granted casino licenses for 30 years, of which the first 10 years were exclusive. The criteria the winners were based on were:
Tourism appeal and contribution.
Architectural concept and design.
Development investment.
Strength of the consortium and partners.
On May 27, 2006, Las Vegas Sands was announced to be the winner. The initial investment commitment was S$3.85 billion. However, due to escalating costs of materials and labor shortage, Las Vegas Sands had to reprioritize their options and delayed other projects worldwide just to complete Marina Bay Sands. After a lengthy construction phase which was frequently delayed, Marina Bay Sands was officially opened on February 17, 2011. It has often been referred to as one of the most expensive buildings in the world. While that’s not exactly true, it is described as “the most expensive stand-alone integrated resort property ever built.” (that’s a mouth full!)
The resort was designed by Moshe Safdie, an Israeli-Canadian architect who said to have been inspired by a deck of cards when constructing the building. The three hotel towers have 55 stories each and the hotel has a total of 2,561 rooms. The lobby of the hotel on the ground level covers all three towers making it one giant lobby.
The “pièce de résistance” of the Marina Bay Sands and probably the most iconic feature of the hotel, is the rooftop infinity pool located in what looks like the huge, luxury cruise ship parked on top of the 3 towers. It is the largest rooftop infinity pool in the world located 57 levels above the ground floor with expansive and gorgeous views of Singapore’s skyline and the Marina Bay. It is also the world’s longest elevated pool at 150m/492ft long and holds some 1.5 million liters/396,258 gallons of water. You may remember seeing this pool and hotel in the movie Crazy Rich Asians, by way of that over-the-top, synchronized swimming scene.
The ArtScience Museum is part of the complex, has an amazing architectural design resembles a lotus flower and even though it has a permanent collection, it mainly holds exhibitions with curated pieces of art from museums all over the world.
Another bonus in this location is it sits right next door to and overlooks the Gardens by the Bay (see my “gardens by the bay” post for more information) offering amazing views of the Gardens right from my room. Watching the light show at night and the trees change colors with a glass of wine in hand felt like a private show all to myself.
