Marina Bay Sands hotel - Singapore... My story goes way back to a chillaxing Sunday afternoon while channel surfing with my remote control when I came across a television documentary about must see iconic 5 star hotels around the world. MBS was the featured docu and I was well and truly hooked within five minutes. The program touched on the £300 plus per night rooms, Michelin star restaurants, and a host of other luxuries you could expect while staying there, including a dip in the hotel’s world famous infinity pool. That dip though, was subject to you being a paying hotel guest. So basically, to the average Joe, unless you had a complementary room pass or could afford a night’s stay, you had no chance of experiencing that pool. That incensed me which in turn made me all the more determined that I will not be the average Joe!! Every single one of us in our lifetime should be able to enjoy the occasional luxury! It shouldn’t be just for the silver spooned amongst us. As a huge Formula 1🏎 fan, year after year on the Singapore street race weekend, I would witness amazing helicopter television pictures of this Noah’s Ark like boat atop these three towers with mouth agape, and I said to myself, “by hook or by crook” I would make it my destiny to stay in this hotel. In fact, with this particular f1 race weekend being my absolute favourite of them all, I would kill two birds with the one stone!
So after some hard toil and even harder saving, I was ready to sample the delights of this awe inspiring hotel with its boat shaped rooftop nestled on top of what seems like three high rise buildings but were in fact, the three towers which housed the hotel rooms, restaurants, etc.
I went online to the hotel’s website in search for the next best room after a suite. I chose a deluxe room which happened to have a promotion with bar 55 access, including complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, evening drinks, beverages and canapés. I also chose garden of the bay views because those rooms had sliding patio doors that led onto a balcony. I was going to push the boat out on this trip and indulge myself with seven nights of bliss. Excited was an understatement!! 😁😁
I get such a high when I arrive somewhere new for the first time to witness in the flesh, as it were, something that I’ve only read or seen previously in magazines or celluloid. It’s an adrenaline rush that excites me. Approaching MBS by car and seeing it suddenly appear in the skyline as we got closer was that moment. My brain’s inner computer was absorbing everything and storing it all in my memory bank for future reference. I’m using that reference now to recount my stay in this extra special property.
My flight from London’s Heathrow got in at 07:10 and I arrived at the hotel at around 09:30. I already knew that check in was 15:00, so it was going to be interesting to see how I managed the time until then. The reservations clerk was fabulous. She temporarily checked me into the system, arranged for my baggage to be stored, and gave me an access card pass to the hotel’s roof garden sky park, amenities where I could fully freshen up if I so wished and restaurants so I could enjoy breakfast which was still being served. I was literally on top of the world sitting on a seat just metres away from the infinity pool that I’d dreamt about for months, years even!! It truly for me, was a pinch yourself moment! I wondered if there was possibly anything I could do to slow down the clock for the next seven nights!
So after a couple of hours familiarising myself with my new surroundings for the next week, I thought I’d try my luck and go down to reception and the reservations desk to enquire about the progress of my room’s availability. Nothing yet, she replied, but if I was willing to take a similar room on the 33rd floor in Tower 3, that is available now. Are you kidding me, I thought, of course I’ll take it. Apparently, I was scheduled to be in a room on the 40th floor in Tower 2. Heights and I don’t get along anyway, so a drop of seven floors was well received. Added to that, my new room was situated right in the corner of Tower 3 affording me exquisite almost 360 degree views of the city and Super tree Grove. Talk about land on your feet!! 😜😜 Standing on the balcony to my left were views of the Singapore Flyer and the formula one race circuit. Right in front of me was the Garden of the bay with its super trees, and the observatory and flower garden domes. And finally, to the right, was the cruise terminal with docked cruise liners.
Tip: If it is your intention to stay here, if you can, try to reserve this room, 3361. (Tower 3) And if there isn’t a promotion of some kind, be sure to add bed and breakfast to your booking. You won’t be disappointed. 💯
Something that really strikes you here in Singapore is the hugely oppressive humidity. I have never known anything like it!! Nothing can prepare you for it, and if like me, you sweat easily, then you’ll cry. 🥵🥵🥵 I sought refuge regularly in the spectacular showpiece of this hotel, the infinity pool... The water is cold too, but I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to water temperatures that are less than 28 degrees. 🥶Cold, though it is, it’s absolutely what the doctor ordered to cool me down. You also have to remember that this pool is 57 floors up and exposed to the merciless sun rays which can directly beat down on you, but unbelievably, the entire length of the pool which incidentally is as long as the Eiffel Tower in Paris is high, is lined by exotic palm trees 🌴🌴 lending much needed shade.
Marina Bay Sands also has the longest elevated infinity pool in the world which is the size of three Olympic swimming pools with over a thousand tons of water. Truly clever engineers have worked out that in excess of five hundred jacks would be what is needed to stabilise that huge volume of water on windy days. The views from the edge looking out and over the very impressive city skyline is priceless.
When you decide to shed the necessary paper it takes to stay at Marina Bay Sands, then you know that you’ll be paying for an experience like no other. Up here in what they call the Sky Park, you have this jaw dropping infinity pool, a ginormous observation deck with stunning views of the city and gardens of the bay, restaurants, bars and a nightclub to dance the night away. All 57 stories high! It really, truly is, a DREAM!!
Just strolling around this mega hotel is mind blowing! There’s a museum displaying historic Asian artwork and where the entire story of the Titanic is told. There are also two huge theatres with combined seating of over four thousand people. It is also the home to one of the largest casinos in Southeast Asia. Everywhere you go, there are bars and restaurants. In fact, they are around sixty restaurants within this hotel catering for up to 40 million visitors annually. From Michelin star fine dining to something for lesser budgets. It’s amazing!! What I love most is that just about everywhere in Singapore is reachable by the MRT subway which are arguably the cleanest subway trains in the world. Marina Bay Sands has its very own aptly named station, so basically, it’s a direct escalator to and from your train. “You’re welcome”!! 🤗🤗
If that wasn’t enough, your every consumer wim is totally catered for with its very own shopping experience. All the major high end stores has residency here. Unfortunately for me though, my pockets weren’t quite deep enough for the indulgence I had in mind. Maybe next time. 🤓🤓
What I did indulge in though, was a scrumptious breakfast every morning. It actually became a highlight of my stay here. It was like... Wake up, jump in the shower, and while in there, think of where I was going to enjoy breakfast that morning. I had a choice of four restaurants to choose from and as fabulous as the views from the rooftop restaurant and bar 55 were, I found myself gravitating more toward the Adrift restaurant on the ground floor of Tower 2. There was always an international newspaper to choose from on entry with a kind of dreamy, smokey atmosphere and decor which excited my visual senses along with a delightful aroma of coffee beans. Their speciality coffees were the bomb 💣 too. Independent coffee shop level.
If you were to actually sit back and think of what it would be like to live the most idealistic life, then a spell in this hotel would give you a glimmer of that very ideal.
The Marina Bay Sands Hotel with its three striking towers is listed as five star, and it truly is, no ifs, no buts! The service is impeccable, nothing short of what you would expect from such a giant in the hotel industry. The problem with coming to and staying in a place like this is that your expectations remain high when you check into future hotels. I definitely won’t let this be just a one off experience, I will continue to aim high every time I travel, and so should you!!
#marinabaysandshotel #marinabaysands - You rock!