Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition — January 2018

TRIED AND TESTED HOTEL

BEST FOR...

Plenty of choice.

DON’T MISS...

The rooftop pool and

variety of F&B.

PRICE

Internet rates for a

Club King room

midweek stay in

mid-February start from

S$811 (US$602)

including tax

and surcharges.

CONTACT

10 Bayfront Avenue,

Singapore 018956;

+65 6688 8888;

marinabaysands.com

Marina Bay Sands,

Singapore

BACKGROUNDMarina Bay Sands is

one of Singapore’s two major integrated

developments (the other being Resorts

World Sentosa). Last year the hotel

underwent a complete renovation of its

2,561 rooms and suites.

WHERE IS IT?Adjacent to Gardens by

the Bay in the south of the city. A car ride

from Changi Airport takes about 20 minutes.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?Marina Bay Sands

is a behemoth of a hotel. With three towers

offering over 2,500 rooms and an enormous

lobby area comprising everything from

shops to dining outlets, it has a bustling

atmosphere that can sometimes feel more

like a train station than a hotel.

ROOMSMy newly renovated Club room

had new surfaces and table tops with white

marble, refreshed bed linens and carpets,

and ergonomic touches such as USB docks

by the bed (a welcome addition).

At around 60 sqm the room is very

spacious, despite being one of the

property’s smaller room categories (Marina

Bay Sands has 12 types overall, more than

half of which are suites, going all the way

up to the 629 sqm Chairman Suite).

The brown-and-white colour scheme

gives a professional and also quite homey

appearance, with plenty of facilities from a

coffee machine to a radio/alarm smartphone

docking station. The bed is vast (at nearly

two metres tall, I slept comfortably without

hanging off the end) and the bathroom is

also a large affair, with a separate glass-

enclosed shower and sizeable bathtub.

TheTVwasveryeasytooperateand

the desk offers plenty of workspace

(alongside power and USB ports), though

on the flip side the lights were tricky to

master–nomasterswitchbythedoor

and lots of individual lamps. I found the

complimentary wifi service got sluggish

at times, requiring me to reconnect

manually when transitioning between areas

in the hotel, and you have to re-register

every 24 hours.

Guests in this room category do enjoy a

more private check-in in a separate room

off the main lobby, allowing you to bypass

the crowds, and express checkout boxes

are available on the ground floor by the lifts.

LOUNGEClub55 takes its name from its

location on the 55th floor of Tower 2 with

fantastic city views. It’s a large space with

a lot of seating but it can get busy if you

pick the wrong time. Arriving at 9am, I had

a ten-minute wait to be seated. The food

selection, comprising Asian and Western

buffet cuisine, plus eggs made to order,

was very good. Also, from 8pm to midnight,

the lounge becomes a public cocktail bar.

Staff were very impressive, referring to

each guest by name.

FOOD AND DRINKMarina Bay Sands

has no shortage of F&B outlets – there are

46 in total both in the hotel itself and the

wider Marina Bay Sands complex.

On my second morning I headed to

the rooftop to visit Spago Dining Room

by Wolfgang Puck. I was fortunate to

get a seat overlooking the pool and the

urban landscape. The menu selection

is reasonable and the quality was good.

Another notable offering is Adrift by David

Myers, which offers a contemporary

izakayamenu and signature cocktails – the

bartender makes a mean Penicillin cocktail

if you like your smoky whiskies.

MEETINGS Being attached to the Marina

Bay Sands convention centre gives the hotel

access to a 30,000 sqm exhibition space and

a 7,672 sqm ballroom – one of the largest in

Southeast Asia.

LEISURE Marina Bay Sands’ infinity

pool on the 57th floor rooftop is arguably

its most impressive attraction – a great

location to snap a picture with the city

backdrop. The pool is one of the hotel’s

“Skypark” features, alongside two

restaurants (Spago and Ce La Vi), Skybar

and the Observation Deck. Elsewhere in

the Marina Bay Sands complex is the Art

Science Museum, casino, theatre and two

luxury retail pavilions.

VERDICT Great facilities, personalised

service despite the huge number of guests,

and a polished product make Marina Bay

Sands a pleasure to stay in. But its greatest

strength – its size – may also be a negative

for those who prefer a quieter, calmer and

more intimate environment. Craig Bright

The infinity

pool on the

57th floor

rooftop is

arguably

its most

impressive

attraction

businesstraveller.com JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

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