[REVIEW]: Staying at the Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is an iconic hotel situated on reclaimed land just south of Singapore’s Downtown Core. The whole area is now termed Marina Bay, and from this, the hotel gets its name. The hotel is owned and operated by the Sands Group, which also has luxurious properties over in the US and in Macao. Marina Bay Sands’ 2,561 room hotel is the largest hotel in Singapore, the 6th largest in Asia and the 34th largest in the world. With MBS, Singapore has entered into the “World’s 100 Largest Hotels” list. If you are in Singapore, I would recommend you to stay at MBS for at least a night to experience Singapore’s spectacular skyline.

I had the good fortune to stay at Marina Bay Sands on a special occasion because Sennheiser (one of my clients) recently launched its flagship headphones, Sennheiser HE 1. The masterpiece took more than a decade to create and costs €50,000 or equal to a staggering amount of Rp730m. 

Upon my arrival at Changi International Airport, I was greeted by Leon from the MBS limousine service. My client had arranged a limousine service that took us straight to MBS from the airport so we didn't have to take a cab as it's quite far (± 30 minutes from Changi to MBS).

The hotel lobby can be very busy during check-in and check-out period. Being a huge hotel, you can expect a long queue during weekends, school and public holidays. Even though the check-in time is at 3 PM, you can try to do it earlier provided if the rooms are available. 

All the rooms come with either Garden or City view. Of course, the room with the city view will cost a bit more compared to garden view. As for me, I stayed in the Premiere Room on the 29th floor.

When I walked into the room, I got a mixed feeling. The room was clean and spacious, however, the room looked rather old (maybe because of the color palette used in this room though, idk). The room's lighting is controlled with a panel next to the keycard slot.

Personalized invitation from Sennheiser 

Behold, the Sennheiser HE 1 

The agenda 

Marina Bay Sands's Lobby 

There are three towers, based on the floor you're staying at 

Breakfast at Rise Restaurant at the lobby 

Gorgeous sunset 

Le door 

For most people, the toilet and bath are more important than the room itself. It must be clean, spacious and good smelling and it doesn't disappoint. Same as the room, the toilet and bath were big and very cozy. The toiletries and amenities left something to be desired from a five-star hotel like this as it's pretty basic. 

I spent a good amount of time in this bathtub. I seriously did 

Your typical double sink 

Bath robe that can also be used as Infinity Pool robe 

Basic amenities 

Enough space in the cupboard 

Iron with steam 

Le King-sized bed 

Comfortable pillows 

42-inch TV for your enjoyment 

Extra sofa if you don't feel like working on a desk 

Left: Cotton On High Top Sneakers | Right: Aldo 

I honestly felt that the room was quite ordinary. I have stayed in nicer rooms for half the price. However, what made the Marina Bay Sands worth the money was the view from my balcony overlooking the beautiful Gardens by the Bay and of course the access to the Infinity Pool on the 57th floor. Included in the room was your standard amenities such as bottled water, 42-inch cable TV, notepad, pen and such. One thing to note is that the king-sized bed was super comfortable! The pillows were very soft and ample. I had a good sleep in this bed.

View from my balcony - Evening 

View from my balcony - the next day 

The housekeeping team arrives every morning to clean and tidy your room, and in my experience, they have always done an immaculate job. The staff who was in charge of cleaning my room left a note on my TV desk along with this cute towel made into the shape of an elephant.

Cute elephant shaped towel! 

A note from the housekeeping PIC 

The SkyPark Infinity Pool was just okay for me. It does have an amazing view but I have a couple of minor issues with the pool. First, it was way too shallow! It was only 5-Feet Deep! Second, it closes at around 10-11PM? Why can’t we enjoy our night swimming longer? I hope they extend the operating hours of the pool. Otherwise, it was a good experience but you definitely can't swim in this.

There were way too many people and it's only 7 AM 

A bit messy (and wet) 

Was my stay worth it? Definitely! Would I pay the full price (±600 USD) for the room that I stayed in? Maybe, if I had the money. Even though the hotel wasn’t the most romantic place on earth, it was still a great experience. I wish I could have stayed more than two nights, but at least I got a taste of the Singaporean high life.

Living the life