Overview
Marina Bay Sands opened in 2010 and is operated by Las Vegas Sands. It scores 9.3 overall, the second highest on this site. Three 55-storey towers carry a single SkyPark across their roofs, and the 150-metre infinity pool on that deck is the image most people know the property by. The pool is for hotel guests only; the observation deck is open to ticketed visitors.
Of the five properties we cover, this is the one that works best for a traveller who is not there for the casino. Gaming occupies a basement level, while the museum, the mall, the theatres and the waterfront promenade all sit above it.
The casino floor
The casino runs across four levels below the hotel lobby, with baccarat dominating the table mix, as it does across the region. Singapore regulates gaming more tightly than any other jurisdiction on this site: the casino is licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority, Singapore citizens and permanent residents pay an entry levy that non-residents do not, and exclusion orders are enforced at the door.
The minimum age is 21 and passports are checked for foreign visitors. Dress is smart casual, and the code is applied more consistently here than in Las Vegas or Macau.
Rooms
Around 2,560 rooms and suites are split across the three towers. Standard Deluxe rooms start near 400 square feet, which is smaller than the Las Vegas properties here, and the layouts are efficient rather than expansive. City-facing and bay-facing rooms differ enough in outlook to be worth choosing deliberately; the bay side looks over the Gardens by the Bay and the financial district.
Dining and what else is on site
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands runs beneath the hotel with a canal through it, and the restaurant list includes several chef-led rooms alongside a large hawker-style food hall that keeps costs reasonable. The ArtScience Museum sits at the waterfront end of the complex, two theatres carry touring productions, and Gardens by the Bay is a short walk across the bridge. The Bayfront MRT station connects directly into the mall, which makes this the easiest of the five to reach without a car.