Sunday, May 1, 2016

Visiting Singapore; Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Resort & Casino; Resorts World Casino; Sentosa Island, Singapore; Sky Park; Sky Garden; Din Tai Fung.



Visiting Singapore; Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Resort & Casino; Resorts World Casino; Sentosa Island, Singapore; Sky Park; Sky Garden; Din Tai Fung.





During our last visit to Singapore, we were fortunate enough to have our friends offer to show us Singapore by car for two days. 



Our Friends in Singapore

 

They picked us up at the airport and on the way to our hotel, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, we were able to see many of the changes in Singapore’s beautiful skyline and downtown area. 







Marina Bay Sands Hotel is an integrated resort totaling 20 hectares of land which includes the hotel, shopping, a casino, and much, much more, located along the shore of Singapore’s  Marina Bay. 






The developers, Las Vegas Sands, states that this is world's most expensive standalone casino property totaling about $8 billion Singapore dollars!  When it was completed, it was the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.






Marina Bay - Photo is Courtesy of the Internet


This fabulous hotel includes three massive towers with 2,561 rooms, a 1,300,000 sq. ft. convention & exhibition center, a 1,000,000 sq. ft. shopping mall (The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands) with over 300 retail stores, an Art & Science Museum, two large theaters (The Sands Theater and Grand Theater with a seating capacity of 1,680 people and 2,155 people respectively), six premier chef restaurants (including: Cut (by Wolfgang Puck), Waku Ghin (by Tetsuya Wakuda), Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza (by Mario Batali), Guy Savoy (by Guy Savoy), DB Bistro Moderne (by Daniel Boulud) , two floating Crystal Pavilions, and a 6,500 sq. ft. skating rink.  


Stretching across the three towers of this complex is a 1,120 ft. long SkyPark with a maximum capacity of almost 4,000 people and an impressive 490 ft.  infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 220 ft.  This swimming pool is situated over 625 ft. (191 meters) above ground and holds over 375,000 gallons of water.

Sands Resort Swimming Pool

Sands Resort Swimming Pool
 



The lobby of this stunning hotel is the largest lobby I have ever seen in the world.  In my lifetime of travel around the USA and world, I have probably stayed at more than 1,500 different hotels around the world, so believe me when I say, this lobby is huge. 

Sands Hotel Lobby

A very sweet and friendly staff member at Check-In !
 



The staff at the reception area are well trained, courteous, kind and very helpful.  I mentioned I would be enjoying my birthday during my stay, and reception arranged a nice surprise for me up in my room, and boy was it delicious !!!  

First Class Service for my FREE Birtday Cake .... Yummy!

 
Happy Birthday Cake for Me !



Of course, we had to relax after our arrival, and there is no better place to just that other that the infinity pool at the top of the resort.  Plenty of room for long swimming laps, for relaxing in the pools’ water fountains, benches, and the jacuzzi’s.  From the pool, you will enjoy incredible sights of the Singapore sky line, and the sights in the pool area are very nice as well!!!!

What a Beautiful City View !

More Great Views

More Great Views

More Great Views

More Great Views

Peace and Tranquility at the Sky Pool




From the Sky Park and our Hotel room, we were able to get several nice pictures of the area around this fabulous Hotel & Resort, such as the Sky Garden Park.


Sky Garden







Later on that afternoon, they took us to Sentosa Island, and then a wonderful dinner that evening.   The Island was renamed from Pulau Blakang Mati to Sentosa Island in 1972.  The island  can be accessed from Singapore city by car tunnel, by cable car, by monorail and by foot.   In 1974, the cable car was built linking Sentosa to Mount Fabar in Singapore.  The (10) years later in 1982, the monorail was opened in 1982, and the causeway bridge was opened in 1992.  The monorail was closed in 2005, and a new high speed “Sentosa Express” opened in 2007.  Finally, the foot bridge for walking pedestrians opened in 2011.

The island has had tourist attractions for decades, and these attractions generate about 20 million visitors per year.  

Entering Sentosa Island on the Causeway Bridge


Sentosa Cable Car


Sentosa Express Monorail

Sentosa Cable Car

Entrance to Sentosa Beach


 
Maritime Experimental Museum & Sea Aquarium

Most famous is the tallest Merlion statue in Singapore.  The merlion has been a marketing tool and is widely used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.  You can even find images of the Merlion on many Singapore postage stamps.

The Famous Singapore Merlion on Sentosa Island




Resorts World Hotel was a huge undertaking and the developers spent almost $5.0 Billion USD on this project.  Not only are there six (6) hotels with a total of 1840 rooms. And a massive 15,000 sq. ft. casino, but there is also many fine restaurants, spas, a large shopping mall, a Marine Life Park, a Maritime Experimental Museum and Universal Studios Singapore!!



After dinner, my wife just had to go to find delicious durian back in Singapore.

In my last blog, I showed several photos of the durian that they purchased, opened and ate, but like I said in that blog, durian is just not for me.


As many of you know, I do collect casino chips and enjoy some gaming experiences at casinos.  This trip, Singapore has two of the larger casinos in the world at the Marina Bay Sands and at Resorts World on Sentosa Island.    This was a lucky trip for me because at the Sands Casino, I won a few hundred Singapore dollars at the casino, but at the Resorts World Casino, I won over $1000 Singapore on one hand at a table game.  What a great way to help fund our vacation to Singapore!

By the way, photos inside the casinos in Singapore are prohibited.

Entrance to Resorts World Casino

Entrance to Resorts World Casino

Beautiful Orchids Everywhere in Singapore



Below are some of the Casino chips from the two casinos that I collected from the gaming tables during my visit.

My Singapore and Sentosa Island Casino Chips



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The next day, we did have a chance to go shopping at the many, many shops at the Marina Bay Sands Resort.   

A glimpse of the Marina Bay Sands Mall



Leaving Hotel Reception to our Hotel Room



On Display in the Mall

On Display in the Mall


We found a store there that rented either a red or yellow Ferrari by the hour.   (We also found one of these Ferrari rentals in Dubai as well.)  

Ferrari Ultimate Drive


Ferrari Ultimate Drive

 Later that evening, we saw both of these incredible cars parked outside the Sands Hotel!


Actual Ferrari's for Rent at Ultimate Drive, Parked outside the Hotel

Actual Ferrari's for Rent at Ultimate Drive, Parked outside the Hotel





When we found a Din Tai Fung restaurant in Singapore, we had to stop and enjoy a nice snack.  This is one of our favorite restaurant chains, and we have eaten at their stores in the US, Taiwan, China and now Singapore.   If you like Xiao Long Bao dumplings, Din Tai Fung has some of the best in the world!!!!


Din Tai Fung


We also tried some local food during our stay.



Local food Famous for their Southeast Asian Chicken dish

Delicious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!