Marina Bay sands Singapore

[boredsolicitor]

Any thoughts on whether it’s worth the ££££. We’re only in Singapore for 3 days on a blow out hols to the far east . Just debating if it’s worth it just because I really really want to go in the rooftop pool . Anyone stayed there? What did you think?

We didn’t enjoy it as they have lots of day visitors so feels like a cattle market of influencers and it’s expensive considering you only use it as a base.

Thanks everyone - I’ve decided to go for the Fullerton. Love MN - so much helpful and wise advice x

@boredsolicitor, the Fullerton is a wonderful hotel, truly luxurious service, a gorgeous historic building, an excellent location. Have a fantastic time.

Agree with Fullerton recommendation. It's ann iconic building, the infinity pool there is amazing, the service was fabulous and I liked the location.

I'm another one who hasn't been to that part of the world recently but used to be a frequent visitor....used hotels various but sadly never actually stayed at either Marina Bay Sand or the Fullerton (company wouldn't pay) but have spent my own money in both.

It's a horses for courses thing I guess but I'm probably of the mind that Marina is not the best located hotel, yes it's great for Gardens and certainly worth a quick visit for the view but I'd be looking for some more central to actually stay.

Have to say the Fullerton is stunning and a good choice.

As much as l think the Fullerton is a fantastic building, l’m a bit puzzled over people favouring one location over the other. You can walk between the 2 in around 10 minutes.

Something like that but as I recall it the Fullerton is more central, handier for some of the.other tourist traps, Marina Bay Sands puts you out on more of a limb.

Frankly with the Metro and cabs I suppose it's not a big deal.

Just returned and would recommend Paradox Merchant Court near Clarke Quay if anyone wants a nice, reasonably priced hotel. We stayed at Raffles on honeymoon though and for a bucket list trip would stay there.

In terms of transport, Grab is very cheap, if there are a few of you it’s probably cheaper than MRT

I stayed at the Fullerton for work and it was amazing. I still think about the breakfast there 3 years later!

It's not luxurious but nice enough. If you like designer brands it's a great location because the shoppes have lots of big names that are properly stocked vs their branches at ion orchard. It's not in the most central location but it isn't too bad.

We chose not the stay but go up for the view and a drink

We’ve stayed at the Fullerton and Marina Bay Sands. Kids preferred the Fullerton, pool disappointingly shallow at MBS but both great locations. We went at first opening to both pools (early risers) and had them to ourselves.

But not if you want to swim or are irritated by very vacuous people spending 20 mins getting the "perfect" photo! But yes I think your summary is spot on as with the Raffles idea, or we went to the Rasa Sentosa and stayed in the Rasa wing - nice.

We had a really odd experience where we booked for 3, two adults and a child (probably eight at the time) and there was no bed for her. When we rang down they suggested she share with us or sleep on the sofa - not a sofa bed. We said no and they brought a bed but it was a pain.

The gym was decent - husband came up in the lift with a member of Pink Floyd, that sticks in my mind. The lobby is like an airport.

Sounds like the MBS pool is what DH and I call a 'posing pool' - ie it is built for Instagram shoots and not swimmers. There's one at Atlantis the Palm in Dubai - it's hilarious.

Thank you everyone - we are going next year, so this is really helpful. One question - how many days would you say to go for? We'd like some downtime at Sentosa (plus Universal Studios) and also time to look around Marina Bay and the parks / shopping. I think a week would be enough (3 days Sentosa, 4 in Fullerton / Raffles) then off to Malaysia or Indonesia for a week. DH thinks 2 weeks in Singapore alone would work better. I'm not so sure.

It depends how you want to pace yourselves and whether you want to discover “secret Singapore” such as Pilau Ubin (an island with a regular short bumboat ferry trip, where time has stood still) and other places off the beaten track.

l go for work but usually tap a few days leave on the end, it’s one of my favourite cities. I could happily do 10 days. But a quick rush job of the key sites could be done in 3; that wouldn’t be for me. Be aware though it’s not cheap and rain is usually on the daily menu. It is certainly not a cheap wonderland for shopping either. Some get the vibe, some don’t.

@mishmashmess, I definitely wouldn't recommend two weeks in Singapore. It is, really, a (interesting, well-functioning) small city. And I say this as someone who lived there for several years, still goes back every year or so with work, and is very fond of it.
As @StarlightLady mentions, you could do the major sites in three days, but it would be a rush. That said, if you want a gorgeous beach for a few days, Sentosa isn't it. The water is not clear and blue - at all - and there are major tankers sailing by just off the coast. It is entirely artificial - the trees, the sand, everything.
Singapore is "Asia light" so an easy place to visit (and the Hawker food is INCREDIBLE) but the China town area, for example, feels like a manicured, Disney-esque version of a China town. Gardens at the Bay is big plastic trees.
If you want an incredible, tropical beach stay to end your trip, what about somewhere in Indonesia (not Bali, we like the Gili Islands) or the Philippines? And for a beautiful, historic city, I love Penang or Melaka. You could also add in seeing the orangutan in Borneo.

We stayed 5 nights in Singapore and it was enough, actually think 4 nights might have been better.
Bali, Thailand? Singapore is a major hub that opens up lots of options

much stricter on no guests/ Instagramers these days but LongBar queues still awful)
We must have been lucky when we went last year as we went to the Long Bar and didn't need to queue at all.

Mind you I was surprised as I read there was a dress code so we made ourselves quite smart, but actually there were people in shorts!

No definitely not 2 weeks in Singapore and Sentosa is great for downtime between flights but it's not a beachy place in its own right.
Plan to head off elsewhere - work out what you want beach (Philippines, Thailand?), history (Cambodia?), jungle (Borneo or Sumatra?), different city style (Hoi An, Chang Mai?) and there will be an SE Asia answer to it.

Whilst Raffles Singapore was on our bucket list (and it was lovely) we then stayed at Raffles Bali which was next level amazing. Staff to guest ratio meant everything was attended to really quickly. I didn’t love Bali itself (lovely to have gone but I wouldn’t rush back) but I did love Raffles Bali if you’re looking for somewhere to chill out.

We did
4 nights in Singapore to do tourist things -don’t forget the time changes take it out of you. Then a 3 day cruise. Then kuala lumpur for a few days then sentosa for 2 nights.
universal took us 2 hours to do (having done most rides already) and we knocked off 6 rides at 4pm Sunday (wanted to avoid the heat). The aquarium was good there. It wasn’t a place to spend days. Nice and relaxing though.

Def would not go for two weeks. It’s expensive. And you can get cheap flights to much more relaxing places. I’d do five days max in Singapore

Echo all of the above. Definitely not 2 weeks. 4 nights is enough. Day for the gardens, day for Sensota, day for Downtown / bum boat / merlion. Perhaps another day for the zoo. Glad I went but found it an incredibly strict and policed city..CCTV everywhere, which was also very expensive.

Thank you all - I'll show this to dh as proof! We've been to Thailand and loved it, and I travelled through Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in the 90s. Agree that the Gili islands are stunning, though I bet everything has changed so much since I last went... I'll look at some of the islands (and the weather / monsoon, more importantly), in that case, and leave Sensota as a day trip.