Lobby, Marina Bay Sands. January 2011
Rooftop pool, Marina Bay Sands. January 2011
Marina Bay Sands Hotel. January 2016
Finally an icon
Singapore had longed for an iconic "something" for years to establish its skyline as something instantly recognizable. The Theatres on the Bay (aka, the "Big Durian") were its first true attempt, but it never really caught on. The skyline of Raffles Place was ever-growing with increasingly daring architecture, but still - no one would look at the outline of of downtown Singapore and say "ah, Singapore" as they would with other instantly recognizable cities. On reclaimed land next to the old harbor (which was now dammed up for a fresh water supply) rose the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with its iconic flat topped roof and infinity pool. That roof with its pool finally DID create an architectural splash and have worldwide "copycat" influence. As I quipped to CM and CM on a stay at their place in Bukit Timah, "Singapore has made it - its recognizable downtown was destroyed in an epic movie disaster scene" (Independence Day: 3)
After living in the Middle East I came to appreciate how just proletariat hotels were in Singapore. In Dubai, non-guests could not even enter the lobbies of some of the most upscale venues. In Singapore, all hotel lobbies were open to everyone and the lobby of the interconnected towers of the Marina Bay Sands was astounding. I attended the birthday party of a friend once in a suite there and I must say, the rooms and their views did not disappoint. The place was luxe from stem to stern - an apt turn of phrase since the rooftop looked like a boat! Everything about it was made to be over-the-top, so desperate was Singapore on this attempt to make something so iconic it just HAD TO become world famous. Water on one side, a huge lotus sculpture and helix-bridge on another, and the science-fiction inspired "Gardens on the Bay" behind it - even the area surrounding the hotel was amazing. The building held a shopping mall complete with canals and gondolas. Of course, the big attraction was the casino which lurked in the bowels of the complex (I never quite got why it was built in the basement). This place was hilariously off-limits to most Singaporeans for fear that it would lead to a nationwide gambling addiction. In one of the heights of irony, on a lowly-paid foreign worker's day off, he/she could dress nicely and enter the casino - a place their overlords were forbidden to set foot - except the most wealthy who qualified for exemptions.
The roof-deck was such a phenomenon that it was a "pay to see" place where, of course, once there one had to pay even more to sit down and have a ridiculously overpriced drink or snack. The views of Singapore downtown and the Strait of Singapore over to the islands of Indonesia in the distance were stunning in good weather. That infinity pool perched on the edge overlooking the ex-harbor and Raffles Place was an amazing backdrop hard to be topped anywhere. Urban infinity pools became the rage thereafter because Singapore had set the bar - and a high bar at that.
I loved roaming the streets of old Singapore, but I must admit the Marina Bay Sands was so well-done and so well-placed, many of my walks in the Lion City ended there. I felt happy for Singapore - a place I initially did not like, but came to love over time. People now see those three towers interconnected by that long flat top and they immediately know it is "Singapore". There must have been a sigh of national relief that finally Singapore could be recognized in an instant, just like Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok.
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