Marina Bay Sands

The Marina Bay Sands is one of the icons of the Singapore skyline. It's a huge three-block hotel (57 floors and 2561 rooms), with a boat-shaped rooftop bar and infinity pool stacked on the top with stunning views over the city. The rooftop bar is free (but you’ll have to buy a drink), or you can pay to access the observation deck, but the pool itself is strictly reserved for hotel guests only. Therefore I suggest that you book at least one night at this place to not miss the chance of having a swim in the highest infinity pool in the world.

The cheapest room in this hotel is around 300€/night for a double room with a city view and breakfast buffet. You may ask why I paid that amount for one night, what is so special about this one hotel when you can get up to the viewing deck without being a hotel guest. Well the infinity pool is the main reason (I love that kind of pools!) and I don't regret any cent I spent for it. Chilling, swimming and taking pictures in that famously high swimming pool (located 191 metres/627 feet above ground) has been on my bucket list since it first opened in 2010.

It is easy to get from the Changi Airport to the hotel on the MRT (metro/tube) as it stops directly at the hotel (go out at Bay Front station and not Marina Bay!).

The hotel reception area looks like an airport check-in desk, with rows of receptionists waiting to take names and give out keys.

I stayed in the second tower, on the 29th floor, with a view overlooking the Gardens by the Bay.

Bedroom explored, room view admired, time to put the swim clothes on and explore the rooftop area.

So I made my way up to floor 57, handed over the pool card to the security guard and was given a wristband for the day. Then I saw the pool, it was incredible beyond words, it looked just like the pictures but much nicer at the same time even on a cloudy day. The views from this height were stunning. The top deck is lined with palm trees and sun loungers overlooking the pool along the edge of the city side. At each end is a restaurant as well as a viewing deck above tower three. There is another club/lounge area in the middle. The pool is heated and totally makes staying here worthwhile.

There's no beach area in Singapore so the pool is really the best option to cool down from the high temperatures of the city.

I stayed at the pool until the evening to see the city lights and the views are even better at night!

In the morning I did my fasted slow-paced cardio at the hotel's gym for 45 min overlooking the Bay.

As for the breakfast, the buffet was vast and the food was very high quality as expected for a five star hotel.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, even enthusiastically taking photos of you by the pool when you know it’s the millionth time they have been asked to do such a thing.

So I can tell you as my final thoughts about this huge megaresort that the price might be expensive for many of you and for me it wasn't cheap either, but it's definitely a once in a lifetime incredible experience so I'm sure you won't regret it.

PS. - I think it is great they let you spend the whole of check out day using the hotels facilities. We had a fantastic day of swimming, sunbathing and training before heading back to the airport, even with my bags stored safely for the day and I got a key to a communal room to shower/freshen up in before leaving the hotel.