Latest news with #Skyloop
Time Out
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time Out
Marina Bay Sands expands with a new 55-storey hotel tower featuring a rooftop garden, casino, and more
Talks of expanding Marina Bay Sands (MBS), owned by Las Vegas Sands, began as far back as 2019. This week, the highly anticipated $10.3 billion expansion project has officially broken ground. The centrepiece of the expansion is a new 55-storey hotel tower designed by Safdie Architects – the same design firm behind MBS. The upcoming tower will house 570 suites, alongside an array of new upscale retail outlets, a casino, fine-dining restaurants, wellness facilities and more. Another part of the development includes a new 15,000-seat podium that is built to host large-scale live events. Echoing the iconic SkyPark Observation Deck, this fourth tower will also feature Skyloop – a multi-level rooftop space with both public and private areas. Visitors can enjoy sweeping panoramic views of the city skyline at the observatory, swing by the rooftop gardens and dine at the various restaurants set to open here. Hotel guests will get exclusive access to private cabanas, infinity pools and a wellness terrace that will host curated events. Construction is expected to be completed by June 2030, with the official opening set for January 2031.
The Sun
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
One of the world's most famous hotels is opening a new £5.7billion resort – with 570 suites and rooftop pool
MARINA Bay Sands is undoubtedly one of the most famous hotels in the world - and now, the company behind the resort is planning another in Singapore. Las Vegas Sands - the company behind the iconic cruise ship-like hotel in Singapore - is planning a second resort for the country costing £5.7billion. 4 4 In total, the luxury resort will boast 570 suites and there will also be a hotel tower capped with a rooftop. The 76,000 square-foot 'Skyloop' - which will be similar to the Sands SkyPark at Marina Bay Sands - will have 360-degree views. On the lower levels, the public will be able to explore an observatory, restaurants and rooftop gardens. On higher levels, guests can access more private experiences such as private cabanas, infinity-edge pools and sprawling palm trees. And one major feature will be a cantilevered wellness terrace - essentially hanging in the air - for yoga, arts and other events. There is more too, as the hotel is expected to have a 15,000 seat arena, with the backdrop of Marina Bay, for live entertainment. Inside the hotel will also be a number of different dining experiences, shops, a gaming area, spa and wellness facilities. And it will be designed by the same firm that designed Sphere in Las Vegas and the O2 Arena in London. The entire hotel is expected to be tilted at a 45 degree angle to give guests amazing views of Marina Bay and the Singapore Strait. In total, the hotel will rise 55 stories into the air and a feature 'biophilic' design that aims to connect people with nature and enhance wellbeing. Luxury 794ft superyacht 'sea hotel' with five restaurants & mini-marina completes trial before first voyage this summer Construction on the resort is expected to finish in 2030. The resort will be designed by Safdie Architects and led by the same designers as Marina Bay Sands - Moshe Safdie. Patrick Dumont, Sands president and chief operating officer, said: "Our new development will raise the bar and redefine the ultra-luxury hospitality realm on a global scale, fuelling further growth of high-value tourism." The Marina Bay Sands hotel caters to more than one million guests each year. There has even been a BBC2 documentary on the hotel, presented by Giles Coren and Monica Galetti. The two presenters explored the hotel including the longest elevated infinity pool in the world - the size of three Olympic swimming pools - at the top of the hotel. Guests have claimed that the resort to be a "once-in-a-lifetime experience" and feeling more like "another world". 4 Another guest added: "My wife and I both felt like I was in the Barbie movie." A Sun reporter who went to Singapore a few years ago said: "For me, the place to be is Ce La Vi on the 57th floor of the majestic three-tower Marina Bay Sands hotel. "It offers fabulous views, especially at sunset." Ce La Vi is one of the hotels' 80 restaurants and is located on the rooftop, with a bar. Overall, the hotel has 2,560 rooms and cost £3.92 billion to build. Some of the world's craziest hotels have also been named - from Flintstones-like caves to a Barbie Dreamhouse. Plus, these are the luxury hotels crowned best in the world – and one is in the UK. 4
CNBC
17-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Construction begins on Las Vegas Sands' $8 billion 'ultra luxurious' resort in Singapore
Construction has started on an $8 billion "ultra luxurious" integrated resort in Singapore that will expand the city-state's Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and Las Vegas Sands' presence in Asia. Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Las Vegas Sands co-founder Miriam Adelson attended a ground-breaking ceremony Tuesday, where it was revealed that the development will include a 55-story all-suite resort, luxury retail shops, gaming facilities and 200,000 square feet of meeting space. The project, which has been called Marina Bay Sand's "fourth tower," is not an extension of Marina Bay Sands, Robert Goldstein, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, said at the ceremony. "If you came here expecting to hear about an extension of MBS, you've come to the wrong party," he said. "This is a brand-new building with a brand-new identity." The new resort will include 570 suites and a 76,000 square-foot rooftop space called the Skyloop that will have an observation deck, restaurants and gardens that are open to the public. The rooftop area will also have multiple infinity-edge pools, as well as private cabanas, for hotel guests. A 15,000-seat arena designed by Populous, the design team behind the Sphere in Las Vegas, is set to open at the base of the resort. The new development was designed by Safdie Architects, the architecture firm behind Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport. Company founder Moshe Safdie was also present at the ground-breaking ceremony, alongside Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu and Las Vegas Sands' President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Dumont. The new development aligns with Singapore's "Tourism 2040" strategy, released in April, which aims to triple tourism revenue from so-called "Mice" travelers, or those who attend meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. Singapore's long-term tourism goals also rely heavily on attracting leisure travelers with world-class attractions and live music and sports entertainment. Several high-profile launches since the start of the year have boosted the island's tourism industry, including its first all-villa resort Raffles Sentosa Singapore and a zoological park called Rainforest Wild Asia. An upgraded aquarium attraction called Oceanarium, is set to open next week.
CNA
15-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
MBS expansion project to bank on bigger suites, premium offerings in bid to stand out from competition
SINGAPORE: The upcoming expansion of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort will feature bigger suites and more premium offerings in a bid to court affluent travellers seeking unique experiences. '(We want to) create a brand-new development that is separate and distinct, that has amenities that we don't have today to offer tourists coming into Singapore,' said Mr Patrick Dumont, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, which owns MBS. The expansion project, which will add a fourth tower to what is now a recognisable part of Singapore's skyline, held its groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday (Jul 15). It has been billed as an 'ultra-luxurious resort and entertainment destination', to be built at an estimated total development cost of US$8 billion (S$10.3 million). The expected completion date is June 2030, with an estimated official opening set for January 2031 subject to approval from the Singapore government. IR2 – as the project is currently called – will include an all-suite hotel tower with 570 suites; a multi-storey rooftop experience with restaurants and gardens called 'Skyloop'; a new gaming area; more premium retail, F&B and wellness offerings; as well as about 200,000 sq ft of meeting space. A 15,000-seat entertainment arena will also sit beside the 55-storey hotel tower. In an interview with CNA a day before the groundbreaking, Mr Dumont said the average suite size will be larger than what's currently available in MBS, where suites range from 75 sq m to 600 sq m. This is why the number of planned suites has had to come down significantly from about 1,000 when the expansion project was first announced in 2019, to a final count of 570. 'Our view is that scale is an attribute; that design is a very positive attribute for hospitality, and having the right spaces necessary to provide the highest level of luxury service is going to create a tremendous distinction for this property,' said Mr Dumont. 'So, we're very focused on quality of the suites, not the number of keys.' The new gaming area will be 'much smaller' than the existing 15,000 sqm casino on MBS' premises, said Mr Dumont. MBS is currently allowed 16,000 sq m of approved gaming area in total. It has also exercised an option to deploy an extra 2,000 sq m, by paying the Singapore government US$1 billion in additional land premiums. Asked if the firm was worried about regional competition from potentially bigger casinos in the works, such as Japan's first such resort in Osaka Bay, Mr Dumont said MBS' new gaming facility will be "enough to make sure that we have the amenities necessary to satisfy the high-value customers that are coming here to Singapore'. He pointed to the premium dining and wellness options that will be on hand, and the 15,000-seat entertainment arena. The latter is being built to handle regional and international touring acts, concerts and large-scale live events – a space that will 'create buzz for Singapore and drive more tourism to our property and to Singapore overall'. 'We are investing in other services necessary to create the unique experience for customers to feel like coming to experience this new destination,' he added. Integrated resort operator Las Vegas Sands said the move towards luxury comes as it sees growth in high-value tourism in recent years, after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. And one source is Southeast Asia with its growing young and affluent middle-class. 'In the last couple of years, young people have been very successful throughout Southeast Asia. There are a lot of very smart, motivated, business-minded entrepreneurs who ... want to experience travel,' said Mr Dumont. Singapore has been the top choice for these travellers to 'conduct business, and at the same time, have great leisure experiences with their families'. 'So, for us, it's investing in that future and that growth in Southeast Asia,' Mr Dumont said. He observed that social media has also had a big impact on travel patterns. 'People want to go to unique places, experience things that are unique, and be able to share them with their friends and their family,' Mr Dumont told CNA. 'By creating something that's ultra-luxury – that has the highest level of design, the highest level of service – we'll be able to address that segment in a very competitive way.' 'VERY SUCCESSFUL' REFURBISHMENT Efforts to woo high-end travellers to MBS are already underway, with a US$1.75 billion multi-year transformation. When first announced in 2022, the plan was to usher in "a new era of luxury hospitality'. Apart from introducing new premium dining and retail offerings, it made the bold move to cut nearly a third of its hotel rooms, to make way for high-end suites. MBS now has 1,850 rooms in total, down from 2,561 previously. The number of suites has gone up from 180 to 775. New offerings include the lavish Paiza Collection suites located on high floors and paired with private, dedicated VIP arrival lifts, as well as 24-hour butler services. Prices for these suites range from S$2,300 to S$35,000 a night, based on a search on MBS' website. The biggest suites, which span 600 sq m with three to four bedrooms, are reserved on a by-invite-only basis for the hotel's highest tier of guests. Currently, it would seem MBS' bet on luxury has paid off. In 2024, adjusted property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation exceeded US$2 billion for the first time. Net revenue also touched a new high of US$4.2 billion, according to its annual report which described 2024 as a year of 'exceptional' financial performance despite disruptions caused by renovations of hotel rooms and gaming spaces. Hotel occupancy for the year stood at around 95 per cent. Mr Dumont said MBS' reinvestment programme was 'very successful' and has bolstered the integrated resort operator's confidence in its mega expansion project. Asked if he was concerned about ongoing tariff-induced global economic uncertainties, he said Las Vegas Sands has its sights set on the long-term, and reiterated his belief that high-value tourism 'will continue to grow'. Since opening doors in 2010, MBS has welcomed more than 500 million visitors. Last year, it hosted a record-breaking 2,200 events which drew 1.2 million attendees. The integrated resort has also been ramping up hiring. It now directly employs more than 12,000 people, up from over 11,000 last year. This figure is set to increase further, although the firm said it was not yet ready to share estimates on the number of new jobs the fourth tower will create. Still, MBS has not been spared from the challenges of rising labour costs and recruiting in a tight labour market here, Mr Dumont said. 'We have a few years to think about how we are going to accomplish it, and we intend to work with the government to make sure that we have the most efficient plan for getting the manpower necessary.'
