So how was my experience staying at Marina Bay Sands for the second time? (Thanks AITI btw) Well, it was a different experience. My previous room was facing Gardens by the Bay last year but this time, I had the Premier Room with the view of the city (me likes). It’s located on Tower 3.. Yes, there are three towers for Marin Bay Sands hotel and for you know, MBS is an iconic hotel in Singapore like how The Empire Hotel is for Brunei.

Now if I were to travel to Singapore on my own, it’s very unlikely I will be staying at MBS because of the price factor. You will have to fork out at least BND 400 for a normal room and not forgetting you have to pay tax some more. I know the rates do hike up during CommunicAsia and it starts at $600ish.. We are fortunated that we have a special rate for the Brunei delegates and the accomodation at MBS was bourned by AITI.

What I love about MBS is the spacious room, free wifi (and it’s fast) and the 42″ interactive TV where you can view information on what Singapore has to offer. As for the mini-bar, they have an advanced technology where you can’t simply take the drinks from the mini-bar because it has a censor. So let’s say you want to drink a can of Pepsi and you replaced it with another Pepsi that you bought somewhere else. It doesn’t work that way now.. As long as you lift any drinks from the mini-bar, you will be charged automatically. So stay away from the mini-bar if possible *lol* That’s what I love about Royal Plaza on Scotts as the mini-bar is complimentary for in-house guests 😀

Ok, what I didn’t enjoy was the service at MBS. Yes, it’s pretty humungous and the check-in and check-out counters are efficient for sure (Duh, it’s about transactions and closing sales so they need to be in full force) but after the after-getting-your-room service is still questionable for an iconic hotel like MBS. The bell boy service was kinda poor. We had to wait for 15 minutes and still he didn’t turn up so we had to carry our luggages and boxes on our own.

Another bad experience I had was being locked out of the room. I had a short swim on the Infinity Pool (ok, I love this about MBS) and as I was heading back to my room, I couldn’t access to my room. Even with the master key from the management, they weren’t able to open the door. The maintenance said the battery went flat (for the mechanism of the door) and he had to get an outside contractor to drill open the door. I was already late for my AITI dinner event and they said it might take an estimated time of 2 hours :(( I was still in my bathing robe and I was fortunate that I temporarily stayed in SS’s room while they opened the door.

After an hour, the door was unlocked and the management changed my room though I was hoping for an upgrade but it was good enough that I had a bigger, spacious room and this time facing the Gardens by the Bay. I was still in an upset mode and there was no formal apology or some kind of compensation from MBS because of this issue.

Anyway, to sum it up, MBS is not for everyone but if you do have the time and budget, do at least try and experience it. I actually won’t mind staying here if the price was in the $200ish range. You can check the reviews on Trip Advisor.

Pros: Iconic hotel, spacious, Infinity Pool, awesome interactive TV, walking distance to MRT (Bay Front) and Gardens by the Bay, awesome view from the room, complimentary water daily, free access to Banyan Tree Fitness Club.
Cons: Expensive, some of service not to my expectations, porter service is chargeable if you want to transfer your luggage to your room from the bus drop-off zone.

We had a special counter for CommunicAsia participants for checking in at the Marina Bay Sands hotel

The MBS view at night

The hazy view from my room taken on 16th June

What’s cool about the room to room calling is that the name of the guest appears on the screen. Darn, that means I can’t do prank calls

I was always watching Channel News Asia for the haze updates

Despite the haze, I went to experience the Infinity Pool for half an hour

Sophia and Billy chit-chatting while enjoying the infinity pool despite the haze

The bad experience I encountered by being locked out. Apparently a few Bruneians experienced a similar thing 🙁

I was moved to a bigger room after that incident

Awesome cars just outside Tower 3

Apparently there is a service charge once you use the porter service but no charge if you are checking out from your room

This is the Marina Suite and it costs at least $1,600 per night *Sweat*

Ibis Hotel was a great experience for me even though it was only a night stay. This budget hotel is located on Bencoolen Street (not far from Sim Lee Square). It’s a pretty affordable hotel and I didn’t know quite a few Bruneians have stayed here. The rooms are pretty small but I guess I didn’t mind that either. Compared to MBS, the walk to the closest MRT takes 10 minutes or so but then again, it’s located next to Bugis and I do shop and dine at Bugis area too.

The TV was smaller of course due to the small size of the room but it didn’t offer a variety of channels. Room was clean and I managed to check in earlier than usual though I was told I could only check in at 2pm initially. We didn’t had any bell boy to help us from the taxi to unload the luggage but I guess they don’t really have that service. Not too sure about that.

Service wise was pretty good. We were able to have an extended late check out at 3pm (Thanks Alison and Terence) and the front desk people were very polite. They even helped me throw away unwanted rubbish for me and they also allowed me to use the lobby toilet (you need a keycard for that) even after I have checked out from the hotel.

I guess the affordability factor reduces some of the services provided by Ibis such as bell boy service and room service. To me, it doesn’t really bother me much. I highly recommend you to visit Ibis Hotel and this might just suit your budget if you happen to stay for a few nights or so.

Pros: Affordable (less than $200 at certain periods), friendly service (even the housekeeping guys greeted me with a smile), clean rooms, free WIFI, helpful front desk stuff
Cons: Small room but it’s not bad for the price we pay, wardrobe is pretty small too, no room service and bell boy, carry your own luggage to your room but they provide trolleys

I had a pleasant stay at Ibis Hotel

The twin bed room at Ibis and it is pretty small

Small wardrobe I must say

TV space in the room

The bathroom, toilet is pretty compact

They provide trolleys for luggage movement. Self-service.

Free internet usage for in-house guests

We ordered some food here