There is no shortage of new developments for groups heading to Singapore.
Singapore’s hotel landscape continues to be dynamic, with accommodations ranging from boutique hotels with quirky designs to luxury properties. Currently, Singapore has 47,000 available rooms. By the end of 2012, total hotel room inventory is expected to increase to more than 53,000 rooms.
Integrated Resorts debuted in 2010, encompassing Marina Bay Sands, fronting Marina Bay, and Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island. Marina Bay Sands was developed by Las Vegas Sands and is billed as the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at more than $6 billion.
The resort features the 2,561-room Marina Bay Sands hotel; the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, which has a capacity for 45,000 delegates and 2,000 exhibition booths, and features 250 meeting rooms and Southeast Asia’s largest ballroom; the 800,000-square-foot The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall; The ArtScience Museum; two theaters; seven celebrity chef restaurants; two floating Crystal Pavilions; an ice-skating rink; and the world’s largest atrium casino. The complex is topped by a SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and an infinity swimming pool.
Resorts World Sentosa has six hotels with 1,800 rooms, including a Hard Rock Hotel with 26 function rooms and one of Asia’s largest ballrooms with seating for 7,300 guests. Other attractions at the resort include a casino, Universal Studios and the upcoming Marine Life Park—the world’s largest oceanarium, holding more than 20 million gallons of saltwater habitats. It will be home to more than 700,000 fish.
Aside from the 2010 Integrated Resorts additions, 2011 saw the opening of the 72-room Santa Grand, East Coast in Katong. Other 2011 hotel openings included the 80-room Lai Chun Yuen Hotel in Chinatown, inspired by historic Chinese opera houses.
The Park Avenue Rochester debuted by Rochester Park this year with 271 guest rooms and suites.
The Bay Hotel Singapore also opened this year with 333 guest units offering views of either Sentosa or Mount Faber. The property is located near the HarbourFront cruise terminal.
PARKROYAL on Pickering is slated to open later this year at Raffles Place in the Central Business District. The property will offer green features such as rainwater harvesting and solar cells that will power landscape lighting. The property will boast 367 guest rooms and approximately 160,000 square feet of sky gardens, reflecting pools, waterfalls, planter terraces and green walls.
The W Singapore-Sentosa Cove is scheduled to open this month on an exclusive part of the Sentosa Island resort and will feature 240 rooms, beach bars and restaurants. Also at Sentosa, the Equarius Hotel Sentosa at Resorts World Sentosa recently debuted.
A number of hotels are slated to open in 2013, including Sofitel, Ogilvy Centre-Connexion at Farrer Road; The Westin Hotel, Asia Square Tower II; Dorsett Regency, New Bridge Road; and two Holiday Inn Express properties.
Meanwhile, Singapore EXPO, spanning over 1.3 million square feet, recently introduced a new convention wing, MAX Atria, featuring 32 rooms, foyers, a garden courtyard and rooftop space. The wing, measuring over 136,700 square feet, is certified Green Mark Platinum by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority.
At press time, the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre was slated to embark on a more than $140 million modernization program in mid-2012. The redesign of Suntec will integrate advanced technology, including a two-story interactive digital wall that groups can customize.
“Suntec is undergoing a reinvention,” says Ong Wee Min, Suntec’s chief commercial officer. “We’re dramatically going to change the functionality of our space.”
Suntec consulted a select group of clients from around the world, asking what the mission of the meetings industry is in the next 15 years.
“This group came up with two words: convergence and convergence,” Ong says, meaning convergence of face-to-face meetings with technology as well as convergence of space.
“We see business and content converging—trade show business with meetings,” Ong continues. “When you go to a convention center there are usually two floors, but we’ll have exhibitions on every floor alongside content meetings.”
Suntec anticipates six months of inactivity before reopening in the first quarter of 2013. Plans call for Suntec to link to a new development, South Beach, which will feature two new towers in Singapore’s downtown core. The towers will rise 45 stories and 42 stories tall, and will house two luxury hotels, offices and apartments. The project will add about 700 to 800 hotel rooms and include the restoration of four conservation buildings. The complex is scheduled for completion in 2016.
Another addition is Gardens by the Bay, a unique green space and horticulture-themed attraction in Marina Bay that will sprawl over 250 acres. The first step was the 130-acre Bay South Garden, which opened in June. Group event spaces include the Flower Dome Event Space and The Meadow, accommodating up to 30,000 people.
Other upcoming new developments include River Safari wildlife park, National Art Gallery and Singapore Sports Hub.
