Singapore's Marina Bay Sands is entering the second phase of its renovation to position it as a top tourism destination for local and international visitors.
Marina Bay Sands first opened in 2010, according to CoStar data. The property is owned by casino company Las Vegas Sands Corp. and built by Massachusetts-based Safdie Architects.
An additional $750 million will be poured into the ongoing $1.75 billion renovation. The current phase of the renovation will focus on Tower 3, the hotel lobby and Sands SkyPark.
"It will include a reimagined VIP arrival experience, new premium dining and retail offerings, a lobby transformation as well as a renewed focus on wellness experiences for guests. More than 550 redesigned rooms, including approximately 380 suites, will be introduced in this phase," according to a news release.
This second leg of the renovation is expected to be complete in phases throughout 2025.
Concurrently, Marina Bay Sands has also entered the final stage of its $1 billion first-phase reinvestment, which focused on completing the first two hotel towers. Each existing tower is connected by a sky garden.
The first phase included an extensive upgrade of 1,280 rooms across Towers 1 and 2; 390 of those are new suites.
"These rooms are housed under two main categories — The Paiza Collection and The Sands Collection. Each has unique room types, such as the Horizon Suite, inspired by spa and wellness concepts, and the Family Suite, ideal for families with young children, featuring a kitchenette as well as a children's room with bunk beds, a bookshelf of storybooks and exclusively curated Adventure Packs," the release states.
The Paiza Collection includes ultra-luxurious residential-style suites from floors 50-54 in Towers 1 and 2. Specific rooms are also tailored to reflect various themes, including sports and wellness.
Amenities in the Horizon Suite include massage tables, a dry sauna, an ice wall, hammam shower, steam shower, Himalayan salt wall, heated ceramic lounge chairs and personal gym.
The Presidential Suite features a golf simulator where guests can play courses such as St. Andrews Links, Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines Golf Course.
The Paiza Sky Club will open on floor 55 of Tower 2, featuring a multi-concept executive club lounge with a tea vault, whiskey bar, private liquor locker, garden conservatory and buffet spreads.
Guests will be presented with 1,850 refurbished rooms, including 770 suites, once all three hotel towers are finalized.
The Straits Times reported Monday that Marina Bay Sands has received approval from authorities to expand with a fourth tower.
Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority shows the new tower will have around 165,000 square feet of hotel space, more than 587 guest rooms and roughly 13,116 square feet of retail space, a live performance arena seating at least 15,000 spectators as well as space for meetings, conventions and exhibitions, a sky roof with a pool and other tourist attractions.
Marina Bay Sands has until April 8, 2028, to complete the fourth tower on the land it has leased until August 2066.
Las Vegas Sands stated in its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings presentation that "the budget and timing of the [Marina Bay Sands] expansion are subject to revision based upon the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors."
"We were extremely pleased with our financial and operating results for the quarter, which reflect the ongoing improvement in the operating environment in both Macao and Singapore. We remain deeply enthusiastic about our opportunities for growth in both Macao and Singapore in the years ahead," Robert Goldstein, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., said in an earnings release.
Safdie Architects first said in 2019 it was planning to add the stand-alone fourth tower to Marina Bay Sands.
"Building on a long-term partnership with Las Vegas Sands [Corp.], we are delighted to embark upon a design for a major new addition to the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore," Safdie Architects said in a past Instagram post, according to a 2019 article by architecture, interiors and design magazine Dezeen.
"Marina Bay Sands is an iconic tourism destination that has exceeded all of our hopes in growing leisure and business tourism in Singapore," said Sheldon Adelson, who was the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., at the time of the article.
Adelson died in 2021 at the age of 87.
Christopher Khoo, managing director of hospitality consultancy MasterConsult Services, told the Straits Times that the increase in suites will give Marina Bay Sands the opportunity to cater to "the upper end of the scale for visitors."
“We are not just filling rooms cheaply to boost overall numbers, and MBS’ plans seem to confirm this thinking,” Khoo told the news outlet. “The boost in suite numbers indicates that MBS is still expected to be attractive enough to entice high-spending guests, and that is good news overall for Singapore.”