Singapore's holiday island of Sentosa has beautiful beaches and untouched tropical forest, along with fine restaurants and spas, and entertainments such as a butterfly park, a huge aquarium with dolphin lagoon, a luge track (“part go-cart, part-toboggan, pure excitement”), two state-of-the-art experiential movie theatres, and a great deal more.
But compared with what's to come, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Sentosa is stepping into the world league with the arrival of the Resorts World at Sentosa, which will have now fewer than six hotels, 40 meeting venues, a 15,000-square-metre casino, entertainment that includes Southeast Asia’s first Universal Studios theme park, a sophisticated spa, superb restaurants and stacks of shops.
Resorts World’s owners, Genting International of Malaysia and Star Cruises of Hong Kong, are spending US$5.2 billion on the 49-hectare complex. That’s how serious these people are.
Parts of the complex are already complete and the 1,600-seat Festive Grand plenary hall is being readied to host its first event, a fund-raising concert for the local charity ChildAid. The whole complex is expected to be complete early 2010, employing 10,000 people.
The Hotels at Resorts World Sentosa
Resorts World at Sentosa has no fewer than six hotels and resorts, each cleverly designed with a different kind of holidaymaker in mind.
Hotel Maxim is ultra-deluxe and suites-only, and sits atop the casino. It will also include private gaming rooms and fine-dining restaurants. For those who enjoy gaming, this is the place to stay.
Hotel Michael has boutique accommodation and is named after the renowned Resorts World architect, Michael Graves. It is equipped entirely with elegant furniture and fittings designed by Graves’ company. There will even be a shop where you can buy Graves-designed items to take home.
Hard Rock Hotel is, as its name suggests, aimed at all those who love piping-hot rock music. This is the place to enjoy the “Rock ’n’ Roll rockstars” lifestyle. Attached to the hotel are the resort’s convention and exhibition facilities.
Festive Hotel, chic and contemporary, is aimed at families. It’s next to the thronging Festive Walk, with its restaurants, shops, nightclubs and non-stop street entertainment.
Equarius Hotel is for those who appreciate nature – just a few steps away is the virgin forest of Sentosa island. It’s also right next to Equarius water park, with its water rides, slides and pools. Ideal for families.
The Spa Villas offer the ultimate beach-side getaway, but without being far from the action when required. Perfect for special holidays, weddings or honeymoons, it offers the best of both worlds – romantic retreat and still close to the buzz of Resort World’s facilities.
Meetings, Incentives,
Conferences & Exhibitions
Who says meetings always have to be serious? In fact, wouldn’t a bit of fun be inspiring? Conducive to great ideas? How about a conference in Waterworld, or a sales meeting surrounded by the excitement of Universal Studios rides?
Resort World at Sentosa does have conventional meeting and exhibition facilities, including the vast column-free space of Asia’s largest ballroom and a host of smaller venues. But when it comes to incentive groups or exciting product launches, the only limitation is the organisers’ imaginations.
As Resorts World suggests, “Delegates could wrap up a day of seminars with a wild costume party at Hollywood Boulevard in Universal Studios Singapore, while marketers could throw product launches at WaterWorld – where stuntmen and movie special effects would make a splash, and an impression. Black-tie galas could be held at the resort’s 1,600-seat plenary hall, while VIPs get treated to exclusive dolphin encounter sessions.”
They say dolphins are highly intelligent so who knows? Maybe the next great business idea will be sparked by such an encounter.
Attractions
Resorts World at Sentosa has a cluster of truly world-class attractions to entertain tired business people or vacationing families.
Universal Studios Singapore This theme park has no fewer than seven themes with 24 rides, all aimed at providing maximum screams and excitement. These include Battlestar Galactica, a high-speed ride with heart-lurching near-collisions as opposing cars sweep past one another. Or there’s Journey to Madagascar, a river rapids ride, or ET Adventure, in which riders fly on bicycles up into the sky. There’s also a spectacular show with dozens of stunt performers and stacks of pyrotechnics, based on the movie Waterworld.
Marine Life Park. This is the world’s largest oceanarium, filled with all kinds of fish right up to the enormous whale shark. And it’s not just for those who want to stay safely detached, looking through the glass at the wonders of the sea; there’s a wading pool for children and adults to get to know the friendly reef fish or, for those who like their excitement to come with rows of very sharp teeth, the opportunity to get in a tank with tiger sharks – and feed them.
Maritime Experiential Theatre. This starts off fairly conventionally with visitors sitting in theatre seats and being “ushered aboard” an Arab sailing vessel heading home after loading up in Asia. But then the weather gets really bad. The theatre seats pitch up and down. There’s worse to come – the vessel sinks! And that’s when the adventure really begins...
Equarius Water Park. Kids – and their parents – will love this place. A surf pool, a stunning water slide that swooshes through the jungle, “Snakes & Ladders”, with water that flows uphill, and much more. For those who prefer to stay dry, there’s also a fascinating tree-top walkway, for an unforgettably unique view of the jungle.
Festive Walk. Anyone who’s been to Las Vegas will have been awestruck by Fremont St and its enormous video “sky”. Fremont St was designed by Jeremy Railton, who is also the genius behind the design of Festive Walk. It’ll have shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and there will be something happening there 24 hours a day – lights, laser shows, fire, water and special effects. Definitely the place to see and be seen.
La Vie. All the best resorts in the world have great theatrical entertainment. In the case of Resorts World it will be La Vie, an extravaganza of great music, brilliant costumes, stunning sets and lighting, and astonishing acrobatic performances. Not to be missed.
Espa. When all the excitement gets a bit too much, Espa is the place to go to relax, to chill, to re-centre. Facing out across the water towards the sunset, the spa offers relaxation therapy, lifestyle coaching, nutrition management, stress management, general health and fitness, post-operative rehabilitation and interactive dolphin therapy.
