Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool Review 2024

Marina Bay Sands Infinity Pool Review 2024: my best tips on getting the most out of the famous MBS swimming pool after having been there over a dozen times!

Jump to:

• Opening Hours
• How to Access the MBS Pool
• Best Time to Use
• What to Do
• Poolside Dining
• How to Enjoy the View for Free/ Without Staying at the Hotel
• Who Should NOT Visit
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Infinity Pool is the world's largest rooftop infinity pool, perched on top of 3 hotel towers, and one of the selling points for staying at the over US$1000 per night luxury hotel, Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Southeast Asia. (That's the price for a Premier Room in Towers 1 or 2, the renovated towers. You can get cheaper rooms at Tower 3- they're functional but definitely not as amazing as the premium rooms. Click the link to read if staying at MBS is worth it.)

Despite having been there so many times, I'm always blown away by the incredible views you get from the top of the hotel, both of the city skyline and the open Singapore seas. One of my favorite things is to have a bite by MBS' amazing infinity pool. (Even if you can't afford to stay at the hotel, visiting the Marina Bay waterfront area is definitely one of the top things to do in Singapore!)

How to Access the MBS Pool

Located on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, over 200m up in the air, it's only open to guests of the hotel.

You will need to tap in with a hotel keycard to gain access to the pool. (If you read any posts on the MBS pool mentioning wrist bands- those posts are SERIOUSLY outdated.)

Note: one hotel guest gets one key card. Up to 3 guests can register per deluxe room (it may be only 2 for smaller rooms) i.e. a maximum of three key cards per room. (All hotel guests will have to present their identification papers- ID cards or passports- to be registered to the room.)

I've stayed at the Marina Bay Sands Resort and been to the pool over 12 times- over 90% of the time, the staff will ask to at least see your card, or to tap in. (According to the website, trespassers will be handed over to the authorities- I've never tested that!)

Best Time to Use

MBS is a very busy hotel- it has around 1850 rooms and is often at full-occupancy during peak periods! So if just 1 guest from every room visited the pool, you can imagine how busy the p[ool would be!

Check-out is at 11 a.m. and Check-in is at 3p.m.- although for the longest time, I thought it was at 2 p.m. and kept turning up early, and the receptionists always just allowed me to check-in! (It depends on whether the room is ready. Once, they were super busy, and I could only get my room at 4 p.m. You're given a keycard to relax at the pool during the interim.)

This means that there will be the least amount of guests at the hotel, and thus the pool area, between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, I sometimes go for Sunrise Yoga on the Rooftop, and between 6 to 9 a.m., the pool is very empty too. (You get a marvellous view of the sunrise at 6 a.m. and the deck almost entirely to yourself.) In the evening, past 8 p.m., the pool is usually quieter too.

If you want to get one of those Instagram shots of yourself standing at the edge of the pool, gazing down at the Singapore skyscrapers, I highly recommend going around 6 a.m. or 8 p.m. to the Marina Bay Sands pool. If you can wake up early, you'll catch the most beautiful sunrise from the deck.

Once the crowds start pouring in, the pool will be packed and it'll be difficult to get space to yourself. (It gets so crowded, you can't actually swim laps when the crowds arrive- more paddle and hang around the pool.)

Note: if you just want to lounge on top of Singapore, and not use the pool, you'll almost always be able to get a lounge chair somewhere on the 57th floor. However, they may not be under shade and it can get quite hot in Singapore! If you wait a few minutes, it should clear up though. Most people prefer to use the pool, and not the sun loungers.

What to Do

To be honest, I usually don't swim at the Infinity Pool. Instead, I prefer to:

• dine at the pool
• sit under a palm tree- or in one of the canopy pool beds- and (this is going to sound boring) work on my blog (What can I say, I love what I do!)
  • There are rows of lounge chairs at the side of the pool, if you prefer to be closer to the action. Alternatively, there are also picnic tables and loungers on the side opposite the pool. (the quieter area.)
• enjoy Sunrise Skypark Yoga (this is obviously not in the pool, but rather at the Observation Park, and you need to book in advance. It's ticketed but the price has gone down A LOT. I used to pay around $100-$150 per person, but it's only S$30 pp now!)
• watch a movie (depending on when you visit, they sometimes screen movies for free on the 57th floor. Usually for kids- I watched Spiderman.)

Note: they sometimes have dancing/ zumba sessions, which are quite fun. An instructor will stand on one of the pool chairs, and swimmers in the pool can dance along to the music.

Poolside Dining

I had a burger at the pool and it was great. You can check out my full review of MBS pool-side dining here.

How to Enjoy the View for Free/ Without Staying at the Hotel

There are some blogs telling you how they've snuck into the pool. I'm Singaporean, so I won't advocate flouting the rules. Instead, here's another way you can enjoy the view.

There are 3 restaurants (with rooftop bar) on the same floor as the pool: Spago, Lavo, and CÉ LA VI. Access to LAVO is via Tower 1- you can always tell the reception desk that you want to check it out before deciding whether or not to dine there, and you'll be able to go up.

Tip #1: The Italian food at LAVO sucks. I don't recommend dining at this Italian restaurant. Service is terrible too. (I recommend dining at Wakuda Singapore, the Japanese restaurant in the lobby, or Spago Singapore, instead.) However, it has a terrific view so I recommend getting a drink there. (Money better spent than the Observation Deck, and about the same price! I took a friend who was visiting when it opened and regretted not putting the $$ towards a drink instead.)

Tip 2: There's a S$30 admission fee for CÉ LA VI, which you get back when you order food and drink. The view there is also pretty good (360 degrees.)

Tip #3: SPAGO has by far the best food! There's a dining room (more formal) and a bar area (less formal, no AC.) However, the view at SPAGO is the worst of the 3, as the restaurant sort of sits in the middle of the deck- so you get a view of the infinity pool, but not such a close view of the Singapore skyline. (If you sit on the other side of the restaurant, you'll get a view of the Singapore waters, but the walls aren't 100% glass- there are panes- so it's a bit of a blocked view. Still not too shabby though.)

Who Should NOT Visit

There's not denying the Marina Bay Sands swimming pool is the perfect place to enjoy a view of Singapore. However, I wouldn't recommend it if:

• you want to swim laps and don't want to get up super early in the morning
  • the pool is one of the key attractions of the hotel, so it gets crowded once the guests wake up- not conducive for laps.
• you're big on privacy
  • there will be tons of people taking photos or videos to show that they've been to the pool. So if you're camera-shy... When I was staying at Lotte Hotel Busan, Korea, the staff actually asked me not to take photos. A shame as they have a BEAUTIFUL pool, but I appreciated their respect for guests' privacy!
• can't afford to pay S$600-1400 for a hotel room
  • as mentioned, you need a room keycard to access the pool

Note: if you require the use of a wheelchair, note that the toilets are NOT on the same floor as the pool. You'll have to go to the lower levels for the restrooms. (There is lift access.)

Frequently Asked Questions