it's a tiny state with big ambitions
once a colonial bathwater now
a global financial center
from third world to first in just one generation
finally all that hard work is paying off
So as the Sun goes down and the lights come on come with us as we go behind the velvet
rope and show you the luxurious
side of Singapore
so that seemed easy getting out of Singapore Airport
Changi, which is considered the world's best airport now for two years in a row
by Skytrax
but what you're gonna see that's really interesting about Changi is that there's
no such thing as the VIP service its CIP service
what does CIP stand for? Commercially Important People
who are they? Well they include someone like David Beckham
that we saw hanging out at the lounge today but also it's for average folks like
you, me, and we're heading on tarmac now to show you
the elite terminal service at CIP
Forget the masses at passport control
because I'm a CIP and that means no lines at immigration
no scramble at the baggage carousel instead
it's the bar
food
art and ambiance
but when you are not just any CIP, you
also get the suite
That's right with your own Butler - Champagne
canapes and all that was required of
me was to sitback glass of bubbly inhand
and just wait for someone to fetch my bag for me
well, that and pay around fourteen hundred dollars
So there you go, door-to-door service at the Singapore Changi airport that is what you call CIP
okay so the bags are packed and we're off to the hotel
So as we race down the highway which actually doubles as a spare
runway, you know, just incase, all of a sudden we are at
Marina Bay that's right the new heart of Singapore
Ironically you think that this entire part of the
Island didn't even exist at one point
infact Singapore has reclaimed so much land from the sea
the country is now 25 percent bigger than it was fifty years ago
and this is precisely where the iconic Marina Bay Sands now stands
There are many that thought it was a gamble to build a casino
in a country nicknamed Singabore
but as any high roller will tell you you have the bet big
to win big
So here we are at Marina Bay Sands which is
the most expensive hotel ever built in the world
at a cost of more than five and a half billion dollars as also
the largest hotel in Singapore and the sixth largest in the asia-pacific
so we're in the chairman suite which is bigger than the presidential suite that only
there's only two of them
in the hotel and it's got everything you may need
and maybe some things you don't
Pool room
Table for ten
Massage room
karaoke room
Your own personal salon
personal sauna, steam and gym room
a baby grand piano
because a grand piano would be too much
So as spectacular as the chairman suite is here at Marina Bay Sands it's not just
about the hotel rooms
or just the gambling that visitors come for it's also
about tallest and biggest infinity pool in the world
in fact the entire sky park is actually longer
than the Eiffel Tower is tall one-and-a-half
million litres of water jut out over the hotel
57 stories into the air all culminating
in a dramatic view unlike any other city in the world
So as you see behind us the Marina Bay Sands is hotel pool
is phenomenally popular it's also a piece
yes of the hotel but also a piece of the Singapore skyline
icon here in the city but lets talk about what else is on
offer in Singapore and joining us now we have the Luxe City Guides
Liz Weselby with us and as you see, and as you know,
if you ever come to Singapore, Marina Bay Sands is hugely popular
it's the place to come if you want that pazzaz a bit of wow you know if you've
never come to Singapore
I would recommend staying at this hotel because it is such an icon
It's an icon of the city and having said
that you will be fighting for a sunbed sometimes but
but come here and enjoy it for what it is and enjoy that view enjoya
terrific dining they have here
they some amazing facilities you've got beautiful views either the city or
the gardens and it's right in the center yeah so mass-market popularity here
Marina Bay Sands but what if you want something a little bit more special
here in Singapore? A little more special
I would and I'd definitely recommend just jumping over the water
to a beautiful hotel called Fullerton Bay
it's everything that MBS isn't
it's much smaller it's more niche it has this
gorgeous art deco design to it
its just much much more personal
its also sat on the bay so you actually get a view
of Marina Bay Sands in the rest of it so it's a different perspective know what if you
want to go the boutique
route what would you recommend there? Fullerton Bay is almost boutique
I guess that the great little hotel in Chinatown called New Majestic
which I think is probably one of the first boutique hotels here in
Singapore
it was open probably about a ten years ago
it has this lovely retro vibe to it you go in and this this
modernist furniture everywhere its quirky it's cool it's different
and and its right back in a minute Chinatown
so from there you can walk out to all the bars and docks
sacks street and club street as well
now what about if I want to go somewhere like Park Royale?
Definitely I mean Park Royale opened up last year
you know it's a brand that hotel it's a known brand but it's something really
quite different
they've created this very green eco-property right in the middle of the city
it has roof-top gardens it has an amazing pool surrounded by gardens
you just drive past and the the architecture is such that you want to
reach out and touch it
it's got this tactile and
ability of to it it something really quite different
this is where I really wanted to bring you because
I think of all the hotels in Singapore this is probably the most sophisticated
the most gorgeous it's on sentosa it's a real
retreat experience you put this beautiful colonial building
and which then leads through too much more modern wing
which is designed by Norman Foster so you've got the combination of the two
we have guests come here and it really is that
escape you have private butler's you've got beautifully designed
rooms plunge pool it and it's the ultimate in all the hotels
kinda looks like the colonial Raffles Hotel that is downtown
that wasn't part of your hotel recommendations? No Raffles is an
interesting one
you're right it is very similar to that colonial style you know i think is a
guest at Raffles
you have a very wonderful experience there's a private wing
which is for guests only no one else in
however this the other side of Raffles that attract
a very mass-market tourist crowd you do get the tourist buses coming by dropping
off
people and so I think for the more discerning
traveler who is wanting something special Raffles probably wouldn't offer it
But for the truly discerning traveler there is of course
a better option you don't get more oceanfront than
this it even comes with your own driver why
stay in a small dark hotel room when you can have all of this
and talk about a room with a view
with the world's wealthy dropping anchor in Singapore
if you drop a bit of money this all
can be yours
head out to sea for lunch
and be back on land that first drink for the Sun
even sets
and once
the sun does go down Singapore's
nightlife comes alive
Up in the clouds and back to sea level
for recovery
before one last lap around City in style