Resorts World Sentosa


Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions include one of Singapore's two casinos, a Universal Studios theme park, Adventure Cove Water Park, and S.E.A. Aquarium, which includes the world's second largest oceanarium.
The S$6.59 billion resort was developed by Genting Singapore. It was the third most expensive building ever constructed in 2010. The resort occupies over of land and, when fully open, will employ more than 10,000 people directly. Resorts World Sentosa is a sister resort to Resorts World Genting, Pahang, Malaysia and Resorts World Manila, Philippines.
The soft launch of the first four hotels took place on 20 January 2010, with the FestiveWalk shopping mall following on 1 February. The casino opened on 14 February 2010 on the first auspicious day of the Chinese New Year. The Maritime Experiential Museum opened on 15 October 2011 and the last attraction opened on 22 November 2012, The Marine Life Park.
The grand opening of the integrated resort was held on 7 December 2012, officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong together with Genting Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay. Resorts World Sentosa is also expected to hold large-scale exhibitions such as Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future.

History

Integrated resorts in Singapore

Resort history

Construction of Resorts World Sentosa Singapore began on 16 April 2007 on the demolished plot of Imbiah Lookout. It opened in a record time of 34 months of construction on 20 January 2010.
Crockfords Tower, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Festive Hotel and Hotel Michael opened 20 January 2010, followed by FestiveWalk on 31 January 2010. Resorts World Sentosa Casino opened on 14 February 2010. Universal Studios Singapore was opened for a sneak peek week in view of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 and 21 February 2010. The whole park was opened but none of the rides was operational. Visitors had to pay SGD10 to get into the park. Park tickets for the week were sold out in 2 days. The park had its soft opening period from 18 March 2010 to 26 October 2010. As a result of the Coronavirus disease 2019, RWS cut a significant amount of its workforce.

Timeline

The resort was designed primarily by the Driehaus Prize winner and New Classical architect Michael Graves. The six hotels offer a total of 1,840 rooms for accommodation. Each hotel is designed with a different theme, catering to both the leisure and business visitors.
The resort is split into the west, central and east zones.

Central zone

Hotels

Four hotels are located in the central zone.
The Royal Albatross is berthed at the Historical Ships Harbour, beside S.E.A Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark. Her dinner cruise, Sunset Sail City Lights, is held every weekend evening. Starting from her berth, the dinner cruise will take guests past the beaches of Sentosa to the outskirts of Marina Bay, around the edge of the Southern Islands and back to Sentosa. She is available for private charters as well.

Casino

The Sentosa casino is located beneath Crockfords Tower that has acreage 15,000 sq.m.
As of 4 April 2019, Singaporeans and Permanent Residents have to pay S$150 daily and S$3000 annually for entry to the casino. Both types of entry levy allow the patron to visit to only one casino.
Foreign citizens can enter free of charge with their passports or employment passes.
Only persons aged 21 and above will be permitted to enter the casino premises.
Persons under 21 or persons under exclusion order, being the result of self-exclusion, exclusion by family members or automated exclusion by law are prohibited from entering the casino premises.
The entry fees are collected by the Singapore Totalisator Board and used for public and charity causes. The casino does not keep any portion of the fees.
In May 2011, the Casino Regulatory Authority fined Resorts World Sentosa for two violations related to reimbursements and two other violations related to surveillance practices. The total fine was S$530,000.

Fine dining

Voyage de la Vie is the first permanent production show to open at Resorts World Sentosa. This resident rock musical is set in the Festive Grand Theatre with a capacity of 1,600 people. The production was created by Mark Fisher.
Martial Combat, Asia's largest mixed martial arts fighting championship, is staged over six months each year at the Compass Ballroom, and broadcast by ESPN STAR Sports.
Crane Dance is a multimedia moving art installation with choreographed animatronic cranes built over the sea, and designed by Jeremy Railton. Edward S. Marks and Bob Chambers were brought on to oversee the construction, installation and programming of the Cranes. Marks served as Project Director and Producer while Chambers served as its Senior Technical Director. It opened on 25 December 2010 and was closed down on 2 March 2020.
Lake of Dreams is a multimedia spectacular that combines the elements of water, fire, air and light, designed by Jeremy Railton. Edward S. Marks and Bob Chambers oversaw the construction, installation and programming of this attraction as well.

West zone

Hotels

, the world's largest oceanarium, opened its doors on 22 November 2012. The park houses two attractions, the S.E.A Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark, previously known as the Equarius Water Park.

The Maritime Experiential Museum

was opened on 15 October 2011 that features more than 400 artefacts and replicas with a 360-degree Multi-sensory Typhoon Theatre. It is the only museum in Singapore to display the history of ancient maritime trade where visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of maritime Silk Route from the 15th to 19th century. The museum consists of more than 10 interactive points as well as an experience to board on the authentic harbour ships from Asia docked outside the museum. Also, it will become the permanent home of the Jewel of Muscat, a gift from the Oman Government. It was closed along with the Crane Dance on 2 March 2020.

Royal Albatross

The Royal Albatross is berthed at the Historical Ships Harbour, beside S.E.A Aquarium and the Adventure Cove Waterpark. She sails twice every weekend evening. Starting from her berth, the dinner cruise will take guests past the beaches of Sentosa to the outskirts of Marina Bay, around the edge of the Southern Islands and back to Sentosa. She is available for private charters as well.

East zone

Universal Studios Singapore

is Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park and opened its doors on 18 March 2010. It features 24 attractions and is divided into seven zones – including Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, New York, The Lost World, Far Far Away, Madagascar and Hollywood.