Resorts World Sentosa

Resorts World Sentosa
Address	8 Sentosa Gateway Singapore 098269 6577 8888
Opening date	20 January 2010
Number of rooms	>1,500 - 7 Hotels
Total gaming space	15,000 m^2 (160,000 sq ft)
Signature attractions	Universal Studios Singapore Adventure Cove Waterpark S.E.A._Aquarium Dolphin Island Festive Walk Galleria Luxury Fashion
Notable restaurants	Tunglok Heen Restaurant de Joël Robuchon L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon Osia Palio Feng Shui Inn Forest
Casino type	Land-based
Owner	Genting Group
Website	rwsentosa.com

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 largest oceanarium.

The S$6.59 billion (US$4.93 billion) resort was developed by Genting Singapore. It is the third most expensive building ever constructed. The resort occupies over 49 hectares (120 acres) 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,^[1] with the FestiveWalk shopping mall following on 1 February.^[2] The casino opened on 14 February 2010 on the first auspicious day of the Chinese New Year.^[3] The Maritime Experiential Museum opened on 15 October 2011^[4] and the last attraction opened on 22 November 2012, The Marine Life Park.^[5]

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.^[6] Resorts World Sentosa is also expected to hold large-scale exhibitions such as Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future.^[7]

History

Integrated Resorts in Singapore history

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.^[8] 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 sneak peek week in view of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 to 21 February 2010.^[9] The whole park was opened but none of the rides were 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.^[10]

Timeline

• 10 October 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises submitted its proposal, suitably named Resorts World at Sentosa to the Singapore government.
• 16 October 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises unveiled its proposal "Resorts World at Sentosa".
• 8 December 2006 – Genting International and Star Cruises won the bid for the Sentosa IR.
• 16 April 2007 – Resorts World at Sentosa broke ground on 49-hectare site.
• 7 November 2007 – Resorts World at Sentosa announced that it will be adding six new attractions to its resort.
• October 2008 – Resorts World at Sentosa announced new Transformers attraction for Universal Studios Singapore.
• September 2009 – Universal Studios Singapore unveiled Far Far Away and Madagascar.
• October 2009 – Universal Studios Singapore unveiled attractions, dining options and merchandise outlets at Universal Studios Singapore
• 20 January 2010 – Soft Opening of Resorts World Sentosa – Crockfords Tower, Hotel Michael, Hard Rock Hotel and Festive Hotel
• 31 January 2010 – Opening of FestiveWalk
• 1 February 2010 – Opening of Waterfront Station of Sentosa Express.
• 14 to 21 February 2010 – Sneak Peak week for Universal Studios Singapore.
• 14 February 2010 – Opening of Resorts World Sentosa Casino.
• Late February 2010 – Opening of Link Bridge from Resorts World Sentosa to Imbiah Lookout.
• 18 March 2010 – Soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore with Pantages Hollywood Theater, Lights Camera Action, Battlestar Galactica, Accelerator, Revenge of the Mummy, Treasure Hunters, Canopy Flyer, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure, Waterworld, Amber Rock Climb, Dino-Soarin', Shrek 4D Adventure, Donkey Live, Enchanted Airways, Magic Potion Spin and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round.
• 24 April 2010 – MediaCorp and RWS presents the Star Awards 2010 Show 2, a Mandarin TV awards ceremony which is a prize presentation for performance based and popularity awards.
• 2 July 2010 – New Lake Hollywood Spectacular show on Friday and Saturday nights at Universal Studios Singapore.
• October 2010 – Opening of Candylicious, one of Asia's largest candy store.
• Late October 2010 – Opening of Waterfront Area.
• 25 December 2010 – Opening of Crane Dance.
• Spring 2011 – First year anniversary.
• 21 February 2011 – The re-opening of Battlestar Galactica after a technical glitch caused it to be closed just one week after opening.^[11][12]
• 23 April 2011 – MediaCorp presents the Star Awards 2011 Show 2 for the second year running.
• 16 May 2011 – The scheduled opening of Madagascar: A Crate Adventure in Universal Studios Singapore.^[13][14][15]
• 15 October 2011 – Opening of Maritime Experiential Museum.^[4]
• 3 December 2011 – Opening of Transformers: The Ride at Universal Studios Singapore.^[16][17] The ride had its world premiere at an exclusive evening event on 2 December 2011 with director Michael Bay graced the event.^[18]
• 16 February 2012 – Opening of Equarius Hotel and Beach Villas.^[19]
• 6 July 2012 – Opening of ESPA by RWS.
• 22 November 2012 – Opening of Marine Life Park (S.E.A Aquarium [except Dolphin Island] and Adventure Cove Waterpark)^[5]
• 7 December 2012 – Official Opening Ceremony of Resorts World Sentosa.^[6]
• 1 March 2013 – Opening of Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase at Universal Studio Singapore.^[20]
• 9 April 2013 – Unveiling of dolphins for public viewing at S.E.A. Aquarium.
• 22 May 2013 – Launch of Ultimate Maritime Encounters with Open Ocean Dive at Adventure Cove Waterpark.
• 15 June 2013 – Launch of Shark Encounter at Adventure Cove Waterpark.
• 30 June 2013 – Launch of Sea Trek Adventure at Adventure Cove Waterpark.^[21]
• 21 July 2013 – Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios Singapore closed for an "attraction review".^[22]
• 30 September 2013 – Opening of Dolphin Island at Marine Life Park.^[23]
• 8 April 2015 - Puss In Boots ride opens in Universal Studios Singapore.^[24]
• 27 May 2015 - Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios Singapore re-opens.^[25]
• 15 Jan 2016 - Announcement that Action Superstar Donnie Yen and his wife Cissy Wang are brand ambassadors and spokesperson(s) for RWS. The Marketing campaign will be launched in March where Television commercials and print media will allow audiences to experience RWS "through the eyes of Donnie and Cissy".^[26]

Resort layout

The resort was designed primarily by American architect Michael Graves. The six hotels offer a total of 1,840 rooms for accommodation.^[27] Each hotel is designed with a different theme, catering to both the leisure and business visitors.^[28] The resort is split into west, central and east zones.^[29]

Central Zone

Hotels

Four hotels are located in the central zone.

• Crockfords Tower, formerly planned to be named Maxims Tower,^[30] is an 11-storey all-suite hotel^[31] overlooking the Singapore harbour and the Southern Islands. The resort's casino is located beneath the tower.^[32] The hotel was topped-out on 27 February 2009 and opened on 20 January 2010. Both the latter and Hotel Michael sit on the area of the former Sentosa Musical Fountain The hotel also features Crockfords Premier, a casino club with private rooms for High Roller located on 10th floor.
• Hotel Michael is an 11-storey hotel named after Michael Graves.^[33] Hotel Michael topped-out on 15 July 2009 and was opened on 20 January 2010. Together with Crockfords Tower, it replaces the site of former Sentosa Musical Fountain
• Festive Hotel is a family-oriented hotel next to Crockfords Tower and Festive Walk.^[34] Beneath the hotel is Festive Grand, a 1,600 seat plenary hall which will host Resorts World Sentosa's resident musical Voyage de la Vie.^[35]
• The Hard Rock Hotel Singapore is the site of meeting and conference facilities, and indoor exhibition space. This includes 26 differently-designed function rooms and one of Asia's largest ballrooms with seating for 7,300 guests. Construction of Singapore's first Hard Rock Hotel started in May 2008, and the hotel opened on 20 January 2010.
• Equarius Hotel is situated at the west of the resort.

Casino

Access control at the Resorts World casino

The casino, capped at 15,000 sq.m. by regulation, is located beneath Crockfords Tower.^[32] Government regulations also require Singapore citizens and permanent residents to purchase a S$100 day pass or S$2000 yearly membership for access into the casino.^[36] Both types of entry levy (daily or yearly) allow the patron to visit to only one casino.^[37]

Overseas citizens can enter free of charge with their passports or employment passes.

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 (US$425,000).^[38]

Fine Dining

• Tunglok heen by Susur Lee – Chinese cuisine
• Restaurant de Joël Robuchon by Joël Robuchon – French cuisine
• L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon by Joël Robuchon – Contemporary French cuisine
• Osia by Scott Webster – Modern Australian cuisine
• Forest by Sam Leong – Contemporary Chinese cuisine

Casual Dining

• Palio at Hotel Michael – Italian cuisine
• Starz Restaurant at Hard Rock Hotel – Western & Asian Buffet

Resorts World Galleria Luxury Fashion

The Galleria links the Festive Hotel, casino entrance and Hotel Michael. It includes the first Victoria's Secret boutique in Asia ^[39] and a wide variety of other top luxury brands.

Shows

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 (of The Producers Group) 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.

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

• Equarius Hotel, close to the Adventure Cove Waterpark.^[40]
• Beach Villas, a collection of 22 villas floating on a lagoon.^[41] It opened on 16 February 2012.

Salon & Spa

• Salon Royale
• Spa Republic
• ESPA, The first ESPA in Asia commences on 6 July 2012.

Marine Life Park

Marine Life Park, the world's largest oceanarium, opens its doors on 22 November 2012.^[5] 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

The Maritime Experiential Museum was opened on 15 October 2012 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.^[42] Also, it will become the permanent home of the Jewel of Muscat, a gift from the Oman Government.^[43]

East Zone

Universal Studios Singapore

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.^[44]

See also

• Universal Studios Singapore
• S.E.A. Aquarium
• Adventure Cove Waterpark

References

1. Breaking News – Singapore|The Straits Times
3. http://www.rwsentosa.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=RWS%2fpressroom%2f2010%2fRWS+press+release+-+casino+opening.pdf&tabid=57&mid=1023&language=en-US
4. "Discovering Southeast Asia’s maritime history". Resorts World Sentosa (Official Blog). Retrieved 14 September 2011.
5. "World’s Largest Oceanarium opens at Resorts World Sentosa 22nd November 2012" (PDF). Resorts World Sentosa.
6. "RWS looks to hotels for growth". TODAYonline. 8 December 2012.
7. Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future
8. http://www.rwsentosa.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=RWS%2fpressroom%2f2007%2fpress16apr2007.pdf&tabid=61&mid=2371&language=en-US
9. Lim, Jessica (2010). Universal Studios opens Sun. Retrieved on 7.06.10 from Stratis Times.
10. Resorts World Sentosa (2010). Extension of validity for your annual pass. Retrieved on 8 November 2010 from Picasa.
11. Stratis Times Article.
12. "Battlestar Galactica roller coaster ride to reopen.". Channel News Asia. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
13. A Crate Adventure – Madagascar – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 13.06.10 from the Official Site.
14. Madagascar: A Crate Adventure could be on line by September or as late as Dec of this year. Retrieved 13.06.10 from the Sentosa Theme Park Blog.
15. Genting Singapore PLC (2010). FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE NINE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED 30 September 2010 PART I – INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF QUARTERLY (Q1, Q2 & Q3), HALFYEAR AND FULL YEAR ANNOUNCEMENTS. Retrieved on 13.11.10 from Official Site.
16. Resorts World Sentosa (2010). "Transformers" To Be Developed As Theme Park Mega-Attraction At Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved on 7.06.10 from Official Site.
17. "BREAKING NEWS: TRANSFORMERS The Ride Premieres at Universal Studios Singapore® on 3 December 2011". RWS Blog. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
18. "Transformers The Ride debuts Dec 3". Channel News Asia. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
19. "RWS to open last 2 of 6 hotels on Thursday". Channel News Asia. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
20. "USS Sesame Street theme park ride to open on March 1". Asia One. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
21. "Marine Life Park Launches Up-Close Marine Life Encounters" (PDF). Resorts World Sentosa. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
22. "Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios Singapore closed". Channel NewsAsia. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
23. "Resorts World Sentosa's Dolphin Island to open on Sept 30". The Straits Times. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
24. "New Puss In Boots ride at Universal Studios Singapore". The Straits Times. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
25. "Battlestar Galactica set to take off again". Channel News Asia. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
26. "Donnie Yen, Cecilia Wang new brand ambassadors for Resorts World Sentosa". Channel News Asia. CNA. Retrieved 17 Jan 2016.
27. Sim, A. (9 April 2008). Hard Rock Hotel contract awarded. Business Times
28. http://app.stb.gov.sg/Data/news/1/3ba9af181751761d3b387f74ded2d783/Factsheet%20-%20Resorts%20World.doc
29. Boo, K. (10 December 2006). Genting plays it smart & sleek the second time around. Straits Times
30. Archived 24 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
31. E-News Bulletin Issue 8
32. World Sentosa | Singapore Resorts, Hotels and Casinos|Singapore Integrated Resorts (IR)
33. Tor, C.L. 2006, 2 October Genting's 'lyrical' offering; Bidder pulls in designer Michael Graves to design Sentosa IR boutique hotel. TODAY
34. Resorts World Sentosa | Singapore Resorts, Hotels and Casinos|Singapore Integrated Resorts (IR)
35. "ChildAid to be FIRST event held at Resorts World Sentosa" (PDF). 14 July 2009.
36. The Economist, "Sin galore", 26 February 2011, p. 72.
37. Casino at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore – Gaming at a Glance
38. Singapore Casino Fined for Violations – The Best Online Casino Guide Blog
39. wayangtimes.com
40. Resorts World Sentosa | Singapore Resorts, Hotels and Casinos|Singapore Integrated Resorts (IR)
41. Tor, C.L. (17 October 2006). Royal flush; $5.2-billion: Resorts World unveiled. TODAY
42. Sim, A. 2006, 16 October. Genting bets on four world-class attractions. Business Times
43. Singapore exploring best way to exhibit Jewel of Muscat – Channel NewsAsia
44. Resorts World Sentosa | Singapore Resorts, Hotels and Casinos|Singapore Integrated Resorts (IR)

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 1°15′12″N 103°49′16″E / 1.253232°N 103.821081°E