Dramatic addition to Singapore's skyline

Marina Bay Sands Hotel pool. Photo / Supplied

At the top of Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, almost a quarter of a kilometre up in the air, white paint on the steel roof support columns is so fresh that drips show on the flowering creepers.

Underneath, in the 300-store shopping arcade, hoardings are being taken down almost daily to reveal luxury international-brand shops from Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Tiffany & Co to Christian Dior, Bulgari and Gucci.

Marina Bay Sands, one of the world's most breathtaking new buildings, is so fresh and strange that locals and visitors are still gaping in awe.

But to get anywhere near the property's unusual features, such as an infinity swimming pool 200m up in the sky, non-guests have to pay S$20 to get to the to the Sands SkyPark observation deck.

The deck has had 425,000 paying visitors since it opened.

Paying allows entry up to the heights of the bow-shaped structure at the top of the three-tower hotel and its impressive weir-style 150m long pool, where water appears to vanish from the three bays and pour directly over the edge.

But even the tip of the hotel was weight-tested before the decks were open.

On the Singaporean CBD side, where the water flows out of the pool, it gives the illusion of being a sheer drop from the dizzying heights, across Marina Bay and towards the city.

From its startling edge, the water cascades into a V-shaped tiled water recycling trough below. A secure walkway has been built beneath.

Still, the hotel staff patrol the edge. Uniformed guards blow whistles when exuberant patrons perch on the edge, strong-arm themselves up to a better view or appear to be endangering themselves.

Shar, one of the T-shirted guards in red shorts, explains the risks.

"It's not that anyone will go over the edge. We let them swim up to it. But we don't want them pushing themselves up," he says.

Entry to the lower level beneath the pool edge is off-limits, with a plate-glass gate and security key-pad entry.

The pool surroundings are like a park, with trees on the open-sea harbour edge side of the walkway where decks allow corporate events to be staged and guests can look towards ships at anchor.

The hotel claims to have the world's largest pool at this height. Palm trees are already swaying healthily above the pool's edge.

But the magic of this engineering marvel really comes alive just on dusk as the city's glittering glass towers light up, reflecting themselves in the water.

Security is high at the Sands to stop freeloaders - and not just at the pool.

Uniformed concierge-style security guard the many elevator tower entry points on the ground floor, demanding digital room entry cards.

Before a weekend, they take the added precaution of scanning the card into the hotel's computer system to ensure guests are bona fide.

The same deal applies on the roof: no card, no swim even if you are wearing togs and one of the hotel's distinctive kimono-style robes.

Charging locals for the view is not the only fee for Singaporeans at the Sands.

Locals are also taxed to enter the 15,000sq m subterranean casino with its 600 gaming tables and 1500 slot machines. The fee is S$100 ($102) each but is free to foreigners.

The hotel opened in June but its unusual white lotus-shaped museum is still under construction on the edge of Marina Bay, surrounded by motorways and other tall towers.

The food court is yet to begin operating.

With 2561 rooms, the Sands is Singapore's largest hotel: as a new, glitzy, American-style hotel, it could not be more different from the historic Raffles.

Because Marina Bay Sands is across the bay from the CBD, guests are somewhat stranded at the hotel, a bus being the only public transport downtown.

The company says that by 2012 the Singaporean government will have started building a rail link to the Sands, which is isolated from Singapore's CBD tourist hub and a S$10 taxi ride away from the action.

The shopping arcades are 74,000sq m of luxury, around the same size as New Zealand's two biggest shopping malls, Auckland's Westfield Albany and Mt Wellington's Sylvia Park.

The Sands shops are near the casino, theatres and expo/convention centre.

The three towers have unusual structural design features.

Tower one is on a 26-degree tilt but tower three has no lean. The hotel has sloping towers and straight legs connected at level 23 to form a single building.

The hotel was one of the world's most complicated to build, according to publicity from the owners.

One new hotel floor rose every four days in the project headed by a Korean contractor.

Daily room rates range up to S$17,000 for the most luxurious suites with marble bathrooms but twin-share rooms are about S$380 a night.

Everything at the Sands is new and locals are crowding its foyer and checking in for a weekends.

As Time magazine noted in its latest issue, the Sands has yet to prove its success.

MARINA BAY SANDS

* 57 levels.
* 2561-room waterfront hotel.
* 24-hour casino.
* Glass shopping and nightclub pavilions.
* Expo and convention centre.
* Rooftop SkyPark size of three rugby fields.

Anne Gibson paid for her own travel and stay in Singapore.