2-night room rates soar to S$2,000 at hotels near NDP

SINGAPORE — A strong demand from both Singaporeans and foreigners hoping to catch the spectacular view of fireworks during the National Day Parade (NDP) has driven up the room rates of hotels around the Marina Bay area this weekend, with some two-night packages costing more than S$1,000.

Despite the hefty price tag, rooms that offer a view of the NDP on Sunday at seven hotels around Marina Basin — Marina Bay Sands; The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia; The Fullerton Hotel; Swissotel The Stamford; Mandarin Oriental; Marina Mandarin and the Pan Pacific — are mostly sold out.

Some hotels, such as The Fullerton and Marina Mandarin, require a minimum stay of two nights, with packages for standard rooms that face the bay costing S$1,596 and $2,000, respectively, before taxes.

According to staff at Swissotel, its two-night package costs S$1,965++ — 1965 was the year that Singa­pore gained its independence.

After selling out their fireworks-facing rooms, Marina Bay Sands and the Ritz-Carlton offered those still eager for a piece of the NDP action rooms that come with access to hotel facilities that provide the desired view: Marina Bay Sand’s observation deck and the Ritz-Carlton’s club lounge.

Though these rooms do not offer a view of the NDP or the fireworks, they are nevertheless costly. Marina Bay Sands’ premium garden view room costs a minimum of S$990++ per night, and the Ritz-Carlton’s club room is priced at S$1,130++ a night.

For some hotels, the prices of rooms for the night of Aug 9 were markedly different from those for the night of Aug 10. For example, at Mandarin Oriental, a one-night stay on Aug 9 may cost S$1,350++, compared with S$459++ on Aug 10.

At Pan Pacific, a room may cost as much as S$1,140++ for Aug 9, compared with S$440++ on Aug 10.

Most hotel staff whom TODAY spoke to attributed the steep rates to the high demand for rooms this weekend, as Singaporeans and foreigners alike are eager to watch what is expected to be a fantastic fireworks display on Sunday evening.

More than double the number of fireworks will be set off at the finale of this year’s NDP compared with last year’s, including those that spell “SG50” and form a golden dome over the Marina Basin.

The 165 different types of fireworks will be set off from 10 sites, including the Padang, two water barges at the Marina Basin and Marina Channel, as well as the rooftops of seven buildings in the Marina Bay area.

This year’s parade will also have many firsts. It will be the first time that the NDP is hosted on two stages — the Padang and The Float@Marina Bay — and a Singapore Airlines plane, an Airbus A380, will take part in the flypast.

Undergraduate Melody Gibson, who watched the NDP fireworks display in 2010 from a hotel room at Marina Bay Sands, found the experience memorable, but costly. “It’s pretty frivolous. Basically, you are paying S$1,000 to watch fireworks,” said Ms Gibson, 21, who was at the hotel to celebrate a friend’s birthday.