The Sail @Marina Bay

In the middle we see The Sail, our condo. See how much space has been developed for walking, sitting, playing and so on? It gives a very relaxed, spacious feeling!

If we look at the area where we live, exciting things have happened. Marina Bay really became The Place For Events, like fireworks, the Youth Olympic Games, the Kite Festival, The Formula 1 race and so much more. Ideal for us, since we can either walk to those events and/or watch them from the 44th floor in our tower.

iLight Festival, one of my favorite events in Singapore. Held twice now, right in front of us.

iLight Festival

View at the CBD through neon threads, part of an installation of the iLight Festival

Beautiful images projected on the outside walls of the Arts and Science Museum.

More pretty projections on the A&S Museum at Marina Bay.

One of many fireworks held in Marina Bay.

River Hongbao.

We have seen the hotel Marina Bay Sands being build from scratch, as well as the Shoppes at Marina Bay, The Arts and Science Museum, the DNA Bridge and last but not least the Gardens by the Bay. All together creating a great walking area all around the bay. Free of cars and in the evenings with a little breeze. We love it!

None of this was there when we moved in at the Sail four years ago. On this picture they are still developing the area behind Marina Bay Sands to become the Gardens by the Bay.

The architecture is very modern and photogenic. And the A&S Museum has had some nice exhibitions, like the Warhol exhibition, and the one about Lego.

Moon over Marina Bay area.

Unbelievable that they built a complete and huge Botanical Garden from scratch, on reclaimed land.

The Super Trees are real eye-catchers. There is a restaurant and bar on top of the tallest one. You can also see how a Sky Bridge is build between a number of them.

Here is it finished and the gardens had just opened.

Isn’t it spectacular? Impressive job they did!

The two conservatories are huge.

Every night there is a light show at the Super Trees. A feast for the eyes.

My friend Sylvia and I go regularly to the Gardens by the Bay for chatting, having lunch and for doing a photoshoot for her fashion blog 40+style.

If we look at our condominium, The Sail, we are less happy.

Soon after we arrived, construction started right next to our tower. If you are at the poolside, you feel as if you could stretch out your arm and touch the other building. It’s that nearby!

See the crane at the building behind ours? They are almost finished now. 65 Floors have been built since we live there!

View from our window on the 28th floor.

The partial views we had of the harbor and of the sea are gone due to this 65 storey high building that was built right in front of us. The building is almost finished now. But we have been next to that construction site for years, giving us a hell of a lot of noise 24/7.

The sun at the pool area is gone, since the pool is now totally surrounded by skyscrapers.

There are quite a lot of young people living at the Sail nowadays, who occupy the pool area in the weekends. If you are looking for some peace and quiet, you will not find it at the Sail.

Other residents take possession of the hot tub for hours and hours, day after day, making it impossible for others to use it.

New management has come and gone. Doormen, security guards and staff changed a lot, in general not for the better. Maintenance is poor, so you see the whole building deteriorate. Broken things are not repaired, windows get seldomly cleaned, the characteristic neons lines on the outside of the building have died. What a shame!

The new management and staff are not resident friendly at all. Instead of making the lives of the residents easier and more comfortable, they make a hassle out of every formality. The staff in the lobby can be very grumpy and a friendly smile seems to be too much to ask. Harry was an exception, but he got fired. No idea why:-(.

When there are events, so many non-residents are allowed up to the 44th floor, that elevators are out of order and there is no possibility for us residents anymore to watch things in a relaxed way on our ‘own’ 44th floor.

I would like to finish this post with the apartment that we rent: inside our apartment we see the deterioration as well. It’s evident that the used materials and utilities are cheap and break easily.

If you add it all up, staying at the Sail for us is not appealing anymore.

The prices are still sky high, even for teeny tiny apartments like ours.
Now that’s not strange in Singapore, but, although apartments on the Marina Bay side still have gorgeous views, many other apartments don’t. And none of the residents have a pool with proper sun hours or sunbathing space any longer. Also none of resident gets proper service and maintenance.

On top of that, our landlords have screwed us over big time. Really, it made us sick to the stomach. To be treated like that while we have been good tenants, was a very upsetting experience.
(If you want to know who they are, in order to avoid them, send me an email and I will give you the necessary details.)

We are bound by contract for some more months, after which we will definitely not sign up again, as may be clear from this post;-).

I still like the area a lot, but I am sure that there are better options around.

How impressive is all this architecture!!! I still find it breathtaking.

In november I hope to let you know where our new home is at that time; exciting! We have absolutely no idea what so ever;-)…..