WATCH: Take a tour of the hidden employee underground city in Marina Bay Sands

Screengrab from video
Screengrab from video

Marina Bay Sands (MBS) may appear glamorous and sleek on the outside, but it sure takes a whole lot of labor behind the scenes to keep it looking that way. About 9,500 employees, to be exact. And their headquarters are located underground — a far cry from the gorgeous views that visitors to the integrated resort get to enjoy.

Hailed as a “mini city” by MBS, the maze-like Heart of House takes up the entire basement area of the three hotel towers, and offers all kinds of facilities for its staff.

Obvious ones include a 24-hour convenience store, ATMs, a clinic, and two 24-hour dining rooms that serve up more than 8,000 meals to employees with a menu that changes daily. Apparently, celebs like David Beckham, former Spice Girl Melanie C, and Vanness Wu have been spotted there.

Besides the necessities, there are also shower facilities, nap rooms, and areas for movie screenings, cooking workshops, and exercise classes. If you step outdoors, you’ll find an herb garden that grows more than 50 types of herbs for restaurants like Rise and Renku Bar & Lounge.

Oh, and fun fact: The MBS wardrobe department holds 160,000 pieces of uniforms on 18 conveyer belts, and an average of 12,000 pieces are processed daily. That’s a lot of clothes right there.

If you’re wondering why you’re only getting a peek into the hidden city now, it’s because visitors were offered a rare, exclusive tour of the facility on Saturday as part of the Open Hotels Weekends initiative organized by the Singapore Tourism Board, according to Channel NewsAsia.

MBS was one of the 23 hotels that participated in the programme, which aimed to spotlight the hotel industry.

Check out the “mini city” below.



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