SINGAPORE –It’s not yet 6 a.m. but already there’s plenty of people splashing and laughing in the gigantic swimming pool that’s atop this city’s brand new 2,561-room Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

Of course, this swimming pool — the most dramatic feature of the hotel’s SkyPark, which also offers restaurants, gardens, bars and an observation deck — is no ordinary hotel pool.

At 150 metres in length, the amazing Sands’ SkyPark infinity pool, which sits 200 metres above the bustling streets of Asia’s most beautiful city, is the largest of its kind in the world — almost as long as five Airbus A380s.

And it’s quickly becoming Singapore’s biggest attraction.

Hotel guests, still clutching their suitcases, ride the express elevator to the hotel’s 57th floor quickly after checking in — even early overseas arrivals like me — to see what is being hailed as the most incredible engineering feat ever attempted in the hotel world.

All day long, the small observation deck behind the pool is jammed with people snapping photographs of hotel guests frolicking in the infinity pool that drops off into the city’s iconic skyline.

By their expressions, you can tell they’re truly impressed.

So take a bow Moshe Safdie — he’s the Canadian architect who was the mastermind behind the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the crowning touch to the $6 billion (U.S.) Marina Bay complex, which also includes a shopping mall, casino and an art/science museum that Safdie designed in the shape of a lotus flower.

Above: Ships from around the world anchor in the bay right behind the magnificent hotel.

What’s even more impressive, though, is that Safdie, who introduced his genius to the architectural world by creating the iconic Habitat 67 condominium for Montreal’s Expo 67 — now one of the city’s best known landmarks — designed the Sands’ infinity pool in the shape of a ship; complete with bow and stern.

In fact, hotel staff tells me that guests who have seen the infinity pool from the air while on a helicopter tour of Singapore contend the ship-shaped pool looks like it’s resting in the South China Sea, which sits at the back of the property.

Once you’re standing on the SkyPark’s observation deck overlooking the sea, you can see where Safdie got his inspiration for his ship design.

As the sun rises over the bay, it spotlights the dozens of ocean-going ships waiting their turn to enter Singapore’s bustling port, the busiest in the world. No doubt Safdie wanted his ship pool to blend in with all the other ships at sea.

But the pool is just one of the remarkable architectural features Safdie included in this new hotel, which since opening in October 2010 has quickly become one of the most popular in the entire Asia Pacific region.

The hotel features three sloping towers that connect at level 23 to become a single building. Tower 1’s slope is as steep as 26 degrees, making it one of the most complex hotels ever attempted.

Knowing that so many people were waiting for the much-anticipated Marina Bay Sands Hotel to be finished, workers went into overdrive and completed a new floor every four days — a record in the Singapore construction industry.

There’s no doubt, though, theSkyPark is the cherry on top of this sweet hotel treat.

Besides the pool, the Sands’ SkyPark boasts its lush, landscaped gardens — 250 trees and 650 plants, to be exact — spread over 12,400 square metres; big enough to fit three football fields. The SkyPark public observation deck, which costs about $15 (Cdn.) to enter and is never empty, offers people some of the most stunning views imaginable of Singapore’s award-winning skyline, the entire Marina Bay complex and the South China Sea. The only way to get a better view of the city is to jump into the hotel’s infinity pool.

Above: The hotel's unique rooftop swimming pool and observation deck draws lost of people.

The SkyPark also offers some fine entertainment options — Tower 3 rocks to the upbeat music in KU DE TA, an uber-cool lounge/restaurant that is now the place to be seen in this fast-paced city where fast cars rule. KU DE TA’s SkyParkneighbour is Sky on 57, a fine dining Asian room governed by Singapore’s top celebrity chef, Justin Quek. The meals are fabulous and the views are breathtaking.

But there’s even more to this hotel with the Las Vegas good looks.

When the owners of the Marina Bay project awarded Las Vegas-based Sands Corporation the management rights to their mega property, you knew this staid city, where you once could get flogged for spitting on the street, was going to be turned on its head.

And the Sands people did not disappoint.

The 2,500 standard rooms at the Marina Bay Sands are Vegas in every way — comfortable and functional but not too homey as to keep guests from venturing out into the casino downstairs.

The 230 executive suites, usually reserved for high rollers, are over the top and come with butler service — naturally — and privileged access to all VIP areas in the hotel and casino.

One hotel employee told me the Marina Bay Sands’ owners budgeted for a loss in the first two years of operation but because the casino is filled to overflowing most nights and the SkyPark and pool have been such draws, the hotel managed to turn a profit within the first six months of opening and now has surpassed Macau as the gambling Mecca of Asia.

There’s no question the casino is the biggest draw for Asian guests, who come mostly from neighbouring Malaysia and China. And the punters apparently like what the Marina Bay Sands casino has to offer — 600 gaming tables; 1,500 slot machines; complimentary beverages; and four onsite dining options.

The only drawback — cigarette smoke. The casino does not have a no-smoking policy and a visitor risks lung cancer just getting from one end of the 15,000 square metre facility to the other.

There is no charge for foreigners to enter the casino — just show your passport to gain entry — but Singaporeans are made to pay a $100 entry fee. This Marina Bay casino and another built on nearby Sentosa Island (Resort World), were a bone of contention with residents and so the government tries to discourage local participation with the $100 entrance fee.

It doesn’t appear to be working.

The elaborate retail complex next door, which is connected to the hotel by underground walkways, is similar to what I’ve seen in Las Vegas, complete with Venice-style canals dotted with gondolas, a skating rink next to the food court — the best dining option in the entire complex — high-end designer stores and a host of celebrity chef restaurants.

Unfortunately, you’ll need a big win at the roulette table to afford to eat at restaurants operated by such Food TV stars as Wolfgang Puck (Cut is his restaurant in the retail mall); Mario Batali, (just like the bombastic Italian American chef is overweight, his Marina Bay Mozza eatery is overpriced and overrated); Guy Savoy (the French eatery that bears his name is said to be excellent); and Tetsuya Wakuda (the Japanese chef’s Waku Ghin was the best of the bunch in my opinion).

The Marina Bay Sands complex also features two world-class theatres, which showcase straight from Broadway shows.

But the best bet at the Marina Bay Sands for pure entertainment value is the ArtScience Museum. If nothing else, its lotus flower design intrigues visitors to venture inside. Once inside, wow, are they impressed by the international exhibits featured in the museum’s 21 galleries spread over 6,000 square metres.

Called the “Welcoming Hand of Singapore” because the 10-fingered lotus flower design could be mistaken for a cupped hand, the museum is surrounded by a 4,000 square metre lily pond reflecting pool.

Now, 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay have been added as an attraction on Marina Bay.

The three giant waterfront gardens that make up the botanical wonderland will look out on the South China Sea and will be interconnected through a series of pedestrian bridges. The Gardens will offer magnificent horticultural shows.

And just to add a little more excitement to a place that also boasts a night golf course and is in sight of the Singapore Flyer — the enormous Ferris Wheel that dominates the Singapore skyline — a Formula 1 Grand Prix race roars through Marina Bay once a year.

Marina Bay Sands may be the hottest entertainment spot on the planet right now — so it’s good that it has the world’s biggest swimming pool in which to cool off.