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By Tessa Wong & Jessica Lim
WITH just months to the completion of Phase 1 of Resorts World Sentosa, and days to the debut of four of its hotels, businesses in and around Sentosa are feverishly primping up.
Buildings, facilities and decor are being spruced up or expanded, and employees are being trained to handle crowds expected to spill over from the integrated resort (IR).
Take St James Power Station, sited just across the water. It has just emerged from a six-month, $1.5 million makeover which has added a new sports bar and upgraded two of its nine clubs.
Its Mandopop club Dragonfly now has a three-tiered stage and high-tech lighting and LED screens; 20 new artistes have been hired, and a money-changing service will begin operating at its main reception area.
After Chinese New Year, another two of its bars will be upgraded.
It may be a bit early for the three-year-old entertainment complex's first renovation, but its chief executive Dennis Foo, 56, thinks it is necessary.
'We are now all ready for the influx of tourists when the integrated resort opens. I will be disappointed if customer numbers don't go up by more than 20 per cent,' he said.
The Mount Faber Leisure Group is also planning to revamp Moonstone, one of its restaurants at The Jewel Box lifestyle complex.
On Sentosa, Sentosa Luge has built a second track, which is to open in the coming months.
Each chair on its chairlift, which takes riders and carts to the start of the track at the top of a hill, now carries three carts instead of two to speed up operations.
Similarly, adventure park Megazip, which offers flying fox rides, has invested in more zipline equipment in anticipation of more riders and to cut waiting times.
It has also trained its employees to handle larger crowds, and may extend its opening hours.
The Sentosa Leisure Group has, since the end of last year, hired more admission staff and drivers for its Sentosa Express, the light-rail train shuttling visitors between Vivocity and Sentosa.
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| The Ancient Egypt zone of Resorts World Sentosa's Universal Studios theme park. New attractions promise more fun times for visitors to Sentosa. |
Ez-link and concession cards are now usable on the service, and admission charges for those who drive onto the island recently took on a flat rate to encourage car-pooling and to regulate the volume of traffic on the island.
Both changes reduce processing time, said Ms Susan Ang, the group's director of its commercial division.
The Choice package, with which visitors to the island pick the attractions they want to go to, has also been revised. Ms Ang said the group will work with Resorts World to develop a similar package for its guests.
With stiff competition coming from the six hotels that will eventually run within the IR, existing Sentosa hotels have lined up improvements.
The 13-year-old Rasa Sentosa Resort will start its revamp in mid-March and unveil a new look in early 2011.
Capella Singapore and The Sentosa Resort & Spa are working with Resorts World to offer special packages for their guests, which will include admission to Resorts World's casino and the Universal Studios theme park.
Mr Scott Rohm, senior vice-president of operations at Capella Hotels & Resorts, expects Resorts World's opening to train the spotlight on Sentosa.
He hopes guests will enjoy the buzz of the IR, but at the end of the day 'appreciate returning to the tranquillity and privacy at Capella'.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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