The Macau Special Administrative Region of China is ‘the Las Vegas of China’ for gambling, but this former Portuguese colony has much more to offer than just slot machines and gaming tables.
Macau’s old city blends old-fashioned boutiques with colonial ruins, and its islands are diverse. Taipa offers traditional architecture and old Catholic churches, Coloane has beautiful beaches and old village architecture, while Cotai is full of casinos.
For tourists, Macau offers some of the best dining, nightlife and retail experiences in the world for a very affordable price. (It’s like Vegas!) Its past is apparent in its architecture. The city is a blend of old-world Portuguese colonial style and ancient Chinese temples.
Macau is home to many of the world’s most modern and stunning hotels. Some have 100+ rooms, state-of-the-art facilities, and are incredibly luxurious. However, Macau also has a few small, down-to-earth lodgings. Macau has a Wynn Palace, but it also offers a small, affordable option for those who want to learn about the hospitality industry. Here are some of the best hotels in Macau.
1. Altira Macau
Macau is a famous gambling destination. The Altira Macau is a hotel in the quiet Taipa neighborhood, located on the Macau Peninsula. This hotel has 216 large, luxurious rooms and suites with stunning views of the city.
The high-end restaurants offer many different types of food, such as Cantonese, Sichuan, Japanese, and Mediterranean. This building also features on-site amenities such as a penthouse cocktail lounge with live music, a spa with steam rooms and sauna, and a swimming pool that overlooks the city.
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2. Regency Art Hotel
This small but well-located hotel is perfect for travelling between Macau’s old town and new gambling complex. The rooms are large, clean, and unspectacular but well-kept. Facilities include a gym, pool, tennis courts, and restaurants serving Chinese, Macanese (a blend of Portuguese and Chinese dishes), and Portuguese food (a blend of Macanese and mainland Chinese).
3. Nüwa
267 deliriously luxurious rooms are set in the City of Dreams casino, shopping, and dining complex in Cotai. The Nüwa boasts a magnificent design set against the backdrop of the economic hub of Macau.
The hotel features three restaurants with Michelin-rated options for Chinese, French, and sushi. There’s a lobby cafe/bar for delicious coffee and cakes or stylish cocktails. The hotel is near entertainment venues that offer the likes of acrobatic spectacle The House of Dancing Water and popular nightclub Club Qubic.
4. Pousada de Mong-Há
This budget option from the 1970s is a complete change from the mega-hotels in casino land. In a much quieter area, by a park housing the remains of a 19th-century fortress, and with just 20 rooms, it’s one of Macau’s smallest hotels.
The hotel is staffed by trainee but eager-to-impress hoteliers. It is charmingly unpretentious, with a small fitness center, gardens, and a lounge/restaurant decked out in pretty Portuguese hand-painted tiles, where European dishes are served.
5. MGM Cotai
This hotel is a real wonder. It is composed of nine colourful blocks stacked on top of each other to form a building with 1000 rooms. It has an amazing interior design, too.
A huge lobby leads to other swanky spaces including a ballroom, restaurants, casino, spa, fitness center, outdoor pool and a stunning art collection including Qing dynasty carpets. Rooms are all swanky but tasteful.
6. Wynn Palace
This $4 billion, 1700-room monster of a hotel is dripping with luxury. Jeff Koons artworks and Qing Dynasty vases decorate the property. The gigantic lake, which was built for the property, is peppered with fountains. Even the standard rooms are sleek and spacious with touches such as eight different types of pillows and floor-to- ceiling windows.
Bringing the best of the world to one place, 12 restaurants offer overwhelming dining choices including Hanami Ramen. Hanami Ramen is headed by Michelin-starred chef Yuki Onishi. The spa and gym, casino, shops and even a cable car are conveniently close to the airport and ferry terminal.
7. Pousada De Coloane
This budget hotel is set on a wooded hill away from the fancy, flashy action. It was built in the 1930s and all the rooms have balconies with sea views. The bathrooms all have whirlpool tubs. This is a laid-back place with a small pool and a restaurant serving traditional Portuguese home-style cooking. The Coloane Hiking Trail is a few minutes away, as is the beach.
8. Conrad Macao Cotai Central
The Conrad Macao is a hotel and casino located on the Cotai Strip in Macau. It has 636 rooms and suites and contains the largest Conrad property in the world. The Conrad is located at the Sands Cotai Central resort and casino, which also contains several other hotels, including the Venetian Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao.
Two new properties in Macao, China, are now open for guests. The Dynasty 8 is a Cantonese restaurant with a focus on seafood. Grand Orbit is a Portuguese-Chinese fusion restaurant that also serves sushi. These two properties have four outdoor pools and a gym. But the best feature by far is the spa; it’s luxurious and has ocean views.
9. Grand Coloane Resort
Don’t judge a book by its cover. This golf resort looks less than beautiful from the outside, but it’s 30 minutes away from the city and packed with impressive facilities. It has a championship golf course with 18 holes, two restaurants serving Asian and western dishes, two pools (indoor and outdoor), two tennis courts, and a croquet lawn.
In the morning, you can enjoy a scenic bike tour of the surrounding area before returning to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon. Once you’re back, you can visit the spa or gym. The hotel also features spacious rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces.
10. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16
The Grand Shangri-La has riverside rooms and luxurious suites with Bose sound systems, espresso machines, plasma TVs, and designer bathrooms. It’s right in the heart of historic old town Zhuhai, and it overlooks the river on one side and the mainland on the other.
There are many ways to experience the best of French culture at this casino. You can eat simple yet delicious French food at a restaurant, or indulge in a luxurious meal at an upscale restaurant. There are plenty of other ways to experience the French culture, such as going to the spa or taking a dip in the pool!