bc magazine

Sheraton Macau Earth Tower Grand Opening – 28 January 2013
When looking at the Cotai Strip today, it’s difficult to think that it’s only five years since the Venetian opened it’s doors and only a couple of years before that the area was a swamp. Yet as Vegas rose from the desert, Cotai explodes from a swamp a concept and a vision. As the world’s largest Sheraton celebrates the opening of it’s second ‘Earth’ tower to complement the ‘Sky’ tower which opened in September 2012 and the availability of all 3,896 rooms. Yes that’s not a mis-print 3,896 rooms. By any measure that’s a big hotel, but in ‘real’ world terms it doesn’t feel that big and compared to the miniature boxes we’ve grown accustomed to calling homes even the standard rooms feel massive. The standard rooms feature a double bed with sweet sleeper mattress, fluffy pillows and high thread count sheets and a luxurious bathroom (with a bath!) while the suites are opulent. With international visitors to Macau surprisingly dropping in 2012, how will mainland visitors percieve the luxury? The quality of service is everything you’d expect of a Sheraton – although why when offering a five star product do you nickle and dime your customers over wi-fi (although at $120/day it’s a lot more than a nickel).
Macau is always going to be about gambling, according to Sands 90% of revenue comes from gaming – but the ‘integrated’ part of the strip continues to evolve with concerts – featuring international and Chinese artist in auditoriums with wonderful sound systems – shows, exhibitions and many more than reasonable dining options… With almost 8 million visits from Hongkongers last year we’re all adapting and enjoying the entertainment on offer in Macau just an hour away. www.sheratonmacao.com