FROM TOP: BILL YIU, RALF TOOTEN Right: The Londoner – and its Big Ben replica – at night; below: the sumptuous dining room at Diva, the W hotel’s Cantonese restaurant From the window of my Fabulous Suite, I can see five more hotels which have recently opened or will open later this year. There’s The Londoner (londonermacao.com), which Sands China unveiled in May, with David Beckham providing a star turn at the opening party having been tasked with “designing” two floors of the hotel’s suites. More permanent fixtures include a life-size Big Ben, red postboxes and a gastropub serving Mad Hatter-themed afternoon teas and Winston Churchill’s favourite tipples. Beyond, inside the domed and turreted Grand Lisboa Palace, is The Karl Lagerfeld (thekarllagerfeld.mo), which was opened by SJM Holdings in June, with Michelle Yeoh officiating – fresh from becoming the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Comprising 271 eyepopping chinoiserie-meets-art-deco rooms and suites, the property is the first – and only – hotel to have been entirely designed by the late German couturier. Lagerfeld may not have lived to see the nine-year-long project come to fruition but there’s no escaping his presence, with the designer’s pony-tailed profile appearing everywhere from the lobby art to the room keys, seat backs and bars of soap. In the tower opposite, separated from The Karl Lagerfeld by the “Le Jardin de la Fantaisie”, where guests cheerfully bumble around a full-size hedge maze, another fashionista has taken a less egocentric approach to the interior design. Styled by Donatella Versace, the Palazzo Versace Macau (grandlisboapalace.com) is only the third hotel from the brand (following on from Australia’s Gold Coast and Dubai) and has 270 rooms. Each is decked out in a creamy tableau shot with sherbet pink, fuzzy peach and bright blues, with baroque-style beds, ornately patterned rugs and tesserae mosaic bathrooms. Downstairs, are two Romanesque swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor) and a glamorous spa with a hammam, crystal steam room, infrared sauna, ice fountains and “pro-aging” facials from Italian brand Frame Cosmetics. A yet-to-beannounced restaurant and bar will bring more reasons to visit by the end of the year. Also new to the Cotai Strip are what look like two gigantic gold ingots, one housing a brand new 715-room Andaz (the world’s largest Andaz), the other a sparkling new all-suite Raffles, both of which are owned by Galaxy Macau (galaxymacau.com). While the former taps into the “bleisure” market with an adjacent 16,000-seater arena, a hip bar and tip-top fitness facilities, the latter is squarely aimed at high rollers. “Raffles is not for every city and not for every owner, as we’re very, very protective of every element of the brand. It has to be at the highest end of the market,” explains Gary Rosen, the CEO of Accor Greater China. “In Macau, the rates can be supported – Raffles will be the highestend hotel in the city – and we have a very special owning DEPARTURES 29
