My first impression on entering Macau after two years away is it’s still being built – it was exactly the same impression I had from the last visit as well. The airport is being built, Cotai Strip is still being built, there are cranes everywhere and you wonder how in a small place like this former Portuguese colony, you could keep building and building and they will still come?
That’s the biggest question of course – will they still come? With the Chinese economy slowing down to 6% growth and a strict austerity drive on big government spenders being felt across the world, but especially across the border in Macau and Hong Kong, will they still come?
I am told by industry folks that overall business in Macau is down 30-40% but the volumes are still not to be scoffed at. You may run 4,000-room properties but I am given to understand occupancies are still in the 90s. Okay average rate may be down but these monsters are still churning out cash and they are now marketing to leisure groups, families and meetings and events.
I am staying at Studio City, the newest property on the strip. Run by Melco Crown Entertainment, it’s all gold, glitz and glitter. You’re either a Star or a Celebrity, depending which tower you are put in. I am of course a Star (apparently bigger than a Celebrity because in the Star Tower are all suites). They wish you “Have a glamourous stay” whether you’re dressed in your jammies, shorts or ballgowns. Glamour is not what you wear but how you feel.
A touch of Egyptian glamour by the poolside, Studio City.
It’s also about size. The Lobby is Enormous. There’s a Limo outside that’s Extra-Stretched, advertising Pacha, the 2,500-seater nightclub – but more of that later. The suite is Spacious, well designed. It reminds me of the Crown in Melbourne. The view I have is the only bit of Macau that’s not being built, I suspect (below).
The service comes with an extra touch. After every interaction, the staff will ask you, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”. You almost feel obliged to think of something but really, sometimes you just want to get off the phone.
Walking through the casino, you can see there are more tables than gamers. What I like about Studio City is that you are not forced to walk through the casino to your room as you often have to do in hotels in Las Vegas and when you look at everything that’s new and spanking in Macau, you understand why Las Vegas is losing its appeal to the very same customers – why travel so far when you have it – bigger, better, golder – on your doorstep?
Char siu and pineapple, a tasty combo.
Plus the food is infinitely better. I ate at Bi Ying, the Chinese restaurant in the casino, and one must-try dish is the barbequed pork and pineapple skewer – it’s dramatic plus delicious. Makes you feel like a Celebrity eating it.
The retail, I am sorry to report, lacks imagination as all retail malls around the world today. Same old brands, same old square blocks of luxury handbags, shoes and clothes. You could exchange labels and you wouldn’t know the difference – well, unless you’re a real Star and know your Pradas from your Guccis from the stitching on the handbags.
I’m disappointed I didn’t get to try the Batman Dark Flight but from the reviews, I sensed it didn’t live up to the 4D hype. A friend who went said, “I didn’t sense the 4d-ness.”
The only flight of fancy I took in the dark was to attend a party at Pacha where we were given a red carpet treatment. You know, walk down the red carpet, get a photo taken by paparazzi and then walk through smoke and mirrors to get into a space that reminded me of disco glamour from the 80s. Big burly bouncers and long leggy girls dancing to New York, New York – we may be at a travel industry event talking about Augmented Reality but this is Reality. People still go for this stuff.
Reality too is that Macau is facing challenges as a destination and more resorts are being built. The Parisian Macao with its unmistakable Eiffel Tower appendage is due to open middle of this year and will join sister properties on the Cotai Strip – this development by Las Vegas Sands contains 12,000 rooms and suites plus a whole slew of shops, restaurants and meetings space. Not to mention gaming of course.
Eiffel Tower, Parisian Macao – up-and-coming
Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment, remains optimistic. In the company’s latest financial report for the first quarter which reported a 5% increase in net revenue to US$1,103.6 million, he said, “We remain resolute in our belief that Macau remains the most important and exciting gaming destination in Asia. With ongoing improvements in infrastructure, including the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge, the Taipa ferry terminal and the Macau light rail system, together with the rapid expansion of Hengqin Island, Macau is uniquely positioned to cater towards the burgeoning and increasingly consumer-focused, middle-to-upper-class in China and around the region.”
As I said, it’s still being built and Macau in five years’ time will be a very different place than today, as will China. So if you’re a gambling person, would you bet on Macau?