Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central

BACKGROUND The hotel officially became a Sheraton Grand in January. In celebration of the upgrade it rolled out 80 new suites: 79 Executive Deluxe suites on levels 38-40 in the Earth Tower, and on levels 40-41 in the Sky Tower, and one suite with a terrace on the 41st floor.

WHERE IS IT? The hotel is situated within the Sands Cotai Central integrated resort on the Cotai Strip between Taipa and Coloane islands. It can be reached from both the Taipa Ferry Terminal and Macau International Airport in 15 minutes by shuttle bus, taxi or limousine.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? This hotel has 4,001 rooms – it’s the world’s largest Sheraton – so it was no surprise to find it very busy when I arrived. It took around five minutes for the staff to clear other vehicles away and make a space for my car, and crowds of travel groups and gamblers at the entrance made it difficult for me to enter the hotel with my luggage. Once inside though, the impressive lobby is a huge expanse of shiny marbled tiling with an oval recessed and panelled ceiling that features three enormous baubles reminiscent of giant pine cones. Two skyscraper towers (titled Earth and Sky) rise above the main building.

ROOM FACILITIES My room was an Executive Deluxe suite located on the 38th floor in the Earth Tower. At 139 sqm the term roomy is an understatement – there is enough space for a living room, dining room, media room and bedroom, whilst the high ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows add to the spaciousness.

The metal and smoked-glass work desk is placed behind the sofa in the living room and near the pantry area; it has three international sockets and two USB plugs at the top left corner, and a comfortable chair. The media room boasts an L-shaped sofa with comfy cushions facing a large wall-mounted TV. It’s an ideal place for a casual meeting, or can be turned into a karaoke den thanks to the soundproofed walls.

The cosy bedroom had USB plugs next to the bed – useful for guests who like to charge their gadgets while having them close to hand. The large bathroom focuses on a standalone bathtub in its centre, and features Shine for Sheraton bath products.

CLUB LOUNGE Guests in Executive Deluxe suites have access to the Club Lounge, located on level 4. It has a business centre, TV lounge, bar, a dining area, as well as an outdoor sitting area. Staff were efficient and gave excellent service… although I noticed there were fewer F&B choices during happy hour than when I was here a month ago.

MEETING FACILITIES The hotel has a plethora of MICE facilities. In addition to the Club Lounge’s business centre and meeting room, the hotel offers more than 19,881 sqm of event space, including the pillarless Kashgar Grand Ballroom, six junior ballrooms and 166 breakout rooms.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS The hotel offers Feast for all-day dining, Italian trattoria Bene, as well as hot pot restaurant Xin. I tried its hot pot buffet, offering a range of fresh seafood including prawns and clams. I particularly liked the “one person per hot pot” concept, as everyone can choose their own favourite soup from a list including satay broth, nyonya laksa soup and Sichuan spicy broth.

LEISURE FACILITIES There are three outdoor pools: Sala, Jaya and Tiki, the latter available for private events. Sheraton Fitness provides an aerobics room, a gym, sauna and steam room. A signature leisure outlet is the Shine Spa for Sheraton, which offers 15 treatment rooms and Germaine De Capuccini products. Valerian Ho

VERDICT The new suite is both luxurious and very spacious – it’s perhaps not what a lone businessman would choose, but if you are part of a group and like to socialise, this is an excellent place to do it. The F&B options are also of a high quality.

The term roomy is an understatement – there is enough space for a living room, dining room, media room and bedroom