Feb
3
Macao Studio City shopping update
Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, AREA, Macau Studio City, Shopping | Leave a Comment
I am probably more excited for the opening of Macao Studio City then any of the other up and coming openings. It seems like they have been doing everything right so far. This complex has enough exciting and entertaining components that it could really move the center of gravity in the Cotai away from the Venetian on the Cotai Strip®.
We still need to be cautious with our expectations though. Just because everything sounds exciting on paper, doesnt mean the finished project will come together to deliver that “wow” factor.
Anyway, here is part of the press release about Taubman’s investment in the Macao Studio City shopping Read more
Aug
13
W Hotel Macao coming to Cotai’s Macao Studio City
Filed Under Macao, Cotai, Macau Studio City, W Hotel Macao | Leave a Comment
“warm, witty and worldly”
Chalk up another win for Cotai Macao Studio City casino complex. Starwood’s W Hotels announced a pact with Macao Studio City to open a 563 room hotel at the property. Here are the highlights from the press release.
“W continues to extend beyond the boundaries of everyday travel, offering a magical mix of sexy destinations and sublime design.”
“W Macao marks our fourth property in China and promises to offer extraordinary experiences at every turn through the brand’s key lifestyle elements of provocative spaces, delightful indulgences and experiential surprises.”
“W brings to life its own unique positioning, delivering a differentiated travel experience for travelers and will be an irresistible destination for visitors to Macao. Macao provides guests with a wealth of entertainment options, including world-class shopping and proximity to Macao and China’s most popular attractions, making it a perfect fit for the W brand.”
“Our vision is to create a must-see, must-stay and must-return destination for leisure and business travelers around the world. Along with other hotel partners – not to mention the arrival of the Playboy Mansion Macao – I firmly believe that Macao Studio City will be an experience that visitors will want to return again and again.”
“W will captivate an in-crowd of lifestyle-oriented travelers by offering its special blend of warm, witty and worldly experiences. The brand fits in very well with the overall design and direction of Macao Studio City and its positioning as the coolest place to be in Macao. Macao Studio City will be the place where the stars and celebrities will hang out,” said David Friedman, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Macao Studio City.”
“The Cotai area is seeing great momentum, and the addition of W Macao Studio City is certainly going to attract stylish and trendy customers who seek innovative design, comfort and cultural influences, to the ‘new Macao’.”
“Macao Studio City is developing at a rapid pace; our recent announcements have brought other world-class brands in entertainment, retail and hospitality to the complex. We are confident that W Macao Studio City, as well as the Macao Studio City complex itself, will be a tremendous success when it opens in mid-2009.”
“W Macao Studio City will feature 563 rooms and suites, all outfitted with the W signature bed, plasma television and wireless Internet access. The W brand’s signature Living Room will offer a lounge-like atmosphere perfect for reading the paper, sipping a cappuccino or enjoying a cocktail with friends. Other facilities will include a signature restaurant, W Café, a Sweat workout facility, approximately 11,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor heated pool, and the W Whatever/Whenever service, the hotel’s 24-hour concierge that provides whatever guests want - from a pair of running shoes to private jet service - whenever they want.”
Looks like Macao Studio City is where all the cool kids will be hanging out on Cotai!
Jul
28
Playboy in Cotai Macao
Filed Under Cotai, Macau Studio City, Playboy Club | 1 Comment
I think I already said that I can’t wait, so I’ll just let the video speak for itself…
How big is this for Macao Studio City? Combine Playboy with the TV and film studios, and this place should draw a lot of free publiciity and huge tourist traffic to Cotai.
Jun
28
Its official: Playboy hops on to Cotai
Filed Under Macau, Cotai, ENTERTAINMENT, Macau Studio City, Nightlife, Playboy Mansion Macao | Leave a Comment
Book me at the Heff!
Back in February, I wrote about the rumor that Playboy would launch a club in the Cotai area as part of the Macao Studio City hotel and casino complex. Well, the company finally confirmed the rumors yesterday in a press release.
The new club, called Playboy Mansion Macao, will feature approximately 40,000 square-foot of numerous nightlife and entertainment options, dining, specialty retail elements and a Hugh M. Hefner Villa.”
The gaming section of the club will be an extention to Macao Studio City’s casino floor, and will offer the “ambiance of a luxurious private residence.” When you’re done losing at the baccarat tables and giving the bunny dealer way too much in tips, there will be a contemporary intertpretation of the famous Playboy pool and grotto if you need to take a dip and cool off. If you hit it big at the tables, or enjoying the ambiance of Heff’s house is not enough, you may want to splurge on the ultimate overnight accomodation, the Hugh Heffner Villa.
This will get alot of attention when Macao Studio City finally opens in Cotai, but if Macau is anything like Vegas, there will be alot more half-naked women running around the Hard Rock at The City of Dreams.
Jun
2
Marriott Hotel on Cotai
Filed Under Macao, Cotai, Macau Studio City | Leave a Comment
(2 of 2 postings today)
After the $1.2 billion loan New Cotai secured for Macao Studio City, Marriott put out a press release for its new Cotai hotel it will manage as part of Macao Studio City
“An astonishing 968-room Marriott-branded hotel will be part of the monumental Macao Studio City with entertainment, retail, gaming and studios complex taking shape in Macao, China. This hotel will open under a management agreement reached with East Asia-Televisao Por Satellite Limitada as reported by Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) today.
Scheduled to open in 2009, the Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel will be situated in a 30-story tower block as part of the 4-million-square-foot, mixed-use development known as Macao Studio City. The complex is located on … the main thoroughfare of Cotai, Macao, with a direct link to the new Lotus Bridge immigration checkpoint. Close by is the Orient Golf Course.
In addition to the Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel, phase one of the complex will include three more components; a 2,300-seat theater; a 200,000-square-foot casino, a 55,000-square-foot exhibition center; 1 million square feet of retail space; and a stand-alone, state-of-the-art television and film production facility.
“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting development which is bringing Las Vegas-style entertainment and tourism to Macao,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director, international lodging for Marriott International. “The range and scope of facilities the Macao Studio City complex will offer, coupled with our stellar reputation in the global MICE market, give the Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel enormous potential for success. We have no doubt that Macao will be the next hot destination for incentive and leisure travelers.”
David Friedman, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of Macao Studio City, said, “Macao Studio City is delighted to welcome one of the world’s most celebrated hotel brands to our complex. The Marriott brand is a deluxe, upscale performance-oriented brand that focuses on enabling the success of its guests.”
Ambrose Cheung, co-chief executive officer of Macao Studio City, said, “The Marriott hotel will be a key member of Macao Studio City. It complements our vision of having only world-class operators to provide truly unique and memorable experiences for visitors in Macao.”
Accommodations at the Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel will feature over-sized guestrooms offering bathrooms with separate shower and tub; state-of-the-art, in-room technology; and Marriott’s signature bed and bath linens.
Among other amenities, the hotel will have a private executive level lounge; access to a destination spa; a resort-style swimming pool; a 300-square meter health and fitness center; a kids’ club and game room. Additionally, the Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel will offer the services of a business center, retail shopping and shuttle service to the Macao ferry terminal and airport.
For dining and entertainment, the hotel will have an all-day casual restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a lobby lounge and bar and a pool bar.
The Macao Studio City Marriott Hotel will have 3,750-square meters of conference space for meetings and social events. Included will be a 2,200-square meter grand ballroom that will be divisible into 10 sections; a 600-square meter junior ballroom that will be divisible into five sections; six additional meeting rooms each capable of being divided into two or three sections; and two 75-square meter boardrooms.
Currently, there are no Marriott International-branded hotels in Macao.”
Jun
2
Macao Studio City video
Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, COTAI CASINOS, COMPANIES, eSun and New Cotai, Macau Studio City | Leave a Comment
(1 of 2 postings today)
Here is a glimpse of Macao Studio City. Click on the “see video” on bottom left hand side of screen.
Jun
1
Cotai’s Macao Studio City gets billion dollar loan
Filed Under Macau, Macao, Cotai, Wall Street, COTAI CASINOS, COMPANIES, eSun and New Cotai, Macau Studio City | Leave a Comment
And looking for more.
MarketWatch is reporting that eSun’s Macao Studio City secured a USD $1.2 billion loan to help fund construction of its Macao Studio City casino on Cotai. Construction has already started and the company hopes to have the first phase of the Cotai project completed by 2009. (*more below*)
The Co-chairman of the company said he hopes to borrow another $500 million from the two banks sometime in the future.
The gross floor area of the Cotai resort’s first phase will be 3.7 million square feet, including 1 million square feet of retail and studio space, 2,000 hotel rooms, and a 200,000-square-foot casino
Feb
24
Macau Studio City history and Playboy Club
Filed Under Macau, Cotai, COTAI CASINOS, ENTERTAINMENT, eSun and New Cotai, Macau Studio City, Nightlife | Leave a Comment
Half-naked women, film studios, and hotel rooms. No, its not porn - its Macau Studio City!
Macau Business has an indepth article on the story behind eSun, New Cotai, and Capitaland’s Macau Studio City casino resort. It is too long and complicated to summarize here, so I suggest reading through it. (**more below**)
The new stuff is that Macau Business is claiming to have broken Macau Studio City’s secret that a Playboy Club will be included in their Cotai project. Based on the article’s sources, it sounds like a good bet that Playboy is coming to Macau. Playboy recently opened its first Playboy Club in a long, long time at the Palms in Las Vegas, so it makes sense that they would look to a Macau club as a launching pad into China.
Feb
5
Taubman thinks Macau retail is undersupplied, & moves forward on Cotai Strip
Filed Under Macau, Cotai, ENTERTAINMENT, Macau Studio City, Shopping | 2 Comments
But last year they thought Macau would be oversupplied
Taubman began construction last month of its 750,000 square foot shopping complex as part of the Cotai’s Macau Studio City casino resort, after some hesitation last year due to fears that the Cotai and Macau retail boom would be too much. Even though it still seems like everyone is planning mega shopping and entertainment complexes in Cotai and Macau, Taubman now sounds like a believer. In an interview with the AP, a Taubman senior manager stated:
“We are extremely confident Macau won’t be oversupplied with retail”
“A lot of the supply is either delayed or not being built. There are big question marks about what’s being built”
A naive spectator like myself might take a look at the boom of retail construction that has been announced and/or is under construction in Cotai and Macau and be a bit skeptical of Taubman’s enthusiasm. However, Taubman appears to know what they are doing, especially after reading how they analyze the situation. (**more below the ads**)
The company thinks that even if the entire 6 million square feet of announced retail shopping gets built over the next three years, Macau will still be underserved based on the Sq Ft - Hotel Room ratio that they use. Based on Taubman’s calculation, Macau will only have 180 square meters of shopping space per room, vs. the 360 square feet of retail space per hotel room in Vegas. The Taubman executive continued:
“The Las Vegas market has 41 million square feet of retail today. Macau has less than 1 million. Yet it has more gaming revenue than Las Vegas.”
I guess one could ask why they didnt think of it this way last year when they were more hesitant. Instead, I’ll ask if comparing Macau to Las Vegas makes sense?
Jan
14
Cotai’s Macau Studio City casino launched
Filed Under Macau, Cotai, eSun and New Cotai, Macau Studio City | Leave a Comment
Cotai gets another $2 billion in investment.
China’s People’s Daily Online is reporting that eSun & New Cotai’s Macau Studio City hotel casino resort construction has officially kicked off. This follows last week announcement of Capitaland’s new ownership stake in the Cotai project.
The $2 billion Cotai project will consist of two seperate developments. Macau Studio City will house the theatre and tv and film production theatres while Studio Retail will be home to the hotel, casino, and entertainment facilities.
Macau Studio City will include a 2,300 seat theatre, an expo centre for 4,700 people, tv and film facilities, and 130,000 square feet of retail space. Studio Retail will entail a 557,000 square foot development, but the details regarding hotel rooms, gaming tables, slots, etc. were not given.
The Cotai resort will be right over the Lotus Bridge that connects Cotai to Hengqin Island.
It should be very interesting to see how the tv and film facilities are integrated into the resort. I imagine that this should draw alot of tourists to the property.
Jan
10
Cotai’s Macau Studio City ownership stake sold
Filed Under Macau, Cotai, Melco PBL, Wall Street, eSun and New Cotai, Macau Studio City | Leave a Comment
eSun and New Cotai welcome CapitaLand
MacauHub is reporting that eSun sold 20% of its Macau Studio City project to Singapore’s CapitaLand, reducing eSun’s ownership interest to 40% from 60%. New Cotai Entertainment owns the remaining 40% of the Macau Studio City project. If CapitaLand, the previously unnamed third party, had decided to pass on buying its 20% interest, New Cotai would have been allowed to purchase an additional 10% for itself from eSun.
The Macau Studio City project is a master-planned six million square foot casino hotel resort complex near Cotai that is planned to open its Phase I sometime in 2009 and Phase II in 2011. The interesting twist to this project is that the resort will be built alongside a TV and cinema production facility. Melco PBL will be the casino manager.