HISTORIC hotel brand Raffles is being primed to open at Galaxy Macau after the resort owners signed an agreement with Accor.
Raffles at Galaxy Macau, with about 450 suites and located in the resort’s east promenade, is scheduled to welcome guests in the second half of the year. Work is also continuing on opening Hyatt’s Andaz in another area of the resort, which will serve as the hotel portion of Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC).
The deal between Accor, which owns the Raffles brand, and Galaxy Entertainment Group comes as the Macau government presses ahead with its “Tourism+MICE” initiative to drive economic recovery by integrating business events with the tourism industry and segments such as culture, e-commerce and sports.
GICC was originally scheduled to launch in the first half of the year but work has been delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
Raffles, with a heritage dating back more than 130 years when the iconic hotel first opened in Singapore, will be attached to Galaxy Macau and feature a glass airbridge connecting a twin-tower building .
A selection of suites come with their own private pools and gardens while other rooms will be in a loft style with double-storey windows. Raffles butlers will also be a feature of the property along with the Long Bar serving the legendary Singapore Sling cocktail.
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Guestrooms will also have a “world first” with Samsung the Frame technology that turns the room into a “multi-usage canvas” with guests able to switch from curated art to in-room entertainment features and “personalised ambience”.
A Japanese restaurant led by a Michelin-starred along with a luxury spa is also on the cards.
“The Raffles brand and heritage is perfectly complementary to our strategy of delivering greater, elevated experiences, and true to our ‘World Class, Asian Heart’ mantra,” said Francis Lui, vice chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group.
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“This collaboration with Raffles and Accor in the development of Raffles at Galaxy Macau brings yet another differentiated luxury perspective and dimension in GEG’s growing portfolio and estate. Aside from offering more diversity in our luxury accommodations at Galaxy Macau, we expect it will also raise the bar to new heights throughout the region,” Lui said.
Sébastien Bazin, Accor’s chairman and CEO, said Raffles at Galaxy Macau would be a future flagship of Accor’s luxury portfolio.
“This collaboration with GEG marks an important milestone for Raffles Hotels & Resorts and creates a stunning addition to the excitement in Macau,” Bazin said.
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The 40,000 sqm GICC is set to include a 10,00 sqm pillarless exhibition hall, a 650-seat auditorium, a banquet hall designed to hold 2,400 guests, conference hall a ballroom and the Andaz Macau.
Galaxy Macau’s third phase is seen as accelerating the region’s Tourism+MICE with Macau Government Tourism Office working on “cross-sector integration” as one of its key goals this year, the Macau Daily Times reports.
Main picture: Accor chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin with Galaxy Entertainment Group chairman Lui Che Woo
Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 3 to clarify that GICC will be a separate building with Andaz as its hotel portion while Raffles is being built in the Galaxy Macau section.
