Top 10: the best casino hotels in Macau
An insider's guide to the best casino hotels in Macau, featuring the top places to stay for round-the-clock gaming, Michelin-starred restaurants, incredible outdoor pools and easy access to designer shopping.
Wynn Palace
Cotai, Macau
9Telegraph expert rating
On the Macau Monopoly board, Wynn Palace sits firmly on Mayfair. And with a construction cost of US$4 billion, so it should. The first hotel east of the Cotai Strip has upped the ante on Macau's five-star scene. A man-made lake as big as 25 football pitches, with fountains spouting and warbling at intervals from noon until midnight, grants a welcome sense of space. Sculptures and artworks – think Jeff Koons as well as a graceful quartet of Qing Dynasty porcelain vases – raise the tone beyond that of simply a casino hotel. The steak and seafood at SW restaurant are exceptional, while Michelin-starred Yuki Onishi drew up the ramen menu at Hanami. Read expert review From £132per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Four Seasons Hotel Macao
Macau
8Telegraph expert rating
The oasis-like feel of the Four Seasons is enhanced by five outdoor pools – two regular, one lagoon, and two for children – bordered by a troupe of cabanas. There's also a spa and fitness centre. Three floors of designer labels cluster on one side of the hotel, with a casino on the other. The staff are exactly what you might expect at Four Seasons: hospitable, professional, discreet and engaged, without being overbearing. An impressive cobbled courtyard leads to the lobby and its sweeping double staircase. Antique furniture, chandeliers and hand-painted silks add to the sense of exclusivity. Read expert review From £175per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Altira Macau
Macau
8Telegraph expert rating
This hotel's Chinese name – Xin Hao Feng – means 'cutting edge', which is a pretty fair description. The indoor infinity pool bears comparison with a floating spacecraft – the water laps against the window, there’s music when you submerge, and even on a hazy day the views are sensational. Note that the casino is pitched at players who won’t blink at a lengthy string of zeroes; however staff throughout the property treat all guests with equal respect and deference. Read expert review From £147per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
• The best five-star hotels in Macau
The Parisian Macao
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
Star-studded and icon-packed (albeit scaled-down), The Parisian adds more than a soupçon of fun to Macau’s casino resorts, themed in the same fashion as its sister hotel the Venetian. It's located at the southern end of the Cotai Strip, bookending gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson’s other properties, which include the Four Seasons and the aforementioned Venetian, both of which can be accessed via air-conditioned malls and walkways. Public buses putter along the Strip, however the resort’s plush Wi-Fi-enabled shuttle buses are free. Read expert review From £100per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Studio City
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
Essentially a casino with guestrooms and restaurants attached, plus swathes of glossy packaging. Entertainment is the watchword here, as Macau gradually edges away from gambling to all-round resort destination. The ferris wheel mounted on the hotel’s Art Deco exterior is shaped like a figure-of-eight – traditionally a lucky number in the Far East – and is much favoured by optimistic spirits headed for the tables. Aside from the casino, there is a vast outdoor pool plus beach and children’s play area, spa and fitness centre. Read expert review From £107per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
The Venetian headlines Macau’s casino boulevard, the Cotai Strip, with a hotel, shopping mall, restaurants, bars, theatres, and even O Sole Mio gondolas. The 24/7 casino embraces 600 tables, and 1,900 slots. There are four outdoor pools, and one indoor (adults only). Mini golf players are obliged to wear 'sports attire'. The two concert venues regularly stage sell-out international acts, such as Peaches, Bon Jovi, and George Benson. Read expert review From £117per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
Part of the double chorus line that is the casino-rich Cotai Strip, the St. Regis is tucked rather discreetly beside the Holiday Inn with the main entrance sited down a side road, though buses and taxis are plentiful. Many guests want to do nothing more than grapple the odds at the High Limit gaming salons next door, leaving the hotel’s public areas little trafficked. The oasis-like feel of the two outdoor pools up on the eighth floor is enhanced by a whirligig pattern of aquamarine tiles. Read expert review From £172per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Grand Lisboa Macau
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
The Grand Lisboa combines a remarkably wacky exterior with some very superior dining. Welcome to Macau’s most full-on hotel, where there’s more than a little element of circus. Blingful big sister to the Hotel Lisboa on the other side of the road, the Grand Lisboa is very much a trophy project for its owner, billionaire S. Ho Hung Sun OBE, for many years a mover and shaker behind Macau’s casino scene. The hotel’s golden-hued exterior is shaped like a vast bunch of flowers, some of the world’s top chefs have been persuaded to strut their culinary stuff within, while the public areas are nearly always packed solid with guests, gamblers and gawkers. Read expert review From £137per night
MGM Macau
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
MGM Macau is a vibrant, merry hotel, well placed for sightseers but equally suitable for anyone who simply wants to eat, spa, shop, chill - and, of course, gamble. Whether you’re admiring the view from the outdoor pool’s hot tub, working up a light sweat in the gym, or submitting to the spa therapists’ gentle ministrations, there’s much to enjoy here. Stores like Coach, Rolex and Swarovski are right on the doorstep, ditto the casino. Read expert review From £147per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16
Macau
7Telegraph expert rating
This is a French-style hotel in a Chinese city, and the juxtaposition works remarkably well. It’s less spacious than some other properties in Macau, so rather more intimate. The casino’s on the ground floor, while an escalator leads up to the main lobby on the first floor, which rarely sees a quiet moment. The exterior is like a high-rise chateau, and a fair amount of Portuguese colonial heritage has been imported as well. The Sofitel’s 408 rooms include 19 'Mansions' – really just extra-large suites – that together act as a hotel within a hotel. Read expert review From £81per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
