Prevue November/December 2012 - (Page 64)

Sheraton Macau [ON LOCATION] GARY SINGH World’s largest Sheraton hotel redeﬁnes meetings in Macau T he corridor is three football fields long. That’s my estimate as I approach the 52,000-sf Kashgar Grand Ballroom at the new Sheraton Macau Hotel, Cotai Central, now the largest Starwood property in the world. Approximately 500 members of the media are descending upon the hotel for the grand opening festivities inside the 1,829-room Sky Tower building. Early next year, the Earth Tower will open with an additional 2,067 rooms. Sands China Ltd’s latest adventure is now Macau’s biggest hotel, fully integrated into the Sands Cotai Central casino resort complex. With 160,000 sf of total meeting space at Sheraton Macau, a meeting planner could almost stage a citywide without even leaving the complex. MEDIA ROOMS & THE CLUB Eddie Sit, manager of online marketing/distribution, leads us up into the higher floors of the hotel where each Deluxe Suite features what Sit calls a “media room”—or what many other people call a fully wired karaoke setup. Next, the Ambassador Suites come with private massage treatment rooms, and from there, we scope out one of eight Presidential Suites replete with living rooms, pantries and leather mahjong tables. Gazing out the windows, you can see the Pearl River Delta, busy Cotai Strip and a slew of outdoor swimming pools. We then experience the Sheraton Club, a hotel within the hotel and a facility ripe for private events. After all, it would only make sense for the world’s largest Sheraton to boast the world’s largest Sheraton Club, featuring 300 rooms and 270 suites. The Club’s plush dining room, bar and lounge can seat groups up to 274 people. The Sheraton Club provides a full complimentary sit-down breakfast and dinner hors d’oeuvres every day. Inaccessible to the rest of the hotel guests, the facility allows families to congregate in the dining room while others conduct business in the privacy of the lounge area. The artwork on the wall matches the earthy color schemes and furniture, creating a welcome and relaxed atmosphere. Hoyt Harper, senior vice president of brand management for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, meets us in the lounge area and gives us the lowdown. He says if Las Vegas can evolve from a casino-centric destination into the tradeshow capital of the world, well then, Macau is primed to be the Asian equivalent. Sands has the gaming and entertainment expertise, and Sheraton can deliver the same for international meetings—small, large and enormous. “One of the key drivers for repositioning Macau as a destination was the ability to attract meetings and conventions 60 | prevue magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue November/December 2012

Planner's Pick: Loews Portofino Orlando
Fresh Meets: Marriott Innovention
Bureau Buzz: Philadelphia CVB
Good Business: Chennai, India
Sea Shores: Carnival Cruise Line
The Creative Types
On Location: Eden Roc Renaissance Miami
On Location: Coronado San Diego
Monaco
Latin America
On Location: Hard Rock Puerto Vallarta
On Location: St. Regis Mexico City
Las Vegas
On Location: Sheraton Macau
Denmark
Istanbul + Izmir
On Location: Hyatt Trinidad
On Location: Grand Hyatt New York
On Location: Lake Placid Lodge
Check Out: Waldorf Astoria, Edinburgh

Prevue November/December 2012