The term ‘Your Majesty’ is primarily associated with Old King Cole and one or two European nations (a certain American actress would like to make it a term for her nation, or at least for her, but that’ another story).
Macau, or Macao, is doing all it can to replicate a royal environment. This last Thursday saw the completion of Sands’ THE LONDONER (five hotels, nearly 6,000 rooms) with a grand event – guests including Dr Miriam Adelson, David Beckham and Edmund Ho Hau Wah, vice chairman National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, listened to Jamie Callum and Lang Lang and somehow, with probably a thousand or more guests, managing to enjoy an ‘intimate’ dinner.
SIX SENSES ISTANBUL has two spas, one at the top of the hill and one at the bottom. MANDARIN ORIENTAL EMIRATES PALACE ABU DHABI similarly needs two, one at one end of the kilometre-long building and one at the other. The Londoner, however, has three spas, plus four health clubs, more than 20 dining options, boutiques from 150 world-renowned brands, and state of-the-art conference facilities, including a 6,000-seat The Londoner Arena.
What else? The façade is modelled after the Palace of Westminster and Houses of Parliament – it comes to life in the evenings with the Londoner Light and Sound Spectacular; the life-size replica of Big Ben chimes every hour; there’s a costumed “Changing of the Guard” performance; a glass-covered porte-cochère is based on Victoria Station, and there’s an Eros statue in ‘Piccadilly circus’.
Full marks to Sands for such detail. Long Live The King!
