Located in the Cotai zone of Macau, Wynn Palace, the younger sister property to Macau's first Las Vegas-style resort Wynn Macau, puts on a really big show from the moment guests arrive to the moment they leave to ensure a truly memorable stay.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The first memory Wynn Palace, which opened in 2016, will leave you with is definitely a sense of grand arrival. Besides the imposing copper-and-gold facade of the main building, your eyes will be drawn to cable cars which glide smoothly above the Performance Lake with two imposing red-eyed dragon towers. And, if you arrive at an opportune time, dancing fountains will also erupt to a great height from the said lake as if to personally greet you.
The fanfare doesn't stop there. A Ferris Wheel adorned with colourful flowers will mesmerise you the moment you enter via the north entrance to check in. It playfully carries cute stuffed animals on its eight carriages and stands tall underneath a dome with flower motifs on the ceiling while natural lights come through huge glass windows with diamond patterns in gold. See it in motion here.
The Ferris Wheel is one of several Floral Creations that are also themed after fairground attractions like hot-air balloons and a carousel. You should definitely check out these grand visual feasts as they serve as obvious photo ops.
And, yes, flowers play the main part in the design inspiration behind Wynn Palace next to decors that represent both the East and the West.
More than 1,700 accommodation units at Wynn Palace are categorised into rooms, suites and villas. All come with many luxurious touches such as a B&O speaker system, beds with fine Egyptian cotton linen (or Frette's Italian linen for top-tier units), a bespoke in-house tea collection, bathroom TV (as you do), a double basin, bespoke amenities in gold colour, separate shower/bathtub ('cause you're no pleb) and tablet for lights, drapes, TV and temperature control.
Palace Room, the basic tier, starts palatial from 68m² and comes in four colour palettes namely peacock blue, sunrise yellow, sunset orange and signature Wynn gold. The peacock blue and the sunset orange rooms earn their nicknames Tiffany and Hermès respectively and both brands also happen to have their boutiques at Wynn Palace too. These Palace Rooms offer a great view through their floor-to-ceiling windows and employ full-length mirrors to visually add spaciousness. In keeping with the overall floral theme, the lucky silhouette of Chinese four-leaf clovers appears on the work desk, the headboard and the ottoman.
If you don't want to roll the dice when it comes to the view that you'll get during your stay, may I suggest a Fountain Suite, which starts from 85m² in size. As you may have guessed, this type affords you an overlooking view of the Performance Lake and its dancing fountains you see on the way in. Its full living room has floor-to-ceiling windows so you can comfortably enjoy the shows from your own sofa as if you're watching them from a loge.
Another room type I snuck into is Parlour Suite, which starts from 136m² in size. It takes luxury up a notch with a walk-in closet, powder room and air-jet soaking tub.
The Executive Suite type, which I stayed in, is a nearly 90m² embodiment of opulence. My East-facing room had a foyer area with marble flooring and a marble-topped counter where I could prepare my Nespresso coffee or grab a bottle of Fiji or Nordaq. Standing next to the counter on both sides are, as you do, two decorative copper amphora jars on golden pedestals. The foyer also features mirrors — large or floor-to-ceiling — in several spots to make my entry feels spacious. It leads to a carpeted, full living room with floor-to-ceiling windows, which gives me a view of the Macau International Airport runway and the South China Sea.
The gold and white colour scheme continues in the glided bedroom where I had restful slumbers on a 507-thread count cotton linen. The adjacent walk-in closet precedes the sizeable bathroom that comes with a basin/vanity counter with plenty of space for two and you can catch the news on the bathroom TV while cleaning your teeth with a golden toothbrush, as one does.
The splendid room also comes with attentive service. After housekeeping, the tufted desk chair with casters was always, on purpose as I later found out, positioned at an angle which allowed me to sit on it without having to pull it out first. I noticed that because I had to catch up on work quite often during my stay. Also, my loose cords were neatly rolled and secured with velcro tapes and a fabric to clean my camera lens was also provided without me asking for it.
There are even more exclusive villas for those who can afford to vacay like the 1%. For example, a three-bedroom Garden Villa boasts a patio with a swimming pool, round-the-clock butler service, a pool table, a media room with 85-inch TV, a grand piano and many more. Literally, a mini palace which starts from 622m² in size.
STAYING IN
Being an integrated resort, Wynn Palace gives you plenty of reasons to stay in and enjoy all that it has to offer aplenty. Whether you're into food, art, retail therapy, spa therapy or games of chance, you can satiate your cravings without having to leave Wynn Palace.
Wynn Esplanade may turn your shopping spree into a cardio as you explore its nearly 10,000m² of sophisticated retail space filled with high-end tenants from A, for Alexander McQueen, to V, for Versace. Along the path between these shops, you come across exquisite artefacts from something truly historic to contemporary and humorous.
Four Buccleuch Vases symbolise both East and West, much like Macau herself, as the porcelain set featuring Buddhist and Daoist motifs was originally created during Qing Dynasty while the golden ormolu mounts were thought to be created by a French artist.
There are two super-sized high-heels by contemporary Chinese artist Liao Yibai on display. These two pairs are from his "Real Fakes" series where he explores the obsession with luxury brands and honours the artistry in both real and fake goods. A rather poetic and thought-provoking statement, given that they are surrounded by shops of 50 of the world's most recognised brands in luxury.
Besides housing many Unesco World Heritage Sites, Macau is also named by Unesco the "Creative City Of Gastronomy" and Wynn Palace supports the designation with a dozen of eateries, including one Michelin-starred Wing Lei Palace and two Michelin-starred Sichuan Moon.
• Fontana, a hearty breakfast with a lake view
Guests can start off their days with a grand buffet with a view of the Performance Lake at Fontana, featuring both Chinese and Western delights. They'll definitely be spoilt for choice with 10 stations to choose from.
I went full Chinese with a bowl of freshly made wonton noodles, steamed pork ribs with XO sauce and DIY chicken congee with all kinds of toppings from pa thong go to preserved curly kale. While you can have all the Portuguese egg tarts you want, I suggest saving some room for other pastry and bakery items, of which there are many to choose from, such as pecan and banana muffins, raspberry and peanut butter brioche, almond croissants and Gugelhupf cake. Their dessert selection is obviously not an afterthought.
• Decadent dim sums at Wing Lei Palace
Befitting the English translation of its name as "eternal prosperity", Wing Lei Palace serves up a huge visual extravaganza upon your arrival, from tall glided vases with colourful bouquets, carpets with cloud motifs in jade green, symbols of Lu (prosperity or wealth) adorning the ceiling and the view of Performance Lake through the floor-to-ceiling windows from its three-tiered dining hall, to name but a few.
I had a luxurious lunch set with tea pairing, starting with a decadent platter of Barbecue suckling pig filled with minced shrimp topped with caviar, Steamed crabmeat and abalone dumpling, Steamed purple potato dumpling with bamboo pith and Chicken puff with crispy potato on top.
The Hot and sour soup seafood soup was served next and, although I had my fair share of the famous Sichuan soup, Wing Lei manages to stand out for being more well-balanced in flavour instead of the sharp sourness that I come to expect, thanks to a blend of aged vinegar, red vinegar and Italian vinegar. Fish maw, Japanese scallops and Japanese egg white added to its decadence.
Topped with French caviars, Steamed lobster with 20 years age Hua Diao wine and egg white tasted as good as it looked. The claw meat was juicy and succulent with salty pops of caviar to boot. Premium oolong was served along with it and cleaned the palate for the next course.
Vegetable fried rice with roast goose was topped with shavings of French black truffle. The fluffy rice grains were fried in the goose's juice and French beans while crispy rice added crunchy texture to every spoonful. The goose was tender and had a floral aroma, thanks to being roasted with lychee wood.
Rounding out the meal was Chilled double-boiled egg white with a bird's nest in coconut for delicate sweetness while the mint moonlight white tea added a refreshing finish.
Between these courses, teas are prepared on a trolley by a female tea sommelier who moved graciously and methodically, offering diners a bit of a show.
• Dinner and show at SW Steakhouse
SW Steakhouse, named after Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn, offers dinner and a show experience with a twist. While you savour a succulent steak and fresh seafood, you can also catch one-of-a-kind shows with special effects and high-tech features on the stage, designed and directed by Michael Curry whose portfolio includes Broadway productions of Disney's Lion King and Frozen.
The dinner I had at SW Steakhouse started with the SW seafood spectacular, which was basically a two-tier tower of seafood featuring Maine lobster, Alaskan king crab legs, jumbo shrimp, clams and oysters along with trimmings of sauces and sourdough. Razor clam ceviche and scallop tartare were my favourites of the bunch. Bluefin tuna was served next like a steak tartare. Cubes of the fish were served on a mushy bed of avocado while slices of watermelon radish and a touch of lime added refreshing contrast to the dish's main component.
From the turf side of the menu, Apple-wood smoked Margaret River Wagyu was served chateaubriand alongside white asparagus, morel mushroom puree and Burgundy truffles gnocchi. Another Australian wagyu wonder was M-7 Margaret River dry-aged Porterhouse, which was cooked to medium rare and served with charcoal bun, bone marrow butter and garlic onion chips. Both were so succulent, bursting with flavours.
Three choices of sides namely oh-so-soft Potato aligot, creamy and rich SW mac and cheese and crisp Baby garden vegetables were served to complement the mighty meat.
You'll definitely want to leave some room for SW's sizeable desserts. Salted caramel souffle with brown butter ice cream beautifully rose slightly above the rims of its ramekin but not toppled over. Its centre was warm and jiggly as it should be.
Have your camera ready for the flower-shaped SW Tahitian vanilla Alaska flambé for the moment it was briefly set alight at the table before you dig in for indulgent spoonfuls of meringue, cake and ice cream. Perhaps a bit too heavy to end a meal with but I made an exception for this one.
Complementing the whole meal with spectacular visuals, animatronics and music, were several shows that I caught during the long meal. For example, Astro-Witch inspires humour and wonder as various characters from a witch, an astronaut and a dolphin fly through the cosmos. Perhaps the most relatively simple yet mesmerising is A Love Before Time, the theme song for Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), sung by the late Coco Lee. To the accompaniment of a shortened Mandarin version of the song, a huge Ming Dynasty vase stands alone on the stage as a canvas for a visual projection portraying various Chinese imageries that accumulate in the majestic pair of dragon and phoenix, representing male and female and befitting the song. There are six such shows at SW Steakhouse.
If you still can't get enough of shows, may I recommend a SkyCab ride and dancing fountains at the Performance Lake to cap off your night with?
• Take a SkyCab ride
You don't have to be a guest at Wynn Palace to enjoy the dragon-themed SkyCab with a spectacular view of Performance Lake. However, if you're a guest of Wynn Palace, you'll be given a priority lane and don't have to queue like a non-guest. Like Wynn Macua's famous dancing fountains, each fountain show at Wynn Palace is choreographed and lit specifically to a song. Pro tip: time your ride well so you'll be able to enjoy a choreographed fountain show from above while you're floating in an air-conditioned cable car. See it in motion here. Once you get off, you can take tonnes of selfies with the resort and the lake as the background while waiting for another round of dancing fountains which takes place every 30 minutes.
GOING OUT
While you have the whole nearby Cotai strip to indulge in, you can also board the Taipa line of Macau Light Rapid Transit at the Cotai East Station, which stands right in front of Wynn Palace, so you can explore the rest of Macau with ease. Wynn Palace also operates a shuttle bus service to and from various ports of call.
FINAL VERDICT
Opulence, indulgences and convenience sum up a memorable stay at Wynn Palace in a nutshell. If you want to live large for a change, Wynn Palace is the place to be. Consider one of the various packages — several of which are designed with epicureans in mind — on offer at wynnresortsmacau.com/en/wynn-palace.
