The Londoner Macao () is a casino and resort on the

Cotai Strip The Cotai Strip is an area known mostly for its hotel-casinos in the central portion of Cotai, Macau. The term was first coined by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation in reference to its construction of a strip. Cotai was the result of a major l ...

, in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. On 5 August 2011, Sands China announced that the $4 billion property, long referred to as parcels five and six, would be officially named Sands Cotai Central (). The first portion of the resort opened on 11 April 2012. The resort was rebranded as The Londoner Macao in 2021. The resort's redesign was completed in May 2023.

History

Development and construction

Architecture firm

Aedas Aedas is an architectural firm founded by the Welsh architect Keith Griffiths. Aedas employs 1,000 staff in its twelve offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Dubai, Riyadh, Delhi and Seattle and provides services in archite ...

was the lead architect for all Las Vegas Sands projects on the Cotai Strip. The firm employed local companies for developing, coordinating and implementing the design. The main contractor was Hsin Chong Construction Group Limited. In November 2005,

Las Vegas Sands Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was founded by Sheldon Adelson, Sheldon G. Adelson and his partners out of the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las ...

announced a deal with

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts () is a multinational hospitality company, founded in 1971 by tycoon Robert Kuok and bearing the name of a Far Eastern mythical land of contentment depicted in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon''. It is a subsidiar ...

for them to manage one hotel tower in the complex, with 500 rooms under their luxury Shangri-La brand and 1,000 rooms under their business-class Traders Hotels brand. In February 2006, Las Vegas Sands announced a deal with Starwood Hotels to operate two hotel towers in the complex under their

Sheraton Hotels Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Centr ...

brand and a third hotel tower under their luxury St. Regis Hotels brand. Construction of the project was slowed and complicated in part by government restrictions on how many foreign workers could be hired in the labor-starved territory. According to the main contractor: "Work started in 2006 but the project went through a period of suspension due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. During this period, work on the project came to a complete stop and it was quite a challenge to restart the project. Staff had to be recruited and contractors engaged. Over 130 contractors were involved in the project. The imported labour quota restrictions have also been challenging." The number of gaming tables at the resort was a thorny issue as well, since the local government imposed a cap on tables until 2013. The company stated in early August 2011 that Sands Cotai Central would have up to 530 tables versus the 670 it was planning previously. On 24 March 2011, Las Vegas Sands announced it had terminated its management agreement with

. Then, on 5 August 2011, Sands China announced that they had signed franchise deals with

Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels, resorts, and timeshare properties. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the company is now led by Chris ...

and

InterContinental Hotels InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is a British-American luxury hotel brand created in 1946 by Pan Am founder Juan Trippe. It has been part of UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group since 1998. As of January 2023, there were 208 InterCo ...

to replace Shangri-La and brand over 1,800 rooms at Cotai site 5 and 6 under Hilton's luxury

Conrad Hotels Conrad Hotels & Resorts is an American multinational brand of high-end luxury hotels and high-end luxury resorts owned and operated by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2021, it has 42 locations with 15,085 rooms in 21 countries and territor ...

brand and InterContinental's

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

brand. In addition, on 5 August 2011 the company also announced that the resort complex would officially be named Sands Cotai Central. The resort would include over 6,000 rooms and suites, two casinos, more than of meeting space, and 11 food and beverage establishments. It would total of gaming area and of non-gaming facilities.

Opening

Sands Cotai Central Hotel Towers on 18 August 2011

The resort complex opened on April 11th, 2012, featuring the four-star Holiday Inn Macao, Cotai Central, the world's largest Holiday Inn, with more than 1,200 rooms, and the five-star Conrad Macao, Cotai Central, with more than 600 rooms. The opening ceremony was announced as "Asia's Biggest Launch Party in 2012." It was marked by the feat of high wire walker

Jade Kindar-Martin Jade Kindar-Martin (born February 16, 1974) is an American highwire walker and circus performer. Career Kindar-Martin started performing on the wire at the age of 14 with Circus Smirkus, a youth circus based in Vermont. Following his graduati ...

and his wife Karine Mauffrey, traversing the 525 meter (1,700 feet) distance between the top of the Venetian and the new Conrad Hotel, whilst balancing 150 meters (500 feet) above the ground on a wire less than thick. The spectacle was accompanied by the

China National Symphony Orchestra The China National Symphony Orchestra (; abbreviated CNSO) is China's national orchestra. It was founded as the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China (CPOC) in 1956 under the baton of the conductor Li Delun. In 1996, it was restructured and rena ...

. The second phase, consisting of the twin-towered five-star Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, opened on 20 September 2012. The 4,001-room Sheraton was both the largest hotel in Macau and the largest Sheraton in the world. The third phase, The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central and branded residences, opened on 17 December 2015, as the fourth tower of the Sands Cotai Central. On 18 January 2016, the Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central was upgraded to the brand's premium Sheraton Grand tier and renamed Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, Cotai Central.

Rebranding

In 2017, Las Vegas Sands announced plans to renovate Sands Cotai Central with a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

theme and rebrand it as The Londoner Macao, due to disappointing results at the property. The Holiday Inn Macao at Cotal Central closed in 2019 and was overhauled and rebranded as The Londoner Hotel with half the number of rooms, and the "Cotai Central" branding was dropped from the St. Regis, Conrad and Sheraton hotels. The entire complex was officially rebranded The Londoner Macao on 8 February 2021, when the first phase of the renovated property celebrated its grand opening. The first phase includes the opening of The Londoner Hotel, an all-new Crystal Palace atrium featuring a replica of the

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, officially and popularly known as Eros, is a fountain surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros, located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus in London, England. Moved after the Second World War from i ...

, new dining options, and a number of interactive attractions that are themed to London. A British-style exclusive club for guests of The Londoner Hotel, The Residence, also opened its doors as part of Phase 1. Later phases, progressively completed throughout 2021, includes the Suites by

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

situated at the top two floors of The Londoner Hotel, a 370-room Londoner Court, a re-themed and expanded Shoppes at Londoner, and the 6000-seat Londoner Arena. Later phases of the rebranding also saw the completion of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

facade, a life-sized

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

, and a Changing of The Guard show held at the Crystal Palace atrium. The resort's overall redesign was completed in May 2023 and was marked with a celebration attended by David Beckham, with performances by pianist

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

, Hong Kong pop singer G.E.M., Chinese musical theater performer

Ayanga Ayanga (born 23 October 1989) is a Chinese theatre actor, singer, and songwriter of Mongolian ethnic background from Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China. Early life Ayanga was born in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China. His parents were sheep h ...

and English singer

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

. In 2024, the two hotel towers under Sheraton branding closed and were renovated, with their 4000 rooms reduced to 2405 rooms, due to the conversion of many rooms into suites. The Sheraton had just 360 suites, while the new property will have 1500 suites. It will be launched under Marriott's Luxury Collection brand as the Londoner Grand, A Luxury Collection Hotel in fall 2024, with one tower, while the second tower will reopen in 2025. The Londoner Grand Casino is being renovated at the same time.

Hotels in The Londoner Macao

Hotels that are part of The Londoner Macao are as follow:

Macanese firsts

Many companies opened their first Macau stores in The Londoner Macao: *

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

- August 2014 *

Zara Home Zara Home is a company that belongs to the Spanish Inditex group dedicated to the manufacturing of home textiles. It was created in 2003. It has around 408 stores in 44 countries. The company focuses on retailing various housewares. The headqu ...

- August 2014 *Lady M - July 2018 *

Haidilao Haidilao International Holding Ltd., Trade name, or Haidilao (), is a Chinese hot pot Chain store, chain, known for its customer service and famous TikTok trend of the Ke Mu San, Kemusan dance. Founded in Jianyang, Sichuan in 1994, it has ...

- October 2019 *

The Cheesecake Factory The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is an American restaurant company and distributor of cheesecakes based in the United States. It operates 348 full-service restaurants: 215 under the Cheesecake Factory brand, 42 under the North Italia brand, a ...

- October 2019 *Taier Sauerkraut Fish - August 2020 *North Palace - December 2020 *The Huaiyang Garden - January 2021 *

Shake Shack Shake Shack is an American multinational fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permane ...

- April 2021 *The Mews - September 2023 *

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...

Pub & Grill - January 2024 *Nusr-Et - planning

Transportation

Bus

There are several shuttle bus services connecting The Londoner Macao to Macau's major ports of entry and nearby resorts. These shuttle services are provided free of charge. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, some services may be temporarily out of operation. * The Londoner Macao to Border Gate * The Londoner Macao to Hengqin Port * The Londoner Macao to

The Parisian Macao The Parisian Macao () is a casino resort on the Cotai Strip in Cotai, Macau, China owned by Las Vegas Sands, which features a half-scale Eiffel Tower as one of its landmarks. It was originally expected to be operational in late 2015, with tha ...

The Venetian Macao The Venetian Macao () is a hotel and casino resort in Macau, China owned by the American Las Vegas Sands company. The 39-story structure on Macau's Cotai Strip has of floor space, and is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Ve ...

, and

Taipa Ferry Terminal The Taipa Ferry Terminal (; ) is located in Taipa, Macau SAR. It is located in the reclamation area of Pac On and is adjacent to the Macau International Airport. The terminal provides high-speed passenger ferry services from Macau to Hong Ko ...

Macau Light Rapid Transit

The Londoner Macao is within walking distance from both Cotai West Station and Cotai East Station on the Taipa section of the

Macau Light Rapid Transit The Macau Light Rapid Transit (MLRT, zh, 澳門輕軌系統; , MLM) is a mass transit system in Macau and the first railway system of the city. The first phase of the project's construction began in February 2012, and the first section of the Taip ...

that serves the Cotai Strip and the larger area of Cotai.

Gallery

File:Cotai Strip View 200907.jpg, Cotai Strip in 2008 File:CONRAD MACAOConrad The Lounge 2013.JPG, Conrad The Lounge 2013 File:CONRAD MACAO Lobby 2013.JPG, Conrad Macao Lobby 2013 File:Holiday Inn Macao Swimming Pool 201301.jpg, Holiday Inn Macao Swimming Pool File:Shoppes at Cotai Central Interior 201301.JPG, Shoppes at Cotai Central Interior File:Black cab escape.jpg, The Black Cab Escape at Londoner Macao File:Wongwt 金沙城中心酒店 (17284911082).jpg, Paradise Garden Sands Cotai Central File:Crystal gold.jpg, Crystal Palace at Londoner Macao File:Holiday Inn Macao Lobby Lounge 2013.JPG, Holiday Inn Macao Lobby Lounge 2013 File:Holiday Inn Macao Lobby 2013.JPG, Holiday Inn Macao Lobby 2013 File:Sands Cotai Central (9180836728).jpg, Sands Cotai Central

References

External links

Official websiteSheraton Grand Macao official websiteConrad Macao official websiteThe St. Regis Macao official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Londoner Macao, The Casinos completed in 2012 Hotel buildings completed in 2012 Hotels in Macau Resorts in Macau 2012 establishments in Macau Cotai Sheldon Adelson Casino hotels in Macau