Macau Update
Was in Macau over the weekend. Of course, it is probably more accurate to say that I was at Wynn Macau. If it were not for the fact that I felt professionally obliged to "check out" Venetian, I would not have stepped out of Wynn's revolving doors. And I'm not even a serious gambler; I set my limit and was done within 3 hours of hitting the casino floor.
I arrived Macau Saturday evening to join friends who were hosting an informal party in one of Wynn's suites. We had Champagne and pizza before hitting the blackjack table. After a couple hours, we had dessert in Il Teatro, the Italian restaurant. And here was where I was very pleasantly surprised by how much service at Wynn had improved since my New Year's Eve visit. I noticed a dessert on the menu that had truffle honey topping and decided that it would be nice to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some truffle honey topping. This request does not sound all that complicated, but it's not on the menu. But service at Wynn had previously been so bad/green, that they were struggling just to get the standard things right. But I decided to try anyway. It paid off. Not only did the waitress understand my English request, she even added: "Would you like the truffle honey on top or on the side?" Wow, I thought, this is really a quantum leap since 1 Jan. Similarly, the Wynn Club front desk staff were sharp, on-the-ball and capable of dealing with somewhat complicated billing instructions. Where the service did disappoint somewhat was in the coffee shop. It took seemingly forever and multiple requests just to get a bottle of water. But I suspect that by the time I visit again after they open their expanded wing early next year, there will be even more improvement. It was encouraging to hear that with Macau's tight labour market, Wynn had no problems retaining staff. Apparently, staff prefer the culture at Wynn over LVS's (i.e. Las Vegas Sands and Venetian).
As for Venetian, I would say that my expectations have been very well-managed by friends who visited before me. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Sure, Venetian has a cheesy, artificial quality about it. But if you can forgive the silliness of trying to replicate Venice in the vein of Disney's It's A Small World ride, then it's not so bad. Venetian is huge compared to Wynn and the feeling is much more mass market. The Grand Canal shops are very main street -- Zara, Nike, Massimo Dutti etc. There are chain fast food restaurants in the food courts. And the casino floor is wide open, lacking the intimacy of Wynn's casino floor. For now, I would still stay at Wynn in Macau, but with the events that Venetian puts on (so far Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Federer vs. Sampras match), there is enough reason to head over the bridge to the fledgling Cotai Strip for a brief excursion. As of tomorrow (30 November 2007), Venetian's CotaiJets are scheduled to begin service between Hong Kong directly to Taipa, where Venetian is located.
I arrived Macau Saturday evening to join friends who were hosting an informal party in one of Wynn's suites. We had Champagne and pizza before hitting the blackjack table. After a couple hours, we had dessert in Il Teatro, the Italian restaurant. And here was where I was very pleasantly surprised by how much service at Wynn had improved since my New Year's Eve visit. I noticed a dessert on the menu that had truffle honey topping and decided that it would be nice to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some truffle honey topping. This request does not sound all that complicated, but it's not on the menu. But service at Wynn had previously been so bad/green, that they were struggling just to get the standard things right. But I decided to try anyway. It paid off. Not only did the waitress understand my English request, she even added: "Would you like the truffle honey on top or on the side?" Wow, I thought, this is really a quantum leap since 1 Jan. Similarly, the Wynn Club front desk staff were sharp, on-the-ball and capable of dealing with somewhat complicated billing instructions. Where the service did disappoint somewhat was in the coffee shop. It took seemingly forever and multiple requests just to get a bottle of water. But I suspect that by the time I visit again after they open their expanded wing early next year, there will be even more improvement. It was encouraging to hear that with Macau's tight labour market, Wynn had no problems retaining staff. Apparently, staff prefer the culture at Wynn over LVS's (i.e. Las Vegas Sands and Venetian).
As for Venetian, I would say that my expectations have been very well-managed by friends who visited before me. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Sure, Venetian has a cheesy, artificial quality about it. But if you can forgive the silliness of trying to replicate Venice in the vein of Disney's It's A Small World ride, then it's not so bad. Venetian is huge compared to Wynn and the feeling is much more mass market. The Grand Canal shops are very main street -- Zara, Nike, Massimo Dutti etc. There are chain fast food restaurants in the food courts. And the casino floor is wide open, lacking the intimacy of Wynn's casino floor. For now, I would still stay at Wynn in Macau, but with the events that Venetian puts on (so far Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Federer vs. Sampras match), there is enough reason to head over the bridge to the fledgling Cotai Strip for a brief excursion. As of tomorrow (30 November 2007), Venetian's CotaiJets are scheduled to begin service between Hong Kong directly to Taipa, where Venetian is located.
Labels: Macau
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