First look inside the US$2.7 billion Parisian Macao

For those who have found themselves in Macau any time over the last few months, it’s likely that a new addition to the city skyline will have caught your eye.

Standing at the entrance to the new US$2.7 billion Parisian Macao resort, set to open September 13, is a striking half-scale replica of, arguably the world’s most iconic monument, the Eiffel Tower.

Illuminating Macau’s Cotai Strip with hopes for a brighter tomorrow, after a straight 26th-month decline in casino revenue, casino operators hope it will be the crowning jewel of the Cotai Strip and draw back the visitors and, with it, bolster revenue. 

High hopes come at a high price, US$2.7 billion to build this resort, but owners Sands China are confident that they’re onto a winner. They are betting on the affinity many Chinese have for Paris and all things French to deliver a hit resort on a scale that hasn’t been repeated since they opened Macau’s landmark Venetian resort back in 2007.

“Originally, it was going to be more international. There was going to be four hotels – London, Paris, New York and one other – four on one site and they were going to be hotel towers and each tower would represent a different international city,” says Charles Lee, chief architect.

“But Sands China did a survey and they found out that if you ask the Chinese, in China, what would be their first choice of destination for a holiday, the vast majority of them said Paris. So, given that research, how could they go wrong by selecting Paris?”