Oh wait, you’re in the wrong room, the general manager of the hotel told us as he personally escorted us to what was gonna be our home for two nights while in Macau. I was more surprised that he actually escorted us to our room rather than being in the wrong room, there was actually no problem with the room we were given, only that he said it was too small. Too small? After lodging in Hong Kong for several days, this was huge. He then led us to another door, knocked before proceeded on opening it, and tadaaaahhh! Our room was so large you could play golf inside.

METROPOLE HOTEL MACAU’S MODERN LOBBY INTERIORS

A TYPICAL ELEVATOR LOBBY

It was our first day in Macau and my first time to actually set foot on this part of China. After disembarking from our one-hour foodfest inside TurboJET from Hong Kong to Macau, we were greeted by who else, Filipinos asking us if we already have a hotel or tours. We graciously declined and were soon careening through the wide roads of Macau, feeling like Grand Prix racers, who at the time were also zooming across selected roads in the city, and were at Metropole Hotel in no time.

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METROPOLE MACAU’S UNREMARKABLE FACADE

On the outside, the twelve-storey building looked a tad too nondescript, but as we found on Pentahotel Hong Kong, looks can be deceiving. And we were happily proved right, its warmly lit lobby has class, with a bit of Macanese decors set on the lounge area.

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OUR EUROPEAN ROOM, WOULD’VE BEEN NICE IF WE’VE GOTTEN A MACANESE ONE

We were billeted on their Deluxe European Style Room (a nod to Macau’s Portuguese past, I think), the right room for us according to the GM (would’ve preferred a Macanese one though), and indeed, it has more floor space than we actually need.

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ORNATE CHAIRS, SURPRISINGLY COMFORTABLE

Two Victorian chairs sit on a corner near the closet, a trapezoid-shaped mini-bar with coffee-making facility (strangely, they serve Penang White Coffee, I definitely am not complaining), a fluffy queen-bed, and a working desk near the window overlooking a plaza along Avenida da Praia Grande.

LOVELY TOILET AND BATH

Decors are kept to a minimum, with pastels and whites pervading throughout. It does feel a tad too dainty for me, but with its size, who am I to complain. They don’t have free smartphones we can pocket and take around the city with, but they do have a reliable free Wi-Fi connection throughout the hotel.

BEEF NOODLE SOUP FOR BREAKFAST

Complimentary breakfast is provided for, a semi-buffet one. Guests can have unlimited pastries and cold cuts, but can only order a single set of soup or rice meals. I found their morning meal to be pretty average, but it isn’t really a problem as there are a lot of cheap eats (and I guess, not so cheap restaurants—which we have really no interest in checking out) everywhere in the area.

IN HOUSE DINING HALL, WE PASSED OFF ON BREAKFAST DURING OUR SECOND DAY FOR THE SUNRISE

While food isn’t really the shining star of Metropole Hotel, its strength lies on its location. It’s two minutes away from the stop where the free bus rides big casinos provide for throughout the city is located, and five minutes away by foot from the UNESCO inscribed Senado Square and St. Paul’s Ruins.

Woke up at an ungodly hour (6AM, haha) just to capture Macau's famous ruins sans the tourist crowd

A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on Nov 21, 2015 at 11:30pm PST

They’re so near, we made Senado Square our own private bar; hauling and drinking cans of Tsingtao beer along its benches during the evenings. Heck, we even attempted a sunrise walk to the St. Paul’s Ruin. We didn’t succeed on the first try, naturally failing to wake to the alarm, but we eventually got to move our lazy asses on our second morning in time for that rare sunrise. Yes, a sunrise for us late risers. We wouldn’t even entertain the thought if not for Metropole’s location.

~ OUR GRATITUDE GOES OUT TO METROPOLE HOTEL FOR ACCOMMODATING US FOR TWO NIGHTS IN MACAU

Metropole Hotel Macau ► ROOM RATES
Address: 493-501 Avenida de Praia Grande, Freguesia da Sé, Macau, China
Contact Number: (+853) 2838-8166
GPS Coordinates Map: 22.192197, 113.540264

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