Lucky number 13
Extravagance usually goes hand-in-hand with casino cities. And extravagance is about to get redefined again when The 13 in Macau opens its doors in December this year.
A project by flamboyant Hong Kong billionaire Stephen Hung, every inch of the US$1.4 billion The 13 reflects its owner’s personality. A giveaway is the name of his company behind the hotel: Louis XIII Holdings – Mr Hung has a penchant for the royal opulence of European courts and in The 13, has created his own version of Versailles in Cotai, Macau. Contemporary minimalism is banished in favour of Baroque lavishness: expect grandiose chandeliers, neoclassical columns, gold-gilded doors, stained glass windows, Roman marble baths, Renaissance-esque frescoes and rose-shaped velvet seats as the bare minimum. Though it may verge slightly on the tacky, quality is still highly apparent at The 13: the 200 ‘villas’ start at 2,000 square feet in size, with the largest – Villa de Stephen (guess who it’s named after?) – at 30,000 square feet and reportedly costing US$100,000 (RM405,000) a night. For those with the finer tastes in life, an invitation-only L’Atelier offers bespoke and limited edition products from global luxury houses, while the only foreign outpost of legendary Parisian restaurant L’Ambroisie is located here.
The world’s largest fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms will ferry guests around. Each custom-made to Mr Hung’s specifications, the fleet includes two ‘royal’ Rolls-Royce Phantoms that are gold-plated and diamond-encrusted, in a custom ‘Stephen Red’ colour infused with 24K gold flecks.
Extraordinary and extravagant, The 13 is a triumph of excess. It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but there is no denying its ambition.
