How cost-effective is a trip to Macau? Five-star hotels for just over 200 yuan a night, what a bargain!

In many people's minds, going to Macau is all about entertainment and shopping. Macau has a lot of hotels, and the cost of living is relatively high. Actually, before recently, I (Yu Fan) thought the same way. But recently, because of some matters, I came to Macau and learned about the situation, and my previous notions have been completely overturned by reality. Due to special circumstances this year, the prices here are really a great deal.

In yesterday's article, I introduced the Lake View Suite at the Wynn Palace where we stayed. It's a super large suite of over 180 square meters, with not only a spacious and luxurious living room, bedroom, and bathroom, but also a dedicated SPA room. In previous peak seasons, the price was usually around 7,000-8,000 yuan per night, but now the online price is only about 2,400 yuan per night (plus 375 yuan in taxes), which is about one-third of the original price. At that time, I thought it might be because of its high price positioning.

But yesterday, when having a meal at the old five-star Royal Hotel, I learned about their room rates and was truly shocked, because their prices are only about one-third of the normal peak season. Rooms like the standard king-size bed room shown in these photos cost just over 200 yuan per night. Previously, such a room would have been sold for over 800 yuan, and with breakfast, laundry, and other services, the price could even go over 1,000 yuan per night.

Hearing such prices, as a self-media writer, I naturally became interested, so I asked to visit some of their guest rooms to see what a 200-yuan five-star hotel room looks like in Macau.

It is understood that the Royal Hotel has been a five-star hotel since it opened in the 1990s, and it underwent some renovations in 2018. So although it doesn't look as new as those newly renovated luxury five-star hotels, it is still quite fresh overall.

Frankly speaking, a room for just over 200 yuan is not very large, but if you don't need to make a grand impression, it's quite comfortable to stay in. There is a chaise lounge by the window outside the bed, where you can lie down and enjoy the sunshine.

On top of the TV cabinet, there is an oval-shaped desk that looks quite business-like. This hotel differs from entertainment-oriented hotels; it focuses on accommodation with affordable prices, so many business travelers stay here.

This is a terrace of the hotel, with a large sports stadium next to it. Large-scale sports events are often held here, such as the Women's Volleyball Grand Prix, which features the Chinese women's volleyball team every year. During the event, the staff of the organizing committee generally stay at this hotel.

This is the hotel's gym. It's not very large, but it has a complete set of equipment: treadmills, stair climbers, Smith machines, bench presses, rowing machines, shoulder presses, barbells, dumbbells, exercise bikes... everything you need. Even if you stay in a room for just over 200 yuan, you can still use the gym.

Next to the gym, there is an indoor heated swimming pool with excellent natural light. That's really nice. Although it is winter, swimming here is very comfortable, not cold at all. When we arrived, there were a few guests swimming (I tried to avoid them, you can see the ripples on the water).

Since we already had a place to stay, I was just curious about this hotel and took a casual tour. Personally, I think the price of just over 200 yuan per night is really a steal—even cheaper than in mainland China, let alone in Macau, where land is extremely expensive. It doesn't seem to make sense and completely overturns our understanding of Macau's cost of living. However, such prices are definitely temporary, because due to well-known reasons, there are not many tourists in Macau now (since many people don't know that Macau is actually very safe and convenient to visit—no quarantine is needed, only a nucleic acid test report costing 70-80 yuan is required). The hotel occupancy rate is only about 30%, so prices are very low. If you travel to Macau now, it's very cost-effective, with prices even lower than in mainland China. The money you save can be used for crazy shopping, haha!