Scheduled to open in 2017, SJM’s Lisboa Palace will include a casino with 700 gaming tables, dining and entertainment facilities, a wedding complex and the Lisboa Palace Hotel with over 1,450 rooms. Last year SJM also announced an agreement with Versace for their new property to host the Palazzo Versace Macau with up to 270 rooms. And earlier this month the company also announced that they have entered into a binding Memorandum of Understanding for a Karl Lagerfeld Hotel at Lisboa Palace, the first hotel in the world fully designed by Karl Lagerfeld. SJM executives stated that 90 percent of the total area of the casino resort will be dedicated to tourism and leisure activities.
The style of the complex is intended to represent Macau’s famous ‘East meets West’ heritage, taking its design cues from 18th century French architecture but with Chinese elements. In particular, there is clear inspiration from the Chateau de Versailles, the Louvre, Palais Garnier and the Casino at Monte Carlo.
At the ground breaking ceremony, the chairman of the Board of Directors, Ambrose So, highlighted the strength of its unique design, which he stressed cannot be found in any other part of the world.
“We are not copying others’ models. The original design of Lisboa Palace is not something that you have seen before. It’s not a property that you can find in any other part of the world. It’s very original, very authentic. We want to bring this entire experience to the people of Macau and tourists from abroad,” So said.
Mr So also explained the company’s decision to continue with the Lisboa name.
“It’s a big project, so we decided to call it a Palace and our entire brand is named Lisboa. We wanted to maintain the tradition of the name.”
The overall cost of the development will be around HK$30 billion, HK$5 billion more than initially planned, due to increased labour and construction costs.
The Lisboa Palace will initially be built on a 70,500 square-meter block of land next to the Macau East Asian Games Dome. The company hopes to acquire a stake in an adjacent site owned by SJM Holdings Executive Director Angela Leong – which will triple the size of the resort.
“We hope that all together these sites can offer more family and recreational facilities, creating a synergy effect, but we don’t want to disclose any further details now,” Angela Leong stated.
