The grand opening was scheduled for 8p.m. – a lucky number in China – but when we arrived around 7pm, there were already large crowds of people gathering in front of the Performance Lake, to enjoy the dazzling choreographed show combining water, music and light, and eagerly awaiting to be the first group to have a look around the new property – as described by Stephen Wynn, chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Wynn Resorts as, “arguably the most beautiful hotel in the world”.
One tourist, Ms. Hai from Hong Kong, told us that she just come to Macau that day look around, but after hearing the news about the opening she decided to come to see for herself. She had been to Wynn Macau many times and was curious about what’s new with Wynn Palace.
“From the outside, it looks almost the same with Wynn Macau, just this one is taller and bigger. I’m looking forward to seeing the inside later,” she observed.
Delayed Opening
The construction of Wynn Palace experienced a number of problems and the opening date was pushed back on more than one occasion. One of the well-publicised reasons is that Mr. Wynn was not satisfied with the quality of some of work. At the opening, we spoke with Portuguese architect Nuno Alves who has been working for the main contractor of this project, Leighton Holdings Ltd., for the past two years. Mr Alves was at the opening to enjoy the final results of the hard work put in by his team, he shared with us his views.
“Mr. Wynn is known for his high standards of quality and looking for perfection in every detail. That's one part of the equation we were aware of since the beginning. ” Mr. Alves explained.
“This is quite a large scale project with 45,000 sqm of built area, approximately 45 design consultants and 90 subcontractors working on it as well as many suppliers involved. That required additional coordination work that is obviously time consuming when making sure all details were addressed and integrated.
“Also, it was a big challenge under the circumstances with limited local human resources and working under a very tight schedule. At the time Wynn Palace was being built there were a number of other large scale buildings under construction in Macau and Hengqin island. That put an additional stress on human resources, especially on skilled labour as well as on suppliers.
“In the end it was quite rewarding to be able to deliver the expected high level of quality as you will be able to witness.”
Floral Themed, Selected Art Works with a Tribute to Chinese Culture
Throughout Wynn Palace, it is impossible to miss the very prominent floral thematic with spectacular fresh flower displays at every turn. Wynn Palace invited the renowned floral designer Preston Bailey, who co-operated with the company in Las Vegas years ago, to design some new creations especially for the new property. In particular, the North and South Atrium lobbies feature very unique creations – a Ferris Wheel and Carousel – each made up of tens of thousands of individual blossoms.
Also on display throughout Wynn Palace are thousands of works of fine and decorative art, part of Wynn’s desire to bring its guests a very different luxury experience.
One of the visitors we spoke to at the opening told us he really enjoyed the art works on display.
“It’s definitely a pleasure to be able to enjoy art pieces without going into a museum,” he said. “For example, a set of four porcelain vases from JiaQing period mounted in ormolu known as the Buccleuch Vases; we can now appreciate those pieces in one of the corridors of the Retail Promenade.”
Both the floral designs and the selected art works are a tribute to Chinese culture, and you can also see many Chinese elements in detailed design elements at Wynn Palace: some of the amazing water shows are choreographed to Chinese songs selected by Steve Wynn himself; and even the Starbucks inside Wynn Palace is decorated with cute humorous traditional Chinese style paintings with people inside drinking coffee.
There was one other interesting detail we noticed on our first walk around the property. Next to Tulips, the multi-million dollar work from artist Jeff Koon’s Celebration series, which he has been working on for more than 20 years, there’s a warning sign board, written in both Chinese and English: “To preserve the integrity of the art piece, please refrain from throwing coins.”
In China, some people like to throw coins in to water, fountains, or any fancy art works they see to make a wish, and they believe by doing so will bring them good fortune and good lucks. Let’s hope everyone reads this sign and follows the instructions!