Integrated resorts, with their extensive event, dining and entertainment facilities under one roof, make a convenient venue for large meetings. TTGassociations profiles some of Asia-Pacific’s best and finds out what’s new at each
AUSTRALIA
Crown Melbourne
Crown Melbourne is Australia’s largest and multiple-award winning integrated resort, spread over 550,000m2. It encompasses three hotels, meeting rooms, celebrity chef restaurants, high-end shops and entertainment facilities. It also has Australia’s biggest casino that includes award-winning VIP facilities.
Its three hotels, Crown Towers, Crown Metropol Melbourne and Crown Promenade Melbourne, altogether offer 1,600 rooms from four- to five-star quality.
Crown has received government approval to construct a new luxury hotel on a site adjacent to the Crown Melbourne complex, which would add 388 six-star rooms and 708 apartments to Crown’s Melbourne operations.
A self-sufficient meetings hotel, Crown Melbourne offers three floors of conference and meeting facilities across 7,350m2 at the Crown Conference Centre. This includes a 900-seat showroom and the Palladium Ballroom which accommodates 1,500.
Crown Melbourne is within walking distance to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. There are also two luxury spa options. Completing the complex are more than 40 retail outlets and some 70 restaurants, cafes and bars. Celebrity dining options include Nobu and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
The Star Sydney
The Star in Sydney has won multiple awards for its hotels, restaurants, building design and casino. Its 250,000m2 area includes two luxury hotels and some of Sydney’s iconic entertainment venues.
The Star’s two hotels offer about 600 rooms from five-star accommodation to apartments with up to three bedrooms. The Astral Towers & Residence will complete refurbishment works by mid-2017 to reveal serviced apartments, king rooms and premium suites. The Darling is its boutique offering featuring 171 rooms, suites and penthouses, and is the city’s only hotel to receive the prestigious Forbes five-star rating.
A key feature at The Star is its multi-award winning Event Centre which offers state-of-the art, configurable space over three floors, suitable for 200 to 2,680 guests. The A$100 million (US$) centre has hosted national red carpet events such as the ARIA Awards, along with product launches and gala dinners.
Another hallmark at The Star is its Marquee, internationally famed for its lineup of local and international DJ artists with a VIP experience that’s been compared to Las Vegas’ super-clubs. The space can be tailored to suit corporate events, providing 1,858m2 of floor space that sits on the entire top tier of The Star’s harbour-side entrance and offers expansive views of Sydney Harbour and the city skyline.
The Star has about 20 restaurants and bars with options for corporate groups of up to 100 delegates. Signature restaurants like Momofuku Seiobo have adaptable space for various event sizes and audiovisual requirements, including a private dining room.
It is preparing to submit building plans for a signature A$500 million, 215-metre tower which will add a 220-room six-star Ritz Carlton hotel at its top and another 150 residences to its current operations.
INDONESIA
Laguna Bintan
One of the three Laguna integrated resorts in South-east Asia under Banyan Tree Group, Laguna Bintan comprises the 64-villa Banyan Tree Bintan, the 113-key Angsana Bintan and Laguna Bintan Golf Club.
Banyan Tree Bintan is an elegant property with a wide selection of recreational activities and is loved for its award-winning spa and memorable dining experiences in unique settings. In 2013, the resort’s villas were refurbished and new relaxation pools were added.
Angsana Bintan, the younger sister of Banyan Tree, has a more active character, armed with a 1.5km stretch of private beach and a Marine Centre that makes watersports available to guests. It also run activities for everyone in the family, including nature tours.
Both welcome business and association events. Banyan Tree Bintan’s meeting room can take 32 people while Angsana Bintan has two for 132 pax.
New at Laguna Bintan is the revamped Laguna Golf Bintan. Reopened in July 2016 after a complete redesign and renovation, the 18-hole, par-72 golf course now covers 60 hectares and affords sweeping views of the South China Sea.
Banyan Tree Group’s third hotel brand – Cassia – will also soon open, offering one- and two-bedroom apartments.
MACAU
City of dreams
Developed by Melco Resorts & Entertainment, City of Dreams Macau started its phased opening in June 2009 and today pulls together four hotels – Crown Towers Macau, Grand Hyatt Macau and The Countdown Hotel – as well as a plethora of entertainment, dining, and retail facilities.
For meetings and events, Grand Hyatt Macau shines with its collection of venues spanning almost 8,000m2 in total. There are two ballrooms – Grand Ballroom and Salão do Teatro – and eight meeting salons plus an outdoor pool deck for more informal gatherings.
The pillarless Grand Ballroom, with an eight-meter high ceiling, is ideal for 2,000 people in theater style or 1,300 pax in a banquet setting. It can be divided into four soundproofed sections.
Salão do Teatro boasts an innovative open kitchen concept and natural daylight, and can accommodate up to 360 guests.
Recent updates include the rebranding of Hard Rock Hotel Macau to The Countdown Hotel, with effect from July 6 this year.
In November 2016, Melco Crown revealed plans for a fifth hotel within the City of Dreams. Named Morpheus after the God of Dreams, the luxury property will boast pioneering design and architecture.
The Parisian Macao
The latest flower to bloom in Macau’s Cotai is The Parisian Macao, an intergrated resort that is physically connected with sister properties – The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, and Sands Cotai Central.
Opened in September 2016, The Parisian Macao features 3,000 guest rooms and suites, a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower with a restaurant and observation decks within, 5,200m2 of meeting rooms plus outdoor event spaces, The Parisian Theatre which can also be hired for business events, and a variety of restaurants, retail stores and fun attractions for all ages.
MALAYSIA
Resorts World Genting
Located in the cool climes of Titiwangsa Mountains northeast of Kuala Lumpur, Resorts World Genting (RWG) has long drawn domestic and international travellers alike since the 60s. Today, the integrated resort comprises the Genting International Convention Centre which houses 13,935m2 of function space with built-in high-tech features, six hotel options to suit various budgets, a casino, and a variety of entertainment and dining outlets.
RWG’s room inventory has recently grown, following the completion of First World Hotel’s renovations and expansion in June 2015. The hotel added 1,286 rooms and now boasts a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest hotel with 7,351 keys. In all, RWG offers more than 10,000 keys.
Also new is a cable car system which opened last August. It comprises 99 gondolas and covers 2.8km in 11 minutes. Ten of these gondolas come with glass floors and are an attraction themselves.
August 2016 also saw the opening of SkyAvenue mall.
PHILIPPINES
Resorts World Manila
Resorts World Manila (RWM) was the first integrated resort in Metro Manila when it soft-launched in 2009. Today it draws travellers with a selection of hotels and a combined guestroom inventory of 1,707 rooms as well as a casino, a plethora of restaurants and bars, and the four-storey Newport Mall.
It endeared itself to planners with the opening of the 10,000m2 Marriott Grand Ballroom in 2015, a facility which has been touted as the most spacious and modern in the country.
The 480-key Belmont Hotel Manila also opened in 2015.
The expansion continued in 2016, with the debut of Japanese concept restaurant Ichiba, modelled after the market alleys of Osaka and Kyoto. RWM’s Marriott Manila will add another 228 keys while Hilton Manila and Sheraton Manila will soon open. All three will raise RWM’s inventory to 4,200 keys from the existing 1,226.
Solaire Resort and Casino
Opened in 2013, Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City offers 800 resort-style guestrooms in two towers – Sky Tower and Bay Tower – and a collection of dining, entertainment and retail opportunities for its guests.
For business events, Solaire has more than 5,000m2 of event space, including a ballroom for 1,300 guests.
New at Solaire is the Sky Range Shooting Club and the 1,760-seat The Theatre which is said to be the most advanced in the country and the only venue in the Philippines equipped with Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system.
City of Dreams Manila
City of Dreams Manila, soft-opened in December 2014, is a luxury complex comprising of three hotels – Crown Towers, Nobu and Hyatt – along with casinos, retail outlets, entertainment for all ages, and a collection of dining establishments including the famed Nobu Japanese restaurant.
In addition to the various event function spaces within the integrated resort, City of Dreams has made available its two night clubs – Chaos and Pangaea – for private hire. They can be hired during the day and early evening on weekdays.
SINGAPORE
Resorts World Sentosa
Spanning 49 hectares on Singapore’s Sentosa island, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is a collection of six hotels each with a distinct theme, the Resorts World Convention Centre, a casino, several celebrity chef restaurants and specialty retail outlets, and a number of renowned attractions including Universal Studios theme park, S.E.A. Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark.
Resorts World Convention Centre features a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces that suit intimate incentive programmes for 10 people to massive conventions with up to 6,000 delegates.
RWS’ 6,000-seat ballroom is due for a face-lift in 2017.
Marina Bay Sands
Opened in 2010, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is home to 2,561 guestrooms, the 120,000m2 Marina Bay Sands EXPO and Convention Centre, a casino, the ArtScience Museum, the MasterCard Theatres, and some 300 retail and F&B outlets.
In 2015 MBS reconfigured two ballrooms on level four to better serve massive events. The combined Roselle-Simpor main ballrooms can now accommodate up to 2,000 delegates.
Two high-resolution video walls – a 100m2, 10mm screen for outdoor events and a 50m2, 2.8mm screen for indoor events – will be installed soon to allow planners to enjoy greater brand visibility at their events.
THAILAND
Laguna Phuket
Said to be Asia’s first integrated resort, Laguna Phuket is a massive complex that houses eight hotels and resorts, the Banyan Tree Phuket Spa Sanctuary, the 18-hole, par-71 Laguna Golf Phuket, a teambuilding grounds and activities provided by Quest Laguna Phuket Adventure, and more than 404.6 hectares of tropical parklands that can be utilised for corporate events.
For planners, Laguna Phuket offers the 1,000-seat Latitude Marquee, which is perfect for themed events, in addition to function rooms available across the eight hotels and resorts.
Planners with mega-sized events appreciate the accessibility of these facilities in a single location and the convenience of a single master bill, and this is reflected in the success Laguna Phuket is enjoying in being the destination of choice among companies like Amway China (16,000 pax, 2012) and Nu Skin Greater China (4,000 pax, 2013).
Latest developments here is the rebranding of Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas to Angsana Villas Resort Phuket.
VIETNAM
Laguna Lang Co
Laguna Lang Co occupies 280 hectares of Phu Loc’s pristine coastal land, nestled between the cities of Danang and Hue in Central Vietnam.
Pushed up against the resort’s three-kilometre private beach are two Banyan Tree properties – the 229-key Angsana Lang Co and Banyan Tree Lang Co with 60 pool villas.
Hotel guests can get around the compound on buggies and shuttle boats to enjoy a host of on-site facilities, including an 18-hole championship golf course, spas, retail outlets and an organic garden, which lend well to incentive and teambuilding purposes.
Angsana Lang Co has four meeting rooms while Banyan Tree Lang Co has four boardrooms.
There is more to come. With room for six more properties on the compound, Laguna is looking for potential investors to complement its existing offerings and enhance the resort as a whole, informed a spokesperson with Banyan Tree Lang Co.
