Awash with bling, Macau’s new casinos boast dream hotels – rooms and suites that dare the imagination. Standing tall in a niche of its own is the uncompromising Mandarin Oriental, Macau, now led by General Manager CHRISTIAN DOLENC who explains why truly discerning guests stay faithful to Macau’s hospitality icon of international repute.
Christian Dolenc, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental, Macau.
A midst changing times, Macau’s plush and stately hotel glitters like a tall crystal in the summer sun and against a stunning backdrop of changing culture. The iconic Mandarin Oriental Hotel reaches to the sky like a monument of class, a statement, a unshakable rock of solidarity in the face of questionable change. Why questionable? Mandarin Oriental, Macau offers the perfect selection for travelers who chooses to stay in a non-gaming environment while still being near to international world-class casinos. Often with families, these travellers prefer a more nuanced 5-star hotel that delivers unbeatable value alongside luxury, caters to their discerning tastes and yet, offers that quintessential Macau spirit which they came for in the first place. The Mandarin Oriental, Macau hits the spot as the faithful know. To them the hotel remains an oasis of world-class comfort, one-stop-shop to enjoy creative international cuisine, an indescribably authentic (Forbes 5-star-winning) spa, gym and pool, 213 brilliantly appointed rooms and suites that offer breathtakingly views of a rapidly blossoming enclave.
The hotel also features, a fine-dining restaurant, cutting-edge bar, high-tech meeting rooms and conference facilities, tailor-made to order. It sits a stone’s throw away from one of Macau’s largest shopping spaces too.
“We believe in team-work and that perfection is a journey, not a destination,” – Christian Dolenc
Mandarin Oriental Macau Deluxe Suite
Art of Service
Ocean Ballroom.
“We enjoy a history of nurturing good professionals, people who find joy in self-less service,” says recently appointed general manager Christian Dolenc. “The training and mentorship we offer, the opportunity to gain experience serving the top-most tier of local and international guests at home and abroad makes us a competitive choice for any hospitality professional with a will and heart to excel.”
Dolenc is a relatively young general manager, yet a seasoned hand that fate has led to this challenge.
An out-of-the-box thinker, he is a people’s person – suave, witty and pragmatic, he makes for an interesting leader. His team is eager to learn new ways to amaze the guests and to achieve that he will have to first amaze his team. He inspires, coaches, rewards and chides without fear or favour and it translates to guests’ applause.
The hotel aims to offer guest a distinctive Macanese experience incorporating culture, gastronomy and being the hub for discerning travelers.
“They will go back and share their experience with friends, photos via social media and create new customers for this hotel and that is what we do well here – crafting the ‘glocal experience’. Giving them the best of global fare infused with their subtle local cultural tones,” Dolenc explains.
View to a Skill
A tour of the squeaky clean hotel starts from the Lobby Lounge (near The Mandarin Cake Shop) that boasts a picture of what appears to be a thousand flowers which seem to stay in bloom thanks to the raindrop-like lights that reach throughout the staircase taking you to the conference/meeting/business centre facilities on the first floor.
Chef Matthias Knilling
The second floor is dedicated to the Vida Rica – a fine dining restaurant (and bar) in which chef Matthias Knilling is busy winning friends and influencing people. His delicate, picturesque creations are thrilling social media fans beyond belief and deservedly so. He has a young but rich history of culinary perfection and it shows in his astoundingly imaginative plates.
The bar is a short pit stop for us where we meet Marks Solomko, the Mixologist. He thrills his guests with a mix of wit and wonder. The wit is inborn, the wonder comes from ‘Art in Mixology: Legends and Cocktails menu’.
The cocktail he conjured up for us is called “The Prince” from Thailand. It has Coconut Rum, Coconut Water, Kaffir Lime Syrup, Pandan Cordial and Lime Juice.
In a blind tasting you’d smell the breeze of Chiang Mai and taste the flavor of the Mae Ping river. It is a blend of the original, exotic, creative and spiritual.
The rooms and suites are all well appointed and boast world-class toiletries, fluffy bathrobes but the beds are dreamy with semi-firm mattresses and spotless white sheets that make one just want to draw the curtains and fall into slumber – of course not before inspecting the amply-stocked mini-bar.
Off to the presidential suite – a large opulent, expansive suite that offers unimaginable possibilities. Global brands hire the suite for their private functions, product launches, gala dinners or just to impress their VIP guests.
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Macau.
New Worlds to Conquer
“Every day is an opportunity for us to reinvent, innovate, adapt and come out better than the day before,” Dolenc says, adding that his team is mindful of the need to retain the market lead. “We believe in team-work and that perfection is a journey, not a destination. Today, we deliver the Mandarin Oriental experience from pick-up to drop-off and during that point, or minute-by-minute mission is to amaze. We have fresh ideas, an excited team and a host of new markets to impress with our service. Let’s get on with it.”
For additional information, please visit www.mandarinoriental.com/macau
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