Grand Lisboa, Macau

It is a 52-floor 258 meters tall building in Macau, owned by Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDE) and designed by Hong Kong architects Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man. The STDE, is a company owned by Stanley Ho and his family. Historically it held a monopoly to Macau's gambling industry as the only licensee for casinos for over 40 years (recently the monopoly was broken). This gorgeous hotel is created in the form a giant flower, standing on a pedestal. The casino and restaurants opened their doors earlier than the hotel, on February 11, 2007, while the hotel was opened in December 2008. This building in the shape of a lotus flower is the tallest building of Macao. Grand Lisboa Casino is famous for “Stanley Ho Star” diamond that is in the permanent exhibition. According to the Gemological Institute of America it is one of the largest diamonds in the world (218.08 carats, 43.62 g). The casino offers 800 mass gaming tables and 1000 slot machines. The hotel contains 430 hotel rooms and suites. The huge size of this complex strikes everyone. A 5-star design hotel features modern accommodation, a lavish spa and an outdoor pool. Each room has digital plasma screens Bang & Olufsen System Wide Permissions and "surround sound". Guests can also enjoy stylish bathrooms with rain showers and unique aquarium-style bath tubs. The interior is impressive and has all the modern conveniences - over 580,000 Swarovski crystals glimmer in the lobby, casino and guest room chandeliers. So, hotel-casino in the form of a glass lotus is considered to be the main attraction of Macau.

By Lilit Khalatyan, www.building.am