Two luxury Macau hotels – both designed within historical forts – highlight the timelessness of colonial Portuguese style

By Chung Wah Chow
Translation by Amanda Mao
Photography by Gary Mak

If you believe everything you see in the movies, all castles and fortresses should be eerie, dark places accessed by iron gates. In the real world, spooky is the exception rather than the rule, and some castles have even been converted into romantic getaways.

In Macau, Fortaleza da Barra is one of them. Located at the southern tip of Macau peninsula, the fortress, now known as Pousada de Sao Tiago, is a 17th-century fort that was once home to a Portuguese defence force protecting the Inner Harbour Channel from Dutch invasion. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that the fort was turned into a hotel. The fortified stone walls, the centuries-old trees, the natural water cascading along the time-worn stone passageways, have all remained unchanged for 400 years.

The management and maintenance of these historical relics require extra care. Michael Au, the resident manager of Sao Tiago, says, “Managing a hotel with historical value is different from average hotel management. Every day we need to inspect whether the stone walls are still in good shape or the tree roots are overgrown. It’s a bit like hiking. The work is hard, but given the beautiful and natural setting here, I have no complaints.”

Beyond the entrance, a 19-foot-wide covered staircase leads to a restaurant. On the right wall of the stairway is a stone water basin, the remains of an earlier fountain, with the year “1629” carved onto it. Inside the alfresco dining area of the restaurant there is a fountain spring supplied by the antiquated cistern in the shade of the banyan trees.

“The fort still resonates with history,” Au explains. “Beneath the fountain there was once a cistern excavated out of solid rock and able to store 3,000 tonnes of water. The stone washboard is still there.”

Beside the fountain is a watchtower, connecting with a tunnel that used to carry cannons to Barra Hill behind the fort. No longer garrisoned with heavy artillery, it is now a wine cellar storing over 400 vintages.

Behind the restaurant is a chapel built in 1740, dedicated to St James the Apostle – Sao Tiago in Portuguese – the patron saint of the Portuguese army. Every 25 July, the feast day of Sao Tiago, Christians come here to pay their annual homage to the saint. But for others, this is perhaps the most romantic spot in the hotel. Au recalls, “There was once a couple staying here and the man proposed. After her acceptance, we immediately arranged a blessing ceremony in the chapel. All of our staff members, including our chef from Spain, were their witnesses and we all shared the joy with them!”

Another romantic sanctuary is Pousada de Coloane on the island of Coloane. Perched on the cliff of Cheoc Van since 1977, this fort is a unique piece of Europe in Asia. It is more rustic than Sao Tiago, but it’s blessed by the breeze from the sea, and the furnishings are reminiscent of a bygone era in Europe.

Mary Ng, the manager, has been working here since the opening of the inn. “Before it was turned into a hotel, it was a villa owned by Sir Rogerio Lobo, a Portuguese philanthropist and politician in Hong Kong,” Ng recalls. “In 1977, three months after the hotel was completed, they employed me as a waitress and I have been serving here since then.”

Back in the late 1970s, the bridges that linked the Macau peninsula and Coloane were not yet constructed. Ng had to pick up her guests at the dock in Coloane Village upon their arrival. “At that time there was no water and electricity supply on the island. We were still using a generator for power. When the rainy days came we were overjoyed. That meant we didn’t need to wait for the water to be shipped from the peninsula. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that the island had a stable water and power supply.”

According to Ng, in the very beginning the building only had 10 rooms. Most of the guests staying here were expatriates from Hong Kong. She, therefore, was trained to become a polyglot and now she can speak fluent English, Hindi and Portuguese, in addition to her Chinese mother tongue. She was also promoted to a managerial position and witnessed the growth of the hotel.

“The first renovation was in 1981. What you see now is basically what we designed in the early ’80s. In 2005, we added 15 more rooms and further renovated some of the old and tired rooms but without changing its Portuguese setting,” Ng says. The cobbled courtyard, the blue tiles and antique furniture in each room and the alfresco dining area are all beautifully appointed and ooze a nostalgic ambience. Indeed, this is the charm that keeps their guests coming back. “The most unforgettable experiences I’ve had are when guests who held their wedding banquets in the pousada a long time ago came back years later with their kids to celebrate their wedding anniversaries! They still remember us! The guests and our staffers are just like one family,” Ng says happily.

She adds, “It’s the timeless romantic qualities – the sandy beach, the beautiful sunrise and sunset on the South China Sea, and the verdant countryside – that keep our guests coming back, and keep me working here!”

高級ホテルへと変貌する要塞の数々

マカオでは不気味な要塞が美しいホテルに変貌を遂げてい る。17世紀建造の要塞を改築したポサダ・デ・サンチャンド もその一つだ。石垣、樹齢数百年の大木、石畳の脇に見える 数々の小滝などが400年もの年月を感じさせる。通常のホテ ルと違い、歴史的価値の高い敷地のため管理に一際気を配 る。17世紀に造られた噴水、今ではワイン蔵として使用され ているかつての監視塔、18世紀建造の教会など、ロマンチッ クな雰囲気がカップルに人気だ。ポウサダ・デ・コロアンは、 素朴さの中にも欧州を思わせる内装が印象的だ。

マカオとコロアネ島を結ぶ橋もなく、電気と水道も引かれて いなかった1970代に開業したこのホテルに電気と水道が引 かれたのは1980年代中頃だった。開業以来、ポルトガルの名 残を失わないように徐々に客室数を増やした。玉石を敷き詰 めた中庭、客室のアンティックな内装、そして屋外レストランな ど、ホテル全体が美の塊で郷愁に満ちた雰囲気が何とも言え ない。リピーターも多く、南シナ海の美しい夜明けと夕焼け、緑 豊かな田園風景など永遠のロマンチックがここにはある。