Hotel Estoril | Revamp option proves costly, gov’t asks for structural assessment

José Tavares (left) and Costa Antunes (right) speak to journalists on the hotel’s rooftop

To revamp the Hotel Estoril would be far costlier than to build a new facility from scratch, structural engineer Costa Antunes said yesterday during a visit to the decrepit hotel and its adjacent swimming pool, which is still-operational.
“I have no doubt that it would be more expensive to revamp the building. Its structure would need to be strengthened and some parts replaced. It would take much more time to complete and I don’t know if the investment would be worth it. Secondly, if we want to build standard places to host musical events, the ceiling heights in this building are very limitative, and multiple technical experts should assess whether it’s worth keeping [the building] or not.”
With some sectors of local society showing opposition to the government’s plans to demolish the hotel, located near Tap Seac Square, in order to transform the space into a youth center for arts education, the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture organized a press visit to the site.
Concerning the structure, Costa Antunes noted that the older part of the building is “close to ruins” and an assessment of the edifice’s resistance has been requested from the Civil Engineering Laboratory (LECM). “The building is not at risk of collapsing because it is empty. But if we start to use it more, things need to be assessed,” Mr Antunes, who is also the coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, added.
The media excursion started with a visit to the closest section to the Tap Seac Multi- sports Pavilion, which was built more recently. The dance floor and bar of a club that operated there until the 90s are still visible. Adjacent to the former club, but accessible through an exterior door, there is a former sauna, consisting of a maze-like set of corridors and many small rooms, all of them equipped with bathtubs. In its heyday, this was one the biggest saunas in Macau, perhaps in Asia. Now it is no more than a ruin.
The visit proceeded with a glimpse of the core of the building, or its oldest part, where the hotel’s operations and main entrance were located. With a wall covered with mirrors in the lobby, and plaques with numbers providing directions to the guest rooms, one can clearly see that the place was once a hotel, although its interiors are reminiscent of a war zone. On the upper floor there used to be a club named “Diane,” where a rugged picture of the deceased Princess of Wales still adorns the main wall.
The visit also included the adjacent Estoril Swimming Pool, over which many rooms of the hotel have a view. The president of the Sports Development Board (ID), José Tavares, highlighted that the pool has been operating for over 60 years and is entering a phase of “some degradation.”
Therefore he feels that this is a good opportunity to build a new pool with technology to remain open all year long. The facility would be equipped with a removable rooftop. The Olympic-sized swimming pool wouldn’t need to be so deep (the current pool reaches 3 meters depth) since the diving board has long since been removed. The slight displacement of the pool would provide space for a multiuse pavilion, which could be used for cultural or sporting activities, as well as for car parking, Mr Tavares said.
“We intend to have an indoor swimming pool that can work all year long, a high-quality facility with heated water and easily accessible by handicapped people. This is located in a luxury neighborhood, there is no space like this [in Macau] to develop infrastructure devoted to sports and culture. So, for us, it is very important to go on with the [Hotel Estoril] revamp,” José Tavares said. “The current pool has reached its maturity and fulfilled its historical mission. We now have an Olympic swimming pool in Taipa, so it is not needed anymore. We have other pools suited for competitions, so we should think of a new phase,” he added. The ID president concluded by saying that “it doesn’t make sense to keep a pool that has been running for more than 60 years, the pumps and water filter systems are degraded and do not match the current needs.”
The president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng, also attended the initial phase of the visit, giving an historical overview of the site.
The government intends to grant designing of the building that will replace the Hotel Estoril to Siza Vieira. The renowned Portuguese architect is expected to visit Macau soon to offer insights into the former hotel’s revitalization.