NYT showcases Hotel Estoril story, revamp still pending

The controversial redevelopment of Hotel Estoril is facing delays, as it is unclear whether the government will demolish or remodel the building. The hotel was built in 1962 by tycoon Stanley Ho, and its redevelopment has been opposed by several activists.

A report issued this week by The New York Times recounted how the government’s decision was heavily criticized by local residents and activists, due to the hotel’s role in the city’s history and identity.

A plan spearheaded two years ago by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, was intended to revamp the derelict hotel and turn it into a youth recreational and art center. Tam said yesterday  that a public tender to revamp the hotel will be launched this month.

However, the matter remains controversial for concerned citizens.

As cited in the report, Sulu Sou, president of the New Macau Association (ANM) and a candidate in this year’s Legislative Assembly elections, voiced that Estoril and other unprotected sites were part of many residents’ childhood.

“There’s a general sentiment that Macau has changed too fast in the past 10 to 15 years […] and that’s why a lot of young people feel a sense of urgency about [the buildings] being lost,” said Sou.

A sociology professor at the University of Macau, Melody Lu, also expressed that some residents felt an emotional connection to the hotel as it was the “first touch of modernity” they experienced after arriving in the city from the Chinese mainland.

Last year, two members of ANM, including then- president Scott Chiang, were arrested on suspicion of hoisting a black banner on the hotel with white characters in Chinese reading “Alexis Tam: Heritage Killer.”

That same year, members of the Cultural Heritage Council overwhelmingly voted in favor of the government’s decision not to list the hotel for protection as a cultural heritage site.

The old Hotel Estoril was designed by Macau-born Portuguese architect Alfredo Victor Jorge Álvares. The mosaic standing in the facade was designed by Oseo Acconci, a builder and sculptor from Italy who moved to Macau in the 1940s.