Unlucky For Some

The saga of The 13, Macau’s bid to rival Dubai in the opulence stakes, suggests that super high-end luxury may not have much of a future in the territory

- Feliz Solomon

 

A few blocks southwest of Macau’s bustling Cotai casino strip stands a stagnant monument to a magnificent, imagined past. The 13, the more than USD1.4 billion brainchild of flamboyant Hong Kong billionaire Stephen Hung, remains closed six years since inception as it waits for a ruling on its future. Inevitable measures to salvage it could serve as a bellwether at the crossroads of consumer demand and evolving policy in this freewheeling special administrative region of China known as the “Monte Carlo of the Orient.”

Originally branded Louis XIII, evoking the Baroque decadence of 17th-century France, The 13 was always an outlier. Towering 23 storeys over the mostly recreational neighbourhood of Coloane, its creator imagined a high-end luxury resort and casino that would attract the richest of the rich. Known for his polychromatic hair and custom Versace suits, Hung, whose parents reportedly amassed a fortune dealing Hong Kong property, had a vision of opulence that would rival Dubai.

His plan was to lure the world’s most wealthy with a golden gateway, private elevators opening onto USD7 million villas, Roman bathtubs concealed under sliding marble floors, two bars and four dining options including an incarnation of L’Ambroisie—the only French restaurant to continually uphold three Michelin stars since 1988. Upon arrival in Macau, guests would be received by a diamond-encrusted Rolls Royce Phantom, part of Hung’s USD20 million fleet of 30 vehicles that made up the largest custom order the luxury carmaker has ever received.