Having won the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award for five consecutive years, the Morpheus at Macau’s City of Dreams epitomizes luxury at its finest. Designed by the late visionary Zaha Hadid, this architectural marvel was crowned “World’s Most Beautiful Hotel” by UNESCO’s World Architecture and Design Award, the Prix Versailles, in 2023. From its palatial suites and villas to the curated artworks throughout, Morpheus offers an experience sure to impress even the most discerning travellers.
Named after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus brings a sense of fantasy to life. The hotel’s ethos, “Ascend into a dream world, where innovation meets imagination,” permeates every corner, from the grand exterior to the exquisite interiors, ensuring that every guest enjoys a level of luxury beyond their wildest dreams. Boasting 772 futuristic rooms and suites, each with floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking views of the cityscape, Morpheus is an oasis where one can bask in opulence while taking in the sparkling skyline and starry night skies.
Elevated Experience
The renowned Hong Kong design firm, Remedios Studio, is responsible for the hotel’s interiors, including the 180 suites and villas, each thoughtfully crafted and outfitted with premium furnishings to heighten all the senses. The interiors are a tapestry of leading designers and artisanal touches: imagine 1,000-thread-count Italian linens, Acqua di Parma toiletries, Alessi kitchenware, and Wedgwood porcelain. Every element has been meticulously curated, not only for functionality but also to cater to the refined tastes of guests, reflecting the design team’s unique cultural perspective and flair.
For an even more exclusive experience, the hotel’s sumptuous villas come with 24-hour butler service, private entertainment facilities, and their own interior pools, promising a stay that is nothing short of exquisite.
Sky’s The Limit
Stepping into the Pool Villa feels akin to boarding a sleek, modern yacht. Spanning 350 square metres, this villa draws inspiration from contemporary nautical design, featuring a calming palette of subtle blues and vintage reds. The distinctive layout enhances relaxation and sophistication.
The villa’s interiors radiate geometric elegance. As the suite with the highest ceilings, it is flooded with natural light, allowing guests to gaze out and enjoy magnificent views of Morpheus’s iconic exoskeleton.
Perched on the 40th floor, the Skytop Pool Villa spans an impressive 510 square metres. Here, natural light illuminates the beige stone flooring, black stainless steel, and wooden accents, evoking the sensation of being on a grand yacht at sea. At the heart of this villa is the private pool, framed by an open living and dining area perfect for leisurely moments. Custom furnishings include an oversized bathtub and a seven-metre-long sofa.
The Duplex Villa, at 580 square metres, elevates luxury to an entirely new level. Its two-storey design ensures undisturbed privacy, with sleek marble walls and wooden furniture establishing a sophisticated tone in the expansive space. Artistic touches such as ink-splashed carpets, stylish screens, and crystal chandeliers enhance the villa’s glamorous vibe, while floor-to-ceiling windows offer breathtaking views of Macau’s landscape. It also features personalized amenities, including a private gym, karaoke room, and massage room. The master suite’s bathroom boasts heated floors, a separate steam room, and a lavish shower, ensuring guests are enveloped in decadence.
A Work of Art
Of course, Morpheus’s grandeur extends beyond its suites and villas to its striking architecture. Known as the “Queen of the Curve,” Zaha Hadid’s bold architectural style is prominently displayed here. The hotel’s façade, inspired by traditional Chinese jade carvings, features a fluid structural form with voids carved through its center, connected via the Sky Bridge. This design creates an urban window, seamlessly blending the hotel’s interiors with the city outside. The geometric exoskeleton imparts a sense of movement, transitioning from dense patterns at the base to straighter grids higher up.
As the first female architect ever to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Zaha Hadid poured her 40 years of architectural brilliance into Morpheus. This building is not merely a showcase of her genius; it is also the world’s first skyscraper with a free-form exoskeleton. Towering over the Cotai Strip, Morpheus is a feat of design that infuses futuristic energy into Macau. Although Hadid passed away in 2016 and did not witness the hotel’s completion in 2018, Morpheus has since garnered numerous prestigious awards, including Best Hotel Architecture Macau and Best New Hotel Construction & Design in Macau at the 2019 Asia Pacific Property Awards.
Experiencing the structure from within reveals the same creative ingenuity that echoes throughout the hotel. Glass panels, like a sparkling cloak, drape the skyscraper. The curved walls around the voids are also framed with glass, blurring the lines between inside and outside. Guests can admire the stunning city views and feel connected to the urban landscape.
The awe-inspiring atrium lobby stretches 35 metres high and is free of columns, allowing light to bounce beautifully off the glass and steel framework. High-speed panoramic lifts ascend and descend impressively, traveling a floor per second.
But it is not just the architecture that impresses—magnificent art can also be found at Morpheus. Guests can marvel at world-class pieces, such as KAWS’s large-scale sculpture “Good Intentions.” This interplay of art and space infuses the building with artistic flair.
From its boundary-pushing design and exquisite rooms to world-class art, gourmet dining, and top-notch entertainment, Morpheus elevates luxury to a new level, offering a truly unforgettable experience in Macau.
Editor
Vogue Hong KongCredit
Images Courtesy of City of Dreams