More than a decade after the Italian fashion house Versace announced a deal to bring a Palazzo Versace hotel to the Cotai district of Macau, and more than two years after the opening of Grand Lisboa Palace, the gaming resort that hosts the hotel, there was an official ceremony on Saturday by resort promoter SJM Holdings Ltd to launch the hotel brand.
Among those attending was Donatella Versace (pictured left), sister of the Versace house’s late founder, Gianni Versace, as well as American singer John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen, along with a cohort of Asian singing and film stars.
Daisy Ho Chiu Fung (pictured right), managing director of SJM Resorts Ltd, the Macau operations unit of SJM Holdings, was cited as saying in a press release: “The Grand Lisboa Palace now stands out as home to the only couture-focused designer hotels in Macau, positioning our city as one of the few destinations worldwide offering such ultraluxe branded hospitality experiences.”
Ms Versace, chief creative officer Versace, was cited as saying: “It is wonderful to bring together so many friends for such a special event to mark the opening.”
SJM’s deal with the Versace brand had been announced in the summer of 2013. Grand Lisboa Palace opened in July 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and took time to open the majority of its facilities, including the 271-room Palazzo Versace.
The branded hotel had a soft opening in April last year, with all the rooms available as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Other accommodation linked to an iconic fashion name at Grand Lisboa Palace is The Karl Lagerfeld hotel, which had an intial opening in December 2021.
