Where to Stay in MACAU • Best Areas & Top Hotels in City Center & Cotai

Macau may be small, but it is brimming with all sorts of attractions, so we always recommend staying at least two nights here. But which part of Macau should you choose? We’ll discuss just that in this article, so keep on reading!

Many travelers see Macau as a side trip from Hong Kong, but it is actually a worthy destination in its own right. It is much cheaper and easier to explore. It also has a globe of wonders to offer – most of them, family-friendly – that it is impossible to see them all in just a day or two. So yeah, consider staying in Macau, too, especially if you’ve explored Hong Kong before.

Macau’s Four Main Areas

Geographically, Macau is composed of four main districts. Three of them have always been around:

• the Macau Peninsula, where the historical core of Macau is located
• Taipa Island, where you’ll find the airport and the Taipa Village
• Coloane Island, the least developed and most laidback

In between Taipa and Coloane Islands is the fourth, newly established area — Cotai. Yes, COTAI, a portmanteau of Coloane and Taipa. Built on reclaimed land, Cotai is occupied mostly by hotels and gaming buildings.

Out of these four major areas, two of them are what I believe ideal for tourists – the historic core in Macau Peninsula and the Cotai Strip. These two are packed with tourist sites and a wide, wide selection of dining and lodging options, but they do appeal to very different types of travelers. So, let’s break them down.

COTAI STRIP

Macau is best known for its five-star luxury hotels and resorts, and the biggest chunk of them are located along the Cotai Strip. I bet that when you picture Macau in your head, you have images of The Venetian, The Parisian or the Galaxy Macau. Well, they are all located here in Cotai.

It is an ideal area to stay because it is dotted with most of Macau’s modern attractions. In fact, the majority of them are housed within these hotels! For example:

• The Londoner is home to this Big Ben replica and a Harry Potter Exhibition, where potterheads will surely have a field day.
• The Venetian is where you’ll find the Grand Canal and TeamLab SuperNature, one of the best TeamLab museums we’ve visited so far.
• The Parisian boasts a replica of The Eiffel Tower, which has also become an icon of the city.
• Studio City brags about the world’s first figure-eight Ferris Wheel called Golden Reel and a…