Special feature: Sheraton Macao Hotel, Macau

In Macau, the Las Vegas of the East, bigger is better. Going by that simple judgement, the 3,896 room Sheraton Macao Hotel on the Cotai Strip, the largest Sheraton in the world, is one of the citys top hotels. But there is more to this sprawling behemoth than meets the eye. Underneath the overlapping layers of the hotel trying to outdo other hotels in the vicinity in size and grandeur, the little intricacies displayed in its ability to cater to a wide reaching crowd differentiates it from other hotels on the strip.

Prime among the differences is that while many other hotels have attempted to recreate the glory of Venice or pile on opulence and luxury in equal measure, the Sheraton has a large experience dedicated entirely to families, accounting for the growing family tourism that has flooded the small peninsula; the quintessential Sheraton experience centres around sharing, with friends, family and loved ones.

Following a very late check-in, we were provided with our room number. The physically daunting hotel is split into Sky and Earth towers to help the guest distinguish sides, and despite its intimidating size, getting to the room is fairly straightforward.

The deluxe room is an entry-level room: a 450 square feet narrow room with a king-size bed. In typical business executive fashion, the rooms are neutral in tone, with the white and cream overtones offset only by the teal-design-infused beige carpet. The bathroom, slightly bolder in its use of colour and tone, marks a large area of the entire room, with a bathtub, shower, toilet and twin vanities. The room view looks out on to the other wing and the podium-level swimming pool, though parts of the bright strip and its irradiance can be seen in the distance.

The suites naturally add more colour, size and furnishings to the standard offering, but the highlight is the tw0-bedroom family suite. With one master bedroom for the adults, the family suite dedicates the second bedroom for the younger audience, with a bunk bed, colourful furnishings and an entertainment centre with a Wii game console. Further matching the room is the ensuite bathroom, replete with toddler toilet seats, baby bath accessories and childrens toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Currently in association with DreamWorks, the animation studio is leading the family experience at Sheraton Macao courtesy of the DreamWorks Themed Family Suite Package. Amenities branded in childrens favourite DreamWorks characters lends a further soft touch to the room, enhanced by the DreamWorks Shrekfast, a vibrant breakfast scene set away from the usual breakfast venue, with a stage where DreamWorks characters, including DreamWorks mascots Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and the cast of Madagascar make dancing appearances and provide photo opportunities for the youngsters to enjoy. The cast also makes regular scheduled experiences around the hotel and its complex for photo opportunities.

Keeping in theme with a kid-friendly focus in mind, the pools, on the fourthfloor, are also split into three sections; adult, kid and family, all with cabanas and daybeds to lounge around in. Finishing off the child-friendly experience is a Kids Zone, that provides daycare and entertainment for children as young as toddlers to as old as kids in their tweens, with outdoor movie screenings by the pool a particular highlight.

With the staggering number of rooms, there are bound to be several key dining and wining options, six in total, in the hotel, in addition to several food courts and delis scattered around the complex. Again, the concept of sharing takes prominence among the dining options, with Xin presenting Asian specialities in hotpot style, ideal for sharing, and Bene offering a home-cooked Italian style feast, with seafood, pastas and pizzas at the forefront; but be warned, the portions at Bene are rather large!

Adult activities still take centre stage at the hotel, with one of Macaus largest casinos (naturally), the Club Lounge featuring smooth drinks, and the largest Shine Spa in Asia Pacific. A warm oasis from the rest of the hotels admittedly colder tones, the spa is an urbane retreat ideal for singles or couples to relax in. With the hotel and its complex hosting guests numbering the population of a small town at its full capacity, the retreat of the spa is much welcomed.

The Shine Spa incorporates much of local culture into the therapy, with the therapy starting off with a questionnaire, as most treatments do, but with an Asian twist. Utilising the modern generations love for technology and iPads, the questionnaire is filled out via an app on the iPad and aims to match the perfect oil according to your feng shui element. While our schedule was extremely tight and we regrettably did not get to experience the treatment, the tour of the spa was a much welcomed distraction, along with a trial demonstration of the app which matched the perfect oil for my current mood and Chinese horoscope.

While the Sheraton Macao offers a hotel location in the heart of Macaus action, and itself offers up quite a numouers range of activities that you would expect from a trip to Macau, it is the hotels more family friendly side that appeals more, and the young ones are sure to not feel left out during your familys trip to Macau.