An indulgent two-storey spa at Macau’s Morpheus Hotel has opened, complete with two relaxation lounges, state-of-the-art wet facilities and a sleek Scandinavian aesthetic.
The Morpheus Hotel is Zaha Hadid Architects’ (ZHA) flagship hotel for the City of Dreams resort, and opened earlier this month.
Conceived as an “urban window connecting the hotel’s interior communal spaces with the city”, Morpheus is notable for the series of sculptural voids carved through its centre – inspired by the fluid forms within China’s rich traditions of jade carving.
The Morpheus Spa includes three luxury treatment rooms, one single spa suite and two couples’ spa suites.
A serene ‘snow garden’ designed by interior designer Peter Remedios uses real snow, and is kept at a temperature five degrees Celsius below the ambient temperature to generate its mystical scene, transporting guests to another world as part of their Morpheus Spa journey.
Signature treatments include an exclusive platinum mask from Margy’s Monte Carlo. Offered as a 20-minute add-on to other treatments, the mask is said to slow down collagen depletion and detoxify skin, helping to restore elastin.
The ‘Morpheus Awakening’ signature treatment has been created by ayurvedic skincare brand Subtle Energies to help reduce sleep issues and ease symptoms of insomnia. A combination of a body and face Marma massage releases tension, with active ingredients applied through a Nasya nasal oil application to stimulate the pineal gland. Amethyst and rose quartz crystals are used to activate the “third eye” and “heart” chakras in order to anxiety and restoring a sense of balanced bliss to the body.
Other skincare brands include Christophe Robin from Paris, Sweden’s Sachajuan, and Uka from Japan. The Madison Collection has supplied a custom-made line of towels and robes to the hotel and spa.
The spa also sees the debut of the Gharieni PediSpa de Luxe treatment beds, which allows guests to undergo a four-in-one pedicure, manicure, hair treatment, and facial.
In-house spa butlers will escort VIP guests from hotel rooms to the spa for consultation to derive optimal treatment programmes and address the
personal needs as well as preferences.
Linked at ground level with the surrounding three-storey podium of the City of Dreams resort, the Morpheus Hotel houses 770 guest rooms, suites and sky villas, and includes civic spaces, meeting and event facilities, gaming rooms, lobby atrium, restaurants, a rooftop pool, and extensive back-of-house areas and ancillary facilities.
ZHA designed the Morpheus as “a simple extrusion” of the abandoned foundations of a condominium tower that was never built. The rectangular footprint was used to define a monolithic 40-storey building of two internal vertical circulation cores connected at podium and roof levels.
The building’s exoskeleton optimises the interiors by creating spaces that are uninterrupted by supporting walls or columns. The central atrium runs the height of the hotel, traversed by a series of bridges that create spaces for the hotel’s restaurants, bars and guest lounge.
"Morpheus combines its optimal arrangement with structural integrity and sculptural form,” said Viviana Muscettola, ZHA's project director. “The design is intriguing as it makes no reference to traditional architectural typologies.
"Macau’s buildings have previously referenced architecture styles from around the world. Morpheus has evolved from its unique environment and site conditions as a new architecture expressly of this city.
"The comprehensive parametric model combined all of the hotel's aesthetic, structural and fabrication requirements and will radically change how our built environment is planned and constructed.”
