View of the Bela Vista, perched on its small hill at the northern end of the Avenida da Republica.
One of the greatest legends in Macau’s history and hospitality scene is that of the former Bela Vista Hotel – the inimitable Grande Dame of the colony, handed back to the Portuguese in 1999 and presently the Residence of the Portuguese Consul General.
Perched on the edge of Penha Hill, and with gorgeous and expansive views over the former Praia Grande, or Esplanade, from way back in the days when the Sai Van, or “West Bay” Lake 西灣湖was actually a Bay opening out into the South China Sea, the Bela Vista has seen and partaken in much of its host colony’s recent history.
The building, with its ornate neoclassical design, was erected in 1870 as the private residence of a British expatriate couple. No doubt recognizing the potential of the gorgeous location and views, the couple turned it into the Boa Vista Hotel in 1890. Over the next century, it would shift hands multiple times, becoming a hospital, a school and reverting to a hotel more than twice. It acquired the name “Bela Vista” in 1936 – and that name would last till its decommissioning in 1999.
View of the Bela Vista from the foot of Penha Hill.
The weekend I arrived in Macau, the Bela Vista appeared to have just undergone some routine conservation and restoration work. From my vantage point along the Avenida da Republica, I saw that a small section of the façade was clad in scaffolding and that the building itself seemed to have acquired a fresh new coat of yellow paint. On a whim, I decided to see if I could not perhaps enter the grounds.
I discovered, to my utter delight, that I could!
In the grounds of the Bela Vista.
The main gate had been thrown wide open by the contractors and workers that were still laboring to take down the scaffolding on site. Because it was lunchtime by the time I got to the building, no one appeared to be around. And so I slipped past those gates, picked myself daintily across the hundreds of piles of scaffolding, and went round to the front of the building.
Close-up of the famous balconies, and those arched balustrades.
There, I stood for some time, admiring those famous balconies with their arched balustrades, and imagining what the view must have been like twenty years ago from way up there. “Bela Vista” means “Beautiful view” after all, and I wished so hard I could have seen what that view had been all about.
View from the grounds.
Unfortunately, there was no way into the building, since the entire main entrance – which was at the back of the building facing away from the sea – was clad in canvas and clearly still in the midst of major restoration. I had to satisfy myself with the view from the Bela Vista’s front courtyard, which, I had to admit, was far less captivating than what it must have been in the old days when you looked out into the open sea, instead of Casino-land.
Nonetheless, I counted myself extremely lucky to have been able to step into the grounds of the Bela Vista. If it hadn’t been for the restoration works, I wouldn’t have had the chance. I knew then, also, that I would probably never see the building this close again.
The Cafe Bela Vista, at the Grand Lapa Hotel.
All was not lost, however, with regards to my wish to experience the high life on the Bela Vista’s famous balconies. It turned out that one of Macau’s more contemporary five-star hotels – the Grand Lapa – had quite cleverly incorporated these famous balconies into the design of its signature café-restaurant.
As a matter of fact, the café-restaurant itself went by the name of Café Bela Vista!
I zipped across town to take a look, and found myself completely won over. The restaurant space was laid out such that part of the seating area recreated the balconies of the Bela Vista, complete with arched balustrades, swirling fans, rattan chairs and waiters in formal livery.
Interior of the Cafe Bela Vista.
True, the windows looked out upon a sea of greenery, rather than upon the sea itself. But the atmosphere felt thrillingly authentic. Requesting a table by those windows and sipping at a glass of crisp white wine, I felt like I was really at the Bela Vista Hotel, back in 1999 – that fateful final year when the Hotel took its very last cohort of guests, and then shut its doors forever.
The “balcony” area of the Cafe Bela Vista.
I spent the rest of the afternoon lingering in the shade of the palm trees, and enjoying the cool wafting breeze from the ceiling fans. I reflected on all that I had seen of historic, colonial Macau thus far; the Macau that preened right outside these balustrade windows… And I thought:
A glass of wine on the balcony.
Que uma bela vista! What a beautiful view!
Dream Of A City 
What a wonderful piece. I spent a number of years in the 70s as a kid in HK and stayed here when we visited Macau. I remember the Bela Vista but this view is like something from a science fiction movie, You would have loved it.
Sorry, should have read more carefully – yes you already said it’s the residence of the Consul-General! Oops.
I stayed in the Bela Vista in 1996. I’m not sure about the view … but I still remember this hotel as a beautiful and calm spot in Asia.
I had dinner at the hotel many times during the time we lived in Hong Kong and in 1995 we stayed in a suite there and my husband proposed, so I have wonderful memories. It is sad that it is no longer a hotel and the views are not as beautiful as before.
Lovely article. I stayed in the Bela Vista many times from 1965-68, when it was owned (I believed) by Y.C. Liang, of gold syndicate and WWII spymaster fame.
At US$30, my night at the Bela Vista in 1989 was the most expensive in a seven-week tour of Asia. The red carpets were worn, the room was shabby and had a small TV with few channels (all of them fuzzy), but the view from the balustraded balcony was magnificent (and only slightly blighted by that giant concrete pineapple, the Hotel Lisboa), and inspired me to write a travel piece that I entered for a newspaper competition. I didn’t win, but could my writing it be the reason I remember the Bela Vista so well?
Hi,
Would love love to read your article.
I stayed there in the 1980’s and would love to visit now as I am once again in Hong Kong.
Was just in Macau in Feb. 2017. I walked the Prai Grande from Pousada Sao Tiago, but overlooked the Bela Vista..It must be closed to public as private residence.
But so much history.
James
Palm Springs, CA USA
My wife and I stayed at the Bela Vista at least twice, if not three times. In fact, we spent our honeymoon there when we were married in 1957. a few years later, our son made friends with the hotel’s cook, as he always managed to do in several hotels later on in life. Indeed, we have fond memories of Bela Vista. The reconstructed restaurant area of the Grande Lapa looks exactly as I remember it, although, then, one looked out to the sea.
Hi,
Two books on Bela Vista and Macau hotels.
Both by Luis Andrade da Sa:
1. NA Bagagem.
2. BELA Vista.
Also, on youtube.com
Also, another book on Macau by
French journalists. Pons.
I stayed at the Bela Vista in 1981 with my then husband, son aged 10 and baby daughter 4 months as a holday destination while living in H.K. I well remember the faded grandeur of the place and especially the green_painted iron cot my daughter slept in (possibly against all health and safety rules nowadays). A very special place with wonderful memories.
A Macau journalist who just died wrote a book about it. It was iconic like the Peninsual in UK or Raffles in Singapore
I raced a 1957 Corvette in the 1967 and 1968 Macau Grand Prix. While in Macau, my wife and I stayed at the Bela Vista. It was a wonderful place, I vividly remember breakfast on the balcony. I really enjoyed reading this article about the famous hotel.
Spent my honeymoon there in 1955, also the first, fifth and tenth wedding anniversaries.
Super article. I spent all of my birthdays there whilst living in HK mid to late 90’s!
We stayed there in 1985–a delight! There were wires running here and there–it needed some upgrading. Hope it opens again some day for the public.
Stayed in 1957 whilst serving as a National Servicemen with15 Medium Regt.in Hong Kong.My mateBob Parson was my companion,still in contact.Marvellous memory can’t be replaced.
thanks for your post during my time in Hong Kong between 1979-1982 I was liaising with Macau for my UN job and go there at least once a month with the jetfoil (no planes at that time) staying at the Bela Vista in a beautiful room. At a certain moment we also had an office there and I would have given anything to be posted there indefinitely…Your pictures brought me back memories an a glimpse of my life there and pushed me to write some of it.
I used to frequently stay with friends for the weekend at the Bela Vista in 1970’s. We were all expats working for the HK Government and a trip to Macau by jetfoil was a restful getaway from the bustle of HK. The hotel was a bit run down, slightly Fawlty Towers, but we loved it for that. Breakfast on the balcony served by slow aging waiters was a treat. Wonderful memories of a colonial era now past. Shades of Austin Coates.
Thanks for the memories! As dirt-poor backpackers in the ’70s, my girlfriend and I certainly could not afford to stay there, but we could afford to walk around the grounds, and have tea on the veranda, and enjoy the view of the old Macau, while it was still three distinct islands and not filled in and built up yet. We came to Macau many times in the late ’70s/early ’80s as we lived in Japan, and found Macau to be a magical getaway from the intensity of Japan and Hong Kong. The Bela Vista was a wonderful, classy oasis, perhaps a bit run down even then, but it still gave off the aura of “class” and “style” – one could almost catch a glimpse of Humphrey Bogart coming out onto the veranda at sunset for drinks with Sidney Greenstreet bedecked in his white suit and Panama hat, commanding the room from a corner table… Such great memories! Thanks for your walk through and description. We may make it back now. My “girlfriend” and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage this year, and this memory has never been far from our thoughts. By gosh, we can afford to stay there now! Well, at least dine at the restaurant you mentioned…. Garçon, another bottle of your finest!
hi Gary,
i made it to Macau in 2017. Bela Vista is now house for Portugal Consul General. I subscribe to a free newsletter called “the Tea.”.,Keep track, the Jockey club is closing. They have built another bridge from HK to Macau.
The Cotai Strip is cement between mainland and Taipa. Still love the churches, forts, museums but more developed. Love walking from Hacsa Beach, to Cologne village. You might stay at Pensao Portuguese on Cologne.
lastly,
Phillipe Pons book on Macao is very good. He was a French correspondent for believe Le Monde.
I loved the cable car to guia lighthouse, Ama Temple, in Cologne a couple nice seafood restaurants next to Xavier Chapel.
I stayed here a few times in 1986. It was about £10 a night and was full of cockroaches , but it was so beautiful and the photo of the little tables brought back some wonderful memories. The view was indeed very different and the local buildings were mainly crumbling, low level dwellings of pastel Portuguese architecture. Thank you.
Thanks for the article. I was working as an extra on the film Taipan for a couple of months in late 1985, and the production essentially took over the Bela Vista for a week or so, to accommodate some of the extras as well as other low status (!) members of the production crew. The place was pretty run down at that point, the rooms were almost like something you’d find in a guest house, and the cast and crew stayed in shinier, nicer hotels. It was pretty atmospheric though. I recall going back a few years later and it had lifted its game considerably.