Hotel Name: SanVa Hotel
Address: 65-67 Rua da Felicidade, Macau, China.
I stayed at the SanVa Hotel in Macau. The SanVa isn’t listed on hotel booking sites, and I only knew about it as I have been here before. I was travelling around China for two months, and I went to Macau to reset my visa. The hotel was listed in Lonely Planet, which was how we used to find places to stay back in the day.
The SanVa Hotel is an anomaly in modern Macau, truly last of the old-school. It’s definitely not for everyone, and if you are travelling with someone it would probably work out cheaper to split a hotel room. But if you want to see a remnant of an era gone by, then consider this hotel.
Most of the budget hotels and hostels have closed in Macau, so you need to book in advance here. I’m always a bit dubious of making hotel reservations via an email form on an old website, but sure enough I got an email that day confirmig my reservation. I booked a Grande Room for MOP 360 MOP ($45 USD), which has a window. The cheapest room (no window) goes for 220 MOP ($27.50 USD). None of the rooms have private rooms either, so keep that in mind.
The hotel (guesthouse really) is up a flight of stairs and you can feel the history as you enter. Old tiled floors, creaking wooden beams, and ceiling fans are a far cry from the modern and glitzy casino hotels of modern Macau.
The rooms are partitioned with thin walls, similar in style to the cheap guesthouses that you used to see in Bangkok.
I got the single room which had a comfortable bed, and each room has a sink.
I liked the old furniture in the room.
Being an old place it only had one power outlet, so a powerstrip may come in handy in this situation.
The partitioned walls don’t go all the way to the ceiling, so be mindful of your neighbours and don’t be too noisy.
The bathrooms are shared, and for my room the bathroom was on the next floor. Not only were they inconvenient, but they didn’t feel clean either. The hot water wasn’t working in my shower, and there was no where to hang your things.
There is free wifi at the guesthouse, and I had no problems with the connection. And if you have just arrived from mainland China you are now back in the land of open internet, so go ahead and Google “Tiananmen Square” and see the different results.
The best thing about the SanVa is its location. It’s on Rua da Felicidade, which is the most picturesque street in Macau. It’s the sort of street that has made Macau popular for film makers, and the hotel has featured in films for its old-world ambiance.
Overall the SanVa is an interesting place to stay. If you are looking for the absolute cheapest private room in Macau, or you want to stay in somewhere historic then give it a go. Unfortunately the bigger rooms don’t really offer value for money when you can find a cheap discount hotel room online (with clean bathrooms).
Book the SanVa Hotel via its website or search for more hotels in Macau.
If you are new to Macau read up on the best areas to stay in Macau. Also see my review of where I stayed last time, at the Grand Lapa Macau.
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