Hi, it’s Solyn. This time we stayed at Broadway Hotel in Macau.
This was the second half of a two-night trip. The first night was in the old town, which is where you go to actually see Macau. This half was for doing nothing.
Here’s the thing that made this stay worth writing about: Broadway is part of the Galaxy Macau group, and staying here includes the Grand Resort Deck.
That’s a full water park — not a hotel pool with a slide bolted on. Galaxy puts the access at MOP 888 a person (about $110), and for guests it’s simply part of the room. Broadway is the most affordable hotel in the group, which makes it the cheapest room that carries that access.
Getting there
Broadway sits in Cotai, a short walk from the main Galaxy Macau complex.
From the airport, head for the shuttle bus stands and take a bus to the Venetian. They run every 10 to 15 minutes, and Galaxy is right next door — you won’t get lost.
Hotel shuttles are effectively Macau’s transport system, and they cover more than you would expect. I normally take taxis when I travel. On this trip I took a public bus exactly once and did everything else on hotel shuttles.
And here’s the part nobody tells you: you don’t have to be staying at a hotel to ride its shuttle. If a bus is going where you’re going, get on. Nobody checks.
The room
I’ll be straight about this: we booked in peak season and there were only eight rooms left, so there was no choosing.
What we got was fine. More than fine, actually. The bed was good, the room didn’t smell of anything, and nothing felt worn out. It’s not a design hotel and it isn’t trying to be.
That’s the honest summary: the room is a place to sleep, and it does that well. If I went back to Macau on a tight budget, I’d book here again without hesitating.
What it costs, and when to go
This is worth planning around.
We went 15–17 August — Japan’s Obon holiday and the Chinese school break at the same time. Peak of peak. It came to roughly MOP 1,800 a night (~$220).
On a weekday out of season, the same room runs closer to MOP 600 (~$74). That’s a third of the price for the same bed.
If your dates are flexible at all, go midweek and go off-season. I’d give up a weekend to save that much.
The Grand Resort Deck — the actual reason to stay here
This is the best thing about Broadway, and it isn’t even in Broadway.
It’s a walk from the hotel — no shuttle needed. Ask at the front desk when you check in; they’ll tell you how to get there, and the staff all speak good English.
And then you come out to this.
Being hotel-run doesn’t make this a lesser water park. It is the real thing. The centrepiece is the Skytop Wave Pool, which Galaxy calls the world’s largest at 8,000 square metres, throwing waves up to 1.5 metres. There’s a warm pool that feels closer to a hot spring than a swimming pool. And the Aquatic Adventure River Ride runs 575 metres, billed as the world’s longest of its kind. I can’t referee the records, but I can tell you the river genuinely goes on and on.
I first came here ten years ago with friends and never forgot it. That’s why we came back.
It works for anyone. Families, couples, groups of friends — I’ve come here once with friends and once as a couple, and it was worth it both times.
How to actually get in
Two things to know, because both will stop you at the gate otherwise.
- You need a room in a Galaxy-group hotel. This isn’t somewhere you wander in off the street — the access comes with the stay.
- Check in first. Even before your room is assigned, the desk gives you a slip proving you checked in today. That slip is what gets you in.
- Lockers are MOP 20 for a standard one, MOP 60 for a jumbo (about $2.50 and $7.40). The standard size holds a couple of bags fine — take the jumbo only if you’re carrying a lot.
Everything else is indoors
Every Macau resort has a shopping mall attached, and Galaxy’s — a short walk from Broadway — is enormous.
Short of proper rain, you can spend a whole day without going outside — shops, restaurants, casino, water park, all connected.
Breakfast
Breakfast is a buffet, but with a twist: you also pick one main dish per person from a menu. It isn’t purely help-yourself.
HK$115 for adults (~$15), HK$57.5 for children up to 11 (~$7.40).
We took number 1 and number 6, and they were completely different experiences.
Number 1 is a classic English breakfast — eggs, hash brown, bacon, tomato. The kind of plate you get in every country on earth. It won’t fail you and it won’t surprise you either.
Number 6 is lotus-leaf rice with three dim sum, and this is where opinions split.
I’ll be honest: I didn’t like the lotus-leaf rice. There’s a strong savoury seasoning running through it — the closest I can get is chicken stock — and it was too much for me. If that sounds fine to you, you’ll be fine.
The dim sum, though, was good. You’re in Macau. Dim sum is what this region does.
The buffet side fills in around the mains.
The food street outside
There’s a food street right in front of the hotel.
Set your price expectations properly: this is not cheap-Southeast-Asia territory. It felt about the same as Korea, or a little more.
It comes alive in the evening. In daylight it’s quiet; at night it fills up. There’s a barbecue place called Chill I wanted to try and never got to, because we’d already eaten.
The mix leans international rather than local Chinese — these places are feeding guests from everywhere. Walk it and pick whatever fits.
And one practical note: there’s a convenience store on the food street, and I ate cup noodles there at 1 AM. If you get back late and hungry, that’s your answer.
- The Grand Resort Deck comes with the room — Galaxy values it at MOP 888 a person (~$110). Wave pool, warm pool, and a 575-metre river ride. This alone justifies the booking.
- The room is comfortable — good bed, clean, nothing worn. It does its job.
- Shuttle buses everywhere. I took a public bus once on the entire trip and shuttled the rest.
- You can spend a whole day indoors if the weather turns — mall, restaurants, casino all connected.
- Off-season weekday rates are about a third of peak. The same room, a third of the money.
- Broadway sits a little apart from the main Galaxy cluster. The walk to the water park is short, but you’re not in the middle of everything.
- The lotus-leaf rice at breakfast wasn’t for me. Strong savoury seasoning. Pick number 1 if you want the safe option.
- The food street is priced like Korea, not like Southeast Asia. Budget accordingly.
- Grand Resort Deck entry: Included for guests of any Galaxy-group hotel, valued at MOP 888 per person. Not a public water park — you need a room in the group. Check in first — the slip they give you at check-in is what gets you through the gate, even before your room is ready.
- Lockers: MOP 20 standard, MOP 60 jumbo (~$2.50 / ~$7.40).
- Getting there: From the airport, take the shuttle to the Venetian. Galaxy is next door. Buses run every 10–15 minutes.
- Shuttles in general: Ride any hotel’s shuttle if it’s going your way. Nobody checks.
- Breakfast: HK$115 adult, HK$57.5 child up to 11. Buffet plus one main dish per person.
- When to book: Mid-August is peak — Obon and Chinese school holidays overlap. Weekday off-season is roughly a third of the price.
- Casinos take Hong Kong dollars. Change your money into HKD rather than patacas — the two trade one-to-one and HKD is accepted everywhere, casinos included.
- English: Staff speak it well. No language problems anywhere in the complex.
- Late night: Convenience store on the food street, open at 1 AM.
Would I come back?
Yes — and more than that, I’d insist on at least one night here on any future Macau trip.
Even if I wanted to try a different hotel, the Grand Resort Deck is hard to give up. Ten years between visits and it still held up.
Macau gets called the Las Vegas of Asia. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, so I can’t judge that — but I can say this place works for families, couples and friends alike. If you can get there without stretching, go.
— Solyn