Located up a fairly steep driveway One Grantai is a residential complex that has been built into the side of Taipa Grande Hill and Nature Park. There are 6 towers, only 5 of which are occupied (1 is held back by the developers). Four and five bedroom units face the front, being the Cotai strip on one side and Old Taipa village and Taipa central on the other. All the other apartments are 3 bedrooms and face either the front, or have very nice green views of the hill at the back.
What most residents say they love about the place is that it’s set outside the congested central Taipa, so they enjoy the fresh air and being closer to nature, and yet its still convenient to Taipa. Admittedly the driveway is a bit of a hassle when it comes to getting out of the complex and on to the public transport route, (walking down is a fairly easy 5 minutes, but walking up in the height of summer would be a sweat!) there is a shuttle bus provided by the management every 20 minutes or so and this goes directly in to the heart of Taipa. In the cool of the winter months, a stroll into Taipa would be about 20 minutes and walking to work on the Cotai strip is easily doable.
For those who drive, there are 1,000 onsite parking spaces, so to rent one is relatively simple. Then One Grantai is within 5 minutes drive of the Macau International Airport and Taipa Ferry Terminal, 15 minutes into Macau and around 8 minutes to the far end of the Cotai strip, so very convenient to working in one of the hotel casinos there.
There’s a rather nice water feature at the entrance and several children’s play areas dotted about. The public areas of each tower are slightly glitzy – a touch of Las Vegas, or even Dubai perhaps – with chandeliers in the mirrored elevators and a profusion of marble and ornately decorated furnishing in the lobbies. Security staff is always welcoming and helpful.
All units come with balconies adjoining the living room and some have a second balcony off the master bedroom. Standard fit out includes deep cherry-brown wood flooring throughout, elegantly appointed bathrooms (bath and shower in the ensuite master bathroom), and somewhat tacky looking kitchens with white cabinets and gold plastic handles. NO built in oven unfortunately. Most come with a housekeeper’s room cum laundry cum useful storeroom with tiny bathroom and balcony for hanging out clothes.
The clubhouse is good. Again more ornate décor in the lobby, a coffee sitting area, an outdoor pool and heated Jacuzzi, large function rooms for entertaining, ping pong and snooker rooms, a well equipped, managed gym, children’s play room, a spa, Karaoke rooms, and a small cinema. There are also covered tennis courts between towers 2 and 3.
