What will $500 buy you in Macau? A punt at the roulette table; a sangria-sodden meal at Fernando's; or a massage at the Mandarin Oriental Spa. It can also buy a night's stay in a tranquil Portuguese-style inn, in the grounds of a 19th-century fortress.
Inside, you'll find a tastefully decorated room with a small balcony. Beds are dressed with crisp cotton, and the spotless adjoining bathroom is decorated in blue and white ceramics. Free welcome drinks and breakfast are included in the price, and if you throw in an additional $400, you can upgrade to a suite. So, what's the catch? Well, the 20-room Pousada de Mong-Ha is the educational hotel for the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), and all the staff are students.
Not that you'd notice. From the moment you arrive, the service is nearly faultless. A smartly attired receptionist welcomes you in the rustic lobby and leads you to your room, along terracotta-tiled corridors, through open-air courtyards lined with hand-painted Portuguese azulejo tiles, and past a tinkling fountain. When we call housekeeping for a newspaper next morning, not one, but two copies are delivered within a minute (which saves fighting over the funnies). A request for a late checkout is granted with a smile and without hesitation.
That said, the relentless hospitality is understandable when you consider that jobs and grades are on the line.
Located on a hill behind the Buddhist Kun Lam Temple in the north of Macau, the IFT was established in 1995 to train students for the local tourism and hotel industries. The Pousada is in former military barracks.
Students are required to work in housekeeping, reception, restaurants and kitchens, two days a week for seven weeks during the first two years of their course. Eighty per cent are from Macau and go on to work in the local tourism sector, while most guests are Hong Kong residents.