Rating: ★★★★☆

Address: Estrada do Istmo. s/n, Cotai, Macau 澳门路氹连贯公路

Telephone: (853) 2880 2000; Toll-free reservation number from Hong Kong: 3051 2898

www.sheratonmacao.com/fitness

Most people visit Macau for food and/or gambling, but Sheraton Macao Hotel, the world’s largest Sheraton Hotel and Macao’s biggest hotel to date, is offering a whole new holiday experience of full day fitness workshops with celebrity fitness instructors. The workshops are held every Saturday from 31 May 2014 to 21 June 2014, and during this period, selected restaurants at the hotel will also offer “Color Your Plate” menus featuring tasty, well-balanced meals that replenish your mind and body.

The “Fitness Connection @ Sheraton Macao” Hotel Package allows guests to enjoy a full day fitness workshop plus one night’s stay at the hotel’s Deluxe Rooms starting at HK$1,920. The package includes a one-way ferry ticket between Hong Kong and Macau, and “Color Your Plate” lunch and dinner. If you do not need the hotel stay, a Fitness Connection Day Pass is also available at HK$1,180 and includes “Color Your Plate” lunch and dinner.

The celebrity instructors for these workshops are:

– Margaret Chung, a celebrity yoga instructor with over 10 years of experience, who currently teaches at Pure Yoga

– Astrid Swan McGuire – a  highly sought-after Los Angeles-based personal trainer and lifestyle coach, whose clients include Hollywood’s A-list

– Almen Wong, Hong Kong model, actress and co-founder of Pure Yoga at which she has been teaching since 2002

– Ella Magers, one of US Shape Magazine’s Top 50 Hottest Female Trainers of 2014 and fitness expert in the international lifestyle media

I have been invited to attend the workshop on 14 June 2014, led by Almen Wong. I regularly attend classes at Pure Yoga, but I have never attended Almen’s classes before as they are always fully booked (you have to book her classes exactly 2 days in advance in order to secure a place). I have heard many great things about Almen as a yoga teacher before, but I am still utterly surprised and impressed when I finally meet her in person – her friendliness, dedication to yoga and a healthy lifestyle and honest sharing of her own experiences are absolutely admirable. Even though the workshop is a full day event which starts at 10am, Almen radiates boundless energy and is very willing to chat with her students individually during break time and meals.

The workshop takes place in a luxurious, carpeted ballroom at Sheraton Macao, and the class is intimate with just around 20 participants, so each of us can get sufficient attention and help from the instructor. Besides doing yoga exercises, the workshop also includes briefing sessions on the benefits of yoga, diet and nutrition and Ayurveda lifestyle treatment, which includes recipes for detox juices that we can make at home.

The workshop includes “Color Your Plate” buffet lunch and dinner, served in a cosy ballroom next to where we do yoga. A variety of fresh fruits and salads, low-fat main courses and healthy desserts are served at the buffet.

The food is light and low-calorie, but immensely satisfying and delicious! The lightly grilled salmon, sirloin steak and berry and chocolate granola trifle completely win me over – the ingredients are pristine and fresh, and the flavours are clean, well-matched and utterly delicious.

What I like the most about the workshop is that it is an intimate, personal experience, and it is also a well-rounded, holistic introduction to a healthy lifestyle. Not to mention that the price is extremely reasonable as it includes two buffet meals! What is less ideal for me, however, is that the yoga session is mainly targeted at beginners and is too basic for me; some of the questions asked during the Q&A session are also very basic questions for people who are not familiar with yoga or fitness practice.

All of us leave the workshop feeling recharged and energised, which means we can get the partying started in Macau!

***The photos in this blog post are a mixture of my own photos and press release shots provided by Sheraton Macao.