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With the enchantment of an ancient, bygone world, the cannons and
embattlements of the eminent XIX Century Fortress at the top of Mong-Há
hill never did get to serve their purpose and were later to be
abandoned, to be hidden by an assault of looming trees and heavy
shrubbery. It so remained for probably half a century until in the
early 1970's a young Portuguese Officer was to challenge this silence
when, appalled at the living conditions of sergeants at their living
quarters at Calcada de Santo Agostinho at Macao's popular Praia Grande
seafront, he proposed to build a new military barracks for them at the
Mong-Há Hill. |
Surrounded by a patchwork of early Buddhist temples, commanding
spectacular views of the Pearl River, the Fort again took up military
residents, secluded and shielded this time in its grounds and gardens.
The "Red Carnation Revolution" in Portugal , in 1974, would
again make residence in Mong-Há grounds short lived, when all the
military were called home. After 1979 when the Macao Government
Tourist Office took over the operation, turning it into a Pousada*,
the barracks used to house overseas civil servants, was adapted as a
training unit for the Hotel and Tourism Training School that would
later merge into IFT. When the Institute For Tourism Studies (IFT) was
formed in 1995, the Pousada de Mong-Há opened its doors to the public
and reinforced its purpose as a training unit, being entirely run by
IFT students.
Guests now enjoy the beautiful "azulejos" (Portuguese
hand painted tiles) while enjoying breakfast at
the romantic breakfast room giving panoramic views of the herb garden. They explore pathways that gracefully meander
through lush gardens and colourful foliage, and can occasionally
notice a lone rustic cannon peering through waving branches - their
time is long over, as the Pousada is now home to guests wishing for
unrivalled attention to detail and service, when either for business
or pleasure, they spend their afternoons not as Mong-Há was originally
quite intended, but working or lounging in serene rooms, on shaded
patios and balconies with an ambience of effortless enjoyment. |
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The Pousada de Mong-Há is a place where history itself has created
an atmosphere of romance, allowing the guests to indulge in excess in
one of Macao's most tranquil settings and IFT students to excel in a
place with character and human warmth.
¡@
* 'Pousada' is a Portuguese word meaning' a place of blessed
repose'
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