City of Dreams is a casino resort in Cotai, Macau, SAR of People's Republic of China. Built, owned and managed by Melco Resorts & Entertainment, the resort, also known as CoD or CoD Macau, opened on 1 June 2009. Described as a "mega-casino" by The Guardian, in 2020 City of Dreams was the third-largest casino in the world. In total the property comprises three separate casinos, four hotels, five hotel towers, around 2,270 total hotel rooms, around 30 restaurants and bars, and 175000 sqft of retail space.

History

2003-2009: Construction and opening

The resort was commissioned and developed in Macau by Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture of Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Crown Entertainment. With construction lasting six years, City of Dreams was one of the few gaming developments in Macau to continue construction during the global financial crisis of 2008. Total costs came to US$2.4 billion. Shortly before the 2009 grand opening, City of Dreams was the title sponsor for Matthew Marsh in the 2008 Macau Guia race. The first phase of City of Dreams, including the Hard Rock Hotel and the Crown Towers, opened on June 1, 2009. Upon opening, the resort included a 420,000-square-foot casino, 500 gambling tables, a mall, and restaurants. It was the first casino to open in Macau in almost two years after the Venetian Macao, and was Macau's second-largest casino complex. Opening attractions included an 8 meter bubble fountain and dome theater featuring multimedia productions based on Chinese mythology. At the resort's entrance, four video walls at 61 ft wide and 22 ft tall displayed a virtual aquarium to visitors. The grand opening was followed by the opening of the two Grand Hyatt hotel towers in October 2009, with 424 rooms in the Grand Tower and 367 in the "premium" Grand Club Tower. The hotel's ballroom could fit up to 2,500 guests, while primary restaurants included mezza9 Macau and Beijing Kitchen.

2010-2018: Changing features and expansion

Created by Franco Dragone, The House of Dancing Water show incorporates various design elements such as fire, water effects, and atmospheric effects, and opened in the Dancing Water Theatre at the resort on September 17, 2010. Two years later, "the show was the recipient of a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement for a Live Show Spectacular. The largest branded poker room in Macau, hosted by PokerStars, opened at City of Dreams in February 2013. A resident cabaret show by Dragone, Taboo, also debuted at the resort's Club Cubic venue in 2013, before closing in 2016. According to Barron's, in 2015 City of Dreams contributed 80% of Melco Resorts' revenue. After a two year construction process, The Boulevard, which includes 175000 sqft of retail space surrounding the resort on two levels, was expanded in 2016. The project, developed with DFS, expanded on the original 70 shops and added outlets along Estrada do Istmo, Cotai's main street. In 2017 the Hard Rock Hotel was rebranded The Countdown Hotel, although the Hard Rock Café Macau retained its original branding. In May 2018, Crown Resorts ceased to be a co-owner of City of Dreams, and Crown Towers was rebranded to Nüwa. The resort's fifth tower, Morpheus, opened in 2018 with design by Zaha Hadid Architects and cuisine by Alain Ducasse.

2019-2022: Revamp and hotel rebrandings

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited announced in 2019 that City of Dreams' hotels would undergo a revamp. The project includes a renovation of the Nüwa, three new luxury villas at the Morpheus, and a rebranding of The Countdown Hotel. By April 2019, The House of Dancing Water was the oldest running show on the Cotai Strip and had been seen by around 5 million spectators. In 2019, The House of Dancing Water production was purchased entirely by Melco Resorts from Dragone Macau Limitada, with Dragone retained as artistic director. After closing for a year for renovations, the Nüwa hotel reopened on March 31, 2021 with 300 hotel units, 33 of which were luxury villas. In August 2021, Inside Asian Gaming reported that the resort had seen its quarterly operating revenue increase from US$120.8 million in 2020 to $363.8 million in 2021. This comprised over half of Melco Resort's $530.8 million revenue for the quarter overall. In early October 2021, a government mandate temporarily closed all of Macau's entertainment venues, including City of Dreams's Club Cubic venue. Melco Resorts announced on October 8, 2021 Club Cubic would be rebranded and that it would take over operations and management from the current operators. The club's new name was afterwards announced as Para Club.

Design and features

Described as a "mega-casino" by The Guardian, in March 2020, City of Dreams was the third-largest casino in the world. Also known as CoD or CoD Macau, in total the integrated resort has three separate casinos, four hotels, five hotel towers, about 2,270 total rooms, over 30 restaurants and bars, 175000 sqft of retail space, 420000 sqft of gaming space, 496 gaming tables, and 487 gaming machines.

Hotels

Entertainment

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