City of Dreams (,

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: Cidade dos Sonhos) is a casino resort in

Cotai Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, SAR of People's Republic of China. Built, owned and managed by

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited is a developer, owner and operator of integrated resorts with entertainment and casino gaming facilities in Asia and Europe. Based in Hong Kong, the company is listed on the NASDAQ. Originally known as Melco ...

, the resort, also known as CoD or CoD Macau, opened on June 1, 2009. Described as a "mega-casino" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 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 of retail space.

History

2003-2009: Construction and opening

The resort was commissioned and developed in

by Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture of

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 The TCR Asia Challenge, previously Guia Race of Macau and WTCC Guia Race of Macau, is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Cup. It is held on the temporary 6.2 km Guia Circuit on the streets of Ma ...

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 The Venetian Macao () is a hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by the American Las Vegas Sands company. The 39-story structure on Macau's Cotai Strip has of floor space, and is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas. I ...

, 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 Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

. At the resort's entrance, four video walls at wide and tall displayed a virtual aquarium to visitors. The grand opening was followed by the opening of the two

Grand Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

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 Franco Dragone (12 December 1952 – 30 September 2022) was an Italian-born Belgian theatre director. He was the founder and artistic director of Dragone, a creative company specializing in the creation of large-scale theatre shows. He was also ...

, ''

The House of Dancing Water ''The House of Dancing Water'' was a water-based stage production written and directed by Franco Dragone. The show, which was the second water show by Franco Dragone's company, premiered in September 2010. , it had been performed over 3,800 times a ...

'' 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 The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and ar ...

for Outstanding Achievement for a Live Show Spectacular. The largest branded poker room in Macau, hosted by

PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the large ...

, 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 Barron's or Barrons may refer to: *Barron's Educational Series, a publisher of books, as well as college entrance exam preparation classes and materials, now an imprint of Kaplan Test Prep ** B.E.S. Publishing, the former owner of Barron's * ''Barr ...

'', in 2015 City of Dreams contributed 80% of Melco Resorts' revenue. City of Dreams Macau DFS T Galleria Macau 201606

After a two year construction process, The Boulevard, which includes 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 Morpheus ('Fashioner', derived from the grc, μορφή meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' he is the son of Somnus and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name b ...

, opened in 2018 with design by

Zaha Hadid Architects Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in Clerkenwell, London. Architectural work Conceptual projects *Price Tower extension hybrid project (2002), B ...

and cuisine by

Alain Ducasse Alain Ducasse (; born 13 September 1956) is a French-born Monégasque chef. He operates a number of restaurants including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester which holds three stars (the top rating) in the Michelin Guide. Early life and career ...

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 The Cotai Strip is a term coined by Las Vegas Sands Corporation in regard to its building of a strip of hotel-casinos in the Cotai section of Macau, a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Cotai was the result of a m ...

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 ''

'', 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, of retail space, of gaming space, 496 gaming tables, and 487 gaming machines.

Hotels

Retail, spas, dining

Among major shopping areas at the resort are the Morpheus Boutique, as well as the T Galleria by DFS. Among stores in the retail areas of City of Dreams are fashion brands such as

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, ...

Canada Goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, and

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

. There are also a number of spas, pools and fitness clubs at the resort, as well as around 40 food and beverage venues. The SOHO area serves as a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

with around a dozen restaurants and bars. Examples of restaurants include the Jade Dragon at Nüwa Luxury Hotel. At Morpheus, Yi serves

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

while L'ATTITUDE serves

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

. Other restaurants include Beijing Kitchen and mezza9 Macau at the Grand Hyatt Macau.

Entertainment

There is an art gallery at Morpheus, a theater, various art features, and a large play area for children. By 2016, the pool next to the Hard Rock Hotel was hosting large poolside parties with entertainers such as

Redfoo Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975), better known by his stage name Redfoo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, record producer and DJ best known for being part of the musical duo LMFAO, and for their hit songs " Pa ...

LMFAO LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy Le ...

. *Dancing Water Theatre - Located at the resort's Grand Hyatt Macau hotel, the theater contains one of the world's largest commercial pools with approximately . There is sloped seating for as many as 2,000 theatre patrons to view acrobatics and water displays. With design by

Pei Partnership Architects PEI Architects, formerly Pei Partnership Architects, is an international architecture firm based in New York City. Co-founded by the sons of I. M. Pei, Chien Chung (Didi) Pei and Li Chung (Sandi) Pei, in 1992, PEI Architects has specialized in ...

and

Thinkwell Group Thinkwell Group is an experience design and production agency that was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. It specializes in the creation and master planning of theme parks, destination resorts, major branded and intelle ...

, its longstanding show is Franco Dragone Entertainment's ''

''. In November 2020, Melco confirmed the show was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The show remained on hiatus as of 2022, with a new performance being developed. *Kids' City - Kids’ City was Macau’s largest children's attraction when it opened in 2010. The attraction provides child supervision, party planners, and music events and performances. Closed in early 2020 during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, by 2022 the attraction had reopened for ages 2 to 12. *Para Club - The locale operates Para Club, a large nightclub with a stage, a dance pool, VIP rooms, and bars. It was previously named Club Cubic.

Transportation

Bus

There are several shuttle bus services connecting the City of Dreams to Macau's major ports of entry and nearby resorts. These shuttle services are provided free of charge. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some services were temporarily not in operation as of 2021. * City of Dreams to Border Gate * City of Dreams to Hengqin Port * City of Dreams to

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

* City of Dreams to Altira

Macau Light Rapid Transit

City of Dreams is within walking distance from Cotai East Station on the Taipa section of the

Macau Light Rapid Transit , image = Metro Ligeiro de Macau logo.svg , imagesize = 234px , locale = Macau , transit_type = Automated guideway transit , lines = 1 , stations = 11 , ridership = , website = , began_operation = 10 December 2019 (Taipa Line) , operati ...

that serves parts of Cotai.

Gallery

Image:Crown Towers 2009.jpg, Crown Towers Image:Hard Rock Hotel Macau 2009.jpg, Hard Rock Hotel Macau was renamed "The Countdown" in July 2017 Image:Morpheus - City of Dreams (Macau) - Construction 2017.jpg,

Morpheus Hotel Morpheus is a Neo-futurism, neo-futurist luxury hotel in Macau, China, Special administrative regions of China that is operated by Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Opened in June 2018, ''TIME'' describes it as "the world’s first free-form exoskelet ...

under construction

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:City Of Dreams (casino) Casinos completed in 2009 Hotel buildings completed in 2009 Casino hotels Resorts in Macau Casinos in Macau 2009 establishments in Macau Cotai