Casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd says it plans have a “soft opening” in the “second half of 2026” for what it terms its “new luxury hotel project REM” at the group’s Cotai flagship resort City of Dreams in Macau.
It gave the news in a Tuesday social media posting, which included an artist’s rendering (pictured). The casino firm confirmed to GGRAsia that the new hotel brand resulted from the renovation of the Countdown hotel at the complex. It did not provide further details about the revamped accommodation tower.
In November the firm had said it would invest “about US$125 million” in the remodelling of the 330-room Countdown hotel at City of Dreams. The Countdown had closed for renovation “until further notice” in 2021.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, Melco Resorts’ chairman and chief executive, said at the time that the company had already started the renovation of the Countdown hotel, which the group “expected to open in the third quarter of 2026”.
In late July last year, Mr Ho had said that the Countdown would be “newly branded, featuring approximately 150 high-end luxury suites with an average room size exceeding 1,000 square feet [93 sq. metres]”.
An entity called MCO (IP) Holdings Ltd had in 2025 applied in Macau for the rights to the branding REM, encompassing gaming and non-gaming related services within a resort, including casino, hotel, retail, events, and other forms of entertainment as well as transport. The trademark was published on March 4 this year, according to information reviewed by GGRAsia.
Tuesday’s social media posting said that the REM-branded accommodation would be “redefining contemporary luxury through its ultimate suite experience, avant-garde artistic design and innovative service”.
The posting added: “REM marks the start of an unprecedented journey of inspiration, further strengthening City of Dreams’ unique position as an integrated resort.”
The renovation of the Countdown Hotel is part of Melco Resorts’ plans to upgrade its overall offering in the Macau market.
Earlier this month, Melco Resorts announced that Chinese actor Jing Boran had become City of Dreams Macau’s global brand ambassador as the resort launched its ‘Be A Dreamer’ brand campaign.
City of Dreams has positioned itself as a Macau specialist in contemporary-design own-brand hotels. Its distinctive Morpheus hotel with a hole in the centre of the tower structure, designed by Zaha Hadid Archtects, opened in June 2018.
(Updated at 5.09pm, March 17)
