Melco Resorts & Entertainment has revealed new plans for its long-stalled Countdown Hotel transformation project at City of Dreams Macau, with the tower to be rebranded and its existing 330 standard hotel rooms converted into 150 high-end suites.
The renovation work is expected to be complete by 3Q26, Melco revealed during its second quarter earnings call overnight.
The company’s Chairman and CEO, Lawrence Ho, said the new all-suite product would boast an average room size “in excess of 1,000 square feet”.
“We believe the concept we have for this hotel will bring a one-of-a-kind experience to Macau and add to the high-end luxury hotel portfolio that we have at City of Dreams,” he explained.
Melco’s original Hard Rock Hotel was “temporarily” converted to Countdown in 2017, featuring a Countdown Clock that counted down the days and hours until the opening of nearby Morpheus Hotel, also at City of Dreams.
However, a plan to revamp and rename Countdown as Libertine was never realized due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Melco only now settling on a brand-new plan for the tower after eight years as Countdown.
The new all-suite product, Melco said, reflects the company’s broader efforts to revitalize City of Dreams including a renovation of the main entrance to improve visibility and accessibility.
In the company’s Q2 earnings call, Evan Winkler – President and Managing Director of parent company Melco International Development – ran through a series of recent ongoing property enhancements including the creation of a new premium slots space and conversion of former high-end space to more mass gaming floor. A new “clubhouse style area for premium players features three private salons, a golf simulator, racing simulator, ping pong, pool darts, pinball, a jukebox and unique F&B offerings.
Carpet is also being replaced throughout City of Dreams alongside new column treatments and a raft of new F&B concepts being added property-wide.
“Over the last 18 months we’ve been improving our product and reinvesting in the customer experience, so that has been very well received and it shows in our results,” said Ho.
Despite the makeover of its Macau properties, Melco said it had – in contrast with some market rivals – reined in its customer reinvestment efforts to more manageable levels in recent months.
