Posted on: April 25, 2026, 02:29h.
Last updated on: April 24, 2026, 02:31h.
- The 13 Macau has undergone an exterior refresh
- The 13 Macau is reportedly preparing to reopen south of the Cotai Strip in Cologne
Few bets in China’s Macau have been losing hands for real estate developers over the past two decades. Perhaps the biggest exception is The 13, a $1.4 billion bet on the Cologne neighborhood south of the Cotai Strip that was a loser before the hotel even opened.
The 13’s story, however, isn’t over. The hotel was sold by the property’s creditors last June for HK$600 million (US$76.6 million).
The new owner is Loi Keong Kuong, a prominent real estate magnate in Asia and Australia, who founded the Rio Hotel Macau. The mid-range hotel, located downtown on the Macau Peninsula, previously operated a casino through a partnership with Galaxy Entertainment, one of the six casino permit holders in the enclave.
The 13 recently received a facelift, as the exterior of the 22-story luxury building was changed from red to gold.
The 13 Macau Reopening?
Along with a new façade, The 13 Macau has a much-needed functioning website. The hotel’s webpage landing now advertises, “Striving for Perfection, Where Service Meets Artistry.”
By all appearances, The 13 is readying to reopen and welcome guests for the first time since it shuttered in mid-February 2020. The 13 website has an input form for reservation inquiries, with the hotel explaining that the property will contact interested parties “as soon as possible” for booking.
The 13 remains a 199 all-villa luxury destination. The occupancies range in size, with the smallest villa being branded The Earl’s Residencies, each at a minimum of 2,000 square feet. Marquis Residents span 3,300 square feet, and Duke’s Residences begin at 5,000 square feet. The penthouses, called the Crown Prince’s Palaces, average 10,000 square feet.
All of the villas are lavishly decorated, with marble floors and intricate ceilings. Bedrooms are adorned in velvet canopies, bathrooms have marble oval bathtubs, crystal chandeliers hang in dining rooms, and original artwork is throughout.
The 13 visionary, billionaire Stephen Hung, spared no expense in his dream to create the world’s most opulent hotel. He hired a direct descendant of King Louis XIII to implement his ostentatious baroque taste in the property.
The luxury wasn’t to end there.
Hung, with his investors’ money, executed the largest order in the history of Rolls-Royce when he ordered 30 custom Rolls-Royce Phantoms in bright red with gold trim for $20 million. The vehicles were to serve as guest shuttles, though they were sold off at a deep discount before The 13 ever opened. The 30 cars fetched about $3.76 million.
Can The 13 Be Relevant?
When Hung proposed The 13 in 2013, Macau was fresh off its record year for gross gaming, with casino revenue topping $45 billion. At the time, the Chinese city was a playground for mainland’s wealthiest business tycoons and power players.
Things have since changed. Amid the pandemic, Beijing ordered the Macau government to force out VIP junkets, travel groups that catered to millionaires and billionaires and co-ran private high roller rooms in cahoots with the casinos.
Today, Macau’s casinos are focused on the premium and mass market players. A boutique casino at The 13, which would be more than a mile south of the southern end of the Cotai Strip and the nearest casino, might be a stretch. And with only 199 occupancies, marketing to the fewer VIPs in town who can afford such lavish accommodations puts The 13’s future in a seemingly difficult proposition.
