Macau’s Iconic The 13 Hotel Hits Market: Failed Resort Sparks Surprising Interest

Posted on: March 15, 2024, 09:07h. 

Last updated on: March 18, 2024, 01:49h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The 13 Macau, the failed ultra-luxury resort that never secured a gaming license and ultimately led its parent company into bankruptcy, has been put on the market.

The 13 Macau hotel China
The 13 Hotel Macau lobby might be a bit over the top for some guests. The failed ultra-luxury hotel, which was supposed to have a casino but never did, is up for auction, with the asking price at $307 million. (Image: TripAdvisor)

Global commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is handling the liquidation sale of the debt-ridden resort, located south of Macau’s Cotai Strip in Coloane. The listing agent is handling the property’s divesting on behalf of South Shore Holdings Limited, the entity Hong Kong billionaire businessman Stephen Hung founded to finance his five-star casino resort vision.

JLL officials say they’re fielding offers for The 13 now through April 5. The market value of the 201-room hotel is an estimated HK$2.4 billion (US$307 million). The 22-story red structure is reportedly garnering strong interest because of its lavish design, extensive art, and opulent fixtures.

South Shore Goes Quickly South

Hung pitched The 13 in 2013, the same year when Macau casinos won a record $45 billion off gamblers.

Hung sought to construct the most palatial hotel in the world, one fit for a king. He went so far as to hire a direct descendant of King Louis XIII to bring his ostentatious baroque tastes to the property.

Years before the resort was even finished, Hung purchased 30 customized Rolls-Royce Phantoms, painted in bright red with gold trim, for $20 million. The vehicles were to serve as guest shuttles. It was Rolls-Royce’s largest single order in company history.

But Macau’s gaming industry was changing. Direction from Beijing ordered that junket groups be more closely monitored, a development that caused annual gaming win to drop 38% by 2016. Yet Hung pressed forward in sparing no expense on his luxury boutique. South Shore, funded by early investors, and Hung himself after the shareholders fled spent around $8 million on each guest room.

With investors no longer seeing a pathway to a return, South Shore’s share price tumbled to nearly zero. Hung sold off stakes in his family engineering business to bankroll the hotel’s construction to completion. It opened in 2018, but never attracted the upper echelon of VIPs it was designed to lure.

South Shore reported averaging less than 20 nightly room bookings in 2018 and 2019.

Hung also failed to find a gaming partner to run The 13’s casino. Neither a slot machine nor table game bet was ever wagered.

Hung eventually departed South Shore and chalked up the project as a massive loss. The hotel quietly shuttered in 2019 and never reopened after the pandemic. The Phantoms were later sold at $125,300 each, about $541K below what the hotel paid for each vehicle.

Future Unknown 

The 13 guest rooms range in size from 1,800 square feet to villas spanning 10,000 square feet. The resort has 945,000 square feet of indoor space, with a grand lobby, several restaurants, a fitness center, a casino, and an outdoor pool.

What the future holds for The 13 is the big unknown. There is little tourist foot traffic in Coloane, as the village is more residential, with many condominium and apartment towers, and various industrial businesses.

JLL reps say access could improve should a long-delayed Macau Light Rapid Transit station open near The 13.