2003-2009: Construction and opening The resort was commissioned and developed in
Macau by
Melco Crown Entertainment, a joint venture of
Melco Resorts & Entertainment and
Crown Entertainment. City of Dreams was one of the few gaming developments in Macau to continue construction during the
2008 financial crisis. Total costs came to US$2.4 billion. The first phase of City of Dreams, including the Hard Rock Hotel and the Crown Towers, opened on June 1, 2009. Opening attractions included an 8 meter bubble fountain The grand opening was followed by the opening of the two
Grand Hyatt 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,
The House of Dancing Water 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 for
Outstanding Achievement for a Live Show Spectacular. The largest branded poker room in Macau, hosted by
PokerStars, opened at City of Dreams in February 2013. A resident cabaret show According to ''
Barron's'', in 2015 City of Dreams contributed 80% of Melco Resorts' revenue. T Galleria in City of Dreams, 2016 After a two year construction process, on two levels, 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, 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, opened in 2018 with design by
Zaha Hadid Architects and cuisine by
Alain Ducasse.
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 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, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. 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==