Macau’s luxury 13 Hotel up for sale again at $309 million

The 13 Hotel, Macau’s ultra-luxury 22-storey property with a turbulent history, is back on the market with an asking price of HK$2.4 billion ($309 million), according to property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). The deadline for bids is May 19.

The 199-room property reopened in 2024 after a five-year closure, following the renewal of its licence by the Macau Government Tourism Office. Despite its relaunch, the hotel’s checkered past continues to haunt it. 

Originally developed by flamboyant Hong Kong entrepreneur Stephen Hung through Louis XIII Holdings (later The 13 Holdings), the hotel opened in 2018 but shuttered in 2020 amid financial troubles and the absence of a gaming licence, considered a critical disadvantage in Macau's casino-centric tourism economy.

Its lavish features included suites with private elevators, 24-hour butler service, and a fleet of bespoke Rolls-Royce Phantoms. One VIP suite reportedly rented for more than HK$1 million a night.

However, the property's ambitions were undermined by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-ostentation drive and a broader decline in Macau’s VIP gaming sector. A series of bankruptcies followed, including South Shore Holdings in 2021, The 13 Hotel Management Limited and New Concordia Hotel Limited in 2023, and The 13 itself in February 2023.

The hotel is now owned by a bank creditor and managed by real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), which failed to sell the asset in a previous tender held in March 2024.

“It’s a super-luxury hotel,” said Mark Wong, senior director at JLL. “The hotel market is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, and tourists are coming back quickly.”

Wong added: “With excellent transport links, including a nearby railway station just three minutes away, the property’s potential for appreciation is further enhanced. The opportunity to acquire the entire hotel is exceptionally rare in the market and is expected to be highly sought after by investors.”

The hotel has been granted a renewed five-star deluxe hotel licence and has reinstated parts of the property to its former condition. The hotel’s sale has generated “many inquiries already”, Wong said.