Rio Las Vegas to become Hyatt(s)
This came as a surprise to me. Apparently Rio Las Vegas, the off-strip Caesars property, is going to be transformed into a number of Hyatt hotels.
Dreamscape purchased Rio from Caesars Entertainment in 2019 for $516 million (significantly less than the previous sale in 1999 of $888 million). As part of the sale, Caesars would still operate the property through the end of 2021. Aimbridge Hospitality is set to manage the property once it becomes a Hyatt. Aimbridge has a portfolio of mostly limited service hotels (think Hyatt House/Place and a few Regency business locations) so I don’t know how this will translate to the Rio property.
Rio has just over 2,500 hotel rooms across the property. All of the rooms are at least 500 sq ft in size. I have not stayed at Rio (it is one of the few Caesars or M life properties I haven’t stayed), but I have heard that the rooms are quite outdated so I am sure that the property will be completely renovated prior to re-opening as Hyatt. All of the rooms have floor to ceiling windows so there is potential for the rooms (unlike some other properties like Excalibur or Park MGM that have small windows that simply will never feel modern).
There are two main hotel towers on the property. The original Ipanema Tower (from 1990) is 20 stories tall while the newer Masquerade Tower (from 1997) is 42 stories tall.
Based on the press release today, the plan is to first open a 1,500 room Hyatt Regency. That would fit with the current Ipanema Tower (seen below).
The taller (but with less rooms) Masquerade Tower, with approximately 900 rooms, will be converted at some point in the future to another full service Hyatt brand — my guess would be a Thompson property or combination of two luxurious Hyatt brands.
It is unclear what will become of the casino, but my guess is that it will become an M life property based on the current Hyatt/M life partnership. I suppose it could be operated by another casino brand (or even start from scratch like Cosmo did), but my guess would be that would mark the end of the Hyatt/M life relationship in Vegas.
There is over 200,000 sq ft of convention space at the Rio. Other facilities include a large pool area, restaurants, shops, theater where Penn & Teller currently hold their residency, and showroom currently housing WOW.
There is a rooftop bar/club with fantastic views of the strip.
I am guessing the zip-line between towers may be a casualty of the conversion to Hyatt.
Currently the only two true Hyatt properties in Las Vegas are the two Hyatt Place hotels. This will be a nice addition, though the location a mile off the strip may be a challenge. I’m tempted to book a room at Rio before it closes, but reviews of the hotel are not great.
What do you think of the news of Rio rebranding as a Hyatt?