Don’t expect to “walk-in” and get a room, or anything else for that matter, at the newly opened $1.6 billion hotel, The 13, located on the Cotai-Coloane border; at least for the time being.

According to a report from GGRAsia…

Acting on behalf of the Cotai property’s owner, Hong Kong-listed, South Shore Holdings Ltd ( (577:Hong Kong), a spokesperson from a public relations firm said on Friday that opulent hotel is open, but only for “private bookings.”

Separate from the Friday release, the company, via a “Voluntary Announcement” dated Thursday, August 30, 2018, revealed that The 13 would open on Friday, August 31, 2018.

Available for private bookings only:

However, according to GGRAsia, it was not possible to make a room reservation at the Macau hotel either by phone or its official website as of Friday during the day. Nor was it possible to reserve a table at the long-awaited hotel via either of those methods.

It was also reportedly confirmed by the website and newsletter that neither members of the public nor walk-in guests were allowed entrance into the property on Friday.

The spokesperson for the owner said…

“The 13 is open now in a sense that only guests who have already made a private booking can go in … including [to] restaurants and other facilities; no walk-in guests are allowed at the moment.”

Email reservations only:

The spokesperson added that all reservations would have to be made through email and told GGRAsia…

“Our operation model at the moment is ‘only for private booking.”

According to the news outlet, the spokesperson only said that details regarding when a room booking engine would be available on the hotel’s website or when the hotel would welcome walk-in guests would be revealed at a later date.

In Thursday’s statement, South Shore Holdings Ltd said that The 13’s first guests stayed at the property “over the weekend of 24 August.” The firm also said in the statement that the hotel offers approximately 200 villas and duplex suites.

Necessary licensing:

The hotel received all of the necessary licensing, including restaurant and health club operations, in mid-August from the Macao Government Tourism Office.

Casino operations at The 13 aren’t expected to commence until next year, according to reports.