A glance at City of Dreams, Manila

The City of Dreams is one of the biggest casino establishments in the world and it now has a branch in Manila. The Melco-owned resort and casino that first made its name in Macau promises a different kind of gaming experience, with celebrities like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio endorsing the place.

In this article, let’s take a closer look at what casino-goers can expect from Roxas Boulevard’s gold-clad entertainment hub.

Exteriors

From the outside, the place already looks very impressive. The globe that’s at the center of the establishment, the four gold bar-like buildings, and the huge double doors at the entrance of the casinos all look very stylish and exude class. The City of Dreams is the only luxury-integrated resort and casino with two 5-star hotels (Nobu and Crown) and a 6-star hotel (Hyatt). The stick accents surrounding the buildings give the establishment a very Filipino feel because they look like bamboos, which are quite abundant in the Philippines.

Gaming Area

Guests will immediately feel the luxury the place emits as soon as they enter. The gaming area is covered in black and gold, and the huge stage at the center of the casino is manned by world-class Filipino and foreign musicians.

The casino has two floors. The first floor houses the table games area and slot machines with PHP 1 denominations. The second floor, on the other hand, only has slot machines with denominations that go as low as PHP 0.25. City of Dreams has the lowest bet per spin for slot machines so expect the establishment’s second floor to be always filled with players. Overall, the gaming area looks really nice and the free-flowing drinks that the place offers can make guests really feel as if they’re kings and queens.

Perhaps free drinks are one of the reasons that make people keep coming back to land-based casinos. Online casinos may have a wider variety of table and slot games, including ones that are themed after popular superheroes and blockbuster movies, but it’s only in brick-and-mortar casinos that people can get free drinks all the time.

Restaurants

The good thing about City of Dreams’ restaurants is that some of them aren’t expensive. Noodl8, which is right beside the gaming area on the first floor, offers delicious Asian stir-fried noodles at a friendly price. There’s also the APU Restaurant that serves authentic yet economical Filipino dishes such as Pork Sisig and Seafood Kare Kare. We ate at Erwin’s which had such great tasting burgers and really amazing beer!

Of course, there are high-end dining places in City of Dreams, and one of them is the Taipei 101 Ding Xian Manila Gourmet that serves Chinese food. One look at Taipei 101 and you’ll know that the place only serves the most expensive and fine Chinese dishes.

DreamPlay

DreamPlay is Dreamworks’ themed park located on the second floor. A lot of kids were here during my visit and what’s great about it is that it has a different feel compared to Worlds of Fun and Quantum – amusement parks that can usually be found in SM malls. I didn’t want to go in because there’s an entrance fee, but the laughter of children who are coming out of the park is proof enough that DreamPlay is a fun place to hang out at.

Henry Sy, the pioneer of SM malls, was right in partnering with City of Dreams. It’s a very beautiful place with lots of facilities that both kids and adults can enjoy. Ayala malls should watch out because it may become the next favorite recreational spot by both the middle and upper class.