Grand Hyatt Jeju, the hotel located within Lotte Tour Development’s US$1.4 billion Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort, has been granted a 5-star rating – paving the way for the launch of casino operations this quarter.
According to local media reports, achieving the 5-star rating will help accelerate the process of transferring Lotte Tour’s casino from its current home at Lotte Hotel Jeju to Jeju Dream Tower. It is a prerequisite in South Korea for any hotel housing a casino to hold a 5-star rating.
Lotte Tour is aiming to open its new casino on 11 March 2021.
Relocation would expand the company’s current gaming space by almost five times to more than 5,000 square meters and see its five gaming tables and 51 machines rise to 150 tables and 300 machines.
However, the company must first gain approval from local authorities, specifically from the governor of Jeju island after he collects opinions from the provincial council and the Casino Supervisory Committee. A council hearing is scheduled for 22 February.
The tallest building in Jeju at 38 floors or 169 meters high, Jeju Dream Tower already features a retail mall, 14 restaurants and bars, an outdoor pool deck, top floor skydeck with lounge, two spas and a hotel.
The opening of Jeju Dream Tower in December came some 40 years after the 75-acre site upon which it sits was first purchased by Lotte Tour predecessor Dongwha Investment and Development Co Ltd in 1980. Excavation work began in 1984 but was halted due to lack of funding. The project was eventually resurrected in 2008 and construction resumed in May 2016 following alterations to the design.