No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. The Rio Hotel & Casino is looking a bit different these days—even from a distance. The property is actively testing new programmable LED lighting, which has given the colorful exterior a fresh look, along with a recent paint job and the pending arrival of upgraded marquees.
It’s more than a touch-up. Dreamscape bought the Rio from Caesars Entertainment in 2019, but didn’t take over operations until late 2023. Now untethered, the new owners are enthusiastically re-energizing a resort that’s been around since 1990.
“We’re purposely trying to go about our business humbly and quietly to get this asset back to its rightful place within Las Vegas, and how it was viewed in its heyday,” says Dreamscape founder and CEO Eric Birnbaum.
Dreamscape could’ve shut down the Rio to do all the renovations at once, but opted for a phased-in approach that gradually makes its way from one end of the property to the other. An early project to revamp the 1,500 rooms in the Ipanema Tower with contemporary decor and furnishings should be complete by March.
“Our smallest room is still a suite at approximately 600 square feet,” Birnbaum says. “The rooms are quite large, so it’s just a more modernized, updated experience that we think is elevated within the market.”
The hotel business, which operates in partnership with Hyatt, complements 250,000 square feet of newly renovated convention space and a casino floor that’s had at least 500 slot machines replaced.
The Canteen Food Hall is the first high-profile eatery to emerge in the Rio’s new era, combining six culinary concepts in a relatively intimate fast-casual environment. In a sign of the times, the food hall fills the space formerly home to the resort’s shuttered buffet.
Tony Luke’s pizza steak sandwich.
The food hall matches the Dreamscape philosophy, prioritizing comfort and familiarity with subtleties that make all the difference in the world. Tender Crush has plump chicken tenders, including a spin on Nashville Hot that’s more about flavor than temperature and indulgent boardwalk-worthy doughnuts made with biscuit batter. Nama Nama, which occupies a circular counter in the center of the food hall, uses only claw and knuckle meat for its lobster hand rolls (sliced into smaller pieces for takeaway orders to preserve texture). Attaboy Burger has a Texas Toast sandwich that’s like a burger and grilled cheese in one, plus local Big Dog’s root beer on tap for ice cream floats. Southland Burrito Co. uses Sonoran-style wheat tortillas, which generate a nice char when grilled. The signature broth at Shogun Ramen simmers in pork bones for two days, emerging with robust collagen-rich flavor. Tony Luke’s grills cheesesteak ingredients slowly, loads the sandwich, then flips it over to soak the juices together.
Next up for the Rio is a brand-new Starbucks and a refresh of KJ Dim Sum. The lobby cocktail lounge formerly known as iBar will have an all-new elevated identity by summer. Executives are eager to resurrect the Wine Cellar with the possibility of adding spirits. Management won’t confirm or deny a rebrand of VooDoo Lounge and its gorgeous rooftop perch on the 50th floor of the Masquerade tower.
Birnbaum is more open about discussing the renovated pool deck, which has new landscaping, chairs and cabanas while resurrecting the waterfall features popular in the Rio’s early years. “There were water features all over the place that had been left to die,” the CEO says. “So we’re bringing back some life to the entire 150,000-square-foot pool deck.”
If you want to check out the changes yourself, parking is still free.
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