Darling bathhouse reported closed

The Darling bathhouse on Avenida de Almirante Lacerda in Macau has closed, Allin News reported on 25 May 2022, citing the steep drop in visitors during the pandemic as the cause. The report said the business, known in Chinese as 打令浴室, had seen trade fall far below previous levels¹.

The closure was reported alongside that of Rio Sauna, which the outlet said had shut in mid-April after nearly three years of losses and had dismissed all staff with compensation¹. A notice outside the Rio premises said the venue was closed for internal maintenance and that a reopening date would be announced on its WeChat and social media accounts, with the notice dated 16 April of this year¹. Allin said it had received reliable information that the Rio closure was permanent despite the notice¹.

Rio Sauna opened in February 2006 and once used Hong Kong entertainer Natalis Chan as a spokesman¹. It was described as one of the city's most luxurious saunas, drawing customers from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, with young technicians from Russia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and China¹. Rio, The Darling, 18, Golden Pool and Fortune saunas belonged to the same group, run by a figure the outlet called Macau's "sauna king"¹.

The report said the remaining saunas were also struggling. Staff were either on unpaid leave or taking only a few thousand patacas a month, while daily admissions had fallen to 30 or 40 customers, leaving technicians with as little as one or two clients a day¹. At their peak, venues such as 18, The Darling and Rio took customers continuously, with The Darling at Ponte e Horta reportedly handling 200 customers on an ordinary day and close to 100 technicians at peak times¹.

What it means for players

Macau's sauna and bathhouse venues sit outside the casino floors that most visitors know, and the closures reported here reduce the non-gaming options available to people who travel to the city. The report describes a trade that depended heavily on tourists from mainland China, Japan and South Korea, so the fall in arrivals affected these venues directly¹. For anyone planning a trip around Macau's nightlife, the practical position as reported is that The Darling and Rio are shut, and that other saunas in the same group and beyond are operating with far fewer staff and customers¹. No reopening dates for either venue have been reported.

What happens next

The notice at Rio Sauna said a reopening date would be published on its WeChat and social media accounts, but Allin reported the closure was permanent and that staff had been dismissed with compensation¹. No further announcements from the operator or the group have been reported.

For background on the city's gambling rules and venues, see Can I Gamble in Macau? and Casinos and Integrated Resorts in Asia.