Lucky for visitors to this late-night town, Las Vegas's signature amenity is its opulent hotels, typically funded by big casino dollars. Although the lagging economy managed to wipe out some intended Las Vegas developments, several big hotel ventures are nonetheless new and on the horizon for the famed Strip along Las Vegas Boulevard. Here are the newest towers to check out.
1. Among them is the Palazzo Las Vegas, a resort adjacent to the Venetian that opened in January 2008 with a European feel and design meant to evoke rich Italian living. Amenities include restaurants helmed by top chefs such as Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, and Charlie Trotter, and a huge Canyon Ranch spa, plus the musical Jersey Boys and Lavo, a nightclub and restaurant from the team behind Tao. Retail includes Las Vegas’s first Barneys New York. Suites boast sunken living rooms, marble-appointed baths, and remote-control Roman shades and curtains.
2. Just next door, Wynn’s new 48-story Encore opened in late December 2008. In addition to dining, entertainment, and retail, Encore features 2,034 large suites: Resort suites are 700 square feet, and tower suites are as large as 5,800. Encore offers 60,000 square feet of configurable event space, from boardrooms to a massive columnless ballroom, and is connected to the original Wynn, where an additional 200,000 square feet of meeting space are available. There are five restaurants in the building, as well as XS, the in-house nightclub.
3. Across the Strip, the $8 billion CityCenter complex is expected to open its anchor property, Aria Resort & Casino, in mid-December 2009. It will have 4,004 guest rooms, including 568 suites. Four ballrooms will accommodate as many as 5,000 attendees, and three will feature theatrical stages, with meeting and convention space consuming 300,000 square feet in all. In addition, an 1,800-seat theater will house Cirque du Soleil’s permanent production celebrating Elvis Presley.
4. Also slated for late 2009 arrival on the Strip, the 63-story Fontainebleau Las Vegas will feature 27 restaurants and bars, a 60,000-square-foot spa, a 100,000-square-foot casino, an avant-garde entertainment venue, a conference center, and retail—plus striking views from a seven-acre event-ready pool deck. The look of the resort will borrow from Morris Lapidus, the iconic architect who designed the original Fontainebleau in Miami. The project broke ground in January 2007.
This information was previously published in the 2009 BizBash National Venue Guide.
