lasvegas

Hard Rock Hotel Adds New Suites Tower

Las Vegas seems to have a surfeit of hotel suites lately but that hasn't stopped the big names from bringing out new offerings. The Hard Rock Hotel has unveiled the HRH Tower Suites. The HRH Tower is an all-suite tower set to open on December 28. HRH Tower includes 359 "standard" suites, eight spa villas opening directly to the pool areas, and seven penthouse suites on the 16th floor. Guests in the new towers will have their own VIP entrance and check-in, direct access to the new casino space, luxury Reliquary spa; and Vanity nightclub.

The suites include an integrated wet bar, sitting area, and suite bathroom with cast iron tubs. Each suite in the Tower includes an AMX 12" Touch Panel music system with iPod dock with over 2,000 HRH owned songs and playlists as well as two 40" Sony Bravia LCD TV with DVD players. The seven penthouse suites include: Infinity, Nirvana, Provocateur, Platinum, Ultra Lounge, Stones, and Sex & Pistols. Bathrooms include Grohe bath fixtures with rain showerheads and six handheld shower sprays. The Nirvana Suite (rendering shown above) comes with an outside beach area with a private plunge pool and two enormous four poster draped daybeds.

The Vanity nightclub is lit by a multi-million dollar chandelier that can change color and even broadcast images and the club has two marble bars, a sunken dance floor, 50 VIP booths, an outdoor terrace including five cabanas with direct access to a sky bar and a ladies' lounge with six individual vanity stations and a full length three-way mirror with staff on-hand to fix broken nails, style hair and spruce up makeup. The Reliquary Spa has a Roman Bath, 21 treatment rooms, a private studio for pole dancing lessons and a fitness center. Rates at the tower start at $119.

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Tags: hard rock hotel, HardRockHotel, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip

Vdara Hotel To Open With Celeb-Attended Gala

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Las Vegas' big gamble, the massive CityCenter is finally starting to be open to the public. The Vdara Hotel and Spa is partnering with Vanity Fair to co-host a grand opening gala hosted by Sebastian Copeland with Orlando Bloom and Rosario Dawson on Tuesday in support of the Sebastian Copeland Foundation, a new foundation to explore climate change. Entertainment will be provided by DJs Donovan Leitch and Mathieu Schreyer and guests will dine on food from Martin Heierling, executive chef of Vdara and the hotel's contemporary Mediterranean restaurant, Silk Road.

Vdara is a non-gaming, smoke-free environment which is physically connected to Bellagio and adjacent to the ARIA resort. The LEED Gold certified project includes the 18,000-square-foot, two-level wellness spa, Vdara Health and Beauty. The hotel features a variety of stay options the most lavish of which are the two-bedroom penthouse suites which each have a full kitchen, a washer and dryer, flatscreen televisions and a bathroom with a soaking tub.

The 4,004-room Aria Resort & Casino will open on December 16. Many are concerned about how eager people will be to check out the new hotel considering that room prices are lower across the Strip and tourism is still down. The AP reports that including condominiums, CityCenter will have nearly 6,800 units open early next year. Rates at Vdara start at $129, $149 at anchor resort Aria and $345 at the Mandarin Oriental.

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Tags: citycenter, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip, vdara

Will Carl Icahn Rescue The Fontainebleau?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

I've been following the fate of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort for a while now. It looks like the stalled project may have a new savior in the form of billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Icahn's Icahn Nevada Gaming LLC will be the opening or 'stalking horse' bidder in an auction of the resort after Penn National Gaming Inc. dropped out. Bloomberg News reports on the bidding war in court which led to Icahn offering $105 million, plus $51.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing besting Penn's offer of a total of $145 million. This means that the Icahn bid will be the one to beat.

The planned complex on the Las Vegas Strip is about 70 percent complete. It filed for bankruptcy in June and may cost around $1.5 billion to finish. Fontainebleau's sellers have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol in Miami to auction the casino on January 21. Penn National Gaming had planned to finish Fontainebleau with an unidentified partner and to use the company's database of casino customers to help fill the casino with consumers. Icahn has a history of buying bankrupt casinos (including the Stratosphere in Las Vegas) and selling them for big profits. His entry into the fray may increase interest in the January auction and help ensure that someone eventually buys the casino and finishes the project.

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Tags: carl icahn, CarlIcahn, casino, fontainebleau, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip

Harrah's Launches Total Experiences Program

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Planning your group stay in Las Vegas just got a little more streamlined if you are staying at one of the Harrah's Entertainment properties. The brand has launched Total Experiences, a new service that offers complimentary trip planning and insider access for friend and family travel, including milestone birthdays, bachelor parties, girlfriend getaways, reunions and golf trips.

Each group is connected with their own Total Experiences Specialist (one of the friendly faces shown above) who handles all details of the group's itinerary both before and during their stay, booking all reservations, offering insider recommendations, and arranging VIP privileges. It is available to groups of six or more who book at any U.S.-based Harrah's Entertainment resorts in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and beyond, including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah's Resort Atlantic City. Guests pay for only what they book and can include upgrades like VIP check-in, access to private lounges, VIP club entry, celebrity meet-and-greets, private gaming lessons and behind-the-scenes tours. Trip planning includes on- and off-resort activities like unique insider experiences such as the exclusive chef's table at Guy Savoy or a private gaming table in the Pussycat Doll pit.

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Tags: atlantic city, AtlanticCity, bachelor party, BachelorParty, destination wedding, DestinationWedding, harrahs, las vegas, LasVegas, party planning, PartyPlanning, total experiences, TotalExperiences

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Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Las Vegas Strip Collection Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Las Vegas Strip Tourbillon watch

Remember Las Vegas? Audemars Piguet sure does. The important city to the brand (due to the many watch stores) now gets and important watch collection from the brand. In black and red tones, the new collection of Royal Oak model based watches are suitable wrist companions for nights of luxury and excess in the hottest city in the desert. The popularity of Vegas comes and goes, but you can't deny the importance of a fantastic watch while spending time on the Strip.

Most most exclusive of the watches in the collection is the pictured Audemars Piguet Las Vegas Strip Manual Wind Tourbillon with Chronograph watch. It is limited to 35 pieces and comes in a blackened steel case. Other models include two diamond studded automatic chronograph versions (for men or women each limited to 60 pieces), and a more standard automatic chronograph without all the decoration (limited to 400 pieces). Each has that signature look meant to match your casino attire. Sure it is a bit silly, but in Las Vegas you feel the need to go all out.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com

Gallery: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Las Vegas Strip Collection Watches

Tags: audemars piguet, AudemarsPiguet, las vegas, LasVegas, limited edition, LimitedEdition, royal oak, RoyalOak, strip, tourbillon, watch

British Airways Challenges Virgin Atlantic Over London-Vegas Nonstops

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

You wouldn't think that the Las Vegas to London route would be a popular flight but it seems that rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are in a battle for Vegas supremacy. The first nonstop British Airways flight from London to Las Vegas landed Sunday night at McCarran International Airport. Passengers on the inaugural flight included Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and British Airways CEO Willie Walsh, who was making his first trip to Las Vegas. The picture above shows the water arch used to honor maiden flights.

British Airways plans to run flights on twin-engine Boeing 777s from London to Las Vegas and they are offering some pretty tempting rates. BNET reports that it costs just $276 for roundtrip economy flights from November 2 to December 20 and December 24 to March 28 if tickets are purchased this week. British Airways' London-Las Vegas flights will have 36 business seats, 24 economy plus seats and 212 regular economy seats. Virgin Atlantic has been doing this run since 2006 but British Airways has the advantage of flying out of Heathrow International Airport while Virgin flies out of the less-centrally-located Gatwick International Airport.

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Tags: british airways, BritishAirways, las vegas, LasVegas, london, nonstop flight, NonstopFlight, travel deals, TravelDeals, virgin atlantic, VirginAtlantic

Garth Brooks Will Commute To Las Vegas In Style

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Celebrity Shopping

How do you lure a star out of semi-retirement? You start with a big paycheck and then you throw in the perks. This week, savvy casino mogul Steve Wynn drummed up excitement at the Wynn Encore in Las Vegas with the news that Garth Brooks has decided to play a five-year weekend residency at the hotel starting December 11.

Brooks played two secret shows at the hotel this summer. Steve Wynn, a man whose art collection is clear testament to the fact that he is accustomed to getting whatever he wants, began the push to get Brooks at his hotel. Brooks wasn't an easy fish to land and it took more than a big paycheck to get him to the Encore Theater. Wynn threw in the ultimate executive perk, the private jet. When Brooks retired he vowed that he would drive his three daughters to school everyday. The new 11-seat Challenger jet, courtesy of Steve Wynn, will help him honor that promise, making short work of the commute from Oklahoma to Las Vegas. Brooks described the jet to CNN as having a "cool interior, cool paint job."

What does Wynn get out of the deal? Each ticket at the Encore will be $125 and total sales for the shows could bring in millions. But more important than ticket sales is the fact that he will be drawing people to Las Vegas and to Encore, the luxury hotel he opened when the economy was at its worst. Wynn has been in the casino a long, long time and he knows that getting the people in the door can be the hardest part. Having Brooks as an incentive to visit might just be worth the plane and the paycheck.

UPDATE: Tickets for Brooks' first 20 shows at the Wynn Las Vegas resort sold out in less than five hours.

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Tags: challenger jet, ChallengerJet, garth brooks, GarthBrooks, las vegas, LasVegas, private jet, PrivateJet

Michael Jackson's Wonderland In Las Vegas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Las Vegas was one of Michael Jackson's favorite places and according to an article back in August, appearing in the Las Vegas Sun, Jackson planned to buy the Primm Compound in Las Vegas and make it his home after his London concerts. The article said that Jackson planned to call the home "Wonderland." The estate, which was then listed at $25 million offers a variety of security features that appealed to him as well as other dramatic features like a pool with a waterslide, waterfalls and a grotto guest suite built inside a cave.

Move Trends reports that the home is now listed for $16.5 million. Jackson never lived in the home but it is being marketed as Michael Jackson's Wonderland. The 10-bedroom compound has secret tunnels and many of the home's doors are bulletproof. Another detail that Jackson would have appreciated is the panic room with its own oxygen supply.

The gated compound is on ten acres and in addition to the pool there is also an equestrian center, basketball and tennis courts, golf driving range, and underground shooting range which could be turned into a recording studio. The 20-car showroom also has a deionized-water car wash and gas station. Other details include an elevator, a 5000-bottle wine cellar and tasting room, a screening room, casino game room, library, trophy room, gym and a professional beauty salon.

Gallery: Michael Jackson's Wonderland

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Tags: las vegas, LasVegas, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, michael jackson, MichaelJackson

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Dinosaur for Sale (still)!

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Bonhams & Butterfields tried to unload a dinosaur skeleton Saturday, but the piece was one of 17 lots that didn't move at the Natural History auction at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The auction house had originally hoped to pull in estimated $6 million for the 66-million-year-old bones of a 40-foot Tyronnosaurus Rex. In all, it was shooting for around $8 million in sales. Only 60 percent of the lots coming under the gavel sold.

The T. rex skeleton that nobody wanted (at least not at that price), named Samson, is the third most complete ever pulled from the ground, according to Thomas Lindgren, Co-Director of Natural History at Bonhams & Butterfields.

"'Samson'" is one of four known T. rex specimens which display characteristics that set it apart from other examples of the species," Lindgren continues. "In the dynamic science of paleontology, variation from one specimen to the next may indicate varying developmental phases, normal variations within a species, or it may represent the discovery of an entirely new species. As it stands, experts identify 'Samson' as Tyrannosaurus rex."

Samson was the first T. rex to come on the scene since 1997, when Sotheby's auctioned Sue, a dinosaur of similar size. The Field Museum in Chicago picked her up for a record $8.36 million – a price that still has not been topped. Sue is considered to be the largest and most complete T. rex ever excavated.

Tags: bonhams, bonhams auction, bonhams butterfields, BonhamsAuction, bonhamsbutterfields, dinosaur, dinosaurs, las vegas, las vegas nevada, las vegas nv, LasVegas, LasVegasNevada, LasVegasNv, tyrannosaurusrex, venetian

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Tiffany & Company's Glitzy New Store Design

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Tiffany & Company showed off their designs this week for their latest store in Las Vegas, a new approximately 10,000-square-foot store at the CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. The two-level store will be located in Crystals, CityCenter's 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district which was designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind and Rockwell Group. The store is set to open in December and will have an 85-foot-high glass facade which is shaped like a diamond. The overall effect is luxe with a bit of Vegas flash, the entrance will be gleaming black granite around Art Deco-inspired stainless steel doors and inside etched mirror walls, iridescent fabrics and glittering chandeliers add sparkle. The second floor will be reached via a spiral steel-and-glass staircase that is lit from underneath. There is a separate engagement ring salon and a private sales salon with can be reached via a glass bridge. This will be the third Tiffany store in Las Vegas there are two other shops on the Strip, one at the Shops at Via Bellagio and one at The Forum Shops at Caesars but this is the largest one yet. JCK Online has more pictures of the interior renderings.

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Tags: citycenter, jewelry, las vegas, las vegas strip, LasVegas, LasVegasStrip, tiffany, tiffany and co, TiffanyAndCo

Stay At The Wynn, Play In The Sky

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas, Wings

The Wynn Las Vegas And Zero Gravity have created a new getaway package that combines two different experiences, a spa weekend and a weightless flight on September 19. Guests will enjoy spa treatments at the Wynn Las Vegas and then go up on Zero-G's G Force One specially modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft for the experience of weightless flight. The package includes a two-night stay at Wynn Las Vegas, complimentary upgrade to Tower Suite Room and a choice of either one Custom Massage or one Classic Facial.

The Zero G flight leaves from McCarran airport. Once in the zero gravity zone, you can fly, flip and play in the safety of a padded cabin while video cameras capture your every move. The ZERO-G Spa Experience with Wynn Las Vegas is offered at a price of $5,746 per seat plus tax (based on double occupancy). The next Las Vegas flight from Zero G isn't until next year but other flights including a Halloween flight from Miami (time to break out the Superman costume?) are available.

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Tags: las vegas, LasVegas, wynn hotel, WynnHotel, zero g, ZeroG

Banking On The Bellagio Brand

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Like many other brands, MGM Mirage has decided to make money by selling its name. The brand, which has been struggling all year, particularly with the battle to get the huge $8.5 billion Las Vegas CityCenter project completed, is in need of some cash. MGM Mirage has inked 10 franchise deals with hotels carrying the Bellagio and MGM Grand name deals that will let the brand expand in a way that it could not on its own seeing as it is already $12 billion in debt.

The deals are a first for MGM Mirage. Two MGM Grand casino resorts are planned for Ho Tram, Vietnam and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Other plans include Bellagios in Cairo, Mumbai and four in China. Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skyloft hotels will also be franchised in Dubai. These deals will give MGM Mirage two to three percent of gross sales with an additional 10 precent if a property achieves its profit goals. MGM Mirage is hoping that branded resorts will attract visitors even without gambling which means they will have to position themselves as a distinctive hotel brand that doesn't rely on a casino as a main atraction. What MGM Mirage and Bellagio do have that some other hotels don't is experience at maintaining full service complexes with restaurants, nightclubs, shops and entertainment all designed to make the guest so happy that they never want to step outside.

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Tags: bellagio, citycenter, las vegas, LasVegas, mgm grand, mgm mirage, MgmGrand, MgmMirage

Bonhams To Hold Big Sales At The Venetian In Las Vegas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

Two upcoming auctions being held at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas by Bonhams and Butterfields appeal to two very different types of buyers. First up is an auction of "Salon Jewelry" that includes diamond and platinum jewelry, signed jewels and watches. The sale features some high-roller-worthy pieces including a selection of men's rings and fine vintage jewelry belonging to the estates of Baron Franz von Mock-Hoeft and Adrian the Marquis de Gradoloff. The catalog mixes interesting antique paste pieces with more modern designer pieces. This sale will take place at The Venetian on September 21. Public previews will also be held at Bonhams and Bufferfields locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The other big sale to be held at The Venetian will be a Natural History sale on October 3. The showpiece for this one is a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus skeleton. It is one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus fossils. The fossil was found 22 years ago in South Dakota and is known as Samson. It is 40 feet long and 15 feet tall and consists of around 170 bones, more than half of a complete skeleton. The last one of these skeletons to go up for sale, Sue, the most complete specimen ever found, sold for more than $8 million dollars in 1997 to the Chicago Field Museum. Unlike Sue, which was still in pieces when sold, Samson is fully prepared and mounted and could fetch even more. The specimen will be exhibited and sold in the space formerly occupied by The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.

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Tags: bonhams, bonhams and butterfields, BonhamsAndButterfields, las vegas, LasVegas, natural history, NaturalHistory, tyranosaurus rex, TyranosaurusRex

Will Construction Resume On The Fontainebleau?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

In June the Fontainebleau project in Las Vegas filed for Chapter 11 but now the huge $3 billion property could end up being finished by its lenders. Previously the lenders had balked on continued spending and ended up freezing construction leaving the project in a state of undone stasis. Barbara E. Hernandez of BNET explains that any potential new owner would have to spend an additional $1.5 billion just to finish the 3,815-room resort. That's a number that is likely to scare off most investors. Instead of heading to a foreclosure auction where no one would make money, the lenders and owners are now working together to get the resort finished so it has a potential to make money someday (and stops being an unfinished eyesore along the Strip). Hernandez points out that there is a Finish Fontainebleau Las Vegas Facebook group which has over 400 fans. Depending on when the project is done it could capitalize on the resurgence of tourism to Las Vegas which is predicted to happen in the next year or so.

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Tags: fontainebleau, las vegas, LasVegas

Eva Longoria Parker's Expanding Restaurant Empire

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Celebrity Design

The restaurant world may not be having its best season but one celebrity restaurateur is ready to expand. People Magazine reports that Eva Longoria Parker is taking her Beso restaurant concept to Las Veas. Beso Las Vegas will open on New Year's Eve 2010 with an event hosted by Longoria Parker. The exact venue is still under construction but the menu will resemble Beso Hollywood with items like Eva's tortilla soup and chili rubbed skirt steak on the menu.

Longoria Parker and her business partner celebrity chef Todd English (who already has a version of his signature restaurant Olives in Las Vegas) plan to make the Las Vegas version a little different with a variety of specials and drinks and an upstairs lounge called Eve. Las Vegas is a smart move for a burgeoning restaurant chain, Although tourism is down in Las Vegas, the city still brings in hungry tourists looking for a special experience. Tao Las Vegas has topped the list of highest grossing independent restaurants for several years.

Longoria Parker is also planning a series of smaller airport versions called Besitos (little kisses in Spanish). The first one will be in Los Angeles. English can guide her there too, his Bonfire restaurant has outposts in both Boston's Logan Airport and New York City's JFK Airport.

Gallery: Celebrity Restaurants