NV Travel Guide
Viva Vegas / Hotel Construction / Nobu Hotels / Robert DeNiro / Nobu Matsuhisa / → All Tags
The Nobu Hotel in Las Vegas is Coming Along, But Will It Be Ready for Fall?
The other day we skulked around Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, checking out the casino scene, the pool scene, a new room in the Augustus Tower, the restaurant options and even the Pussycat Dolls blackjack tables (yes, they exist near the sportsbook) before we stumbled on the entrance to the Nobu Hotel.
Of course, the hotel isn't open yet but construction is happening inside Caesars' old Centurion Tower. Even Robert De Niro and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa were on the property the other month to check on the hotel's progress and sign the Nobu construction wall.
SLS Hotels / Viva Vegas / SBE / Sam Nazarian / Hotel Hype / Hotel News / → All Tags
The SLS Las Vegas is Definitely Happening Now
It's been nearly a year since the Sahara Las Vegas closed its doors to make way for the forthcoming SLS Hotel but after the high drama of closing day, not much has happened on the hotel grounds since.
No construction, no renovations, no nothing (except for city approval of the renovation plans back in November.) As you can see from this picture, which we snapped yesterday, the property is completely dead.
Yet today with the announcement that SLS parent company, SBE has secured a $300 million round of financing from Stockbridge Capital, LLC, we bet bulldozers and scaffolding will appear mighty quick. Here's a little summary of what to expect from the anticipated SLS Las Vegas:
Hotel Photoshop / Viva Vegas / Hotel Pools / → All Tags
What It Really Looks Like Going Through The Golden Nugget's Shark Tank Slide
The Tank at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas is just one of many reasons to consider booking a room away from the Strip. Can you slide down a waterslide through a shark tank on the Strip? No, you cannot. You can only do it at the GN.
We popped into the Golden Nugget's pool scene today and had a blast watching folks shoot out the slide. We even got a pic of someone sliding through. Yup, thar's a person in that slide thur on the left! Which reminded us of this photo that was given to us by the hotel to illustrate how the slide works. Hmmm...yeah...ok.
While we absolutely recommend hitting up the Golden Nugget for an overnight stay (particularly a room in the new-ish Rush Tower), just don't expect to be able to ogle frightened beauties as they slide through the tank. The sharks, however, are very real.
P.S. You can watch some scuba divers cleaning the other massive fish tank at Golden Nugget here.
Hotel Booking Apps / Mobile Booking Apps / Booking Dot Com / Expedia / Viva Vegas / → All Tags
Hmm...So Much for Those Last-Minute Hotel Deals
Yesterday, we were trying to book a fun hotel room last minute in Las Vegas. The HotelTonight app yielded some great deals--$64 for Planet Hollywood and $45 for the revamped Tropicana but we've been to those places before and we wanted something a little higher-end.
So we decided to turn to another mobile app with a last-minute function--Booking.com's Tonight app. There we found The Cosmopolitan for $180 a night. Not as much of a deal as we hoped but we were nearly swayed by the gorgeous rooms of the Cosmo for under $200 a night.
But just to be sure we were getting a real deal, we double-checked the Cosmo's own website for room rates. And we were bummed to see that they were also offering a room for $180.
OpenThread / Hotel Sex / Viva Vegas / Hotel Stories / → All Tags
Vegas Hotel Guests Are Pretty Much The Worst
So we get that hotel managers have tough jobs sometimes. Guests get angry, they want free stuff, they make a mess, they don't want to pay for damages, yada yada yada. And most of the time, their tales from the crypt just make us laugh.
But rather than laughing, we were kinda grossed out after reading an interview Gadling conducted with an anonymous Las Vegas hotel supervisor, who has by now gotten pretty nonchalant about all the weird stuff that goes on over there. But of all the messes people leave behind in Vegas hotels (and which they just get charged for afterward), can you guess the most common offense? You might feel grossed out (like we did), and you might vow to never visit a Vegas hotel again (yeah, right), but just think of the poor housekeepers that have to clean up!
POTUS Hotels / Viva Vegas / Element Hotels / Green Hotels / Barack Obama / Hotel News / → All Tags
The POTUS Is Just Like Us--He Stays at The Element Hotel!
It's been a while since we checked in on the hotel habits of the POTUS but yesterday we we were psyched to see that Barack Obama stayed at a hotel that we've actually stayed at before...twice!
When visiting Las Vegas on the campaign trail, Obama eschewed the hotel casinos on the Strip and instead took over the entire Element Las Vegas hotel in Summerlin, about 15 minutes from the Strip. 8newsnow.com reports:
Onlookers were curious as to why President Obama chose to stay farther away from the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip. "This Element is earth friendly, and I think he's trying to promote that on his visit," Carol Bieganowski said.
Celebrity Scoop / Hotel Crime / VIva Vegas / Mike Tyson / → All Tags
Possibly The Stupidest Hotel Thief Ever Tries To Burgle Mike Tyson
If we could be handing out more HotelChatter awards this week, this story would be a slam dunk in the "stupidest hotel thief ever" category (which shouldn't be confused with most inventive thief, or luckiest thief).
An unnamed intruder broke into a room at The Cosmopolitan shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve—probably assuming its inhabitants would be out partying. Which they weren't. Nor, he soon found out, were they just any old hotel guests. Fast asleep in bed, with his family around him, was heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who woke to strange "rustling sounds" and the glare of the intruder's flashlight, TMZ reports.
Incredibly, the thief got away with his ear face intact. On second thought, maybe that "luckiest thief" title should go to him after all.
Viva Vegas / Hotel Valets / Hotel Transport / Hotel Amenities / Video / → All Tags
At Aria Las Vegas You May Actually Want The Valet To Take His Time
Being bored as you wait for a valet to pull out your car is such a first world problem, but that doesn’t make it any less irritating. Which is why we were so taken by this light show we got as we waited for our car at Aria Las Vegas last week.
Aria’s main valet is notoriously slow, but the back valet – or, rather, the North Valet, out by Haze nightclub – was much better. Or maybe it just seemed that way, as we were watching the pretty sentences heading across the screen. They made us think, they made us smile, they made us wonder how much of a Vegas funk you have to be in to find them profound, and they made us wonder who came up with them.
They also made us recollect the entrance to the Cosmopolitan, across the road – so it was interesting to learn that this video screen has been here since Aria opened – a year before Cosmo did.
HotelChatter 2011 Awards / Viva Vegas / Manhattan Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / Hotel Openings / Hotel Video Tours / → All Tags
People's Choice Award: Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2011 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in the comments below.
Despite a slew of juicy celebrity scoops and noteworthy hotel openings, it seems the one story line you guys just couldn't get enough of this year was in Las Vegas, at The Cosmopolitan. Might that have something to do with a particular bathroom incident that took place last spring in the lobby? Maaaaybe so. But, after three consecutive apologies from the hotel's PR team, we're willing to focus on The Cosmo's other, more appealing qualities—least of all, the fact that it still remains one of the prettiest hotels on the Vegas strip.
And we don't feel at all bad about sharing some of the Cosmo's glory with another crowd-pleaser from this year: New York's Mondrian Soho, which opened to a dizzying array of A-listers during Fashion Week in February.
HotelChatter 2011 Awards / Killer View / Viva Vegas / → All Tags
Best Killer View of 2011: Las Vegas as Seen from Caesars Palace
It's what you've been waiting all year for--The 2011 HotelChatter Awards! We'll be bringing you the best and worst of the year all day today and part of tomorrow. Agree or disagree with our picks? Air your thoughts in comments below.
Las Vegas is well-known for its terrible anti-views but we were left stunned by this view from the bedroom inside a Senator's Suite at the Augustus Tower Caesars Palace back in September.
Not only was it a clear sunny day but we actually had prime view of the Bellagio fountains and the new hot casino on the strip, The Cosmo. (As opposed to looking out at a forlorn rooftop which is what we usually get in Vegas. Of course, premium views come at premium prices.
The 1,500-sq.ft. one-bedroom suite, which comes with a living room, a dining table for six, three bathrooms and a king bed with a TV dresser at the foot of it starts around $2,600 a night. Don't forget to add in $14.99 a day for WiFi.
Celebrity Scoop / Britney Spears / Viva Vegas / Engagement Hotels / Hotel Cakes / Room Upgrades / Hotel Suites / → All Tags
When You're Britney Spears, You Don't Just Get Upgraded, You Get 'Mega Suite' Upgraded
For most people, an engagement party involves a little champagne, some friends, and a chance for the bride-to-be to show off her ring. Britney Spears is not most people. Well, we knew that already, but we sure got a chuckle out of seeing these photos released of the betrothal festivities that went down this past weekend at Planet Hollywood in Vegas.
Celebrating first at the resort's Strip House Steakhouse, a very visible "ph" emblem was positioned on top of the cake so it would show up in every photo. We doubt the couple ever actually sat down to taste the cake, but it's the thought publicity that counts.
Also on the agenda? A night at one of the resort's 3,100-square-foot, Jonathan Adler-designed "mega suites" (which we couldn't even find on the website, but apparently include a Murano glass chandelier, living room, dining room, and a jacuzzi). Then again, let's face it: she wasn't exactly about to get stuck with a Spaceballs-themed room, now was she?
Hotel Key Cards / Celebrity Scoop / Kim Kardashian / Viva Vegas / Las Vegas Hotels / Hotel Shopping / The Kardashians / → All Tags
Just Call Her Kim 'Key Kard'-ashian
No surprise here: professional egomaniac Kim Kardashian, who recently expressed a desire to open her own hotel in Dubai (and was swiftly shot down by the WSJ), is absolutely smitten with a particular keycard in Vegas. Why? Because it has her face on it.
Back in August, when The Mirage announced the opening of Kardashian Khaos, some gave it the thumbs up, and just as many outright disowned the hotel. Kinda like when that petition was circulated to cancel all Kardashian programming on the E! network. But unlike TV, which can always be shut off, a hotel takeover is slightly more cataclysmic. And when it gets to the point that you can't even enter your room without seeing their faces, that's surely grounds for hotel boycotting.
For a twitpic of the key card, see below!
Popular Stories
Follow Us
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
