89109 Travel Guide
Photo Gallery / Hotel Design / Hospitality Design Expo / Hotel Furniture / Hotel Technology / Hotel News / → All Tags
Scenes from The 2013 Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas
This week we attended the Hospitality Design Expo Conference in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and never before have we seen so much hotel furniture in one spot--from chairs and beds to desks and lamps and beyond. It was thrilling for hotel nerds like us.
We'll have more from what we learned at the show next week (keyword: MILLENIALS) but for now, we thought we'd simply show you what we saw. Take a, um, seat and enjoy!
Killer View / Viva Vegas / Tingo / Las Vegas Hotels / → All Tags
The View From New York, New York in Las Vegas is Quite Scary
But it's only scary because we can catch the folks riding up one of the roller coaster peaks right before it dips back down. Luckily, these windows are noise-proof so we can't hear the people screaming. Other than that, we're quite pleased with the view especially since once we look down we can spy on the pool scene.
As for the rooms at New York, New York, we're staying in a "Park Avenue Room" but let's be clear here--it's a long ways from Park Avenue in the real NYC. The furniture is new as are the bedding, pillows, curtains and such but the bathroom is showing its age, the shower in particular. Also, we're bummed by the bland toiletries that are offered.
The rest of the hotel tower is also a little beat-down with old hallway rugs and room doors and not-so-clean elevators. Then again, we nabbed the room for $75 a night on Tingo.com so we can't complain too much (And no, we didn't get any money back from Tingo.)
However, the WiFi is rather slow. So slow, we can't even upload the rest of the room photos. The WiFi is part of the $18 plus tax room rate but still, this is unacceptable. We posted the screenshot over here where we are keeping tabs on hotel speeds but let's just say the grade begins with F.
Hotel Bathtubs / Killer Views / Viva Vegas / Hotel Bathrooms / Bathroom Tuesday / → All Tags
Our Close Call With The Cosmopolitan's Killer View Bathtub
The bathtubs in the East Tower at The Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas have some drop dead gorgeous views. Just take a look! But the thing is, we almost dropped dead this morning trying to get into the tub.
Despite having an oddly square and rather deep shape, the tub has little "seats" on the bottom which make it easier to sit in. But the problem is getting into the tub. There's a big distance between the step up into the tub and the tub itself. We tried to climb up it but after slipping and denting our shin bone, we realized the best way is to probably sit on the tub ledge, swing your legs over and drop down. The same should be done on the way out, especially since you'll be extra slippery.
Geez, bathtubs should not be this complicated, right? Or maybe we're just feeling the effects of all those Cosmos from last night. Either way, safety first when entering and exiting these tubs.
[Photos: HotelChatter]
Hotel Hype / Gansevoort Hotels / Gansevoort Hotel Group / Caesars Entertainment / Viva Vegas / Casino Hotels / Hotel Nightclubs / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel News / → All Tags
Viva Gansevoort: NYC Party Hotel to Bring Brand to Vegas
After striking out in Miami and long after ditching plans for an LA location, Gansevoort Hotels has landed in a pretty spectacular place--Las Vegas. Specifically, the old Bill's Gambling Hall on the Las Vegas Strip.
On Friday, it was announced that Caesars Entertainment, the parent company of Caesars Palace, Paris Bally's, Bill's and a bunch of other casino hotels, would be turning Bill's into the Gansevoort Las Vegas. USA Today reported:
The Old West-style casino hotel, which closed last month, will reopen in January as the Gansevoort Las Vegas, with rates starting at $249 a night. The building's currently in the midst of a $185 million renovation that will transform the guest rooms, casino space, restaurants and public areas into stylish, upscale spaces.
Viva Vegas / HotelTonight / Room Upgrades / Resort Fees / Caesars Hotels / → All Tags
Vegas' Resort Fees Killed Our HotelTonight Booking Buzz
Last week, we headed out to Las Vegas for an impromptu trip to catch Boyz II Men at The Mirage. Since we were only in town for one night and had about $100 in credits to burn on HotelTonight* we decided to use the last-minute mobile booking app to book our room.
So just as we were nearing Barstow on our road trip to Vegas from Los Angeles, we looked at HT and saw Caesars Palace open for only $91. We booked immediately and continued the rest of our road trip in rather high spirits. (It may have been because we were playing our fave early 90s hits the whole way there but never mind that.)
Yet when checked in at Caesars, they informed us that our room would be in the hotel's older Roman Tower. Thanks to VegasChatter, we know it's not in great shape. So we asked about upgrades. Turns out we could have the brand-new Octavius Tower for an extra $60 a night. We looked at our friend and said, Why not? That's just an extra $30 a night for each of us. Remember, we didn't have to pay for the room since our credits covered that.
We also inquired about possibly upgrading to the Nobu Hotel but even though rooms were going for a skint $189 a night, we would have had to cancel our HT booking, losing all our credits and then re-book.
So with our upgrade to the Octavius tower completed, we were given our keys to a room on the 64th floor with a pretty decent view out the side of the Bellagio fountains. Happiness! Except...
Nobu Hotels / Hotel Openings / Viva Vegas / Gigi Vega / Nobu Matsuhisa / General Managers / → All Tags
This Fierce 'Girl' Runs the New Nobu Hotel World
The just-opened Nobu Hotel Las Vegas may have been conceived by a man, (Chef Nobu Matsuhisa), designed by a man (David Rockwell), located in a hotel named after a man (Caesar) and ultimately made possible by even more men (Robert De Niro included) but, who's really running the Nobu world? That's right--a "girl"!
Meet HWIC (Head Woman In Charge) Gigi Vega, vice president and general manager of the Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace. Gigi's already been with Caesars Palace for four years, taking care of high-end customers who shack up in the luxury 120 suites and villas. Prior to landing in Las Vegas she worked for Mandarin Oriental for 10 years in Hong Kong and Macau and before she was with InterContinental Hotels.
With this luxury hotel background and her familiarity with Caesars, it's no wonder that Hollywood producer and Nobu dream-maker, Mier Teper, tapped her to be the GM of the first-ever Nobu Hotel.
Indeed, aside from Nobu patrons and fans and the visitors who want to see and be seen, the hotel will be targeting general luxury folk, those who are accustomed to a five-star level of service. And in Gigi, who's energetic and friendly by nature, guests will find someone who will make sure their green tea and rice cracker welcome amenity arrived, that the Nobu room service was up to par and that they will have reservation for Nobu downstairs in place before their arrival. Another bonus? There's only 181 rooms in the hotel, guaranteeing guests will be able to get Gigi's full attention. We'll call it as we see it--it's a woman's touch we can appreciate!
Now if only Gigi had an "s" on the end of her last name....
Fantasy Friday / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Desserts / Las Vegas Hotels / Nevada Hotels / → All Tags
Fantasy Friday: The $750 Cupcake at The Palazzo Las Vegas
The cupcake craze, we are convinced, will never end. And nor should it! It's the perfect bit of dessert in easy-to-eat packaging. But this one we've heard about? Goes in the Fantasy Friday file, for sure. This one costs $750 and no matter our lust, we'd be afraid to touch it. Called Decadence D’Or, it's served at Sweet Surrender at the Palazzo Hotel and Casino Las Vegas and everything about it screams excess. Especially the ingredients, which cost more than some people pay in rent and car payments in a month.
It’s made with a chocolate cake laced with ganache filling created from a special Valhrona chocolate called Porcelana, rich French A.O.C butter, and Tahitian Gold Vanilla Caviar (which apparently is a big deal that takes over a year to harvest). Then edible gold flakes are hand-applied to the frosting and topped with a hand-blown sugar fleur-de-lis filled with Louis XIII Cognac (which costs $2K a bottle!). How is it served? No paper cup here, pshaw. You'll receive it on curved cracked-gold plate and bowl. Mercy!
Room Service / Nobu Hotels / Viva Vegas / Hotel Openings / Luxury Hotels / Nobu Matsuhisa / Celebrity Chefs / → All Tags
Sushi in Bed: Why We're Extra Excited for Nobu Hotel
Yesterday we gave you 10 good reasons to sleep over at the first-ever Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Today, we'd like to expand on one of those reasons--room service. After all, if you're gonna build a hotel around your successful restaurant brand, the room service options should be nothing short of phenomenal.
Fortunately, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa created the room service menu himself, instead of passing the duty off to other chefs. He's even expanded beyond sushi and sashimi into breakfast. So now that you're on the edge of drooling over your computer, let's get eating.
For breakfast, you can start with a Tamago yaki ($23), a Japanese style omelette with your choice of ingredients from tomato and cheese to unagi and king crab. Or you could go with Eggs Matsuhisa ($24), done with roasted asparagus, bonito egg sauce, ikura rolls and spicy tuna. If you want to keep it more traditional, order up the blueberry and yuzu soba pancakes or the green tea waffles (both $22) served with bananas, strawberries, yuzu whipped cream, miso butter and maple syrup. Traditional Japanese and American breakfasts are also available as well as general bakery/pastry items.
Nobu Hotels / Hotel Openings / Lists / Hotel News / Nobu Matsuhisa / Viva Vegas / Hotel Design / → All Tags
10 Reasons Why You Should Sleep With Nobu in Las Vegas
The very first Nobu Hotel is set to open in Las Vegas inside Caesars Palace on February 4th (at $269 a night) and if you're wondering why you would sleep over at a sushi restaurant, here's 10 Reasons that will convince you to book one of these 181 rooms faster than you can say yellowtail sashimi.
VIP LOBBY AND CHECK-IN
Nobu hotel guests will have a completely different check-in experience from other guests coming to Vegas. In fact, check-in begins before you even get to the hotel with a pre-arrival questionnaire sent by the hotel. Here you can make your amenity requests, set up a dinner reservation at Nobu and let them know your exact time of arrival. Dedicated Nobu Guest Services staff will be positioned at the front of Caesars to escort guests to the Nobu "lobby" which is just past the Nobu restaurant. The lobby is not much more than an elevator bank with a desk but the walls and ceiling feature visually stunning wooden blocks of fir, hemlock and oak in different arrangements. The artwork actually continues on inside the elevators as well. Go ahead, touch it.
Keep Reading for More Reasons to Book a Room at The Nobu Hotel Las Vegas!
Hotel Wellness / Viva Vegas / Hotel Fitness / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Inside the New Stay Well Rooms at MGM Grand Las Vegas
On Friday we showed off the amenity we wish all showers in Las Vegas had--a vitamin C-infused shower head found in the new Stay Well rooms at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Today, we'll look at other wellness technology in the room that made this one of our most relaxing Las Vegas stays yet.
For starters, the room's wellness layout was designed by Delos, a "wellness real estate" company with Dr. Deepak Chopra at the helm that combines science, design and technology to maximize health and wellbeing in the spaces where we spend so much time--homes and workspaces. And in our case, hotel rooms.
Walking inside, the first thing we noticed was a large white air purifier attached to the wall. This contraption is the most advanced HEPA-standard air purification system out there, reducing allergens, toxins, pathogens and presumably any of that crappy casino air we'd tracked in.
The next thing we saw was a white conical object on the nightstand. What the heck, now?
Well, read on to find out what it was!
Hotel Showers / Hotel Bathrooms / Viva Vegas / Hotel Health / Snapshot / → All Tags
We Kinda Wish Every Shower in Vegas Had This
Yes, we really wish every shower in Vegas featured this crazy contraption. So what is it?
Well, it's a Vitamin C infused shower head that is found in one of the brand new Stay Well rooms at MGM Grand. These rooms are tricked out with the new furniture, bedding and technology that all MGM Grand rooms feature as part of the property-wide renovations but the Stay Well rooms also have a bunch of goodies the regular rooms do not. Like air purifiers, wellness lighting in the bathrooms (they give a shot of melatonin), funky nightstand sleep machines and these vitamin shower heads.
We'll have an in-depth tour of the Stay Well rooms next week but we will say now that we came to Vegas feeling as if we were on the cusp of a cold and right now, we're feeling pretty fantastic.
Best of all, this room, with taxes and resort fee included only cost us $114 for the night.
[Photo: Juliana Shallcross for HotelChatter]
Hotel Delays / Hotel News / Viva Vegas / Delano Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / Las Vegas Hotels / → All Tags
Delano Las Vegas Won't Roll The Dice Until 2014
The original Delano Hotel in Miami.
Another day, another hotel to cross off the Master List of Worldwide Hotel Openings
Today, it's the Delano Las Vegas which was set to open in Mandalay Bay's THEhotel by December 2013. But now VegasInc.com reports the opening will most likely happen in the first quarter of 2014. The hotel's own website is actually saying "January 14" but we know better than to trust that. However, once the renovations are complete, the Delano will stick around for at least ten years. In case you need a refresher, here's what Delano has in store for Vegas:
