Game On: How 3 New Vegas Hotels are Shaking up the Scene
Nighttime on the Strip (Photo: Eric Lo/Moment Open/Getty Images)
Las Vegas is on a winning roll again. The city is on pace to bring in more than 41 million visitors this year, a big climb from the record 39.7 million who came in 2012. And when Sam Nazarian’s stylish, sexy SLS Las Vegas opened on August 23, it was the first casino-hotel to debut on the Strip since the Cosmopolitan in 2010.
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The SLS isn’t alone in bringing new hotness to Las Vegas Boulevard this fall. Also joining the fray are the remake of two Strip hotels: Delano Las Vegas (formerly THEhotel at Mandalay Bay) opened Sept. 2, and the LINQ Hotel & Casino (formerly the Imperial Palace and then the short-lived Quad) will welcome its first guests on Oct. 30.
Here’s a look at how all three of these properties could change the game in Vegas.
SLS Las Vegas
The entrance to the new SLS (Photo: SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino/Facebook)
With a design team including Philippe Starck and musician-turned-interiors expert Lenny Kravitz, this casino-resort is a sleek mega-outpost of a hotel brand that is based in Beverly Hills. And the SLS is LA luxury meets Las Vegas local, so the prices at many of the restaurants are gentle. Think $10 plates of LP-sized red velvet pancakes that can easily feed two people at the Griddle Cafe and the big-enough-to-share $29 Hakka Fried Rice Pot with Chinese sausage and pork belly at the awesome Ku Noodle. If you prefer dining alone, there are $7.65 Neapolitan-style margherita personal pizzas at 800 Degrees.
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The Celebrity Chef: Chef José Andrés’ Bazaar Meat, with its 600-degree oven, is so much more than a steakhouse. Along with the requisite cote du bouef, there are whole suckling pigs, three-pound lamb shoulders, and chefs behind the seafood/crudo bar preparing uni, toro, and gorgeous spot prawns. Bazaar Meat is a new concept for Andrés, as is his Ku Noodle, which elevates casual Asian food.
The grill at Bazaar Meat (Photo: Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres at SLS Las Vegas/Facebook)
Don’t Miss: Burgers, beer, and baseball — it all gets a twist at the Umami Burger Beer Garden & Sports Book. Place your bet inside, then go outside to simultaneously watch the game and enjoy views of the Strip. Pro tip: the sausages, including a bacon cheddar dog, are as good as the burgers.
Umami Burger (Photo: Umami Burger/Facebook)
Favorite Amenity: You’ll find 10,000 square feet of Fred Segal shopping spread throughout the property — it feels like a better-curated and more youth-oriented version of Barneys New York.
The Nightlife Scene: With a capacity of just 168, the Sayers Club live-music venue is a hot spot for intimate shows. Tove Lo and Semi-Precious Weapons have already performed here; keep an eye out for last-minute bookings by arena-worthy talent. As at the original Sayers Club in Hollywood, the surprise is often the biggest part of the fun.
Tove Lo performing live at the Sayers Club (Photo: Brenton Ho, Powers Imagery/The Sayers Club at SLS Las Vegas/Facebook)
Delano Las Vegas
The view of the Delano (Photo: MGM Resorts International)
A collaboration between MGM Resorts International and Morgans Hotel Group, the Delano mixes Miami chic with Vegas cool. There’s a desert-inspired stone entryway to the hotel, and the ultra-white, 725-square-foot one-bedroom suites feature photos of sexy underwater shenanigans.
The Celebrity Chef: World-renowed chef Alain Ducasse will transform his sky-high miX restaurant and lounge into Rivea, serving French and Italian food when it opens in 2015. The space will offer some of the most breathtaking views of the Strip you’ll ever see.
The panorama from Rivea (Photo: MIX Las Vegas/Facebook)
Don’t Miss: Also opening in 2015 is Delano Beach Club, an exclusive South Beach-themed experience (don’t be surprised if you see a lot of white furniture and drapery) just steps from the family fun at Mandalay Bay Beach.
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Favorite Amenity: If Rover’s always wanted to be a high roller, this is his spot. It’s difficult to find a nice Strip hotel where you can bring your pet, but Delano has dog-friendly suites and even a menu for canine gourmets who want to eat chicken breast with haricot verts and roasted potatoes. Walking and brushing services are also available.
Nightlife Scene: The Franklin bar, with more than two dozen craft beers by the bottle and a serious but fun cocktail list, doubles as a performance venue, with on-the-rise DJs. The Delano Daiquiri (with Bacardi 1909 Heritage rum) and a 1944 Classic Mai Tai (with Appleton Estate Reserve Jamaican rum) will make you forget that you’re in a lobby bar.
The Franklin Bar at the Delano (Photo: MGM Resorts International)
The LINQ Hotel & Casino
(Photo: James Marvin Phelps/Flickr)
The Imperial Palace was long known as one of the more miserable places to stay in Vegas, but the modern makeover into the LINQ resort promises floor-to-ceiling windows, cool murals that evoke Vegas glamour, and a touchscreen system for restaurant reservations. The hotel will keep its status as one of the more affordable spots in Vegas: introductory room rates start at $89.
A rendering of a room at the Linq (Photo: The Linq)
The Celebrity Chef: Whether you love him, hate him, or have no real opinion, there’s no denying that Guy Fieri packs them in. So much of the menu at Vegas Kitchen & Bar is the kind of “kicked-up” food you might only want to eat on a dare, but feel free to take your chances on dishes like Buffalo wings made with Fireball whiskey or pepperoni-wrapped breadstick twists with a provolone and sausage dip. The dessert assault known as Guy’s Cheesecake Challenge is topped with potato chips, pretzels, and hot fudge. Unfortunately, there’s no prize of any kind for finishing it.
Guy’s Cheesecake Challenge (Photo: kennejima/Flickr)
Don’t Miss: Hipsters can shop for limited-edition sneakers and streetwear at 12AM Run, co-owned by rapper Nas and kicks fiend Nick Sakai. The LINQ’s retail area also includes Kitson, an LA staple that’s sort of like a celebrity-friendly version of Spencer Gifts.
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Favorite Amenity: You can get your action fix even at the lobby bar, which will have table games along with wines on tap.
Nightlife Scene: The hotel is, of course, adjacent to the new LINQ shopping/dining/entertainment complex, home to the High Roller observation wheel and Brooklyn Bowl, with its live music, Questlove DJ sets, and much-beloved fried chicken.
The High Roller observation wheel (Photo: Anna Magal/Flickr)
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