Viva Las Vegas

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10 April 2012

It's 8pm and the Fountains of Bellagio are dancing.

The vast lake at the front of the Bellagio hotel and casino on Las Vegas Boulevard - aka the Strip - is cascading to the strains of Frank Sinatra singing Luck be a Lady Tonight.

Each day, at regular intervals, hundreds of jets of water shimmy and shoot skywards in time with the music to the cheers of an appreciative crowd on the sidewalk.

This ostentatious folly is just a taste of what lies beyond the waterfront at this premier Vegas fun palace.

Following the prevailing fashion for themed hotels, the five-star Bellagio models itself on the town of the same name by Italy's Lake Como, complete with honey-hued Italianate architecture, marble mosaic floors and ornate gardens studded with cypress trees.

But the Bellagio is a model of restraint for the Strip. Across the road, a half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower announces the Paris Las Vegas hotel, while further along the Statue of Liberty leaves visitors in no doubt that they are entering the New York New York resort.

At Excalibur, guests check in amid fairytale towers and turrets, while the Luxor is enclosed in a giant black pyramid guarded by a golden sphinx.

Yet the days of theming hotels may be coming to an end with the opening of City Center. An unsightly wasteland of dingy shops, casinos and shabby hotels at the heart of the Strip has been replaced by a radical new urban resort designed by eight of the world's leading architects, adding a touch of 21st- century sophistication to this brash desert highway.

The $8.5 billion, 67-acre cluster of five-star hotels, residences and high-end shops is the largest privately funded undertaking of its kind in American history, a joint project by MGM Mirage and the now troubled Dubai World. The project was not without turbulence - lawsuits, funding woes - but last week it began opening its doors.

First to cut the red ribbon, on 1 December, was the Vdara Hotel & Spa, a 1,495-suite, non-gaming offering designed by Rafael Viñoly as a 57-storey crescent-shaped structure.

Hard on its heels is Crystals, a luxury three-level shopping mall unveiled last Thursday, with top brands such as Louis Vuitton sharing half a million square feet of space with restaurants including Beso, an outpost of the Hollywood dining room owned by Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker.

By far the most adventurous of the architectural projects, Crystals is designed by Daniel Libeskind and David Rockwell, and provides a striking border with the Strip with its irregular glass and metal facade reminiscent of the mineral after which it takes its name.

Helmut Jahn wins second prize for the Veer Towers, two tilting glass structures containing 335 loft-style residences, now on sale.

But less challenging are The Aria Resort & Casino, a curvaceous 4,004-room behemoth by Pelli Clarke Pelli due to open this month, and The Harmon Hotel, Foster + Partners' lozenge of blue glass, which won't accept guests into its 400 rooms until later next year.

The most recognisable hotel name for British visitors will be the new Mandarin Oriental, which has opened with 392 bedrooms and suites with state-of-the-art technology enhancing its signature opulent rooms.

Like its neighbours the Vdara and The Harmon, the property is forging the way for a new generation of lifestyle hotels, not just for its lack of theme but also for its efforts to encourage visitors to the Strip with interests other than working the slots and tables day and night, as it doesn't house a casino.

Within Kohn Pedersen Fox's sleek 47-storey tower, interior designer Adam Tihany (whose previous projects include Aureole at the Mandalay Bay, with its famous Wine Tower) has used a palette of dark tones with light accents to create smart spaces such as the Mandarin Bar and Tea Lounge on the 23rd floor, where guests can disengage from the gambling scene while keeping an eye on the comings and goings on the Strip below through picture windows.

Twist, the hotel's gourmet dining room led by Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, serving classic French cuisine with a modern spin, adds to Vegas's growing portfolio of world-class restaurants which are shaking off the city's bargain buffet image and providing a different focus for an evening out.

Most significantly for Vegas is the addition of a new top-end spa, a market the city fathers would dearly like to exploit.

Mandarin Oriental has created a two-level retreat for its Eastern-inspired wellness therapies, with Aromatherapy Associates products, raising the bar with 17 treatment rooms, including seven couples' suites, areas for relaxation and water experiences, a fitness centre, yoga studio and swimming pool with 20 cabañas.

Mandarin Oriental and City Center offer Las Vegas an excellent chance to promote itself as a lifestyle destination for the 21st century - but it's long odds that the city will lose its true image as the world's favourite gambling den.

THE FLIGHT
British Airways has new return fares from Heathrow to Las Vegas from £514, for departures in January, www.ba.com.

THE PACKAGE
British Airways is offering a three-night break at the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel from £768pp room only including return flights, for departures in January, www.ba.com/lasvegas.

THE HOTEL
The Mandarin Oriental has doubles from £343 per night. Until 31 March, the hotel is offering one complimentary night when you book one or more consecutive nights.
www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas.

THE HOTELS
Bellagio, www.bellagio.com.
Treasure Island, www.treasureisland.com.
Paris Las Vegas, www.parislasvegas.com.
New York New York, www.nynyhotelcasino.com.
Excalibur, www.excalibur.com; Luxor,www.luxor.com.

THE INFORMATION
www.citycenter.com.
www.visitlasvegas.co.uk.

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