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Las Vegas
When money is no object: Fun at all costs
When the monied grow weary of the casino, they ensconce themselves in the luxury that the rest of us cannot afford. Cheers to the $1,000 martini.
By MARY ANN HEMPHILL
Published November 6, 2005
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[Photo: MGM]
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| Skylofts, the boutique hotel atop the MGM Grand, has a big spectacular factor: This living room features 24-foot floor to ceiling windows. |
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LAS VEGAS - Until a few years ago, one had to be a high roller to revel in this city's wretched excess. Then the tourism folks realized that there were tourists who didn't gamble, but who would happily part with big wads of cash to partake of the lavish lifestyle that once was the exclusive domain of "Big Julie" from Chicago and his kind.
Welcome to Sin City's new democracy, where $15,000 rooms, $2,000 cocktails and $3,000 pedicures are available to anyone with enough money.
One of the most notable developments in the epicenter of excess is the emergence of over-the-top hotel suites, many larger than your home. Special concierges, 24-hour butler service and separate VIP entrances are standard amenities.
Skylofts is a separate boutique hotel on the top two floors of the MGM Grand. The 51 two-story Skylofts have a contemporary design with an immediate "wow" factor: 24-foot-tall, floor-to-ceiling windows. These provide Vegas Strip-to-mountain views.
Butler James Hogg pointed out the $25,000 Bang & Olufsen TV (whose four-language remote also controls the drapes and lights), a 500-album music library, the 500-thread-count Egyptian cotton bedding, the lush orange cashmere throw.
You need never miss a second of your favorite TV show - is it CSI? There is a TV screen in the bathroom mirror and a 32-inch screen at the infinity-edge tub in the master bath.
Frequent Skyloft guests may find their monograms on the pillowcases.
Price and space top out at $10,000 for the 6,000-square-foot, three-bedroom Skyloft, which of course has a billiard room.
Guests in the Tower Suites and Fairway Villas at the dazzling new Wynn Las Vegas have exclusive use of two pools, and first-floor Fairway Villas have infinity edge plunge pools.
The Fairway Villas offer a view unusual for Las Vegas greenery: The villas (from $1,200 to $5,000 a night) are scattered along the edge of the Tom Fazio-designed golf course, which is exclusively for guests of the Wynn Las Vegas. A round of golf costs $500.
The $5,000-a-night, 4,000-square-foot, two-bedroom Chairman and Presidential Suites top the Bellagio's Spa Tower. The tranquility established by reflecting pools in the entries continues in the solariums with fireplaces, indoor gardens and fountains.
"Guests in these suites like to be waited on and are used to immediate resolution of a request," says Caryn Christiansen, lead butler for the Spa Tower.
Understandably, very special doors open for those whose casino credit line is in the tens of millions and, sometimes, also for those who are willing to cough up the price of a Honda Civic Sedan for a nightly room.
"Invited guests," a refined term for high rollers, are offered stays in accommodations commensurate with their level of play - an intricate combination of playing time, game speed and amount played.
The Venetian's Chairman Suites and the MGM Grand's Mansion's villas are usually reserved for the highest of the high rollers, but other guests can occasionally reserve a room, if available and if approved by casino officials.
Filling the Venetian's 6,000- to 8,000-square-foot Chairman Suites with onyx sinks, platinum bath fixtures, jade sculptures, Murano chandeliers, Asian antiques, handwoven Tibetan rugs, semi-precious stone drawer pulls and wall coverings of silk and rice paper ran the cost for each of the five suites to a reported $5-million.
When available, these rooms go for $10,000 to $15,000 a night.
Prices at some of the Vegas shops are similarly atmospheric. At the Wynn's Esplanade, a dedicated shopper can spring for a $1.5-million vintage Cartier tiara at Wynn & Co. Jewelry, then search for a glass slipper at Manolo Blahnik - the only Blahnik store outside New York.
In the Bellagio, Regali's eclectic and expensive array of goods ranges from a $20,000 first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird to a $4,000 Baby Bugatti, a functional scale model of the classic race car.
Pampering is requisite before an evening in Glitter Gulch. For a glow rivaling the neon on the Strip, book the Bellagio spa's Egyptian Gold Body Treatment ($150) or the Venetian's SpaClub's 18 Carats treatment ($255 to $265). Both leave the body shimmering with real gold dust.
The truly decadent book the $3,000 (for two people) after-hours pedicure at the Amp Salon, inside the Palms Resort Casino. While beautiful, lingerie-clad women provide the pedicures, the two clients, who have exclusive use of the candlelit salon with its chairs draped in black satin for the occasion, sip Cristal and nibble lobster tails.
Las Vegas has become the new home for celebrity chefs. You can order a $32 DB East Burger (ground sirloin stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles) at the Daniel Boulud Brasserie.
Or, gather several friends to order from the esoteric tasting menu, for six to eight diners, at Okada. You first discuss your menu with the chef; there are no limitations, except for the minimum charge: $1,200.
Both of those restaurants are at the Wynn Las Vegas.
N9NE Steakhouse's $69 margarita is a real bargain compared to the MGM Grand's Teatro Euro Bar's $2,200 "High Limit Kir Royale" (Louis Roederer Cristal Rose champagne, Hardy Perfection cognac, Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire and fresh muddled raspberries).
At the Bellagio's Prime Steakhouse, a one-ounce shot of the rare Chivas Regal Royal Salute 50-Year-Old will set you back $1,050.
While "the little people" pocket a swizzle stick from the Golden Nugget for their scrapbooks, "the beautiful people" are more likely to tote home diamond- and ruby-encrusted swizzle sticks from their $1,000 martinis at Body English. This drink, the Presidential, includes Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac and Dom Perignon champagne.
Whether your day ends at midnight or at dawn, unique butlers are at your service at Skylofts: The Spa Butler provides themed bathing experiences: "Passion" includes fresh rose petals in the tub, candles, aromatherapy fragrances of ylang ylang and patchouli, a Moet & Chandon rose, and spicy Amber Body massage oil.
The Dream Butler offers a selection of eight pillows. As you drift off to sleep on the Mediflow Water Pillow or on the Snore-No-More, repeat the Las Vegas mantra: "Nothing in moderation."
- Mary Ann Hemphill is a freelance writer living in Newport Beach, Calif.
IF YOU GO
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the following; all numbers are toll-free unless preceded by (702):
HOTELS:
Bellagio: 1-888-987-6667; www.bellagiolasvegas.com Caesars Palace: 1-800-634-6661; www.caesarspalace.com Skylofts at the MGM Grand: ; 1-877-646-5638; www.skyloftsmgmgrand.com One-bedroom LOFTS, $800 to $1,500; two bedrooms, $2,500 to $5,000; three bedrooms, $5,000 to $10,000. Venetian: Suite reservations, 702 414-4100 or toll-free at 1-877-857-1861; www.venetian.com Wynn Las Vegas: (702) 770-7100 or 1-877-321-9966; www.wynnlasvegas.com Salon Suites range from $750 to $1200. Fairway Villas: One bedroom is from $1,200 to $4,500; two bedroom villas from $1,700 to $5,000. SHOPPING AND PAMPERING
AMP Afterhours Pedicure: Thursday through Saturday only. For reservations, contact Tobey Balzano at 702-942-6909 or Tobey.Balzano@Palms.com
Manolo Blahnik: in the Wynn Esplanade, 702 770-3477; www.wynnlasvegas.com
Regali: in the Bellagio, 702 693-8790; www.bellagiolasvegas.com
The Bellagio spa: 702 693-7472; www.bellagiolasvegas.com Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian: (702) 414-3600 or 1-877-220-2688; www.venetian.com
Wynn & Co. Jewelry: In the Wynn Esplanade, 702 770-3520; www.wynnlasvegas.com
DINING AND ENTERTAINMENT
Daniel Boulud Brasserie: In the Wynn Las Vegas, 1-888-352-3463; www.wynnlasvegas.com
N9NE Steakhouse: In the Palms Resort Casino, 702 933-9900; www.n9negroup.com
Prime Steakhouse: In the Bellagio, 1-877-234-6358; www.bellagiolasvegas.com
Teatro Euro Bar: In the MGM Grand, 702 891-3695; www.mgmgrand.com
Okada: In the Wynn Las Vegas, 1-888-352-3463; www.wynnlasvegas.com
GENERAL INFORMATION
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority: 702 892-0711; www.lvcva.com
[Last modified November 4, 2005, 10:41:03]
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