A look at the year’s triumphs, failures, and developments in the city’s hospitality industry….
Welcome to VEGAS 411’s 2023 Best-of, Worst-of, and WTF. Last year’s entry ruffled a few feathers, resulting in some social media blasting and an unpleasant confrontation or two around town. Right, Randy? But that’s part of the risk when your column is entitled “Vegas Unfiltered“. Not every topic will be peachy when you approach things from all angles…and that’s the point!
In this entry, I’ll take a look at the resorts that keep tourists coming to our fair city—the classic names, brand-new destinations, and a few leaky boats that are hoping to be rescued. Let’s get started, shall we?
New Names, Different Games?
MIRAGE to HARD ROCK LAS VEGAS
The legendary Mirage Hotel & Casino was purchased in a high-profile transaction by Hard Rock Hotels. While the name hasn’t yet changed to Hard Rock Las Vegas, the inner workings have. MGM Rewards was replaced with Unity, a global rewards program. The landmark Mirage Volcano was snuffed out before Formula One rolled into town, and a new tower in the shape of a guitar will rise in that spot. The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil is reportedly winding down, as well. See it while you can.
BALLY’s to HORSESHOE
Bally’s Hotel Casino was rebranded as Horseshoe Las Vegas. Badly in need of an update, the center-Strip resort is undergoing a major facelift. Word is that the Bellagio-facing JUBILEE Tower will be integrated into the Paris Las Vegas Resort, reducing HORSESHOE‘s room count by 756. The transition will reportedly cost $100 million, and the tower will be rebranded as “Versailles”.
Grand Bazaar Shops in front of the property is undergoing demolition as well. D.O.A. when it opened in 2014, the hideous shopping gallery will rise even higher this time. Currently boasting WAHLBURGERS as its centerpiece, Grand Bazaar Shops will soon add OLE RED, a four-story $30 million entertainment spot from Blake Shelton.
The JUBILEE Showroom said farewell to EXTRAVAGANZA earlier in the year, then welcomed the delightful DITA LAS VEGAS in October (review here). New restaurants and bars are being added throughout the property, including Jack Binion’s Steak, Guy Fieri’s FLAVORTOWN SPORTS KITCHEN, and THE LOCK SPEAKEASY.
ARTISAN to LEXI
Mention ARTISAN HOTEL to a local and you might get a chuckle in return. An innocuous building tucked under the I-15/Sahara Avenue interchange, ARTISAN was well known for renting its entire hotel at a flat rate. That made it ground zero for porn shoots and sex parties.
These days, the rebranded LEXI HOTEL operates under new ownership and a classy, boutique experience. Gone are the dark, haunted mansion motif and hundreds of creepy, framed paintings. In their place is a South Beach-reminiscent vibe with casual sophistication at its core. Close to the Strip and nicely affordable, the LEXI offers a lush poolside hangout, meeting spaces, and dining at the LEXI BAR.
Most uniquely, LEXI extends a warm welcome to cannabis users. The hotel boasts rooms on the fourth floor that “are outfitted with cutting-edge air filtration technology to ensure the only thing that lingers is a good time.” Corporate and event buyouts are still welcome, too.
Shifting Alliances
Caesars Resorts and MGM Resorts are the two biggest players on the Strip. To keep stockholders happy, they’ve been known to sell off and acquire properties occasionally. As mentioned above, the former MGM/MIRAGE group let the Mirage go, and Caesars officially did the same with Rio Las Vegas.
Rio Las Vegas was acquired by Dreamscape in 2019. The NYC-based company officially took over operations of the hotel and casino during the 4th quarter, a somewhat painful period in which much of the casino was out of commission. The always-understaffed reservation desk took a hit as well when self-service check-in kiosks were removed. And that’s just one of the MANY problems unlucky guests will encounter.
Check out this viral video from prolific video blogger Jacob Orth:
Once a popular and fun destination, Rio is essentially a ghost town. The relatively new Duomo entertainment space and Cupola Cafe folded this fall. Both towers have been without lights for several weeks as of this writing, and the huge sign along Flamingo Avenue is also dark. The few restaurants that bother to open close very early, and room rates have plunged as low as $22 (before taxes and fees).
You may have heard that MGM Resorts took over Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. Despite being bought for $1.63 billion last year, the high-end hotel has yet to merge its Identity players program with MGM Rewards, The previously-announced “sometime next February” was changed last week to say “later in 2024”. How hard can it be? After all, MGM survived a catastrophic cyberattack late this year. Or did they?
WORST OVERALL RESORT – The STRAT (formerly STRATOSPHERE)
Sure, it’s right in the heart of a nasty ghetto, surrounded by drug dealers, hookers, and the homeless. But those $18 room rates (plus taxes/fees) should make up for it, right? Wrong! The STRAT Hotel & Casino has done everything possible to sabotage your experience.
The barbed wire adds a nice “prison camp” vibe
It begins the moment you arrive by car. Prepare to pay a hefty fee (plus tip) to valet, or enter a nightmare at the STRAT parking garage. The situation is so awful that it warranted coverage in this article.
Once inside, prepare to wait another very long time. Bargain hunters outnumber reservation agents by a wide margin, and the check-in desk is perpetually understaffed. During your stay, expect restaurants to close absurdly early or without notice. The buffet permanently shuttered in 2020, and the cafe that once operated 24/7 has whacked-out hours that make zero sense.
Top of the World Restaurant is expensive and mediocre in food quality. Each guest is required to spend a minimum of $55 at the rooftop dining establishment, which offers a birds-eye view of the horizon….and the crack hoes directly below.
Current owners of The STRAT are part of the True Rewards program, which includes dozens of PTs and Sienna Gold taverns around the valley. But you won’t get the same deals and rewards at PT’s Wings and Sports. Prices are higher, the menu is shorter, and service can be surly.
Unlike each of the neighborhood PT’s Taverns, the one inside STRAT casino is NOT 24 hours. It doesn’t even open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and some days only for eight hours. Inside a Vegas casino. Let that sink in.
Head upstairs and stroll through the nearly-abandoned shopping promenade, which features dozens of walled-off storefronts. And a McDonald’s, staffed with the nastiest employees in the entire city. Their barks are as bad as their bites.
As for the rooms, the best word to describe them is “adequate”. Not awful, not especially worn down, just….there. A bed, a toilet, and a shower. Scan through the STRAT Facebook page, and there’s nary a photo of their 2,444 rooms. No boastable amenities, nothing to recommend, and only the cheapest basic toiletries are provided. But you still get hit up for a mandatory $44.30 in resort fees for each day of your stay.
With nearby hotels like Sahara and Palace Station (free parking) and Ahern (no resort fees and free parking) offering comparable total prices and a far better overall experience, there’s really no reason to stay at The STRAT. It’s rapidly following Rio Las Vegas down the drainpipe. You’ve been warned.
OPENINGS
Durango Hotel & Casino – 12/5/23
It’s been a minute since Station Casinos opened up a new destination. Durango Hotel & Casino was promised years ago, but once construction began, the beautiful property seemed to rise overnight. Bright, cheerful, and luxurious, Durango Hotel & Casino brings Strip-quality amenities to the valley’s fast-growing southwest area, minus outrageous prices and chaos.
Durango may be the most “outdoorsy” casino in the city. Just about every major venue has terrace seating, patios, and water features. Floor-to-ceiling windows, natural lighting, and live greenery add to the effect. Unfortunately, air filtration doesn’t seem to be on par, with smokiness being a common complaint since opening on December 5th. Expect that to change.
We’ve already published a review of SUMMER HOUSE, one of the restaurants. Others will follow, and I’ll most likely spend a night in the hotel for an upcoming report. In the meantime, enjoy free parking, a wide open gaming floor, and shiny new everything. Also, be sure to sign up for Station’s BOARDING PASS loyalty program to access perks and discounts.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas – 12/13/23
While media coverage was relatively tame for Durango’s reveal, nearly every news crew and colleague flocked to the Strip eight days later. That’s when FONTAINEBLEAU LAS VEGAS finally arrived. Announced in May of 2005, the enormous project took eighteen and a half years to complete. For the vast majority of that period, it was a rusting eyesore…a home for rats, birds, and vagrants who managed to breach security fences.
A sister project to Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the Strip resort promised to bring a South Florida vibe to the desert. Too bad that Mandalay Bay’s DELANO beat it to that goal by nine years. And since Fontainebleau LV‘s architecture is nearly two decades old, is it really necessary to visit immediately? For this writer, the answer is “no”. The looky-loos can have a go, first.
Located on the north end of the Strip, FB’s nearest neighbors are CIRCUS CIRCUS and a skeevy Travelodge. Nevertheless, you’ll pay an arm and a leg to stay there. After fees and taxes are figured in, the most basic tier of room will cost you about $300 per night, and nearly double that on a non-event weekend. At least the $45 (plus tax) resort fee includes parking…and free local calls!
Photo by Rossetti Public Relations via Facebook
Guests are already complaining about exorbitant dining costs, tacked-on service fees, and a parking garage so chaotic that it can easily take an hour to reach the street. And yet, our counterparts are describing a massive casino with very little action. The fact that tier-matching from other resorts was reportedly halted after one day has done nothing to lure new gamblers inside.
If you’re detecting a bit of cynicism here, you’re not mistaken. FONTAINEBLEAU LAS VEGAS is a nearly $4 billion curse. Paying Justin Timberlake $6 million to toss the first dice and sing on opening day isn’t going to change that. Timberlake didn’t even stay at Fontainebleau during the festivities but opted for Wynn Las Vegas instead.
All the hype in the world won’t alter the fact that FONTAINEBLEAU, like the SPHERE and RESORTS WORLD before it, is just another over-hyped glitter ball that Las Vegas never needed. Financial woes are sure to follow, ensuring a stink even stronger than the bird poop still hidden behind its walls.
BEST OVERALL RESORT – Westgate Las Vegas
This one will continue to be a no-brainer. Westgate Las Vegas does everything right. A beautiful historic property that’s been wonderfully restored, impeccably maintained, and still manages to convey a contemporary vibe.
Westgate’s restaurants are top-notch, especially the award-winning EDGE Steakhouse. There are numerous entertainment choices, including Barry Manilow, Soul of Motown, Frankie Valli, magician Jen Kramer, and Comedy Cabaret. The famed International Theater hosts single-night and limited-run concerts, including the amazing Alfie Boe and powerhouse duo ‘Daniel Emmet and Pia Toscano’.
Pia Toscano and Daniel Emmet (photo by Aron Elekes)
Barry Manilow soars at Westgate International Theater
The Westgate carries the unfair reputation of being a timeshare trap. And while it does indeed have salespeople, I’ve never been cornered or pressured into attending a presentation. Instead, these agents are eager to answer questions and lend a hand. Check-in is always rapid, as their reservation desk is manned 24/7 with enough staff to have your keys prepared in a flash. Even the Cosmo and Aria can’t claim that.
Parking is ample and free, a dedicated monorail stop whisks you to the Strip in a matter of minutes, and the gigantic SUPERBOOK sports betting facility is always bustling. Serenity Spa, located on the pool deck, offers everything you could hope for, including haircuts and pedicures.
Photos by Westgate Las Vegas
Don’t forget to check out the amazing themed suites, including ones that are dedicated year-round to Halloween and Christmas. Best of all, you’ll get Strip-quality lodging and amenities at a far lower price. Why stay anywhere else?
THE GRINCH AWARD – Venetian/Palazzo
A new category for the naughtiest hotel of the year. 2023’s recipient is VENETIAN/PALAZZO. Once upon a time, this was my Favorite Luxury Hotel in Las Vegas. Competing against Bellagio and Wynn in a 2017 article, Palazzo stood out for all the right reasons. But that was when creator/developer Sheldon Adelson was still alive.
The year started badly when powderkeg gun-boy Kyle Rittenhouse scheduled a rally-type event at Venetian’s Oak Room. An outcry from Grand Canal Shoppes tenants and the public prompted VENETIAN to cancel the event. This led to accusations of the hotel caving to “the woke mob” by Rittenhouse himself. The twenty-year-old Wisconsin murderer was acquitted of shooting three men with an assault rifle when he was seventeen. Two of them died from their wounds.
Now owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management, the 7,100-room resort follows the same crooked path as MGM and Caesars Resorts. By that, I mean management/staffing cuts, price gouging, nickel-and-diming, player reward cutbacks, and the dreaded parking fees. As one longtime staffer recently told me, “Sheldon would never approve of this shit”.
Until this year, Palazzo was one of the few Strip hotels that Las Vegas residents were likely to visit regularly. Its location right off Interstate 15 and an easy-access underground parking garage made it a desirable stop for dinner at Grand Lux Cafe. But that garage wasn’t designed for pay-to-exit gates. Now, visitors report lengthy exit times, often exceeding thirty minutes.
Parking-fee gates were installed in early August 2023
Behind the resort’s convention center, the $2 billion-plus SPHERE finally opened. As with Fontainebleau, my colleagues tripped over themselves to treat it like the second coming of Christ. What they don’t tell you is that it’s nearly impossible to reach SPHERE. It sits at the corner of two narrow side roads that couldn’t handle previous vehicle capacity.
Just like Allegiant Stadium, there are only a few hundred parking spaces for thousands of available seats. And you’ll be charged $100.00 to self-park, $125.00 via valet. Otherwise, you’re going to walk walk walk walk from Palazzo‘s chaotic garage (see above). Tickets to the POSTCARDS FROM EARTH 50-minute film can set you back $349.00 each, and concert seats run into the thousands.
SPHERE may look gorgeous from the outside, but it’s hemorrhaging within. After a reported $100 million quarterly loss, SPHERE‘s top dog James Dolan verbally tore into CFO Gautam Ranji, who abruptly quit. Instead of lowering prices to get more bodies through the door, the new plan is to possibly raise prices even higher, which leads us to the next VENETIAN/PALAZZO marketing atrocity.
VOLTAIRE is the most obscenely blatant price-gouge that this writer has ever seen. The luxury entertainment venue, which replaced OPALINE THEATER, combines outrageous ticket prices with a mandatory food/beverage minimum. The moment that you’re seated, the server takes your credit card and pre-charges several hundred dollars per person against your account. So drink up and dive into caviar and cookies, the only food available. You’re paying for it, whether you want to or not.
The only way to avoid table minimums is to purchase a General Admission ticket. Initially priced at $200.00 plus taxes/fees, they’ll now set you back $468.70. And you’re crammed in the rear of the theater with hundreds of other “peasants”, forced to stand throughout the entire evening. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
At one time, VENETIAN went all out for the holidays. Roaming carolers, gigantic trees, “elves” offering hot cocoa and cookies, and an ice rink out front. Try finding any of that this year. After Formula 1 prompted VENETIAN to drain its gondola lake in favor of viewing stands, it also announced the permanent removal of “Street-mosphere” entertainers.
Perhaps the Grinch-iest act of all was pulling the plug on THIS IS CHRISTMAS. Scheduled to return last holiday season, the superlative production was yanked at the 11th hour, after performers had already arrived in Las Vegas for rehearsal. This year it wasn’t on the schedule at all, leaving the gorgeous PALAZZO THEATER vacant and cold. Just like the hearts of VENETIAN‘s current regime.
In the next entry, I’ll cover the best, worst, and most-improved shows of the year. Some of the selections may surprise you. Click HERE to read on.
