Travel Rogue

June 16, 2005

Immensely Impressive: Wynn Las Vegas Hotel

I'll counterweight the Paris Las Vegas hotel experience with a Wynn Las Vegas hotel experience. A friend of mine who owns his own business decided to book a suite at Wynn Las Vegas, the brand new, luxury-beyond-luxury hotel built by Steve Wynn. It was spectacular. Twenty-foot panoramic windows overlooking the strip, granite-topped bar, rain shower, hydrotherapy tub, stunning red couches, a guest bathroom, and a massage room to push it all over the top. The master bathroom was bigger than my master bedroom at home! The casino itself was reserved elegance, there wasn't the gaudy, cringing sound of screaming slot machines, there was no smoky haze over the craps tables, there were high ceilings and flower arrangements. I remember when the Bellagio first opened and I got a glimpse of the Chihuly-flowered lobby ceiling. To me, the Bellagio was a turning point for Las Vegas. The hotel still spent gross amounts of money to attract visitors, but that money was spent on Picassos and a graceful water show set to classical music rather than on the pyrotechnic prattle of Treasure Island's pirate show. Another example of high culture pervading Las Vegas, the small Guggenheim museum situated in the Venetian. On a previous visit, I managed to slip away for an hour to take a tour led by the museum's curator. Food has also stepped up a notch in Vegas. When I was a kid, it used to be all about the $5.95 all-you-can-eat buffet, which featured aspic painted ham or roast beef sitting under the red light of a heat lamp for hours on end. There were also the $6.95 prime rib dinners. I still love those bargain basement dinner deals, but they're not Nobu, they're not Red 8, they're not Aureole. And, Vegas has become a shopping mecca! I used to think that the Forum Shops at Caeser's was heaven, with its laser light show and knick-knacks galore. But since Aladdin re-did the Desert Passage, there is simply no where else to go. The whole place feels like an exotic bazaar with various kiosks and peddlers, and cabbed bikes available to transport you from one end to the other. Desert Passage is also home to my very favorite jewelry shop, a little kiosk just past the hookah vendor. They always seem to have the most unique little bling-blings, I have not once been able to go there without whipping out my credit card for one bauble or another. Hopefully next time I head out to the City of Sin, I won't be there on business. I'll be there for fun.

Posted by carolyn at June 16, 2005 09:24 PM

Comments

Post a comment