05_773344 ch01.qxp 2/23/06 11:52 PM Page 12 ACCOMM O COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 05_773344 ch01.qxp 2/23/06 11:52 PM Page 13 M ODATIONS 1 05_773344 ch01.qxp 2/23/06 11:52 PM Page 14 14 Map 2: Las Vegas Accommodations Bonanza Rd. 95 1 BonanzaBonanza Rd.Rd. FremontFremont St.St. t S . ExperienceExperience y e w c k u P r 0 0.5 mi l 515 B a OgdenO Ave. St. Bruce r . g t t de 95 n S n FremontFr St.A e em v 93 in e C on . 0 0.5 km a t St. nnev MainM St. BoBo ille d Dr. v . AltaAlta Dr. l d B v l . r A B t ve . s d C a d Monorail n g 582 v . o l a t e ACCOMMODATIONS r n B S i V SAHARA G s Monorail n s g i a a DOWNTOWNDOWNTOWN n a CasinoC Ctr. Blvd. station i LasL Vegas Blvd. MainM St. K . arleston Blvd.lvd. L CharlestonCh B CharlestonCharleston Blvd.Blvd. n i GATEWAYGATEWAY t r 599 a DISTRICTDISTRICT M Martin L. King Blvd. King L. Martin . t S . r n ) i D 15 a p i See “Map 4: Downtown r MainM St. t key Blvd. OakeyOakey Blvd.Blvd. S OakeyOa Blvd. Accommodations” e o h on page 48. h T c ( n StratosphereStratosphere a R Rancho Dr. d See “Map 3: Strip v l Accommodations” B e. SaharaSahara Ave.Av SaharaSahara Ave.Ave. s on page 47. a g e SAHARA V s . ren Ave. y r a KarenKa Ave. D LasL Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) w J J k o o P CircusC Pkwy. i e h CircusC rc Dr. Vegas V c ir u a c s l l . n u W e s t . D a y r . S . Dr. RanchoR Dr. d LV HILTON CircusCircus Br o R LasLas VegasVegas a l RivieraRiviera Blvd.Blvd. w d a CircusCircus d n n n i a r CountryCountry ClubClub a t n 2 l s D a (private)(private) y u NORTHNORTH r r . C d a 15 n IndustrialI Rd. LasLas VegasVegas a M Maryland Maryland L STRIPSTRIPConventionConvention St. Canada La StardustStardust Rd.Rd. CenterCenter Dr.Dr. ConventionConvention rt Inn Rd. CCenterenter ese DesertDesert InnInn Rd.d. D DesertDesert InnInn Rd.Rd. 604 LV CONVENTION CENTER FashionFashion ShowShow 3 SierraSierra VistaVista DDr.r. MallMall WynnWynn GolfGolf andand Sprin WynnWynn CountryCountry ClubClub g Mountain Rd. LasLas VegasVegas BoulevardBoulevard (Resort(Resort guestsguests MallMall LLasas VVegasegas only)only) . d NationalNational . R e TwainTwain Ave.Ave. Sands Ave. v GGolfolf CClublub MirageMirage A SandsSands ExpoExpo e n s i o d s a n . MID-MID- HARRAH’S/ r e y a P Paradise Rd. Paradise w IMPERIAL PALACE w S Swenson Ave. STRIPSTRIP k P FLAMINGO/ CaesarsCaesars CAESARS PALACE Pkwy. 12 PalacePalace 605 FlamingoFlamingo Rd.Rd. 4 FlamingoFl Rd. amingo Rd. ) ) . t p p S i BALLY’S & PARIS i 10 d r r 5 r t t AmeriSuites 11 n e c a S S l 9 n y e e r e . Atrium Suites 9 r a p h h UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY D . S Spencer St. Spencer T T M Maryland Maryland d ( a ( 8 r R Green Valley Ranch 13 t l on Ave. OFOF NEVADA,NEVADA, . m . ar a HarmonH Ave. HarmonHarmon Ave.Ave. a i n d d i r t S Hard Rock Hotel v v LASLAS VEGASVEGAS s . l l 11 k u n B B n d L & Casino 8 a n l I Industrial Rd. r s s a F Frank Sinatra Dr. Sinatra Frank a a v Thomas & g g MGMMGM o Hawthorn Suites 7 e e K GGrandrand Ln. Koval Mack Center V V ParadiseP Rd. Hyatt Lake Las Vegase. 14 MGM GRAND a TropicanaTropicana Ave.Av s s . Ave.Ave. TropicanaTropicana r a a a y 6 L d L JW Marriottw 1 i s k e . P . e R t v Las Vegasd Hilton 2 SOUTHSOUTH S d A 7 n r RenoReno Ave.Ave. a e l STRIPSTRIP n c Orleansy 6 o r n s a e LuxorLuxor n p e M 15 Palms Pkwy Maryland 5 S Spencer St. Spencer a w S MandalayMandalay HaciendaHaciend Swenson Ave. BayBay Rd.Rd. Ave.Ave. Renaissance 3 M CCARRANCARRAN Rio 4 INTERNATIONALINTERNATIONAL International Ritz-Carlton 15 AIRPORTAIRPORT Terminal 605 Sam’s Town 12 Russell Rd. McCarran Sunset Station 16 Air Terminal 13-16 Terrible’s 10 05_773344 ch01.qxp 2/23/06 11:52 PM Page 15 15 Basic Stuff ACCOMMODATIONS Nowhere else on earth will you find another skyline like that of Las Vegas Boulevard South—otherwise known as the Strip. A Disneyesque Arthurian castle abuts an Egyptian pyramid and the Statue of Liberty. A volcano explodes across the street from Venice’s Saint Mark’s Square. Truly, Las Vegas has shoul- dered aside Hollywood as America’s Dream Factory. Historian Michael Ventura calls Las Vegas “the last great mythic city that Western civilization will ever create”; art critic Robert Hughes calls Las Vegas “a work of art: bad art, but art nonetheless.” The extravagant pleasure palaces lining the Strip make a bold, brash architectural statement, with developers increasingly crowing about architectural integrity and authenticity. Not that we can see a lick of such things, apart from the meticulous attention to detail when creating scale replicas of international landmarks, whether half-size (the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel), full (the Venetian’s Doge’s Palace), or oversize (Luxor’s Sphinx). In Las Vegas the hotel business is a staggering success story. The city has a total room inventory of more than 135,000, about twice that of New York. The five properties at the intersection of Tropicana and the Strip alone contain more rooms than all of San Francisco. Yet the Strip has an amazing hotel occupancy level of around 90%. Development, expansion, and large-scale renovation continue unabated. Far and away the biggest hotel story of 2005 was the opening of the $2.7-billion Wynn Las Vegas by longtime casino mogul Steve Wynn. He bought the old Desert Inn and attached golf club, demolished everything, and erected his (quite literally) signature copper tower in their place. The debut of the Wynn spurred all kinds of competing big plans among the remaining unmerged casino conglomerates. The downmarket Bourbon Street closed in late 2005, and it faces likely destruction as its plot of land gets absorbed into larger, adjacent projects. The New Frontier will face the wrecking ball in early 2006 to make way for the new Trump International Hotel & Tower. And the Boardwalk gets flattened in mid-2006 under the footprint of the $6-billion CityCenter project. Visitors no longer need confine themselves to Vegas proper. Our favorite luxury resort can be found on a man-made lake in Henderson, in the form of the Lake Las Vegas Resort, a sprawling Mediterranean-style property that includes a Ritz- Carlton, Hyatt Regency, and chic shopping (and condo rentals) at MonteLago Village. The resort also offers three golf courses that feature both high desert and lakeside scenery. 05_773344 ch01.qxp 2/23/06 11:52 PM Page 16 16 Las Vegas possesses 8 of the world’s 10 largest hotels and 17 of the 20 largest in the United States. A 2,000-room prop- erty is considered average size here. No wonder they’re cities unto themselves, with everything from spas to bowling alleys, giving guests no reason to leave the hotel—and, more impor- tant, the casinos, since gaming is still the name of the game (note that main-floor elevator buttons are marked “C” for casino, instead of “L” for lobby). ACCOMMODATIONS In that respect, however, things have been changing here. Nongaming revenues are increasing at nearly quadruple the rate of gaming revenues, accounting now for over half of total income. Promoters these days talk of Las Vegas as a true resort, not merely a gambling destination. Every new hotel that’s built includes a massive spa, glorified pool area, and fitness facili- ties—not to mention gourmet eateries, name-brand shops, in- house attractions, and razzle-dazzle shows. Guest rooms themselves have been improving; they’re no longer dark, dingy, cramped chambers calculated to make guests flee to the casino. The typical directory of services looks like a small town’s phone book—and it’s printed in at least five languages (English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and German). Developers up the ante in a high-stakes gamble for the tourist dollar. Older hotels constantly receive face-lifts (befitting a city renowned for its plastic surgeons). In the newly upscale Vegas, kitschier properties like Circus Circus and Excalibur have “classed up” their cheap-motel fantasy-suite decor. In a tornado of remodeling, the MGM Grand slew the 80-foot roaring lion at its main entrance (which had spooked Asian gamblers to no end) and demolished the tacky Emerald City just inside (including the animatronic Dorothys, Totos, and Munchkins). Unfortunately, in the rush to play “Can you top this?” many hotels are constructed little better than mud huts in New Guinea (you may be able to hear your neighbors shower, celebrate their winnings, or consum- mate their quickie marriages). Typically, Strip resorts settle about 2 to 8 inches just after construction because they’re built on rock- like caliche; some sections of Mandalay Bay settled as much as 16 inches, requiring 500 steel pipes to be bored into its founda- tion to stabilize the tower.