Yay!

Looks like I'm making it to the opening of CityCenter. I'll be sharing what I can with you guys through here. I'm going to check out the Mandarin Oriental and Crystals on my visit in mid-December. Then I'll ramp it up with a two day stay at Vdara, followed by the grand opening and first night to the public stay at Aria.

I'll share all the deets as I get 'em. Exciting times!

Review: The M Resort

So being a way too frequent Vegas visitor, and having had a short stop there in August after a horridly hot trip to Hoover Dam, I decided to heed the call and actually plan a stay at the M Resort, a new billion dollar development on the south end of the Vegas Valley.

Developed by the Marnell family, who work extensively in Vegas and built the Rio, pre-Harrah's ownership, the resort exemplifies modern, with an Italian flair. Materials in the casino are rich deep woods and glass, with backlighting and rich colors. Based on this alone I was anxious to stay here. Reviews and word of mouth sold me on the deal.

The Casino

Upon entering the resort, the first thing you encounter from most entries is the casino. Choosing to avoid the port cochere, I quickly grabbed close surface parking and entered from the west side of the casino. Every attention has been paid to making the casino intimate yet not confined. The materials and rich colors, afore mentioned, make everything look high value (think Club Privé.) Limits however let you know this place is for locals, with an abundance of 5 and 10 dollar tables around the joint. The casino is centralized around a media bar, although think squares not circles when you think of around.

Ringed around the casino are the more intermediate restaurants, including Red Cup Cafe, Vig's Deli (24-hour) and other outlets like Baby Cakes and the Drugstore. Along the axis of the tower is the main hall, a grand space containing the high end eateries, access to the pool and spa, registration, and access to the elevators to Velocé, the top floor eatery. On axis with the pool is the main registration lobby, with travertine walls with flowing water creating a serene and very relaxing place to get away from the games and go straight to the hotel.

Take no more than 25 steps to the hotel elevators and you know you're in for a treat. Four elevators service the entire place, letting you know this is an intimate affair.

Room 15121

The elevator sets the tone for a relaxing stay, a large mirror lit around the edges at the rear, low deep yellow lighting and quiet as you ride to your floor. Exit your floor into a windowed lobby with newspapers and a modern take on a floor lamp, showing you the view of the desert to the south of the building. Head down the hall and you'll meet wood versus wallpapered sections, with paintings where there are no doors. Suites are on the end of each hall, each room has it's own DND sign, reminiscent of the models from the Bellagio suite levels. My only complaint here is the choice of LED lighting for the paintings. The harsh blue-white light distracts from the dark wood and rich tone that is around it and typical of the hotel.

Enter the room and you'll notice nothing works. There is a slot next to the door for a keycard. Insert and voila, power! The owners added this to save energy when not needed. It is a bit of a loss for those who need to charge up things when not in the room, but this can be bypassed if needed and or not for the environment by dropping a second room key in the slot.

The layout is typical, bathroom adjacent to entry hall leading down to the main room. The room is dark, but not cavernlike. A pleasant dark wood tone punctuated by earth colors and warm tones that makes the whole thing modern, without being cold.

The entry hallway has one large mirror with a stainless rim, a modern piece that fits in perfectly with the rest of the decor. While I'm at it let me say EVERYTHING is well built and sturdy. The furniture, knockoffs of famous pieces from the Bauhaus and designers like Mies, is wonderfully comfortable and functional. The layout and design reads needs, not fluff like the Palazzo or Venetian. Head into the entry and you'll find...

The main room, in this case a Resort Room with a strip view (although so far off it's like looking from Seattle to Mt. Rainier) with two queen beds. The beds are pillowtop affairs with comfy down duvets and pillows. One of my pillows was missing a pillowcase, although I just yanked another off the second bed, no harm no foul. The headboard is a built in affair encompassing the whole wall and part of the ceiling with padding, mirrors, and two VERY bright reading lights. Also handy is a built in nightstand with a Bose Wave radio, a nice touch although it needs an aux in jack for your iPhone/iPod, or MP3 player of choice. My only complaint here is that nothing is in reach to kill all the lights in the room, the nearest switch being on the wall shared with the bath. As a window-side sleeper this made me a bit annoyed, but the extra exercise reminded me of how comfy the bed was. Sleeping was sound, although not as comfy as a Wynn dreamer but close.

Across from the bed is an all in one unit, featuring two cabinets and drawers for clothes, a built in desk with drawers, and a large LCD tv. This is similar to the units in the upgraded Mirage and TI rooms, only with no connector ports, although several plugs and the all in one phone system are handy. Internet is wireless and included in the resort fee, a nice touch in the day and age of a la carté services. The phone is very handy for navigating the resort services, with a large LCD screen and menu to get you to where you want and connect you with who you want. There is ample light from an overhead lamp, similar to the beds, again my complaint being that is too bright for any computer with a glossy screen. Otherwise kudos on a great setup.

Open one of the cabinets and you'll find the typical hangers and other assorted goodies for keeping yourself organized on a long trip. The light in the unit is on all the time though, which is kind of the opposite of what it seems they are going for, but as it's LED I'll let it slide. Open the other side of the unit and surprise!!!

In lies the minibar. Weight sensitive, you'll find a selection of typical nosh and drink, although in a prettier container setup with lighting. This seems well though out and it works. My only complaint again is placement, with the refrige being on top of the unit, hard to reach for shorter folks. Good assortment of booze and drink and moderate prices. Not bad for a hotel ripoff machine.

Adjacent to the windows is a small sitting area, with two modern chairs and a table. Comfy but I never used it other than to test out the chairs. The room is so smushed there is really very little use for this other than decoration, so I guess it's nice for that. Behind is floor to ceiling glass offering great views on the strip and Vegas valley. Gorgeous at night. There are combination curtains and drop shades, all controlled electronically from a box by the window. My complaint again is no bed control, but I need exercise so I'll drop that complaint again. Daylight doesn't stand a chance of getting in, these things are great.

Turn around and you'll get a nice surprise, a view straight into the bathroom. The idea here is to open the space by allowing views out and into the city from the bath when you're soaking, neat but a bit exhibitionist no? Well no actually. But we'll get to that in the bathroom.

The Bathroom

Off the front door you'll head into the bathroom. This one is a knockout, with texture, material and color that matches everything else, but in a more calm nature. Think mini-spa. The main space has an open closet space, handy but a bit unsightly as you can see it from the room (the window previously mentioned) as well as a dual sink vanity, with large mirror, built in lighting and television similar to the Mirage and GO rooms at flamingo. There's also a stool and mirror a la Wynn|Encore for more long term primping. Bath goodies are sparse but good, with your typical cotton assortment, soaps, shampoos and conditioners in the shower, and handy bath salts with the tub.

Adjacent to both sides of the vanity are two smoked glass/striped doors. On the left is the shower, a large stone deal with ample pressure, built in stone ledge for bath goodies, and seat against the wall, a plus for those of us who don't like pressing our backs on cold glass for showing off.

On the right is a doppelganger door, but behind this one is the WC. A comfy chair, with, amazingly, no phone. That's right, no chatting on the crapper. I'm amazed but actually happy here. I think those things are gross, and unnecessary. A call can wait til the call is answered right?

The star of the show is the tub, located near a large window looking into the room. It's deep for soaking and comfy even for my large self. Now, don't worry those of you who want to hide, there is actually an automated drape, like those for the main windows, for the window by the tub, it's nice if you want some privacy, or just to close off the world and light for a dark soak. I spent two hours in here, it's that good. Or maybe I'm just a lazy ass. A lot of thought has gone into making this place compete with what you'll find on the strip's higher end joints, and it's evident from the casino down to the aforementioned tub.

Summary

If you're a true diehard Vegas warrior or even just a part time or one time visitor, give the M a chance. If you can live without the strip and the hustle and bustle, you'll be treated to a world class resort that's intimate yet with many opportunities to explore and find something new and cool to do. The Marnell's have made a place for locals to gather, and those who visit to be pampered quietly. It's really a treat and I have to say for the cost, starting in the 80s mid week, you can't go wrong at the M.

✪✪✪✪

The M Resort

12300 Las Vegas Blvd S

Henderson, NV 89044

702 797 1000

themresort.com

A fresh start...

Hey everyone. Good to see you. No I'm not dead, just hanging on for dear life.

As most of you know, this has been a highly traumatic year for me. Starting with the loss of my Mom in May, there has been a series of increasingly crazy shit going on. Things are slowing down now, and I'm coming to terms with a lot of what's happened (thanks to all of you and my family.)

So I'm going to reboot what DesignCurves was and will be in the future. I'm going to add a lot more of things I enjoy to the mix of architecture, travel and design commentary that I've been featuring here in the past. Everything from television to planning to books and CDs. More fun, less blah.

So I hope to see you all soon, and again thanks for your support and hopefully reading of this.

Happy fall!

EW

Will Aria Succeed or Fail?

From designcurves

In a time of economic hardship there are always those who are trying to prove bright in the bleak.  The daring and daunting project called CityCenter masterminded by MGM/Mirage through the assistance of DubaiWorld adjacent to Bellagio in Las Vegas, one of the single largest privately funded construction projects in the world, claims to be one of these.  But little margin for error in my opinion was left when Aria's website went live today offering those with the cash the chance to book one of the first night stays in the resort.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad for this new expansion in such a dead economy, especially being an architect and these being, aside from the Vegas standpoint, architecturally significant buildings.  But as of now, there is no room on the date calendar that starts under $229.  There are also it should be noted, upwards of 10 different room types.  $229 is the bare bones room, what you get rack rate.  

Comparatively sister resort Bellagio is offering rooms as low as $129, as is Wynn, with Encore going as low as $169.  I don't know really what Aria is trying for here.  They are the new kids on the block, and with that comes a higher echelon of recognition for a period (think THEhotel upon opening) that will either survive as the resort gains the same recognition as Wynn/Encore and Bellagio or fall by the wayside.  But do I think it's smart to charge us astronomically high midweek rates during a financial crisis the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time?

I hope for the sake of sake that Aria succeeds, but in my opinion it seems that the starting gun has shot Aria in the foot.  Lower the rates, bring in the masses, show off the project and it's sister resorts (all of which will be MUCH more expensive I'm sure than the anchor resort) and get Aria off to a brisk start.  We don't want to see such a stunning development limp to the finish way before her prime.

(For the record, MGM's stock has gone from a high of 67.94 this year to a close near it's low of 4.27 today.)

Oh f*ck: Bluegrass Edition

From designcurves

Note to the hardworking dedicated news media at the Lexington Herald-Leader:

If you have a project in your city that is already a source of controversy amongst the public, the best way to show them this is not through a photoshop montage prepared by someone blind, inexperienced, or otherwise impaired.

That is all.

Aria's website goes live.

Confirming earlier rumors, Aria's website went live this morning giving scant details on the new hotel, but allowing for a whole hootnanny of selection of room types from $299 and up for reservations beginning December 17, all but confirming the hotel's opening date of the 16th or 17th at the latest.

If you wanna jump in on these new digs, check out Aria's website or call MGM resort reservations directly.

Poll of no end.

From designcurves

So we go nowhere, no decision, just like Lexington.  Personally I know which way I'd vote to tip the scale, but that's just me.

Thanks again everyone for voting.

It's that time of the month...err year...again.

Even mother nature is plotting against us singles.  Happy Commercialized Love Fest Day!

From designcurves

(vomits a little)

For the record.

Before I end up getting any hustle and bustle crap about what I'm writing here, two things I want to note:

This blog is a hobby.  Its not me saying I'm trying to start a career or make any money or anything of that nature.  I see a lot of things, and I like to talk about them, and this site is more or less a way of me being able to do that, share some ideas, and maybe make people laugh as well as not drive myself insane.  Take it with a grain of salt, but if you enjoy it feel free to let me know.

Oh yeah and if you don't like it, number two is shrug it off.  Seriously, its a hobby.  It could be worse.  I could have chosen much worse.

Remember, just say no kids.  

Poll: Urban Commando

There's a new poll round here folks.  Read up on CentrePointe in Lexington and let me know whether you think it should go forward or remain on the boards permanently.  

Voting is open for the week, enjoy!