In 1998, Steve Wynn set the gold standard for luxury in Las Vegas with the opening of Bellagio. A decade later, he’s still raising the bar with Wynn Las Vegas, which opened in 2005, and an adjoining new hotel — Encore — which will welcome its first guests in December of 2008.
Wynn spent the past five years planning, designing and developing the 215-acre site that had been home to the Desert Inn. This time, the resort carries his signature: Wynn Las Vegas. At the time, the $2.7 billion cost , made the 2,716-room hotel-casino the most expensive Strip endeavor of its kind.
Incredible, but Steve Wynn had again changed the look of the Las Vegas skyline with the resort’s 50-story, curved tower covered in bronze glass.
The luxury resort connects to the once-famous Desert Inn Country Club golf course, now completely redesigned by famed architect Tom Fazio.
It’s a “Wynn Wynn” situation when it comes to over-the-top accoutrements at this highly acclaimed property, starting with a 140-foot mountain enclosing a three-acre lake.
The 42-floor, bronze-colored reflective glass tower is 873-feet tall with two winding, curved atrium escalators in the main lobby, a 111,000-square-foot casino, four pools, the Strip’s only 18-hole golf course, a spa with 45 treatment rooms and almost 30 fine retail outlets.
Each of the 2,700-plus guest rooms and suites has floor-to-ceiling windows, European linens and a flat screen TV.
Of note is the Wynn’s wooing of celebrity chefs from around the country for its 22 restaurants. Not only have these culinary masters created signature dining venues, most are sticking around to run them. Included in the big name line-up are Daniel Boulud, Alessandro Stratta, Paul Bartolotta and Richard Chen.
Le Rêve, the recently renovated water-based show, is housed in a state of the art aqua theater-in-the-round (where the farthest seat is only 42 feet from the water stage). Presented in The Grail Theater is the Tony-award winning Broadway show “Spamalot.” In addition, there are two nightclubs, Blush and Tryst, the latter from co-owner Victor Drai, who also operates DRAI’S nightclub at Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall. Among the many upscale stores are Manolo Blahnik, Alexander McQueen and Oscar de la Renta.
The Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati dealership highlights the high-end shopping experience; keep in mind that it costs ten dollars just to go into the showroom and view the cars, although this entry fee does include a cap, if that’s any consolation.
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