Acquisitions & Hotel Openings

Vdara Hotel & Spa Opens

First Citycenter Hotel

LAS VEGAS, NV, November 25, 2009 - CityCenter has partnered with Vanity Fair to co-host the grand opening gala of the newest luxury boutique hotel – the sophisticated all-suite Vdara Hotel & Spa. Host Sebastian Copeland, will be joined by friends Orlando Bloom and Rosario Dawson, to celebrate the evening in support of the Sebastian Copeland Foundation. The invite-only event will treat guests to their first glimpse of CityCenter, the dazzling vertical city destined to transform the Las Vegas Strip.

Vdara Hotel & Spa is designed for those who love the excitement of Las Vegas but prefer to enjoy it in an exclusive, non-gaming, smoke-free environment. Physically connected to Bellagio and directly adjacent to ARIA Resort & Casino, Vdara will offer access to all of the excitement of Las Vegas, while providing a retreat from it all.

Solidifying CityCenter’s commitment to sustainability, Vdara has achieved LEED®† Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Sharing in Vdara’s commitment to sustainability, the star-studded evening will be hosted by famed photographer, adventurer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland. His pledge to environmental activism and global awareness has grown into a passionate dedication to the causes of sustainability and the preservation of the planet. He is currently working on the launch of the Sebastian Copeland Foundation whose primary mission is to advocate from the front lines of climate change. Copeland’s friends and award-winning actors Orlando Bloom and Rosario Dawson will join him to celebrate this evening and support the launch of his charity.

Copeland stated, “We stand at a crossroads in our development as a species. After transportation, buildings are the single greatest source of green house emissions. "Green" building and development stand to reduce carbon emissions into the air by up to forty percent. Vdara, with its LEED certification, has committed to the simple notion that luxury and responsibility are not mutually exclusive and hence stands as a model of innovation. Vdara and CityCenter set a new standard for Las Vegas, one which hopefully others will follow.”

Two of the hottest DJs in the business today, DJs Donovan Leitch and Mathieu Schreyer (kcrw), will entertain guests as they dine on exquisite cuisine from Martin Heierling, executive chef of Vdara and the hotel’s contemporary Mediterranean restaurant, Silk Road. Guests also will enjoy Patron cocktails and Veuve Clicquot champagne as they stroll through the 18,000-square-foot, two-level wellness spa, Vdara Health & Beauty, featuring the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar. Vdara Health & Beauty, the first Las Vegas spa in the Green Spa Network, will offer a selection of signature treatments focusing on holistic health.

Edward Menicheschi, vice president & publisher, Vanity Fair, said, “We are proud to be partnering with Vdara in this exciting celebration. Vdara has combined luxury with green design and the alignment could not be better for both our environmental beliefs as well as that of our readers.”

Angela Lester, general manager, Vdara Hotel & Spa, said, “It is truly an honor to partner with Vanity Fair and famed photographer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland as we open our doors and showcase Vdara’s remarkable services and amenities. Hosting the grand opening with Copeland and honoring his pledge to environmental activism will help create awareness of our commitment to sustainability and the benchmark set by CityCenter in Las Vegas and worldwide.”

The Patrón Spirits Company, including Patrón, Ultimat Vodka and Pyrat Rum, as well as Veuve Clicquot champagne owned by Moet Hennessy USA, are sponsors of the grand opening gala.

Vanity Fair is the premier general interest magazine of our time. Covering the worlds of politics, business, fashion, entertainment, and society, its muscular, long-form journalism, luscious photography, insightful essays, and superb design make each issue of the magazine a must-read.

Coming Up In The June Online Hotel Business Review


Feature Focus
New Trends in Hotel Architecture and Design
On any hotel design project, architects are generally serving at least three masters - the owner/developer, the hotel operator, and the general public who will utilize the hotel - and each have their own goals, objectives and demands. The owner/developer is concerned with brand standards, the target market and the hotel's locale, while the operator is concerned about achieving the highest possible revenue through efficient design. The public is demanding that architecture and design be fully integrated into the guest experience, based on prevailing tastes and preferences. The architect's role is to respond professionally and efficiently to meet the demands of all and to develop a unified solution. Though each project has its own prerequisites and obligations, there are some general design trends which seem to be prevalent across the industry. First, there is an increased emphasis on the importance of the lobby. The principle here is that first impressions matter and that a hotel has only a few minutes to convince a guest that they have made the right decision. Hotel lobbies are being completely re-imagined - from eliminating front desks altogether to turning lobbies into warm, intimate social spaces, replete with fireplaces and comfortable furniture. There is also an increasing use of ambient natural light, even in large spaces like ballrooms and meeting rooms. In addition, there is greater emphasis on incorporating the distinctive attributes of any given location into the hotel design, which guests are defining as central to their experiences. The June issue of the Hotel Business Review will report on all these exciting developments in the fields of architecture and design.
In this issue...
Experiential Design Across All Sectors
By Ellis Katz, Principal, John Portman & Associates
Challenges of Contemporary Design in Historic Buildings
By Gary Meadows, President, HCI Architecture, Inc.
Ideal Meeting Spaces Should Offer Flexibility, Flexibility and Then Some
By Ronald M. Lustig, Design Architect/Principal, Earl Swensson Associates, Inc.
The Hotel Lobby
By Jennifer Skaife, Senior Associate, DiLeonardo
PLUS: Keeping an Eye on the Return on Design; Check In To the Future; L'AND Vineyards Wine Resort; How to Preserve Architectural Detail; Catering to Women in Hotel Design; Sustainability Retrofits, and much more.