VIP European-themed villas in the Octavius Tower overlook the newly renovated Garden of the Gods pool complex at Caesars Palace (opening to the public in March). The main pool, also known as the Temple pool, is pictured above.

Although construction on the Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace was completed last year, the 665-room, 71-suite building did not open due to the shaky economy.

However, four plush European-themed villas inside the tower, designed by Wilson Associates, did open for business (and pleasure) and are currently being reserved for the most VIP of high rollers.

The villas overlook the hotel’s renovated 5-acre Garden of the Gods pool deck, which is set to debut in March.

The existing pools (Temple, Venus and Neptune) have undergone some repairs, renovations and resurfacing, but the major change is the addition of five new pools, a major expansion for the area. Each pool offers its own experience and vibe, based on level of sun exposure, type of music and general ambience. The azure-colored deck chairs and daybeds as well as the cabanas throughout the complex were designed by Allard and Conversano.

Caesars hopes that the pool area will offer something for everyone.

An 18-foot wall of water surrounds a portion of the Fortuna pool in the Caesars Palace Garden of the Gods pool complex.

The new pools are as follows:

• Apollo: This is the spot for bronzing. Guests will get full sun exposure at this pool, which is tucked away on the southwest side of the pool area, between the Octavius Tower and the convention area.
• Fortuna: An 18-foot wall of water surrounds a portion of the Fortuna pool, a party pool, which features swim-up blackjack and a full bar.
• Jupiter: Serene and secluded, guests will find a small staircase (five stairs) leading up to this pool, located on the northwest side of the pool area. Jupiter will feature spa treatments, poolside massages and plenty of comfy seating.
• Bacchus: Reserved for private parties, invited guests and celebrities, two pools comprise this VIP area, which overlooks the entire Garden of the Gods complex. There is also a hot tub and several plush cabanas, offering butler service.

THEN & NOW: The Paradise Tower rooms have been completely remodeled and are expected to open to the public in March or April 2010. On top is the old room. Bottom is the remodel.

The Tropicana is getting a facelift. But unlike the women who are heading there for the first-ever Cougar Convention on Jan. 22, the hotel will soon succesfully recapture that lost shiny glimmer of youth.

The vintage hotel aims to be done with Phase I of construction and renovations toward the end of summer. Executives dedicated $125 million for revamping the 61,000 square foot casino, carpet, restaurants, 105,000 square feet of conference space, more than 500 Paradise Tower rooms (opening in March or April 2010), back of the house, structural improvements and more. Employees are even getting new uniforms and a refurbished employee dining room.

Remember that long, somewhat dingy hallway filled with novelty kiosks that connected the hotel’s buffet and conference space to the mezzanine level and casino? Well, the hallway is still there, but the dingy is long gone. Now it is covered in white, imported marble and there are no more kiosks. The view of the 5-acre Tropicana pool area (under construction) and surrounding Strip properties is outstanding.

Remember the parrots on the elevator doors leading up to the Island Tower? Gone.

Remember the purple and green carpet? Going.

Remember the crown moulding in the Paradise Tower rooms? Well, that’s still there. But the rooms themselves have been completely redone. The carpet is new, the wallpaper is new (and textured!), the furniture is new, the bathrooms are new. And judging by the several piles of old, stained mattresses dumped outside in the rain yesterday, the mattresses are new too.

Just about every design element for the Tropicana has been handpicked by the Tropicana’s Chairman and CEO Alex Yemenidjian. Overall, the hotel is aiming to provide guests with a relaxed, South Beach feel. It is also refocusing its efforts on customer service.

Phase II and III of Tropicana’s remodeling involve plans to add a nightclub, a huge sportsbook and a remodel for the Island Tower and Garden rooms, and outside of the building.
 
Here are some photos taken during my walkthrough of the property yesterday (Press the “i” in the upper right hand corner of the gallery for caption information):
 

The hotel opened with 430 suites, and in 1993, a 20-story expansion tower was added. The Rio now boasts two towers with 2,522 suites.

Voodoo Lounge at the Rio

The hotel was a bit of a pioneer in the nightclub scene, opening Club Rio in 1995, the first big nightclub located inside a hotel – a trend many others followed. Today, the hotel boasts Voodoo Lounge, a nightclub located atop the resort with amazing views of the Las Vegas Strip.

The Rio underwent some cosmetic changes over the years. Masquerade Village, a hotel tower and casino expansion including the Masquerade Show in the Sky, opened in 1997.

One of the Rio’s big attractions has always been its buffet – The Carnival World Buffet was the first buffet in Las Vegas to have multiple live cooking stations and theme sections on the buffet line. The buffet features more than 300 dishes prepared daily.

During the past 20 years, the Rio was home to some of the city’s most memorable entertainment. Danny Gans headlined for four years at the Rio before leaving in 2000. The Rio’s Samba Theatre played host to the 30th Anniversary Special for the hit CBS game show “The Price Is Right”  in 2002 and in 2006 Prince thrilled standing-room only audiences in Club Rio. Penn & Teller and Chippendales entertain audiences at the resort today.

The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino

In honor of its milestone anniversary this month, the Rio is celebrating by giving  locals and tourists special offers from January 15th – February 4th, 2010. Some of the specials include:

 Show in the Sky: 2 Rides for $20

$20 manicures. Buy any service at full price; get the second service of equal or lesser value for $20.

iBar: 2 cocktails for $20 (Valid everyday for premium, well, beer, or house wine.)

Voodoo Steak: 20 percent off of any entrée

All American Bar & Grill: 20-cent wings

McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon: $20 open bar (Valid from 4pm – 6pm and 8pm – 10pm)

Rio Java: 20-cent drip coffee (Valid 1/15 only)

This rendering shows the PH Towers, with both towers complete. Only one is built currently.

You could enter the PH Towers at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino through a private valet off of Harmon Ave., but entering through the Miracle Mile Shops is just somehow so much more … Vegas-y.

Honestly though, a hotel lobby smack dab in the middle of a shopping mall might be a first, even for Vegas.

It’s actually an interesting concept. It allows natural daylight to spill into the mall through the lobby’s floor to ceiling windows. It’s sort of like having a shopping epiphany and literally “seeing the light” when you stumble upon the PH Towers entrance.

And though the lobby really isn’t intended for straggling shoppers, the overabundance of plush, colorful seating is the perfect place to kick up your heels after a long day of dragging around Crazy Shirts and Lucky Brand jeans, and dodging timeshare sales agents.

Not that there’s anything wrong with timeshares. The upscale PH Towers is above all else a timeshare property. The 1,200 one-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio suites are gradually opening in blocks of 100. A second tower has yet to be built but is expected to be added “someday.”

Some fun facts about PH Towers, (as I see them):

Shot glass chess, the ultimate drinking game.

• The lobby contains quirky red, white and yellow Chihuly-like glass light fixtures and sculptures abstractly resembling sea creatures.
• LED colums surrounding the registration area subtly change colors.
• There’s an enticing view of the virgin pool waters (the pool has yet to open), palm trees, a pool bar and two levels of cabanas through the lobby windows.
• Original oil paintings by Laura Cartwright and Warholesque Marilyn Monroe pop art adorn the walls.
• An escalator takes guests up to the PH Towers meeting rooms and business center, or down to the valet.
• One and two-bedroom suites come with full kitchens with stainless steel appliances, a dining room table and an economy-sized combined washer and dryer inside the bathroom cabinet.  
• There are three flat screen TVs in the one- and two-bedroom suites and two in the studio suites.
• The views from the guest rooms are impressive as the architects were quite generous with windows.
• The studio suite has a “shot glass chess set” — The ultimate drinking game! Try filling the shot glasses with different color liquers, then see if you can remember who got checkmate.

Some photos taken during my tour of PH Towers:

CityCenter opened last month on the Las Vegas Strip and includes Aria, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; the non-gaming Mandarin Oriental hotel and Vdara Hotel & Spa; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail district. The Harmon boutique hotel and the residential Veer Towers will open in 2010. Photos by Scott Frances.

By Aleza Freeman (aleza.freeman@vegas.com)
Vegas.com

There are Vegas resorts. There are mega Vegas resorts.

Then there’s CityCenter: The urban development opened last month on 67 acres bringing Aria, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; the non-gaming Mandarin Oriental hotel and Vdara Hotel & Spa; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail district to the Las Vegas Strip. The Harmon boutique hotel and the residential Veer Towers will open in 2010.

From its cutting edge architecture to its eye toward environmental responsibility, CityCenter is a series of firsts for Las Vegas. MGM Mirage executives are predicting that the joint venture between MGM Mirage and Dubai World subsidiary Infinity World Development Corp will essentially redefine the future of Las Vegas resorts.

CityCenter at a glance

	Aria Resort & Casino: 61 stories; 4,004 rooms; 16 restaurants; Haze nightclub; spa; “Viva Elvis.”
	Vdara Hotel & Spa: 57 stories; non-gaming; 1,495 suites; Silk Road restaurant; Bar Vdara; spa.
	Mandarin Oriental: 47 stories; 392 rooms; non-gaming; sky lobby; Twist restaurant; spa.
	Crystals: Mall with upscale stores such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.; Beso restaurant; Eve nightclub.
	Veer Towers & The Harmon: Opening in 2010

 

Aria guestrooms are 4,004 of the most technologically savvy guest rooms in the country.

“The Mirage (in 1989) marked the ascent of the global sense of Las Vegas as a large resort destination market for gaming,” said Sven Van Assche, vice president of the MGM Mirage design team. “The Bellagio, 10 years or so later, showed the world market that Las Vegas is not just 100 percent a gaming destination, but also a resort destination for food and beverage, entertainment, you name it. I think that CityCenter is yet another step in the evolution of Las Vegas. It has pushed the market and the destination concept to the next level. If we’ve done this right, we will have created a very exciting and unique environment, unique to Las Vegas and unique to the world.”

It’s too early to tell if Las Vegas has truly evolved as a result of CityCenter. Even so, the multi-complex was wall to wall with visitors of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and nationalities over New Year’s weekend. The free CityCenter tram, which runs between the Bellagio, Crystals and the Monte Carlo, was consistently packed with people, as were the pathways around the casino at Aria, and many of the restaurants and bars.

On paper, CityCenter reads like a laundry list of superlatives. Aria alone has 16 restaurants, 4,004 of the most technologically savvy guest rooms in the country, three of the property’s six Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council, an 80,000-square-foot spa with 62 treatment rooms, a nightclub and the Cirque show “Viva Elvis!”

These superlatives extend across the entire project:

• Six buildings on an 18 million-square-foot campus built by a never-before-seen in Vegas dream team of seven different architectural firms.
• A clean construction effort, which recycled 94 percent of all construction waste, diverting more than 250,000 tons of waste from the local landfill.
• The first hotels in Las Vegas to utilize personalized suite systems by Control4, allowing guests to control their room environment with the touch of a remote.
• An unparalleled Fine Art Collection showcasing acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins and Claes Oldenburg.
• A staff of 12,000 employees, reflecting the single largest hiring effort in the country.

“In terms of its size and its philosophical ambition, the only places where you would find anything remotely close to this would be either in Asia or Dubai,” said Alan Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs for MGM Mirage. “Each place within CityCenter has a complete and total integrity of its own. Then on top of it, taken together, forms something else.”

In person, CityCenter is an equally impressive feat. Visually stunning glass and steel buildings reach toward the sky at various angles, traversing the Las Vegas Strip landscape. Indoor and outdoor atmospheres appeal to guests offering dynamic public art, landscaped pocket parks, unique water features by WET and several pedestrian friendly walkways.

“We couldn’t just provide 18 million square feet of building and have it all basically be the same, so that in the first 15 minutes of walking in some place it all looks the same as the next 15 minutes,” said Van Assche. “On top of that, we had to create a diverse experience because we have a diverse product. We were looking to create moments that were special, that helped break down the scale of the project.”

The creation of CityCenter brought about many new challenges for MGM Mirage. For one, CityCenter is the first project in Las Vegas to incorporate buildings designed by different architects.

“The bones of the project, the master plan, has allowed us in a positive way to be challenged in a way that we have never been challenged before in developing a project,” said Van Assche. “Those challenges really allowed us to see this as something unique from anything ever built here before.”

Even more challenging was the implementation of earth friendly initiatives from day one, helping CityCenter to achieve its status as the largest LEED certified project in the world. While other hotels in Las Vegas have integrated such initiatives into their practices and CityCenter is not the only LEED certified property on the Strip, it does set the bar for integrating such ideas from the ground up.

The buildings were constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to favor natural light was taken into consideration.

Aria has three of the property

But many of the fundamentals of building green properties, particularly materials like paints with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or urea formaldehyde-free glues, were simply not available when the project started in 2006. In many cases, MGM Mirage had to open these markets anew.

“When we started, we literally couldn’t find a vendor, including our local utility that would recycle our construction waste,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “So we capitalized a small waste company, and they purchased trucks and increased their line, and we have recycled 94 percent of the construction waste for CityCenter, including the demolition of the Boardwalk.”

The outcome involved quite a bit of ingenuity and originality, covering everything from air handling (i.e. dealer tables have built-in air curtains to protect them from the players’ tobacco smoke; slot machines have special air conditioning bases that cool the room from the floor up) to water usage (the construction process utilized waste water from the Monte Carlo hotel; the process of picking high-performance, low-flow faucets alone took almost 9 months).

Even some of the public artwork was picked with an eye toward sustainability. Nancy Rubins’ “Big Edge,” for example, incorporates reclaimed canoes, while Maya Lin’s “Silver River” is made from 100 percent reclaimed silver.

“I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything,” said Ortega. “I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into Aria and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylight and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on CityCenter to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

Ultimately, with its diversity of offerings, CityCenter aims to have something for everyone. Both Van Assche and Feldman see it as a place that creates a heart for Las Vegas, and likened the development to other destinations within great cities of the world, such as Times Square in New York or the Miracle Mile in Chicago.

“If you were to go to any great city, most have at least one great place or area that people from around the world come to visit, that the city is renowned for,” said Van Assche. “When they’re empty, they’re beautiful architecturally. But when they’re full, when they’re enlivened with people sitting eating at cafes outdoors, and walking around shopping in an out of stores or just walking around a fountain whatever they might be doing, there is a sense of energy that is garnered from that experience … and that alone makes it a wonderful experience.”

Feldman added that CityCenter is a reflection of where Las Vegas is headed.

“Sure, we could have built another themed hotel, there’s still plenty of themes out there that people haven’t touched, but I don’t know that that’s what Vegas needs, or wants,” he said. “That’s not to say it wouldn’t be exciting and successful and profitable, but if you look at what we have and don’t have — CityCenter is what we don’t have. I don’t see how any hotel project in the future can be designed without taking CityCenter into account in some form.”

PH Towers studio room.

Now if your dream for 2010 involves coming to Vegas and staying at a brand new hotel, well then by golly, you’re in luck. That I can help you with. Not only did the city gain a 67-acre urban metropolis when CityCenter and its multiple hotels opened earlier this month, but today marks the opening of two more hotel towers, HRH Tower and PH Towers.

Come Jan. 1 (less than a week away), you will have thousands of brand spanking new hotel rooms to choose from when planning your Vegas vacation. You will also have several new restaurants and a handful of new nightclubs, lounges and spas.

HRH Tower standard room.

Although Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel stopped offering lodging as a result of the slow economy (the casino is still operational), downtown Las Vegas did add the Rush Tower at the Golden Nugget in November.

Plus, we haven’t imploded anything lately, so if you already have a favorite place to stay and play, it’s probably still standing.

Here is a brief rundown of some of the Sin City’s newest hotel options:  

• CityCenter, located on the Las Vegas Strip between the Monte Carlo and the Bellagio, includes Aria, a 61-story, 4004-room gaming resort; the non-gaming Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, Vdara Hotel & Spa; and Crystals, a 50,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. The Harmon boutique hotel and Veer Towers will open in 2010. One of the world’s largest green development, CityCenter earned six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council. Aria alone is home to 15 restaurants, a nightclub, a spa, a Cirque show and much more.
• Described as a sophisticated, more mature rock ’n’ roll experience, HRH Towers adds 359 standard suites, eight spa villas (opening directly into the pool area), seven penthouse suites, 40,000 square feet of casino space, a new spa and a new nightclub to the Hard Rock Hotel property.  A brand new parking garage offers VIP entrance to the HRH Tower. The new nightclub, Vanity, will open its doors to ring in 2010 on Dec. 31. Read more about HRH Tower
• The 52-story all-suite PH Towers will begin welcoming guests today (timeshare owners began moving in last week). The tower has 1,200 rooms and includes a pool (opening next summer) and a lobby bar. It is connected to Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, offering a private retreat for guests.
• The $150 million Rush Tower opened in November, adding almost 500 new rooms to the Golden Nugget hotel in downtown Las Vegas. The Rush Tower also introduced the Chart House Aquarium restaurant, a 50,000-gallon tropical aquarium, a private swimming pool with six cabanas, additional casino games and three new retail venues.

Las Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our concept of “going green” is drinking tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage — are working overtime to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly.

“We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.”

Just letting off steam

Like an underground city, the chiller and boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located among a series of plain, conservatively lit hallways, tucked below the casino level.

While there are certainly many sexier sights in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are actually the hotbed of energy savings at this Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the emergency generator room. This recycling of heat is using energy that would have otherwise been lost.

Some of the energy saving equipment was already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened in 1999, but there are many instances at Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties where the equipment has been or soon will be upgraded.

“Through conservation we’ve been able to reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has made a huge environmental impact,” said Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of energy a year, which is like taking a property like Paris off the grid.”

Harrah’s Entertainment established its commitment to conservation in 2003 and became the first casino to receive the EPA Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the properties have CodeGreen Teams made up of employees focused on reducing the use of natural resources, conserving energy and promoting reuse and recycling. There are more than 74 major conservation projects in place at individual Harrah’s properties, including:

• Lower water flow control in guest areas
• A five megawatt co-generation facility at the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on site and recapture waste heat for hot water
• Employee training on environmentally-friendly practices

Let there be light

Another major initiative of the Harrah’s properties is the substitution of traditional light bulbs with more energy efficient ones. The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have replaced thousands upon thousands of light bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s replaced 4,000 bulbs in its sports book sign alone. In the back of the house at Paris, every other light was removed.

That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights has gotten any dimmer.

“Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, so we don’t have to change it as often.”

Not only can no one can tell the difference, said Dominguez, but the energy savings are incredible. “We’ve cut energy consumption five-fold,” he said, adding, “Every bit of energy we save here, is energy that doesn’t have to be generated at the power plant.”

Overall, Harrah’s Entertainment has seen a more than $10 million savings per year from existing and completed conservation programs. Among this is the avoidance of more than 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which Dominguez equated with 81,170 round trip flights between Los Angeles and New York.

Bringing in more green

While energy and monetary savings are expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, said there are also some unexpected advantages of going green — it helps the company make more money.

It started when Moreau spearheaded a project to find a reusable solution for water bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water in restaurants citywide.

Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s restaurants, can be filled with water from an on-site filtration system, then washed along with the restaurant’s other china, and reused.

“We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steakhouse and what we found out was that when we featured something green, that brand name had a bigger impact than any other sparkling or still waters,” said Moreau.

And along with helping the environment, to Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin increased.

“We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green and as now a company we are making better revenues off of it,’” said Moreau.

Born green

CityCenter is one of the world's largest sustainable developments.

Until recently, The Palazzo was the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified property in the world. That distinction now goes to the urban development CityCenter, which opened earlier this month.

LEED certification is a premium certificate awarded to environmentally responsible properties by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Palazzo actually conserves enough water to provide each Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water a year and saves enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years.

“We are committed to developing sustainable properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice president of corporate development for Las Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good corporate citizen, and also to set an example for the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out our business plan, it helps out the environment, it helps out the health of our employees and also the health of our visitors.”

Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly initiatives include:

• Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture sensors in planted areas as well as water efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets and low-flow faucets inside
• A solar heating system that heats the property’s swimming pools and directs extra solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. There are also solar panels located on top of the facility’s parking garage.
• Air conditioning controls in the guest rooms, which automatically set back several degrees when guests are not in their rooms. Lighting occupancy sensors in team member services areas that shut off the lights when no one is in the area.

“The part of our green effort here that I really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half percent sunny a year. We get probably the most direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United States. And if you really thought of the long term effect if everyone went this green way, we would prevent the construction of these polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down the road.”

The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent of the property’s waste during construction was diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. The steel used averaged more than 95 percent recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 percent. There is even a special air filtration system, and a majority of the property is non-smoking, making for an overall healthier facility.

“The air gets really dusty in Las Vegas,” said Rumanes. “You can argue that the indoor air quality at the Palazzo is actually better than outdoors.”

Meanwhile, as one of the largest sustainable developments in the world, MGM Mirage’s CityCenter has six Gold LEED certifications. 

Like the Palazzo, the 18-million-square-foot, seven-building property (which includes ARIA Resort & Casino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers and Crystals retail and entertainment district) integrated the concept of sustainability and earth-friendly initiatives even before it was built. 

CityCenter was constructed with preference to materials made with recycled content, reclaimed materials or those that could be manufactured locally, as well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances. Even the positioning of the buildings to ensure the penetration of natural light was taken into consideration.

“While we weren’t the first project on the Strip to be LEED certified, we were the first project to really add in the element of sustainability into our design,” said Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage’s senior vice president of energy and environmental services. “I think what surprised everyone, is that the idea of the environment and earth actually shows in everything. I had no idea four years ago that I would walk into ARIA and I’d be looking at natural stones and natural daylighting and certified wood, but there it all is. We were able on City Center to really breathe the idea and respect of nature into the largest sustainable project in the United States.”

The property includes:

• A co-generation plant providing about 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The throw-off heat from the plant will be used to heat the property’s water.
• Specially-coated windows on Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the building by reflecting light.
• Settings on the rooms’ remote system in ARIA and Mandarin Oriental allowing guests to green their stay by indicating their preferred light level, room temperature and frequency of linen and towel changes. Systems can also be programmed to turn these settings down or off when the guest is not in their room. Read more about ARIA’s room technology.

CityCenter is expected to save 50 million gallons of water each year as a result of water conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation systems, low-flow faucets and showers and low-flush toilets throughout the development. The property offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, a bike valet and even has a fleet of limos powered by natural gas.

Getting wasted

Another environmental effort by MGMMirage is a program implemented by Mandalay Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show waste. The program enabled Mandalay Bay to recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade show’s garbage.

In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went into a landfill. Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts happen behind the scenes and are unseen by the public.

Las Vegas is still a city of entertainment and earth-friendly initiatives will never reduce the guest’s experience, explained Dominguez. “We don’t turn the lights out on the Strip. It’s all about maintaining the image but doing it in a conscious environmental manner,” he explained. “We’ve got energy efficiency projects that are implemented to be seamless.”

Romanes agreed. “If we do our job properly the average customer will not notice that this is a green facility,” he said. “I call it environmental luxury. We’ve proven that you can be luxurious and you can be environmentally sensitive.”

At CityCenter’s Aria Resort & Casino and Mandarin Oriental, the answer is as simple as pressing a button. Thanks to technology by Control4, you can post a “Do Not Disturb” message, dim the lights, play some mood music and order a bottle of champagne, all with the touch of a remote.

The home screen for the Control4 Suite System.

While you’re at it, you can check to see if your flight home is on time, adjust the room temperature and open the drapes to take in the view. You can check the outside temperature, so you know if you need to take a coat when you leave for dinner, or you could simply order dinner to be delivered to your door.

Both Aria and Mandarin Oriental have integrated Control4’s technology into their rooms and suites, providing guests with hands on (or off, as the case may be) control over the room’s environment, in-room entertainment and concierge-type services.

“We are all about the guest experience,” said Glenn Mella, president and COO of Control4, adding, “I heard someone saying, if the room were an ‘8,’ the technology makes it a ‘10.’”

The personalized service starts from the moment you open your door. The first time a guest swipes his or her key, the room essentially wakes up to greet them. The lights turn on, the drapes open and the television turns on.

The guest will see his or her name displayed in the top left hand corner of the television, which is tuned to a home  screen with options for lighting, thermostat, services, curtains or entertainment. The temperature inside the room and outside the hotel is presented in the bottom right corner. Guests will also see useful messages on their home screen, (i.e. “The room door is ajar,” “The deadbolt is locked,” “I am watching you,” — Ok, I may have made that last one up). The same home screen is found on a 7-inch touch screen sitting on the bedside table.

Guests may use provided scenes for lighting, temperature, etc., or program their own scenes to fit their needs at different times throughout the day. So if you like to wake up to a slow fade of lights as your blackout drapes open, the temperature rises and the smooth sounds of Burt Bacharach fill the air — you’re in luck. If you prefer to have every single light in the room turn on suddenly as Def Leppard screeches in your ears, you’re also in luck.

The guest room at Aria.

Best of all, everything is controlled with one simple remote.

Of course, if you’re old fashioned, non tech-savvy or have some sort of lifelong debilitating fear of remote controls, there are also manual controls for everything in the room, from lights to temperature.

The Control4 Suite System is compatible with CityCenter’s overall mission of sustainability by making guests’ stays more energy efficient. For instance, there’s no reason to leave the bathroom light on all night long, when all you have to do to turn it off or on is press a button on a remote. If you left the remote in the bathroom, however, that’s another story.

Sixty minutes after a guest checks out of the room or suite the Control4 system goes into “Unoccupied Mode.” The lights turn off, the drapes close and the temperature adjusts.

Aria and Mandarin Oriental are the first hotels in Vegas to implement Control4’s technology, though the company will soon be installing their systems in other Vegas hotels, including the Rush Towers at Golden Nugget and the PH Towers at Planet Hollywood.

Aria Resort & Casino. Photo courtesy of CityCenter.

Fireworks will kick off the public opening of Aria Resort & Casino tonight, marking the official grand opening of CityCenter. Aria brings 4,004 guestrooms, 150,000 square feet of gaming, 15 restaurants, a nightclub, a spa, a Cirque show and more to the Las Vegas Strip.

Aria is the fourth building on the CityCenter campus to open following Vdara Hotel & Spa on Dec. 1, Crystals retail and entertainment district on Dec. 3 and the Mandarin Oriental on Dec. 4.

Even so, Aria can flaunt its own illustrious list of firsts. It is not only the largest hotel in the world to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council but it will also feature the most technologically advanced guestrooms in the country. 

Sustainability

Here are a few highlights of Aria’s “green friendly” initiatives:

• Slot machine bases that serve as floor air-conditioning distribution units in order to cool public spaces from the ground up.
• An overall design that includes extensive natural light, said to dramatically reduce lighting power requirements.
•  Two recycling docks for collection and separation of glass, paper, cardboard, metals, plastic, food waste and grease.

CityCenter overall is considered one of the world’s largest sustainable developments.

Billed as a pedestrian friendly campus, CityCenter offers a free monorail providing easy transport between the Monte Carlo hotel next door, Crystals, Vdara and Bellagio next door. The campus also offers preferred parking for hybrid vehicles and a bicycle valet.

Many of the materials used in the construction of CityCenter were brought in from within 500 miles of Las Vegas, in order to minimalize required transportation. A majority of the wood products selected are FSC certified, meaning they come from sustainably managed forests.

Ninety-seven percent of the construction waste from the former Boardwalk hotel, imploded in 2006, was reused or recycled during the construction of CityCenter, thanks to a large-scale recycling and resue operation. Although the waste from the Boardwalk hotel wasn’t all necessarily used to actually build CityCenter, it did go to other construction projects. Overall, the CityCenter project utilized more than 260,000 tons of construction waste.

Technology

All 4,004 ARIA guest rooms, meanwhile, will feature technological advances that are unmatched within the United States. Control4, a company that specializes in residential and hospitality automation, has provided suite systems that allow guests to control their room environment with the touch of a remote. 

Don’t be caught off guard when your room “greets” you as you enter it for the first time. The room will fill with light, the curtains will part and the TV will turn on to display a list of automated controls to personalize.

Some other features from Control4 Suite Systems include:

• One-touch control of lighting, room temperature, television/video systems, music, wake-up calls, draperies and requests for services through a single remote control.
• One-button modification of room settings. “Good Night,” for example, turns off lights, TV and/or music; shuts curtains and turns on privacy notification.
• In-room devices which automatically “communicate” maintenance needs; remote control batteries will be replaced before guests notice a problem, and more.

Described as a sophisticated, more mature rock ‘n’ roll experience, the HRH Tower will add 359 standard suites, eight spa villas (opening directly into the pool area) and seven penthouse suites as well as a spa and nightclub. The HRH Tower will also double the size of Hard Rock’s casino.

HRH Tower standard room. Courtesy photo.

Our little Hard Rock Hotel is all grown up.

The casino itself has an open and airy design, encompassing slots, blackjack tables, a high limit lounge and the center Lux Bar. A brand new parking garage offers VIP entrance to the HRH Tower, complete with silver HRH door handles.

The standard suites will introduce guests to an innovative Sound Matters Sound Bar, a touch panel music system with iPod dock, where guests have access to more than 2,000 songs. Guests without iPods can stream music through a speaker in the suite’s 40-inch flat screen TV.

Vanity Nightclub in the HRH Tower. Courtesy rendering.

Upstairs, guests will find the property’s new nightclub, Vanity, and a 25,000- square-foot spa, Reliquary. The centerpiece of Vanity is a cyclone chandelier with more than 20,000 LED lights. There is also an outdoor terrace and direct access to an outdoor Sky Bar that will open in April 2010.

But ladies may just spend all their time in the Vanity restroom  — it offers full-length, three-way mirrors as well as nail and makeup technicians.

As Vanity opens its doors to ring in 2010 on Dec. 31, the Hard Rock’s nightclub, Body English, will close its doors for good. Vanity’s grand opening party with host Diddy will take place on Jan. 2.

The HRH Tower is part of the hotel’s $750 million expansion. The Paradise Tower opened in August 2009, adding a new 17-story guest wing to the north end of the property.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is also in the process of expanding its famous pool area. One special feature will be a cool water plunge pool to help cool guests off on those particularly hot summer days. The temperature in the plunge pool will be 15 degrees cooler than the other pools.