What to know about The Other Hotel opening

By John Katsilometes

Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014 | 2 a.m.

The opening of SLS Las Vegas has overshadowed another Strip hotel unveiling set for this week.

The debut of Delano Las Vegas is upon us. The property once known as The Hotel at Mandalay Bay is taking reservations for its official opening Monday.

This is a highly noticeable changeover. Motorists buzzing by the golden tower on Interstate 15 have long noticed the removal of “THEHotel” sign and the adding of “Delano” in its place.

Delano is promoted as a complete makeover of The Hotel. It is operated through a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Morgans Hotel Group and is nongaming and nonsmoking.

Among the details of the new boutique resort:

43: Number of floors.

1,100: Number of rooms.

126,000: The weight, in pounds, of a divided boulder that greets guests as they walk into the hotel’s wooden gate. The yellow, orange and gray specimen is about 150 million years old, nearly 9 feet tall and 5 feet deep, and needed a 240-ton hydraulic crane to hoist it onto a flatbed and deliver it to the property. The hotel’s designers found the boulder near Jean after a long trek in the desert.

32: The number, in succession, of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to whom the hotel pays homage.

Cactus: Used in treatments at Bathhouse spa, the one amenity and title to survive the changeover from The Hotel. The cactus and wildflowers are locally sourced.

Red Rock: The Bathhouse offers a Red Mud Wrap, a Red Rock Canyon-inspired treatment.

Small Rocks: There are hundreds of them, suspended from the ceiling, in a piece by the Korean artist Jaehyo Lee. The work leads guests to the black reception desk. Known for his work with natural materials, Lee has not had his work displayed in Las Vegas until the opening of Delano.

Greenhouse: Delano officials built a greenhouse on the property to further push the point that many of the resources used are locally sourced from the Southern Nevada or the Southwest region and to furnish herbs for the resort’s new Della’s Kitchen restaurant. The eatery is said to find the balance between healthy and decadent, chic and industrial. We’ll take inexpensive and groovy, too.

Franklin: The name of the lounge, owing to FDR’s first name.

Fireflies: A ceiling installation at the Franklin is made of hundreds of small, flashing lights, meant to create the illusion of fireflies soaring high in the desert sky.

3940: The name of the coffee bar, which in full is 3940 Coffee + Tea. Two years of Roosevelt’s presidency were 1939 and 1940, but that’s not the inspiration of the name. The hotel address is 3940 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

The New Deal: FDR’s series of social programs is remembered in libation form at the Franklin. Cognac is the chief ingredient. Also on the drink menu is the Mr. Hyde, named for Roosevelt’s hometown of Hyde Park, N.Y.

Hatbox: FDR wore two lucky fedoras and was attentive about their care. The design of his hatboxes were replicated for the ice boxes in every Delano suite.

Pig ears: The fried variety are offered at the Franklin, served with togarashi (a chili pepper spice mixture), lime and black garlic-yuzo aioli. The Franklin also promises such “whimsical” small bites and appetizers as Grilled Flatbread Cambozola with caramelized pears and walnuts, selections of charcuterie and cheeses, and sea-salted pommes frites with smoked pepper ketchup.

Manhattan: Every guest in the hotel’s penthouse suites receives a tutorial on how to make a Manhattan cocktail. A video accompanies the tutorial.

Green tea and lemongrass: The signature scent wafts through the hotel, to bring to mind the airy feel of the Delano in South Beach, Fla. — and to gently remind that there is no smoking in the building.

Eleanor: FDR’s wife, a legend in her own right, is absent all the effects and homage to her husband at the Delano. Maybe Eleanor Las Vegas is being saved for the Delano’s twin tower, if it ever comes to be.