Rooms’ layout, technology provide glimpse of 21 Century resort

David Strow

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

At first glance, the Aladdin's 2,567 rooms aren't starkly different from their competition on the Strip.

With room rates averaging $139 to $149 per night, the rooms will price right at the middle of the Strip price range. And the standard 450-square-foot rooms, while comfortable, certainly won't challenge the Venetian's record of "world's largest hotel rooms."

Yet it isn't an exaggeration to say that the Aladdin has created the Las Vegas version of the 21st Century hotel room -- a hotel room quite unlike anything else seen in Las Vegas before.

Certainly, the walk to the room should be far easier for luggage-wielding patrons. The hotel is laid out in such a fashion that no guest room is more than seven doors from an elevator bank. Even more unusual -- a customer can go from hotel check-in to their room without ever setting foot in the casino.

Richard Goeglein, chief executive of the Aladdin, scoffs at the notion that this will hurt the casino's win by cutting back on impulse play.

"I don't ever remember seeing someone schlepping across the casino floor with their luggage ... and suddenly stopping to say, 'I have to place a bet,' " Goeglein said. "That's ridiculous."

The Aladdin also focused on often-ignored details in its room design. Goeglein said special care has gone into designing extra-large bathrooms, complete with sizable granite countertops, separate showers and bathtubs, and even a separate "water closet" for the toilet.

"One (customer dislike) that's consistent throughout hotels and hotel-casinos ... are bathrooms," Goeglein said. "They're cramped, and totally lacking in any reasonable level of functionality. People often use the back of the water tank (on the toilet) to put stuff on."

But perhaps nothing makes each room more unique than the amount of technology available for each guest. Each room is wired with fiber optics -- a network each customer can access through a high-speed Internet port in each room. Each room also has a cordless telephone and two telephone lines.

By Comdex 2001, Aladdin guests won't need to bring their own equipment to surf at high speed. By early next year, each room will have its own Internet access terminal, complete with optional high-speed access. Rates have yet to be determined, but will probably be around $10 per day.

"We went forward with the technology platform in the rooms because we really believe that's the trend in the entire accommodations industry," Goeglein said. "It gives us a very distinct competitive edge. It will be very hard for (another property) to come in and retrofit what we have."

Technology will also be used to bring an international flair to each hotel guest. The satellite TV service offered in each room will offer not just a range of channels, but a wide range of languages -- each room will offer channels in a variety of languages, including Arabic, Hindi and Spanish.

"The way this world is developing, we felt we needed to put in some things that are different," said Bill Timmins, president of the Aladdin.