Loews lands at Lake Las Vegas

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

The upscale Loews Hotels chain plans to build a $200 million, 400-room nongaming resort at Lake Las Vegas, the company announced Wednesday.

It will be the first Nevada property for New York-based Loews and will include a spa and an exhibit center for conventions and meetings.

The $200 million resort will be located just off the 18th green of the existing Reflection Bay Golf Club and will have beachfront access to the 320-acre man-made lake. The site is between two existing hotels, the 496-room Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, Spa and Casino that opened in 1999, and the 349-room Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas that opened in 2003.

The company expects to break ground on the new resort next year and complete it by 2008.

"This is a perfect fit to the overall branding of Lake Las Vegas," said Cary Krukowski, director of marketing for the 3,592-acre master-planned development, which currently has about 1,000 residents in homes located in the vicinity of the resorts.

"Loews is complementary to the Lake Las Vegas brand with its four- and five-star resorts and a track record of community involvement," she said. "They've already expressed an interest in participating in our efforts with the Dave Thomas Foundation."

Lake Las Vegas annually stages the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, an invitational golf event featuring top players from the PGA, LPGA and the Champions Tour, benefitting the Dave Thomas Foundation, created to aid adoption by the late founder of the Wendy's hamburger chain.

The Loews property at Lake Las Vegas will have 400 rooms, including 40 suites, and will have a 40,000-square-foot meeting facility, two restaurants, a 20,000-square-foot spa, two outdoor pools with whirlpools, pool cabanas and bars off the lobby and pool.

A spokeswoman also said the company plans to offer its showcase travel programs, including Loews Loves Kids for families, Loews Loves Pets for travelers with animals and T-Loews for teenagers.

Emily Goldfischer, vice president of public relations for Loews, said the programs have been recognized by family publications and include offering special amenities for people traveling with their families and pets.

Goldfischer said the Loews Loves Kids program offers a "Kids Kloset" with games, books, strollers, nightlights, baby blankets and outlet protectors to childproof a room. Gameboys and DVDs are available for teens through the T-Loews program.

Krukowski said Loews Loves Kids would complement the existing programs for children at Lake Las Vegas, which currently includes hiking as well as instruction in fly-fishing, sailing and operating paddleboats on the lake.

Launched in 2003, the Loews Loves Pets program includes a listing of services available for pets, pet bedding, litter boxes and pet toys.

While most of Loews' 19 properties are east of the Mississippi, the company has resorts in Southern California (Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, the Loews Beverly Hills and the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego) and Arizona (Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson). The company also has operates the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando in Florida and the House of Blues Hotel in Chicago.

She said Loews' properties are characterized by developments built to reflect the destination. The company's Philadelphia property, for example, is a converted historic bank building and the Tucson property is nestled in the mountains at Ventana Canyon.

Robert Glazier, principal for Hill Glazier Architects Inc., who designed the Loews Ventana Canyon property, has been hired as the architect for the Lake Las Vegas resort.

Goldfischer said Loews has never ventured into the gaming industry and has no plans to start at Lake Las Vegas. Krukowski added that there are no plans for a casino near the Loews site.