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A room in a “Panoramic Suite” during the opening of the Vdara on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. The 57-story, 1,495-suite luxury property is the first to open in MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion CityCenter project.
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Vdara: Views from the Inside (12-1-09)
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MGM Mirage and Dubai World executives unveiled the first phase of the CityCenter project on Dec. 1, 2009. We take you on a tour of Vdara's new Silk Road restaurant, its 18,000-square-foot spa, and some of its 1,495 rooms.
Sun archives
After a night of grand opening festivities, Vdara’s first public guests checked into the hotel Wednesday and while the hotel has only sold out for one night in the next few months, Vdara’s general manager is predicting strong occupancy through the month.
“We originally forecasted (an occupancy rate) in the mid-70s, but we are actually going to end the month of December in the mid-80s,” Vdara General Manager Angela Lester said. “We are doing extremely well and I think it’s because we didn’t come into the market place at a high rate."
Rates for Vdara’s suites will begin at $159 to $2,000 a night, according to an MGM Mirage release about the hotel. Rates begin at $129 for a weekday stay in one of Vdara’s 582-square-feet deluxe suites through January.
Weekend rates begin at $159 during December, but Vdara’s availability calendar seems to reflect a typical average weekend rate of $199 through January.
Vdara priced its rooms to give guests a luxury value and as a gateway to other MGM Mirage properties, Lester said.
“They can stay here in a suite and not pay the rates of the Bellagio but still have all the amenities of Bellagio, in addition to CityCenter,” Lester said.
The non-gaming hotel is connected to Bellagio’s casino floor through a covered walkway and is located on the north side of Aria.
So far, Vdara’s availability calendar shows that the hotel is only sold out on the night of Dec. 16 — the opening of the 4,004 Aria Resort and Casino — but Lester said she expects the hotel to be at full occupancy during New Year’s Eve, like most other hotels in the Las Vegas.
Vdara’s suites range from 582-square-feet, one-bedroom suites to 1,447-square-feet, two-story, two-bedroom penthouses.
Each suite will include a full-service kitchen, a feature that Lester believes will be a draw for international clients who are looking for a non-gaming property.
The suites will also double as condos, if anyone chooses to purchase them. The hotel has 400 rooms open and will continue to open more as the demand increases, Lester said.
While Lester didn’t give numbers of how many condos are under contract, she said sales are going well. Condo sale closings aren’t expected to begin until March.
“MGM Mirage is considering doing financing and, plus the 30 percent price reduction, I think that will really help,” Lester said.
The 57-story, 1,495-room hotel celebrated its grand opening Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a private Vanity Fair party, giving invited guests a first glimpse at the property.
The unveiling of Vdara marked the first of CityCenter’s openings, with Crystals and Mandarin Oriental opening later this week.
I'm confused about the kitchens. Are there really that many Vegas tourists who want to take the time to drive off strip and go find a Vons or something so they can "cook at home"? And that means MGM's paying housekeeping to clean a kitchen every night.
Also, if I'm reading the article right, the better-than-expected occupancy rate they are citing is based on only 400 of the 1500 rooms being made available, so I guess using that method of counting they can achieve whatever occupancy level they want to show.
Non smoking hotel that missed the chance to have a non smoking gaming area.
A lot of these rooms were designed as "condo/hotel" rooms, so the kitchens were kinda required for the unit owners to use. I'm sure if this property were being designed today, there would be no kitchens, as the "condo/hotel" business model has been proven to be hilariously bogus!!
The spin is on! 80% occupancy in 1/3 of the building. Yeah those kitchens are going to be real convenient! forget about the one hundred and fifty dollar plate restaurants downstairs! Absolute joke!!
While I strolled through Vdara yesterday, I notice a smashed window in the walkway to the Bellagio, automatice soap dispensers in the mens restroom at the lobby that didn't work, water puddling at the restroom sink area because of a flawed design...and mostly, no one is home!!!
400 rooms out of nearly 1500 open to achieve 80% occupancy....these guys are in a little trouble
Good luck with the hotel condo sales...the model doesn't work at the prices they need (even at 30% off) except for those who don't care about overpaying for a lousy investment...not sure how many of those are out there these days. Hotel condo prices should be at 30% of original pricing, then, maybe they can sell a few more.
give me a break.
how much free advertising can the sun give these people?
"We are doing extremely well"
It does look like they are saying we predict an 80% occupancy of 27% of the total rooms.
The whole project looks like an uphill battle in this economy, and what there is to do is put on a happy face and spin positive stories.
Uphill is putting it lightly, this unfortunate timing of the completion and opening of this property is like trying to open a kosher deli in Berlin 1939.
Course these things can turn around. The Empire State Building opened with bad timing at the beginning of the Great Depression and for years was jokingly known as the "Empty State Building". 75 years later it's still going strong (well, maybe not at the moment, but you know what I mean).
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I am suprised that people are saying it is a bad time to open this property. It would actually be a great time. We are slighlty coming out of a recession, we are going upwards, slightly yes, however, it is upward. You don't want to open a property when the economy is great, because you missed a lot of the great economy. You want to open a property BEFORE the economy is good. The best time to open any business is during the slow period for the business.
stratboy
Where did you read Vegas was coming out of this recession? Sure, many parts of the country are, but unfortunately, not Vegas. That 13.4% unemployment rate (which I believe to be higher) has to come down to under 10% first before things start to look up. Again, when people have money to spend again - and that may not happen for awhile yet - Vegas will not be at the top of the list of places to visit on the cheap for a long weekend. Hell, I would assume those on the East Coast can fly down to the Bahamas for less than going to Vegas!! Or to Cancun or San Juan for that matter. As far as gambling - I read in our local paper this week the local casinos are doing a great business. Who needs Vegas?
Det_Munch : This is so true, the local Indian casinos all over the country are filling that gambling desire for such a huge percentage of the tourists who used to come here. All we here in Las Vegas have to offer them these days is tight slots, expensive rooms, meals, and blue glass steel office buildings..
This news is sure to piss off all the doomsayers posting here. They love the negative and hate the positive.
oh a kitchen, we used turn the travel iron over and use it as a make shift hotplate to cook beans.
By logic : That sounds pretty negative there buddy!!
environprotector-Nope,not spin, just stating the obvious.
Btw, we all know that the economy sucks here(yes,negative but true)and isn't going to get appreciably better soon. I just got tired of the same people beating the same old drum.
It's not clear from the article if they are separating the hotel-condo numbers from just the hotel numbers. Are they going to rent out the condo-hotel before they are sold? What's more interesting is that there is no bank financing anywhere for hotel-condos. (and many condos in general in Nevada) I'm not sure who has a few hundred thousand dollars to toss out on a hotel room with a kitchenette. That is why MGM said they would finance them.
The rooms look nice and a great concept. I hope they do well.
***For those in favor of CC please read on
There are about 88 comments.
If you face the fact that your pride is hurt and you suggest others to get on a plane and leave then you should do the following:
Go buy a suite at CC and post your claim that as a supporter of Las Vegas, you bought a suite and we are invited to verify your purchase. If you can't buy a suite, well that makes you a phony.
If you support the figures and analytical probabilities that CC will succeed, please get back on the little yellow bus and ask the driver to take you home. The driver should take away your internet access and let you suck on your thumb as you always have.
***Opposing comments
I am sure that there were posting which were removed for many reasons.
I hope mine is not one of them.
I think it would bring a lot more importance to this discussion if users would bring forth relevant facts.
My understanding is that 6 construction workers died at this site.
There is no mention of them because negative publicity does not promote good business.
My 2 cents is that while the melting pot's ultimate goal is financial stability for everyone, the same focus and attention should be kept as a top priority to the responsibilities of everyone involved in this goal whether it is a visitor, city employee, local newspaper or native.
good times or bad, there are one hell of a lot of hotels rooms getting ready to enter the market..... for the sake of Las Vegas as a whole, I hope it does well. Time will only tell...
"MGM Mirage is considering doing financing and, plus the 30 percent price reduction, I think that will really help," Lester said.
MGM you just dont get it,do YOU?
peace out
Those white bed spreads are gonna be fun to keep clean .......
Best of luck, looks beautiful! When the recession plays out, CC will do well. Give it a break, naysayers!
Rough road ahead for CityCenter. Copied from my a casino blog.
"Phil Ruffin, who owns the Treasure Island casino-resort about 1 1/2 miles north of CityCenter, said new hotels have historically helped tourism but CityCenter is opening into unprecedented economic circumstances.
"It's going to be bloody out there," the Kansas billionaire told The Associated Press. "We wish them all the success in the world because it would help the whole city of Las Vegas, but I can't think of a worse time to open up 7,000 rooms."
Including condominiums, CityCenter will have nearly 6,800 units open early next year with 400 more hotel rooms planned.
While marketed to high-end customers, rates for a room at CityCenter on Dec. 20 start at $129 at the boutique Vdara, $149 at anchor resort Aria and $345 at the luxury Mandarin Oriental.
Ruffin said tourism likely won't improve substantially until unemployment drops nationally. Others fear that even when the economy improves, visitors won't spend as freely as they did before the downturn."
Can anyone tell me what a "Vdara" is anyways? Does it mean something?
We have a reservation for May next year and really looking forward to visiting City Center. After staying in Vegas for 9 years every year from the Netherlands I think Vegas will survive this crisis. Offcourse I am not an expert an USA economy but I believe after every dip there will be another peak again, its almost natural. Anyway, we are planning to pump some extra money into Las Vegas economy.