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Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun
CEO John Unwin waves to spectators on the CityCenter bridge from atop the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas marquee.
Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010 | 7:29 p.m.
Las Vegas’ neon highway became a bit brighter Tuesday as the Strip welcomed its newest marquee.
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Chief Executive John Unwin flicked the switch for the Cosmopolitan’s 65-foot marquee at a media event Tuesday afternoon. Comprised of four LED screens, the marquee took more than six months to build.
The 2,995-room, 50-story resort-casino between the Bellagio and CityCenter is planning a soft opening in December with a grand opening celebration on New Year’s Eve weekend.
Until June, few details had been released about the 8.7-acre development, but the resort’s recently-launched website indicates it will have a 43,000-square-foot spa, 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 60,000 square feet of retail space and 11 restaurants, many of which will be led by celebrity chefs.
Keeping up with the current daylife and nightlife trends on the Strip, Cosmopolitan will have three separate pools, one of which will be an adult pool, and a nightclub by the Tao Group. Details about the nightclub haven’t been released.
It is still unclear whether Cosmopolitan will include condos, which was part of the resort’s original plan.
Deutsche Bank, which foreclosed on the resort in 2008, is spending $1.1 billion to complete the Cosmopolitan for its December opening, the company said in a regulatory filing last month.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas dares to be different. From the hotel’s red reservations desks to fine art found throughout the resort, The Cosmopolitan’s signature style is helping to pave its own path on the Las Vegas Strip.
Upon entering the resort, you’re greeted by pillars of video boards playing video art by Digital Kitchen and David Rockwell Studio exclusively produced for The Cosmopolitan. Just beyond that, you’ll find all your favorite casino games on the resort’s 100,000-square-foot casino floor.
The Cosmopolitan’s rooms standout as the resort’s most unique feature. About 2,220 of The Cosmopolitan’s 2,995 rooms have 6-foot deep terraces that span the length of the room, a first at a modern Strip hotel. Other in-room amenities include soaking tubs, kitchenettes and quirky accessories like artsy coffee table books.
The dining experience at The Cosmopolitan isn’t something you’ll find at other Strip resorts, either. All of The Cosmopolitan’s 13 restaurateurs are new to the Las Vegas market. You’ll find American steakhouse fare in a modern setting at STK, top-notch sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and the freshest fish flown in from the Mediterranean daily at Estiatorio Milos.
Whether the sun is up or down, Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub is the place to find the party at The Cosmopolitan. The venue is a dayclub/nightclub, complete with a pool and cabanas outside and three different rooms with three different vibes inside.
If nightclubs aren’t your thing, you can grab a drink at one of The Cosmopolitan’s five other bars, like The Chandelier, which is encased in 2 million dripping crystals.
That's what we need another Casino. I predict by Feb the room rate will be under $100. Don't expect the Fountainbleau to open. Most likely it will be sold to the Chinese as a factory for their cars.
The rooms in this place actually have balconies, and one can just imagine how many drunk and/or distraught guests will plummet to their deaths from time to time.
Deutsche Bank probably felt that they really had no choice but to finish this thing and open it, as to do nothing and let it sit as an empty hulk, a la Fountainbleu, would ultimatly have cost them more. Time will tell if this is the case but more room inventory is the LAST thing this town needs right now!
I've also heard rumors that there have been some major problems with the physical structure itself. Perhaps another poster can let us know if there's any truth to possible foundation issues with the building?
There is a group here that continually complain about the unemployment in Nevada/lack of new jobs - here is a company that has opened an establishment in a weak economy, have hired a multitude of people to work in the hotel and you want to see it fail...you people are screwed up.
burnem;
do you mean like the throngs that have hurled themselves off the balconies across the street at the Signature? Geez, at least have a clue prior to being dramatic.
"I've also heard rumors that there have been some major problems with the physical structure itself."
Duuuhhh....Your rumor and a buck gets you a bag fries.
I haven't heard anyone who wants the Cosmo to fail. But the truth is, it will have some tough sledding ahead and may cannibalize the floundering Vegas market even further than CityCenter has.
T.S.
I can tell you, when I stay in Vegas, I stay with my friend. Sorry I couldn't occupy one of your hotel rooms! I will next time, just to see what it's like. The only ones that stood out to me as being halfway classy were the Mirage and the Palms though!
T.S... you haven't heard anyone who wants the Cosmo to fail? Stick around...as the doom and gloom posters, it's pretty much all they root for!
The prevailing braintrust here of course saw all this comin'.
To be sure, the opening of these properties (Cosmo and Fountainbleu) couldn't come at a worse time. These newer rooms will spell further trouble for the Sahara, Riviera and the like. "Tough sledding" is an appropriate desciption... and then some.
I'm convinced that the vast majority of people who post comments on online news stories are either jealous, frustrated, angry, unemployed, unambitious, juvenile, armchair quarterbacks - or all of the above.
this joint went bankrupt before it even opened--Im not sure that ever happened before????--How bad is that management! UN WIN-can the ceo's name be an omen????--Now they are opening into the worst domestic market in history--GOOD LUCK. The location is the only good thing about this project--should get alot of walk thru business anyways--next to the fountains and bellagio. Those rooms rates are a joke--city center and wynn and encore all tried to pull the same bs prior to opening--just lower the rates right off the bat and stop stroking yourselves!
Still, RPJ, they are the "vast majority", so what are you, a winner in life, or someone who hasn't experienced reality yet because they've been buffered by family money, or worse, luck?
mrlucky tons of places have gone bankrupt before they opened, stratosphere being the prime example, companies building skyscrapers and malls all across the world have foreclosed long before their structures were built, it happens alot more than people think
RPJ- *ding ding ding* we have a winner!
what a bunch of pessimistic whiners
I wish, The Cosmopolitan, it's employees & John Unwin, plus any and all companies who do business with The Cosmopolitan, the best of luck. Here's to raising my glass, which is "Half Full", and wishing you all great success. Cheers! VIVA LAS VEGAS!
I don't get it! You read about so many casino's in in a financial bind and yet new casino's are sprouting up. Do these people have any common sense? Look at the economy! About the the job situation, sounds like it's a domino effect. These new casino's are taking a fraction of the business away, leading to less business elsewhere, causing the other casino to lay off people.
Another cold ugly addition to the skyline..
Mr Lucky (and everyone else)
The fact that Cosmo went belly up in construction give it something of an advantage. Since it went back to the bank, it isn't carrying huge debt. Yes, the bank would like to get back the money it lent out, but the property doesn't have the huge monthly/quarterly nut to cover like most of the other properties. This gives it a lot more flexibility.
I've said before that a few good bankrupsies, clearing out debt that is never going to be paid back anyway, would go a long way to revitalizing the Vegas casino industry.
This is actually a hotel I'd stay at. On the middle of the strip, balconies, big rooms, nice kitchens, and on the cheap (comparably), looks like a condo not a hotel room.
Hopefully the pool is on the roof?
That's one classy looking joint. I'll be there, toasting its success, and enjoying a great addition to Las Vegas.
Yeah, it might be a rough road financially for a while, but regardless what all the doomsayers say Vegas will come back and the Cosmopolitan will prosper.
Las Vegas - the city of cynics.
Yes, I too have become quite a bit more cynical since living here. Must be something in the air, or the heat, or in the water here that just makes everybody a downer.
I just love all these financial geniuses with a few bucks in the bank telling others how they should spend their money. If someone wants to pour millions or billions into something that's their business. So dust off those framed MBA and Accounting degrees you have and nail them to your front door so those idiot LV business people know who to consult.
I love new hotels. I will stay there when it's open.
If the present crop of hotels are struggling to put bodies in rooms driving down rates;is the addition of almost 3000 more rooms a good thing or a bad thing?
Will the addition of this venue drive every operator in this market to thinner and thinner margins, making the situation more precarious for all?
the room rates have stabilized. Just look at the rates for the premiere places any weekend. For those who shame the Cosmo for entering a crowded market, perhaps the upgrade process in kicking off again. we close the sh*tty places like Riv and Circus Latino and open really nice places like Cosmo and City Center. Its a good thing boobs.
Borris from ghana
Unbelievable!! Some of the posters here have not a clue as to what they're talking about. I'd venture to say that 99% of them are unemployed and definitely uneducated. How does one become so depressing in their thoughts? Wish for positive things, maybe Karma will reward some of the miserable souls posting here.
Samjung23 theorizes, "Still, RPJ, they are the "vast majority", so what are you, a winner in life, or someone who hasn't experienced reality yet because they've been buffered by family money, or worse, luck?"
Let me assist your reading comprehension and analysis: I stated, "I'm convinced that the vast majority of people who post comments on online news stories are ..." That limits the test group to those who post comments on online news stories, not the general public. Obviously, if you have time to post frequently on online news stories, then either you are an information enthusiast, retired, or ...
2. You then follow up with, "so what are you, a winner in life, or someone who hasn't experienced reality yet because they've been buffered by family money, or worse, luck?"
First job at 13 and never looked back. Worked 45 hours a week through university living on my own, surviving on potatoes and soup. Started my first business while working 40 hours a week at another job. Have launched three small businesses since.
Long hours, sacrifice, risk and perseverance. I know it's going out of style these days, but it's called hard work, my friend.
I send the best of luck to another development that will take Las Vegas into the future, which is exactly where it belongs.
WELL SAID RPJ
I'm with RPJ. Well said!
Great for the many visitors in our city. At least they will get competitive rates if not lower rates compared to other cities. It will be good for the locals as well, a new venue for shopping, dining, gambling and partying.
Bravo Cosmopolitan!!! Goodluck!!!
No way they're going to open all 3000 rooms at once. Probably start out with 1000 and open the rest incrementally.
Another high-end hotel that will escort me out and drive me to Danny's Slot Country where I'll fit in.
aria hotel wants $475 for a room on 8.14.2010 Check it out. I dont see how they are doing to bad if they can get that.
whats funny abouth the room rates..Weekends will be high as long as people pay it.when it drops off again, they will need to lower the scale, I still believe in Volume - not $$$..
Disney just raised their rates to the parks (gate attendance was down)..it is now $70 plus $15 to park..less people - higher rate...don't they (and us) get it?
Best of luck Cosmo, great location on the strip.
Great location and balconies.... I will consider staying there on my next trip.
Hey, GN maybe you can go get a job there and abuse their help!
Time will tell...
To those of you Horatio Alger types trumpeting the Cosmo as some sort of validation of your pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps ideal, read the article again.
The Cosmo unveiled - wait for it - a SIGN.
The joint doesn't open for another five-months. Maybe by then the sign will be torn down and placed in the Neon Museum Boneyard. You don't know if this place will succeed or fail. There was a time not so long ago when EVERY new joint in Vegas had a license to steal. Those days are over, amigos.
I fly into Vegas for vacations twice or more a year. I've seen every new resort built since the Mirage, but the Cosmopolitan is the first I've ever been motivated to book pre opening. Based on little mote than the location and the few pictures on the website, I've got a real good feeling about this project. Cross your fingers and hope it proves true.
anyone else get the feeling that most of those posting on this paper's stories are just people who sit at home all day and live off of SSI checks?????
yes i do. but that doesnt matter. some intelligence persists here, but mostly seems like angry opinionated people with vague knowledge. i guess unfavorable conditions and high unemployment has a way of doing that though. i live in texas and visit a couple of times a year, i have good luck, but to come and see all the metal skeletons and construction sites is a bigger eye sore for the tourist not to return. the north end is just ugly point blank. i never thought dallas texas would be hit bad, but they are laying off city workers left and right now too. so it sucks all over. i hope things get better soon. its not just a destination, its a community too.
So, JohnPinNV, you think recipients of SSI just "sit at home all day and live off of SSI checks." You need to inform yourself before making such incredibly stupid remarks. It is clearly obvious that you have absolutely no idea what receiving SSI is about and means.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) pays benefits based on financial need. That means those who have little or no income, who are unable to increase their incomes, and who need help just to survive. SSI makes monthly payments to people who have low income and few resources and are: age 65 or older; blind; or disabled. Disabled or blind children also can receive SSI if they qualify.
SSI is not the same as Social Security Retirement Benefits (which includes Medicare) or Social Security Disability Insurance.
Thank your lucky star that you are NOT "living off" SSI.
Flowerlover, yes JohnPinNV did misspeak, I will agree. However, you have to admit that a lot of these postings are being made by angry. bitter individuals who seem to have nothing better to do than bitch and moan about EVERYTHING!!!
This place is supposed to have a really cool Spanish born chef's restaurant that makes out of this world 'molecularly de-constructed food' yeah I know sounds weird, but look him up, he was on 60 Minutes the other night. Look forward to trying that! I hope this places makes it..
I've never lived in a city so much hated by so many of its own residents.
Best of luck to the Cosmopolitan. I hope it does well, and the city, accordingly.
Maybe they will have 6/5 blackjack like the rest of the strip properties. I may stay there but won't gamble there if they follow the other strip properties and offer lame odds on blackjack.