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The hallway inside the new Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011.
Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 | 2 a.m.
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Las Vegas tourists often come to the city looking for a bargain, especially as the economy continues to falter. Caesars Entertainment is counting on the boutique feel of a new hotel tower to attract customers despite its higher prices.
Finishing touches are being put on Octavius Tower, Caesars Palace’s “hotel within a hotel,” in advance of its Jan. 2 opening. The 668-room, 23-story hotel complex on the Flamingo Avenue side of the resort features a private valet, entrance and lobby, large rooms with custom furniture and technological upgrades, and direct pool access.
“Caesars Palace is a large property, and we want guests to enjoy all of it but with a quicker check-in experience, better service and a small hotel feel,” said Stephen Thayer, director of hotel operations.
Rooms run large — the standard measures 550 square feet — and are awash with glass and marble and cool green tones. Sitting areas feature custom-patterned chaise lounges and velvet sofas. Flat-screen TVs with media hubs that can stream content from personal computers and smartphones hang on the walls.
The luxury comes at a premium. A standard room in the Octavius Tower averages about $249 a night, compared with $179 for a classic room in Caesars’ Roman or Centurion towers. During peak weekends or conventions, Octavius rooms can run as much as $889. Regardless, many nights already are sold out.
“The price differential between the rooms (in Octavius and less expensive towers) is a nice dinner out,” Thayer said. “We’ve seen a lot of great indicators here in Las Vegas and at Caesars specifically that point to a recovery. Occupancy and room rates are up. Even with things shaky in the market, we felt it was the right time to roll out the rooms. The project has been on mothballs so long, we could have waited a bit longer if we didn’t feel that way.”
Completion of the Octavius Tower, part of an $860 million resort expansion, stalled like many Strip developments in 2009 when the economic crash crippled demand for hotel rooms. Caesars officials, then under the umbrella of Harrah’s Entertainment, decided to delay the tower’s opening until the market improved. The expansion originally was announced in July 2007 when resort construction was still booming.
Octavius Tower is Caesars’ sixth hotel tower and brings the resort’s room count to just under 4,000. The project created 450 jobs.
Among the perks tower customers will receive are technology upgrades designed to make their stay more comfortable. Besides the media hubs, a new mobile application available to all Octavius guests brings concierge service to their fingertips by allowing them to virtually book dinner reservations or a spa appointments, request their vehicles from the valet or schedule wake-up calls.
Despite its grand opening next month, a few more upgrades are still in the works for Octavius Tower. Three penthouse floors of suites are expected to come online in mid-January, and three new villas are set to debut this summer.
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Worst hallway decor ever. Person must have been blind. The longer you look at it the more you want to puke.
When they implode the tower someday. they should put a camera on that hallway to catch the collapse from the inside.
eal with the designer that picked that wallpaper out.
Cool, now the Sun has many posters that are interior decorators and know better then the people in the industry.
You would think with all the talent that posts here this town would be on top and out of the recession already. ;-)
Just because something is not your personal taste does not make it wrong, just not for you.
If the posters on here were given 1 million dollars, they would complain that the bills were to wrinkled!!!
So many haters with degenerated taste buds!
If a Hotel like this and this design would open somewhere in New York or London, every one would moan some "ooohhs" and "ahhhhs"!
However, here you make a mockery out of it? Keep it real, it is not build for your Motel 6 taste with pizza delivery, it is build and surely appreciated by International clientele who look for the newest and innovative in this City and willing to spend top dollars for it vs. the ones like you looking for cheap and dull bargains!
Like it or not, Caesars soon will shine again, brighter than ever! This is only the beginning!
The rooms look nice, but I have to agree with the naysayers about that wallpaper in the hallway. It reminds me of some creepy old haunted place.
Herman Muenster wallpaper purchased at Big Lots. The paint was leftover from other Caesars Pal renovations. The 200 thread count sheets for these new rooms came directly from Anna's Linens, and finally the carpeting used was from the Flamingo Go Rooms. (leftovers) That's how you finish something you didn't have money for in the first place.
Just get rid of the wallpaper. we only stay in mini-sweets anymore. Mostly at the Palazzo or Wynns. We will try out for one night. Give en a chance.