Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Downtown Project shows off Oasis boutique hotel

Downtown Project Unveils Renovations at Oasis at Gold Spike

Steve Marcus

A view of the pool at Oasis at Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. The Oasis, a boutique hotel owned and operated by the Downtown Project, officially unveiled renovations during a tour Tuesday.

Downtown Project Unveils Oasis at Gold Spike

A standard room is shown at Oasis at Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. The Oasis, a boutique hotel owned and operated by the Downtown Project, officially unveiled renovations during a tour Tuesday. Launch slideshow »

The Downtown Project has entered the hotel business.

The $350 million campaign to transform the once-blighted area around East Fremont Street now includes a 44-room boutique hotel: Oasis at Gold Spike.

The Oasis marks the Downtown Project’s first venture into the hotel business and serves as another tactic to revitalize downtown, said Kim Schaefer, Downtown Project spokeswoman.

Zappos chief Tony Hsieh’s project aims to transform the area around the shoe company’s corporate home in downtown Las Vegas into a respectable, moneymaking core of commerce and culture. The project is reportedly investing $200 million in real estate, $50 million in small businesses, $50 million in education and $50 million in tech startups through the Vegas TechFund.

With its orange and turquoise color scheme and palm tree-dotted pool area beneath a historic neon sign, the Oasis looks like something ripped straight out of a Florida beach community.

The hotel offers 38 regular, 260-square-foot rooms and six suites, which are about double that size with walk-in closets and leather couches.

Each room has a unique design. The floors are made of a gray-colored laminate.

“Every time you come to stay with us, it’s a different experience,” Schaefer said.

In the hotel lobby, a bookshelf is stocked with tech classics like “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. And the lobby will soon have a record player and vinyl collection for customers to thumb through, said Mike Stoll, the Downtown Project’s operations chief.

Downtown Project officials would not comment on how much they spent on the renovation of the Oasis. Hsieh bought the Gold Spike from The Siegel Group for a reported $27 million in April 2013.

The Siegel Group had a similar vision for a boutique hotel and had carried out significant renovations, but the Downtown Project still invested “multi-millions” into the Oasis, Stoll said.

A midweek stay at the Oasis will run between $49 and $69 a night. Weekend rates could range from $79 to $129. On weekends when a blockbuster concert comes to town — like this weekend’s Life Is Beautiful Festival — rooms could top $200.

Coming on the heels of 30 Downtown Project layoffs earlier this month, the Oasis created 11 new jobs. Schaefer said the hotel was not impacted by the restructuring.

Since opening Sept. 15, the hotel has maintained a 50 percent occupancy rate, according to hotel manager Dave Sosa, who has worked in operations at Caesars Palace and the M Resort.

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