Las Vegas’ CityCenter on track for December opening

CityCenter, the new playground on the Vegas Strip, is racing the clock to finish in time for the rolling opening next month of three of its hotels and its glam retail space. This behemoth marks a turning point in Vegas projects. More than the end of the “Disney for adults” era, it perhaps signals the beginning of the Adult Urban Resort concept.

Numerous big-time architects and designers — Daniel Libeskind, Adam Tihany, Pelli Clarke Pelli, David Rockwell and on and on — plus top restaurants (Jean-Georges Steakhouse, Twist by Pierre  Gagnaire, Shawn McClain’s Sage Restaurant) lend gravitas — and I mean that in the nicest way — to the project.

It’s hard to fathom the scope of CityCenter without delving into its numbers, so here are some I gleaned last week from a hard-hat tour. As you’re trying to picture how big this project is, consider that the average U.S. home is said to be 2,350 square feet or that the playing field of Dodger Stadium is said to be 100,000 square feet.

CityCenter

Square footage: 18 million

Employees: 12,000

Cost: $8.5 billion

Construction workers: 9,000

And now for its parts:

Mandarin Oriental

Rooms: 392

Residences: 227

Spa: 27,000 square feet on two levels

Stories: 47

Casinos: None

Opening: Dec. 4

Opening rates: From $298/night

Aria Resort & Casino

Rooms: 4,004 (568 suites)

Spa: 80,000 square feet (62 treatment rooms)

Stories: 61

Casino: One, about 150,000 square feet

Theaters: One with 1,840 seats that will have Cirque du Soleil paying homage to the King through music, special effects and acrobatics in “Viva Elvis.”

Opening: Dec. 16

Opening rates: From $159

Vdara

Rooms: 1,495 (all-suite hotel)

Stories: 57

Spa: 18,000 square feet on two levels

Casinos: None

Opening: Dec. 1

Opening rates: From $159 (although I also saw $129)

Crystals retail

Square feet: 500,000

Big-name retailers: Names include  Tifanny & Co.,  Bulgari, Tom Ford and Miu Miu, and restaurants include a couple of places by Wolfgang Puck, Eva Longoria Parker’s Beso Las Vegas and an outdoor pub by Todd English.

Opening: Dec. 3

(Note that Veer Towers are residential only and that Harmon Hotel will not open until late next year.)

—Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor

Photo at top: The monorail, set against Veer Towers at CityCenter,  has station stops at the Monte Carlo, Crystals and the Bellagio. Photos by Catharine Hamm/Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:07 am by Catharine Hamm and is filed under Business Travel, Hotels, Las Vegas, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice, Spa, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.