Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

"Besides the floor-to-ceiling windows in guest rooms, the lobby will have a large skylight and the hallways will have natural light. “We’ve broken through a lot of those old casino paradigms,” McBeath said. “We’re not afraid of light. We want people to feel comfortable.”

MGM Mirage is showing its dark side again. The room mock-up photo looks dark and uninviting to me. Also, narrow. I hope I'm wrong. It doesn't have the bright, cheerful ambience of a Wynn room.

Posted by mike_ch

It looks mostly fine to me. The carpet could stand to be a shade lighter, but these are mock-ups and the impact of them is lost on a computer screen.

The carpet really is the only dealkiller here. Maybe I have my resolution too high up, but reminds me of a purple rug out of the 70s.

I know it makes people wince when I bring up Disney on a Vegas board (and believe me, vice versa gets an equally unhappy repsonse) but Mickey did modern with browns instead of the greys MGM is using and the result is a bit more inviting.

Unlike Detroit, I find Roger Thomas' stuff too whimsically European. The numerous Deluxe Rooms at Wynn are much more restrained, but the shots I've seen of the rooms I'll never afford make me feel like I'm in a birthday cake. Hopefully someday Steve Wynn will be able to strike a tropical note again like he did at Mirage and Treasure Island, and he's been attached to the "European Elegance" motif since Beau Rivage.

Detroit - yes, it really does look narrow. I was going to say "cramped," but maybe narrow is all it is. 530 square feet is a little bit bigger than average, but in that photo it looks awfully tight. I'll be interested to see later models.

I think they might be giving themselves too much credit with this light business. Steve Wynn's big 3 all have prominent natural light in their public spaces. Putting a skylight in the lobby is only new for MGM-built properties, not in an objective sense.

Pathetic. Sometimes I think you guys should have a site called "Nice Young Wynn Worshipers".

A bit strong, don't you think Jeff?

Everyone's opinion is welcome here but how about instead of the above, you chime in with your thoughts and add that to the discussion?

If you disagree, explain why.

Jeff, I like bright rooms, and there are many examples other than Wynn. The thing that darkened the Aria room photo was the dark carpeting and dark bedspread. Many hotels have gone to white bed comforters or sheets which really are more appealing to me. Different strokes...

http://www.lvhilton.com/hotel/premium_room.shtml
http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/caesars-palace/casino-misc/premium-rooms-detail.html
http://www.goldennugget.com/accommodations/northTower.asp
http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/harrahs-las-vegas/casino-misc/deluxe-room-detail.html
http://www.bellagio.com/hotel/tower-deluxe-king.aspx

My initial reaction the very second I saw it was no big deal or just another hotel room.

Posted by mike_ch

Jeff, I'm not sure that comment was warranted. My top picks as a tourist were Paris, Bellagio, and Luxor. Keep in mind that design and architecture and visual 'wow' do more to enjoy my business than a four-star restaurant from NYC, but this is a design blog.

I have complained that Wynn's design isn't as thorough inside and out as it used to be, accused him of cutting a corner here and there. When Palazzo opened, I was quick to point out the double-standard a lot of people made in trashing it for it's phony plants, while at the same time hailing Wynn as some kind of eco-friendly visionary for using astroturf.

Call me a Wynn-worshiper, but let's give credit where credit's due here: “We’ve broken through a lot of those old casino paradigms... We’re not afraid of light. We want people to feel comfortable.” I've heard nearly those exact words come out of Wynn's mouth for years now.

But what's the point of jagged floor-to-ceiling windows, hotel corridors with natural light (from a previous article some months back), and skylights if they don't reflect off the furniture? I guess I'm in the minority since I really like the decor of the room, but it'll look dreary during the day no matter how much sun is shining through. I'm certain this isn't the only color scheme and there will be brighter options.

530 square feet sounds way too small to compete for top dollar in town. Fortunately, the technology makes up for it: "When a guest enters the room of the high-end hotel, the lights come up and the curtains draping the floor-to-ceiling windows will part." Too cool.

To me it looks like these rooms and encore are the first rooms to be designed around a flat panel TV, other rooms had to be designed larger to fit the armoir for the TV, but with the increase in technology they can leave that huge behemoth out of the room. It will be interested to see what the other hotels in city center do.

Trying to liven thngs up for the weekend. Five Hundy and Vegas Gang are both dark, I've already listened to Robert Earl twice (Pretty engaging interview, IMO), Friess is hooked up on something, and McKee takes weekends off.

I worship Wynn as much as the next guy, like eat at Strip Burger and stare at the Wynn for a hour on a Saturday night. But, I thought this thread set a record for drifting off subject toward Wynn. Although, I'm sure I'm part of the problem here.

When I read Wynn interviews, I can hear him speak, his pitch, cadence, and volume. I can truthfully say I can't do that with any other Casino executive. I think in future posts, I'll work on trying to type in the Steve Wynn style.

RateVegas rules. Thanks.

"I'll work on trying to type in the Steve Wynn style."

Jeff, if you start throwing around the word "delicious", I'm outa here! :-)

Posted by mike_ch

Start talking about yourself in multiple personalities. Use we and our for ever me, mine, or I. Example:

We're not sure where TC is coming from regarding televisions. As best as we can remember, our first room designed with flat-panels in mind was all the way back at THEhotel.

Whoops my B....but if you look at the floor plans..not all the rooms have a designated flat panel tv area...the H Suite for example still shows two spaces for tube TVs as opposed to the spaces in the V Suite which show one of each.

My original comment was talking about total resort design, as I am only guessing... the design process of TheHotel didn't originally include all flat panels as they weren't widely available in the time it was being designed. Then again maybe I am wrong as I wasn't as involved in the Vegas scene as I am now.

Obviously WLV has all flats and you can see what they did there and Palazzo obviously does too but they just basically did the same thing as the Venetian. My point is I am excited to see the various offering and changes in the rooms we will see once the whole CityCenter is open with the elimination of the armoir.

Posted by mike_ch

Have you stayed at TheHotel? It was built for flat panels in so far as there's a flat panel TV in every elevator, replacing the standard LED numbers, telling you what floor you're on and displaying video ads for the resort's offerings.

Posted by mike_ch

Two other hotels I remember not having armoires: Red Rock and Flamingo's GO Rooms.

I guess maybe I just don't understand what you're saying here.

Egad, Detroit! Those Caesars and Harrah's LV carpet patterns are so busy they give me the heebie-jeebies. I guess that's one way to get guests out of the room and down onto the casino floor. In the old days, Ralph Engelstad used to do it by building bathrooms w/o tubs, but Harrah's method is subtler.

David, are you saying I shouldn't have decorated my home like a big Harrah's room? :-)