Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

March 7, 2011

Caesars Announces Delicious New Seafood Tower

Posted by Hunter

Odd.

This morning, Caesars Entertainment, Inc., in their infinite wisdom, announced a partnership with the folks at Nobu... Yes, that Nobu - the ones that have a restaurant at the Hard Rock, founded by admittedly legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa.

The Centurion Tower will be re-done and re-branded as the Nobu Hotel. A lounge and of course a restaurant will also be added. The transition will take a year and the hotel will have it's own check-in area.

While 180 rooms and separate check-in may sound like Tower Suites or Skylofts, don't get your hopes up. The Centurion Tower was built in 1970 - most of the rooms are far smaller than what you'd find at Wynncore, Aria or Cosmopolitan. David Rockwell is doing the interiors so I guess we know what the room's desk chair will look like.

More in the Sun and RJ:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/mar/07/nv-caesars-palace-tower/

http://www.lvrj.com/news/caesars-tower-to-get-japanese-face-lift-117508473.html



Comments

Read archived comments (8 so far)
March 7, 2011 10:41 AM Posted by parchedearth

I'm skeptical that Nobu will remain open at HRH especially with that properties' ownership change.

How is CET going to finance this? It is not even clear they can raise the $400M to finish Octavius. I would guess it will take something north of $100M to do this properly.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the check-in area for a hi-end boutique hotel being in the middle of the property away from valet and parking. I presume this will mean closure of their long-term Japanese restaurant, Hyakumi. They might even put Nobu into that space.

The Centurion bathrooms are very small, so they will need to do something dramatic if they expect to command a higher price. Hint: the soaking tubs at Cosmo are pretty nice.

Can we draw any conclusions about a Japanese themed hotel in the middle of a Roman themed property?

March 7, 2011 10:44 AM Posted by Dave

I remember back in the early 1980s Benihana was supposed to open a casino in Atlantic City, so maybe this isn't totally without precedence.

And you've got to give them credit for not settling for the status quo.

March 7, 2011 11:36 AM Posted by stevecovington

This seems like it would have been a better fit over at, hmmm... Imperial Palace. Demo half the towers, reconfigure the public spaces.. etc.. Especially if they are serious about the Linq, "Hotel Nobu" could have created a nice little destination spot for the project. I was expecting them to at least close the original towers with the new tower supposedly being finished soon. CET just seems to be doing anything to survive these days.

March 7, 2011 12:00 PM Posted by Jeff Simpson

I like the plan. And with only 180 rooms, spending a few hundred thousand (say $300k) per room would be $54m, plus hallways, elevator lobbies, a restaurant and main lobby. Maybe a new elevator core, if needed. I think parchedearth is right that it will take something north of $100m -- but not much north. And replacing stale old rooms with new ones can't be bad. Do I think they'll be as good as Tower Suites at WLV or ELV? No. Or Four Seasons LV or Mandarin Oriental? No. But they'll improve Caesars Palace and give it a little more oomph.
Good for Caesars Entertainment.

March 7, 2011 3:36 PM Posted by JohnD

That last sentence provoked an actual LOL. Crazy.

As to the story, eh. I won't stay there. It's still at Caesars.

March 7, 2011 4:59 PM Posted by Chris77

I can't for the life of me figure out what the point of this idea is. Nobu is a relatively obscure brand, and is not necessarily associated with high luxury or service by people who are familiar with it. I guess Caesars is counting on the aspirational Total Rewards crowd mistakenly jumping to the conclusion that "Nobu" is something fancy that rich people like (e.g. Absolut).

March 7, 2011 7:44 PM Posted by Jeff in OKC

I thought the beauty of the boutique hotel experience was the obscurity of the new operator that the well-heeled "discover". Something kinda known, but in a new, hip presentation.

I'm guessing Caesars gets 30-70% of the remodeling cost paid by Nobu and their new investor group. A great idea when money is so hard to come by and the Centurion Tower has become a laughingstock without any other upgrade prospects. Nobu gets a chance to enter the hospitality business in a market where failure is swept under the rug faster than almost anywhere else in the world. All upside, IMO.

March 8, 2011 9:32 AM Posted by jinx

In the end is this much different then a Charlie Palmer hotel? I do understand that it doesn't fit the theme, but as I posted on VT, what's the harm here? The Centurion tower is a dump, so any publicity and capital to improve it, has to be a win for Caesars. Since it's directly part of the complex (even with planned separate amenities) at worst they just fold it into Caesars portfolio and utilize TR to fill it. I do understand the comparisons to Mandarin Oriental, but at the end of the day it's essentially a free standing building grouped together only by name. This is much more "The Hotel" or "Four Seasons" at MB which while not spectacular at least have produced for MG.