VegasChatter

Tags: Snapshot / The Cosmopolitan / Openings / Hotels / → All Tags

The Cosmo Keeps Us Guessing With Its Side View

As you know we’re obsessed with The Cosmopolitan so as we were touring a room at Caesars the other day, we couldn’t help but let our glance wander southwards. And lo and behold, what did we see but some unfinished lettering. And seeing as we’re pretty sure they wouldn’t have turned on their marquee with all the bells and whistles without finishing the name on the side of the hotel first, we’d like to think they’re sending us a message.

Will the hotel be cosmetically pleasing? A microcosm of a new world? A result of cosmic ordering? Or did they just forget to finish off the side yet? We’ll let you know when the rest go up.

Tags: Labor Day Weekend / Hotels / Room Rates / → All Tags

Room Rates for Labor Day Weekend Still Totally Doable

What would you rather--newer rooms at PH Towers or old ones for more money at Planet Hollywood?

We told you a few weeks ago that room rates Labor Day Weekend would start to get jacked up closer to the date but we're still waiting for the big increase. Which is good news for Vegas visitors!

Looking at our old standby Expedia.com the tried and true budget hotels (Luxor, Sahara, Imperial) are keeping their rates about $100 a night. Even Paris is holding steady around $150 a night. Things creep up at the Palazzo to about $250 a night which is also the same going rate for Vdara (don't forget those resort fees!) Caesars is about $270 a night while Wynn has the rest beat, averaging $352 a night.

more ›

Tags: What Not To Do / Hotels / Do Not Do / Tips / → All Tags

What Not To Do When Booking A Hotel

We spend a good amount of time telling you what to do in Vegas and recently started leveling the scales pointing out What NOT to Do in Vegas. First we questioned cheesy souvenir pics, then Free Show Coupons. This week: Location, Location, Location.

Part of the fun of planning your Vegas trip is choosing your hotel. You might have a favorite you always frequent or you may have a rule against staying at the same hotel twice. The decision can be made based on Resort Fees, or by the coolest pool, while other times you’re just looking for the outright best deal.

more ›

Tags: VegasChatter Reviews / Rumor Resort / Boutique Hotels / Hotels / → All Tags

Staying at the Rumor (Part Two): It Got a Whole Lot Better

We were ready to dropkick that purple pacifier seat during our nightmare check-in.

Yesterday, we told you a tale about our long, dreadful experience checking into our room at Rumor. Yes, we actually stuck it out after all that. And today we reveal how the rest of the stay went.

We had just been escorted to our fourth and final room to ensure this one was up to snuff. While we didn't score an upgraded pool view, we did get to settle into a king size suite.

Room Reaction:
Number Four was a second floor room with an oversized soaking tub. Even as hot and tired as we were, we loved the room almost immediately. Maybe it was the cool AC working in not one, but both rooms. Maybe it was the shower door that shouted hello. Whatever it was, we knew we weren't giving this room up.

The suite had the same white with purple accents in both rooms separated by double doors. The living room area had a familiar white, leather couch, a small, round table with two chairs and a chaise by the sliding doors. A 27 inch flat screen hung on the bedroom wall, while a second smaller flat screen was in the living room.

The tub sadly wasn't Jacuzzi-style but it was roomy and quite welcoming even though it was located in the bedroom with swinger mirrors on two sides. We wondered how many rubber duckies will be turn up missing each week.

more ›

Tags: VegasChatter Reviews / Rumor Resort / Boutique Hotels / Hotels / → All Tags

Staying at the Rumor (Part One): A Tale of Four Check Ins

The valet and front entrance face the Hard Rock. Good idea keeping it guarded.

As you know by now, Rumor is the newest kid on the Vegas block; the St. Tropez turned boutique hotel off the Strip across from the Hard Rock. We’ve given you a preview of the grounds and peeked inside the rooms. But what was is it like to actually stay as a guest? Would it be a case of a pig in lipstick, as one of our readers thinks? Thanks to the Buy One Night Get One Free offer, which has been extended a month, we found out that wasn’t the completely the case last weekend. It starts out rough, but hang with us.

Last week, we made a Vegas Mistake of not informing our waiter we had show tickets. We learned from that but never dreamed we might have to also apply that policy to hotel check-ins.

more ›

Tags: The Cosmopolitan / Hotels / Openings / Room Rates / Restaurants / → All Tags

The Cosmopolitan Rooms Holding Steady at $300 on Opening Night (But Just Wait a Week)

As we write this, the marquee at The Cosmopolitan is getting ready to be lit up! Stay tuned tomorrow when we have pics or follow us NOW on Twitter!

It's only August but we're wishing December would hurry up and get here fast. The Cosmopolitan is still set to open on December 15 and rooms start at a hefty $300 a night for a Terrace Studio suite. Hopefully, those rates will come down a touch as we get closer to opening day but if you still want to save a few pennies, here's a new tactic for Vegas--visit on opening weekend.

December 15th falls on a Wednesday and rates drop to $275 that Friday and Saturday. Still want to save more money? Go the following week when rates drop further to $175 a night. (They creep back up to $225 for Christmas weekend.)

more ›

Tags: Openings / Photo Galleries / Rumor Resort / Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Video / → All Tags

Let the Whispering Commence: The Rumor Rooms Are Open

We’ve shown you the outside – now it’s time to peek inside the Rumor Resort. We weren’t sure what to expect from the rooms – they reminded us of a Greek island from the outside, but we didn’t know if they’d go Vegas or Mykonos for the interiors.

And actually, they’re kind of European boutique crossed with a purple color scheme worthy of a Hard Rock or a Planet Hollywood. Interesting.

We looked around a couple of the suites, and liked what we saw. Flat screen TVs, stripy showers, delicious (eucalyptus) toiletries, mirror-flanked tubs in the king suites and nice design touches. They’re not huge rooms, by Vegas standards, but they include everything you need. And nothing crazy, but then, this is a boutique hotel in Vegas. You've got to take these things in stages.

more ›

Tags: Openings / Photo Galleries / Rumor Resort / Hotels / Boutique Hotels / → All Tags

The First Glimpse of the Rumor Resort

So yesterday we finally got a peek round the public bits of the Rumor Resort. Tomorrow, we’ll bring you a room tour, but for now, feast your eyes on these pictures.

From what we saw yesterday, we likey a lot.

The lobby area is small but chic. Ditto the bar and restaurant – small, but you get the impression they’ve put a lot of work into it. There are also restaurant tables outside, which makes capacity a lot bigger.

One word for the garden: heavenly. There’s a huge grass lawn fringed with palm trees – the tall, spindly ones like you get in LA – and in two of the corners, there are hammocks hooked up to the palms. The fact that it made us want to clamber in immediately, despite the 115 (or whatever it was) degree heat yesterday, says a lot.

more ›

Tags: Openings / Rumor Resort / Hotels / → All Tags

No Kids, But Plenty of Grassy Knolls: The Rumor Is Open

No kidz allowed on the grassy knolls

The Rumor Resort is open! We’ll bring you some pics and a report of a look-see very soon, but in the mean time, here are a few more deets on what’s going down there opposite the Hard Rock.

* There are 150 suites, and the feel is “Las Vegas meets Palm Springs with a Los Angeles feel”. Specific!
* The lobby’s been designed as an “ultra-lounge”, with a Carrara-marble carved bar in the middle
* The color palette is lavender (trying to ignore high school memories of being told purple’s the sign of sexual frustration)
* The pool area includes a wet deck, palm trees and a lawn (competition for the Trop’s new leafy poolside) complete with grassy knolls and hammocks.
* New restaurant, Addiction, is launching signature dishes like crème brulee oatmeal and sea bass satays. Eat inside, or you can get a picnic to have on one of those grassy knolls.

Best of all, it’s over 18s only, and they’re still making a big thing about the “zero attitude”. Fingers crossed that’s true! We can’t wait to test it out.

Tags: Room Rates / Deals / Bellagio / Hotels / → All Tags

Bellagio Is Playing it Cool With $129 Room Rates

Yesterday, as we were coming back from a little Vegas-style vacation to New York, we met a taxi driver who’d just returned from a week at the Bellagio, and rhapsodized about the place as if his life depended on it. So as soon as we got back, the first thing we did was to see how the rates are doing over there at the moment.

And the answer appears to be: not too bad. Although they don’t have any special deals or discounts going at the moment, they do have special online rates – cheaper than the standard prices you get booking online.

You access the rates by signing up for their special offers emails (go to the “exclusive web offers” page on the website), and straightaway it’ll knock down the price of the room. By how much depends on the price in the first place – so you can get a $159 room (the cheapest standard rate in July) for $129, while a $179 room on 1 August becomes $139. For the Bellagio? Sounds pretty fine to us.

According to the blurb on the website, the special rates are only available Sunday through Thursday, but from what we can see, the discounts apply on weekends as well. There are blackout dates though – the last two weekends in July and then 15-19 August for starters.

And don’t forget the best thing – as of yet, there’s still no resort fee at the Bellagio - at least, there isn't for now. Which gives you $20 to waste on some posh slots.

Tags: Sneak Peek / The Cosmopolitan / Hotels / Hotel Rooms / Openings / → All Tags

The Cosmopolitan's Wraparound Terrace Suites Start at $510 on Opening Night

Yesterday we dropped some amazing new photos of The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and while we continue to drool over the pics, we're trying to keep our excitement in check but checking our bank account.

The Cosmopolitan's full website is up and aside from a glut of room photos for every category, the big news is that you can even make reservations for opening day on December 15. Our nifty commenters chatted a bit about this and it looks like the starting rate for opening night is $300 for a standard City room which comes with two queen-sized beds.

But the better deal is the terrace studio which comes with a king bed and a private 110-sq.ft. terrace for the same price. As the photo on the Cosmo's website suggests, you can drink coffee and stare upon Las Vegas and wonder when the Veer Towers are going to open.

more ›

Tags: Sneak Peek / The Cosmopolitan / Hotels / Hotel Rooms / → All Tags

A Sneak Peek at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Awww yeeaaah. Nothing gets us Vegas geeks more excited than a sneak peek and that is just what we have today for the upcoming The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino opening in Las Vegas on December 15th. Check out these condo-style room shots! We're loving the residential style here (some rooms will feature terraces) and that peekaboo bathroom looks positively naughty.

The Cosmopolitan also launched a full website today with even more information on the resort's guest rooms, the casino, its three pools, the Sahra spa and the resort's eagerly anticipated "restaurant collection." We've posted before on the restaurant announcements but we are extremely excited for one of our fave NYC sushi joints, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill to open at the Cosmo.

We'll have loads more on the Cosmo tomorrow but for now, don't make any plans for New Year's Eve. That's when The Cosmopolitan will have its grand opening party!

What do you think of the Cosmopolitan rooms--hot or not? Let us know in comments below

Thanks to Katalyst for hooking it up!