There’s a sexy new hotel in Sin City, and it’s getting more than its share of attention.
Resorts World Las Vegas is a three-hotel complex that features a Hilton, a Conrad hotel and a boutique-style property called Crockfords.
Open Jaw was able to spend a couple nights at the Conrad in late April, and we came away quite impressed. The Conrad Las Vegas totals 1,496 rooms, making it the largest Conrad hotel in the world.
Guests and visitors enter the lobby and are immediately greeted with an elegant design, along with a few bright splashes of colour. A sleek lobby bar is off to one side. Off to the right, hotel workers greet guests in front of a whimsical mural featuring stylized pink elephants that appeared to be floating in mid-air.
The lobby also sports a piano once used by Liberace, along with photos of the flamboyant performer.
Our 8th floor room featured a king-sized bed with soft, muted carpeting. Wavy, desert-like accents could be found all around, along patterns that seemed somehow Native American. There was also plenty of shiny brass and accent chairs in a bright shade of orange/red; the hotels official colour.
Premium rooms at the Conrad are a sizable 550 square feet, so you won’t feel squished.
We had a city and partial swimming pool view, but many rooms have views of the Strip.
There was no in-room coffee maker (which seems typical of Vegas hotels), but we had a mini-bar, plenty of storage space and a nice-sized bath with double sinks, a shower big enough for three people, and Byredo Mojave Ghost bath products, which smelled wonderful.
One nice touch I noticed were cold water refill stations and water fountains near the hotel lobby elevators.
The complex opened in June, 2021, and each hotel has its own entrance. I only visited for a moment, but the Hilton lobby was super busy, and the Crockfords lobby was quiet and elegant.
Hotel public relations manager Kassidy Krystek pointed out a pair of bright, orange-red Rolls Royce cars parked in front of the Crockfords.
“We’re nothing if not modest,” she said with a laugh.
One great feature is that you don’t have to go through the casino to get to your room. For the Conrad, we turned to our elevators well before the gambling floor, which made it much more pleasant.
“You don’t always want that sensory overload when you’re going up to your room,” Krystek said as she took me on a tour.
The hotel has an incredible variety of food options. Brezza sserves up “modern, coastal Italian fare,” while Carversteak features dry-aged American cuts and Japanese-certified wagyu steaks. There’s also a caviar bar, while Fuhu is billed as a “high-energy, experiential dining venue with an unexpected twist on contemporary Asian cuisine.”
Our only hotel dinner was at Crossroads Kitchen, an entirely vegan restaurant (believed to be the first of any Vegas hotel). It was quite full when we were there, which makes me think that they’re probably onto something in a city still known best for mastodon-sized steaks.
We sampled a lovely dish of strawberries and whipped feta cheese and marcona almonds on toasted sourdough. We also enjoyed a nice spring pea salad with baby radishes and mustard vinaigrette. My wife and I each chose a pasta for our main course. I went for a Carbonara-style dish that, instead of an egg yolk, had a silky yellow tomato on top that you whipped up with your fork and spread around the pasta. There was also some faux pancetta that wasn’t crispy but had a nice, smokey, meat taste to it. My wife had a beautiful ravioli dish with sweet peas, spring onions and fava beans.
The restaurant is dark and elegant, with towering red drapes and splashy, black and white photos of Elton John, Mick Jagger and other rock stars.
We had lovely cocktails, as well. My wife skipped a terrific Blubeberry Shuffle with Hera the Dog vodka, blueberry/thyme syrup, Italicus liquer and lemon juice, served with blueberries in an icy, copper cup. I had the Four O’Clock Blues with Frey Ranch Whiskey, orange and lemon juice, brown sugar, and ginger and sage syrup.
We didn’t make it, but Alle bar is on the 66th floor and offers amazing views of The Strip, as well as a casino.
The Dawg House is a lively sports bar that also has live sports betting. You can settle into a lazy boy and watch the big game while you contemplate your betting lines.
Off to one side of the casino is a spot called Famous Foods, which has an Asian street food feel and offers everything from sushi and dumplings to fried chicken and fish ‘n chips.
The District is a bright, shiny indoor shopping area that eschews the big chains. You’ll find stores such as Judith Lieber, Fred Segal, and Corso for Mexican crafts. There’s also plenty of dining, including a Brooklyn-style pizza places with slices to go and a restaurant from the folks behind the tasty, wine-centric Wally’s in Santa Monica. Not to mention a Sugarfina outlet for fine candies.
The resort’s state-of-the-art entertainment complex is currently home to shows from Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and David Blaine. They also do one-off performances, including two Kevin Hart performances in July.
As we wandered around, Krystek pointed out an old Stardust sign, Resorts World being located on the north end of The Strip where the Stardust once attracted the biggest names in entertainment.
The casino is bright and shiny and had hardly a trace of cigarette smoke smell. I was told they have one of the most modern air purification systems in town.
The casino floor is 117,000 square feet, and hotel officials say their exclusive poker areas are rated as some of the best in town.
Another feature Krystek pointed out on our tour is that there are a good number of large windows that open into the casino; a rare thing in Vegas.
“It’s not a windowless dungeon,” she said.
Guests can enroll in the Genting Rewards program and earn valuable points towards special offers and other benefits.
The swimming pool complex for the three-hotel complex is quite something, with adult relaxation areas, a buzzing main pool and a large children’s pool and water play area.
The Resorts World Awana features “personalized treatments, immersive facilities and approachable wellness offerings.”
Guests can choose from a variety of treatments inspired by European and Eastern rituals.
GREAT THINGS TO DO IN VEGAS
Lip Smacking Foodie Tours offers fun and tasty looks at a variety of food places in Las Vegas. We opted for downtown. Our guide, the entertaining and engaging Alex Kurtz, took us to the old John E. Carson Hotel, now home to a renowned spot called Carson Kitchen, where we sampled deviled eggs with pancetta and caviar, as well as beet tartare, silky shrimp with pepper cream and crispy chicken skin with smoked honey. We had fabulous esquites (Mexican street corn) and other treats at Mona Rosa and drinks on the patio at Bin 702 in the downtown Las Vegas Container Park. We finished at 7th and Carson Kitchen and Bar, where we enoyed gnocchi and a fine salad with grilled pears, burrata cheese and arugula with a white balsamic reduction. 7th and Carson was voted Restaurant of the Year in 2018 by the Nevada Restaurant Association.
This is a fun, raucous show at (where else), New York, New York on the south end of The Strip. We took a couple drinks inside and enjoyed an engaging show with basketball tricks, live music, impressive gymnastics and a caustic, very funny comic who picked on anyone who stood out in a crowd.
We had an enjoyable, educational tour of Valley of Fire State Park from Vegas guide Mark Anthony at The Vegas Tourist. He explained the remarkable natural history of the area and pointed out rock formations that looked like an elephant or a gorilla. The park features impressive rock walls in deep shades of rusty-orange and red, as well as towering cliffs and rugged canyons. Movies such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Paint Your Wagon have been partly shot here. It’s a real treat for nature lovers who want to get away from The Strip.
