The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Ian Bruce Eichner bought a parking lot of under nine acres between the Bellagio and the CityCenter site in 2004 and set out to build condominiums. Deutsche Bank foreclosed on the half-built project in 2008, finished it as a resort, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opened on 15 December 2010 with the balconies that condominium buyers had been promised on most of its rooms.

History

The lot was too small for a conventional Strip resort, which forced the two towers up rather than out and put the casino on the second level above the street. Deutsche Bank is reported to have spent close to four billion dollars completing it, and the opening week brought Jay-Z and Coldplay to the Boulevard Pool. The bank sold the resort to Blackstone in 2014 for $1.73 billion; Blackstone renovated the rooms and sold again in 2022, the operations to MGM Resorts for $1.625 billion and the real estate to a group led by Stonepeak, the Cherng Family Trust and Blackstone's own real estate trust. The Marquee nightclub opened with the resort on New Year's Eve 2010 and has run every weekend since.

Architecture and design

Arquitectonica, under Bernardo Fort-Brescia, designed the two glass towers, the Boulevard Tower on the Strip and the Chelsea Tower behind, with balconies on most rooms, which no other Strip hotel had. Inside, the Rockwell Group built the Chandelier, a three-storey bar enclosed in two million crystal beads, as the centrepiece of the casino level. The lobby is lined with floor-to-ceiling digital columns that run commissioned video art, and the resort's own art programme includes Art-o-mat vending machines selling small works and a studio for artists in residence. The parking garage is painted by street artists.

Rooms and suites

The 3,027 rooms and suites were planned as apartments, so most have a kitchenette, a deep bath and a terrace, with the Boulevard Tower terraces looking onto the Strip and the Bellagio fountains. The Terrace Studio category and the terrace suites are the ones to ask for. Blackstone's renovation of 2017 and 2018 redid the rooms in the Boulevard Tower.

Dining

The restaurants are the resort's real attraction. José Andrés has two: é, an eight-seat tasting counter, and Jaleo. Momofuku by David Chang, Zuma, Estiatorio Milos, Scarpetta, Beauty and Essex, Blue Ribbon and the Wicked Spoon buffet share the upper floors with Block 16, a food hall of names borrowed from other cities. Secret Pizza has no sign and a corridor entrance. Eggslut and a coffee bar handle the mornings.

Wellness

Sahra Spa and Hammam on the pool level has a hammam, treatment rooms and a fitness club. The Pool District spreads across the podium roofs: the Boulevard Pool over the Strip, which screens films and hosts concerts in summer, Marquee Dayclub beside the nightclub, and the quieter Chelsea Pool.

Weddings and events

The resort has about 150,000 square feet of meeting space in ballrooms and breakout rooms, with the Boulevard Pool used for receptions over the Strip. The Chelsea, the resort's theatre, holds about 3,200 for concerts and private events. Weddings are held in the ballrooms and on the terraces; the balconies make the suites the preferred place for the morning of.

Location

3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South is the centre of the Strip, next to Bellagio and across from the Paris and Planet Hollywood resorts, with Vdara and Aria reached through CityCenter behind. Harry Reid International Airport is about 15 minutes by car. No luxury hotel in Las Vegas has a shorter walk to the rest of them.