Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Great detail from a distance, once you get closer you notice the neglect.

Imo, Bellagio's porte cochere is the epitome of excellent design which will never be equalled. I can't find my photos, but this one captures it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grungebob/2728086512/in/photostream/

Bellagio's next door neighbor, Caesars Palace, has opened its three new 10,000 sq ft villas. The photos and video accompanying the LV Sun story show that Caesars still has it. I'd like to tour the villas to see the level of detail and quality of construction, but they look impressive in the photos. I prefer the Spanish Villa.
Interior design by Wilson Associates which also did The Mansion.

In this economy, these projects are important. They show that Las Vegas is open for business and ready to meet the needs of guests from all spending levels and from all corners of the world.
Las Vegas Sun story:
http://tinyurl.com/29rsd3e

Wilson Associates:
http://www.wilsonassoc.com/

The Caesars villas are touted as $40k/ngt. I wonder how many nights they are actually occupied and at what rate. I can't see any individual paying that for a night, but it could be used for a corporate party/event. Even the biggest whales would have a hard time qualifying for multiple comped nights at 40k. Given the Forum penthouses are only 4k, I think they might let it go for $7500.

Bellagio- Its a gem with so much potential.

Too bad MGM MIRAGE or "MGM Resorts International" is only about the $$.

The biggest difference between Bellagio architecture and Wynn/Encore and Aria/CC architecture is that Bellagio is timeless. Twelve years later and it still the beauty of the Strip.
MGM folks, wake up! Bellagio is your flagship resort. It needs some special attention to the details and to its original concept.

I agree with LeoNYC, Bellagio is warm and inviting, while City Center is cold and dark! Wynn would never say it but I bet he looks over at his old Kingdom and thinks of all that he could have done better then MGM has to keep those places as good as they were from day one...

I think Bellagio still has the greatest “curb appeal,” when driving down the strip. As one drives up Via Bellagio Drive the lake, greenery, and the scaling of the “Italian villa” low rise portion of the building in relation to the tower all work well together to give you a sense of having arrived somewhere special which almost feels separate from the surrounding strip. While Bellagio’s stucco façade may limit the size of the windows in the rooms/suites compared to those at Wynncore and Aria, the building would not work architecturally if it were built as a solid glass curtain wall. Bellagio is the only building in Vegas and one of the few buildings built anywhere in the last 50 years to score near the top of the American Institute of Architecture’s list of “America’s Favorite Architecture” in a 2007 poll of architecture liked by the general public.

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070207aia.asp

I guess time will tell if the public likes Aria and the rest of City Center nearly as much as Bellagio, despite City Center having been designed by world renowned “Starchitects.”

Mike-

"Bellagio is warm and inviting, while City Center is cold and dark"

That's one perspective... While others would say that Bellagio is too frilly & "fru-fru" while Aria is more postmodern minimalist cool. Now I actually enjoy the "maximalist" elegant design of Wynn & Encore, and I do have a special place in my heart for Bellagio, but I also like the design of CityCenter. It's just different.

Leo-

"MGM folks, wake up! Bellagio is your flagship resort."

Obviously, MGM Mirage execs don't see it that way. For whatever reason, they've chosen MGM Grand as their main brand and that's the brand they use when expanding into other markets (Detroit, Foxwoods, Macau).