Rare look inside the Sky Villas

It’s November sweeps, so you might have noticed your local TV news ratcheting things up a little. Los Angeles’s CBS2 made the drive up I-15 and gave viewers a very slickly-produced glimpse inside the Las Vegas Hilton’s Sky Villas. These three suites–the Verona, Tusancy, and Conrad–were Hilton’s 1994 reaction to the high-roller wars. I don’t know if he’s credited on-air, but Ira David Sternberg, the LVH’s VP of Communications and Community Relations, is the guy being interviewed. So if you want to hear all about the butler service, Barry Manilow’s humidifier, and the ghost of Elvis, check out the video on CBS2:

Inside the Sky Villas

The suites might be a little removed from what’s currently in vogue–the hip, contemporary style–but I think that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s commentary enough on this city that something built in 1994 would be considered dated at all, and I think that it points to a need to preserve some links with the past.

I’m not saying that hotels should never renovate–on the contrary, I’ve always maintained that it’s essential for any hospitality business, especially casino resorts, to stay in touch with what the public wants. I just think that it’s a good idea to let a few areas remain true to their original design. This doesn’t mean that they don’t get plasma screens or wireless connectivity, or periodic freshening. It just means that, when the operators make changes, they remain true to the original design. I think that forty years from now it might be a selling point that a suite looks pretty much the way it did when Barry Manilow stayed there, and that guests can play the same piano he did.

The 1990s will be remembered as incredible boom years for Las Vegas, much like the 1950s. It’s strange to imagine now, but in 2046 people might be clamoring for a little piece of “Classic 1990s Vegas.” So while I imagine that there are some at the Hilton who’d like to redo the suites in earthtones and hardwood, it would be great if they could keep at least one in it’s original style.

One final note: I’ve been inside all three Sky Villas, and they are probably bigger than they look. I’ve been in a few suites that are in the same ballpark (particularly one at the Sands Macau), but I’m not sure that I’ve ever been in a bigger one.