It’s the sort of thing that Steve Wynn wouldn’t let happen. One of the things that I like about his resorts is that everything is “in character” from the time you get on property. Even the parking garage. Compare that to Paris, where the garage elevator lobbies have an industrial look that really kills the illusion that this is someplace different. I hope that MGM Mirage gets this part right, because these little things are very important.

I stayed at Vdara on opening night and I got the exact opposite feel as you did. I felt it to be isolated and poorly integrated entirely. I was just expecting the whole place to be one free flowing plan and was surprised Vdara was a stand-alone building. The walkway connecting it to Bellagio is terrible considering they spent $8.5B on the the place and we get to walk outside through exposed utility pipe and a loading dock? The only thing I can think of for that after-thought of a connector is that they expect for a majority of people to use the tram from Bellagio bypassing Vdara all together.

Aside for the access issue, Vdara itself is spectacular. The rooms were top-notch and the service was great. If you want to be away from “Vegas” while in Vegas but still stay at a great hotel, it’s an excellent option. But with the lack of restaurants and other amenities, it almost is the “Anti-MGM.” They are definitely targeting a niche market. With all that said, my one night there has me more psyched than ever to stay at ARIA in 2 weeks.

It’s hard to form a meaningful opinion without experiencing CC for myself. I know that for me, the genius of Wynncore is that it creates an atmosphere that makes you not want to ever leave the property. City Center’s “urban” focus make me think its designers are trying for the opposite approach, and are looking to connect guests to the neighborhood around them, encouraging them to leave the building and walk around. Conveniently, so long as they don’t cross the street, this simply means visiting other members of the MGM Mirage family.

If the goal is to create the type of vibrant community that Murren has alluded to previously, you need to encourage people to actually live here. Sure, you have a lot of condos, but for how many people will this be their primary residence, and not simply an investment property that will augment some hotel’s room inventory? One of the biggest challenges condo developers initially had in attracting residents to downtown LA was having easy access to such mundane things as a good supermarket or dry cleaner. If I have to fight traffic for 20-30 minutes every time I need to go to Vons, why not simply buy a house in Summerlin or Henderson? It will be interesting to watch how CC evolves, but it may take years before we know whether or not Murren was successful in building something other than another high-end resort.

But, as Mike also said and I’ve said before, it is functionally more similar than different to what’s been built before. It’s still a project designed to cater to tourists, as it should be. I think that attempting to pitch it as something more or raising expectations about its role in Vegas history will probably lead to disappointment. Murren et al.’s job is build hotels and fill them with people. Ultimately, they are responsible to their shareholders, who want to see the company performing as profitably as possible.

Maybe I’m just suffering from savior fatigue, but I’m not looking to a hotel/casino development, no matter how well-executed, for civic or national salvation. This is the same mistake that casinos made in Atlantic City. I say that casino executives should concentrate on keeping their employees happy, running good promotions for their customers, and ensuring that their visitors are comfortable and safe during their stay.

City Center is going to be different in subtle but tangible ways–the traffic, the public art, the density. I’m having a welcome professional challenge placing into its historical context as it opens. When all’s said and done, I might have a book’s worth of material.

The video made the outside of City Center look extremely impressive and absolutely huge. Hopefully most of the media outlets will say positive things about City Center and the entire project will be a huge success for Las Vegas and MGM Mirage.

People keep believing that there’s some kind of revolution going on in regards to traffic/busyness/density, but as far as I can tell that is simply an illusion. One could go so far as to say that “a real city” is the theme just as Italy is Venetian’s theme. It’s certainly a new heart for the Strip, but I think the whole idea of it being a urban/civic boon is a bit overplayed in the past few days. I welcome CityCenter, but it’s not going to fundamentally change the structure of the entire valley.

Still, looks good, as a non-gaming non-smoking boutique hotel it will be interesting to see how their rates change over the next two years.

I can’t wait to come see it for myself.

You know Reno is building its own new CitiCenter–the public transit depot on Lake Street–most likely because it is easier to build a whole new, clean facility than to deal with the pigeon dropping problem at the old one.

And, yes, I agree: God speed the Anaheim-Vegas bullet train! Only because, if it relieves a good portion of the traffic on I-15, it will be more pleasant to drive myself. Unless the bullet train has a stop at Mad Greek! (Anyway, they need to build it before Barstow builds casinos!)

This project has been many years in the making and I’m looking forward to reading and seeing everything about it.

Crystal opens in a few days, followed by the Mandarin on Saturday and Aria on the 16th. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole thing in person (from street-level and all points beyond).

I’ll have my camera back and intend to post a bunch of photos thru December and January, on my WestVegas website.

As far as the current economy goes…I see good things in store for the USA starting on New Years’Day 2010. My crystal-ball shows good things in the New Decade ahead, so please spread the word that Good Times will soon be here again. :>)

If I survived these last 18 hard-months (without jumping off a bridge) I’m sure the rest of America will, also.

Please keep posting these City Center reports. An 8 billion dollar property is nothing to take lightly. And 99% of the US population is going to see a ‘new Vegas hotel opening’ as a good sign. IMO.

Now…if they would just get that Bullet-Train from LA completed soon…