Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Coordinates: 36°06′36″N 115°10′31″W / 36.110022°N 115.17531°W / 36.110022; -115.17531

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
View from Las Vegas Boulevard day of official opening
Alternative names	The Cosmopolitan
General information
Status	Complete
Location	Las Vegas Strip
Address	3708 Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Town or city	Paradise, Nevada
Country	United States
Height
Roof	603.5 feet (183.9 m)
Technical details
Floor count	53
Design and construction
Owner	Deutsche Bank AG[1]
Architecture firm	Friedmutter Group (executive architect); Arquitectonica
Civil engineer	DeSimone Consulting Engineers
Other designers	The Rockwell Group, Jeffrey Beers, Adam Tihany, and Bentel & Bentel
Cosmopolitan Casino Opening date December 15, 2010 Total gaming space 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) Casino type Land-based Website www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas^[2] is a luxury resort casino and hotel that broke ground in October 2005 just south of the Bellagio on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip and consists of two highrise towers. The resort opened on December 15, 2010. The $3.9 billion project features 2,995 rooms; a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m²) casino; 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m²) of retail and restaurant space; a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m²) spa and fitness facility; a 1,800 seat theater; and 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m²) of meeting/convention space. The resort was originally supposed to have a mix of 2,200 residential condominium-hotel units and 800 hotel rooms but plans were changed due to the effects of the late-2000s global recession.

Amenities

Cosmopolitan in the initial plan was to have 2,200 condominium-hotel units; 800 hotel rooms; a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m²) casino; 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m²) of retail and restaurant space; a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m²) spa and fitness facility; an 1,800 seat theater; and 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m²) of meeting/convention space. The Cosmopolitan's 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m²) casino features views of the Las Vegas Strip. The Pools at the Cosmopolitan features three different types: a relaxing pool, day club pool and nightclub pool.

Construction

The Cosmopolitan's design team is led by Friedmutter Group as executive architect, with Arquitectonica as the design architect for the building's themed exterior. The building is engineered by DeSimone Consulting Engineers. The Interior design team includes the Friedmutter Group, The Rockwell Group, Jeffrey Beers, Adam Tihany, and Bentel & Bentel.

The resort was built on what used to be a small parking lot for a nearby midrise timeshare building called the Jockey Club. Because the Cosmopolitan occupies much of the parking lot, it was agreed that the Club residents could use part of the Cosmopolitan's parking garage.^{[citation needed]}

The project was begun by developer 3700 Associates, LLC, headed by Ian Bruce Eichner. The Cosmopolitan is the second Las Vegas hotel, after The Palazzo, to feature an underground parking garage underneath the hotel. As a result, the parking garage was built first. In December 2007, work finished on the 70-foot (21 m) hole for the parking structure, while other foundation work remained in progress. The hotel was originally planned to open and be operated by Hyatt as the Grand Hyatt Las Vegas.

Original plans called for the casino to be on the second floor, but this was later changed and the casino was built on ground level, like most other Las Vegas hotel-casinos. Planned condo units were cancelled and replaced with studios and other hotel rooms.^[3]

In January 2008, it was reported that the $3.9 billion project faced foreclosure, as Eichner's company defaulted on a $760 million construction loan from Deutsche Bank when the developer missed a payment after failing to secure refinancing for the project. Construction moved forward as the developers searched for new financing. In late February 2008, Global Hyatt Corporation and New York-based Marathon Asset Management agreed to recapitalize the condominium-hotel project.^[4] however, one month later the developer said Deutsche Bank AG would begin foreclosure proceedings.^[5] They bought the hotel for $1 billion during the summer and hired The Related Cos., developers of Time Warner Center in New York, to re-position the asset, manage the development process and assist in leasing the retail and restaurant collection.^[6][7] Related recommended many revisions, including bringing the casino entrance onto the strip.^[8]

In June 2008, Hearst Corp filed a trademark suit against the owners of the casino. Hearst owns the trademark to Cosmopolitan magazine. In March 2010, the suit was settled, and the resort was renamed Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.^[2]

In August 2008, it was announced that MGM Mirage, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Hyatt and Hilton were in talks to acquire the property.^[9] It was speculated that MGM Mirage would integrate the project into Bellagio and CityCenter; Starwood were to establish its W and St Regis brands; and Hyatt would have continued with its plans to operate a Grand Hyatt. In April 2009, the Sun reported that the hotel would be managed by Hilton and would become the Hilton's first in their new Denizen hotel line.^[10] Later that month, however, those plans changed; Starwood sued Hilton, claiming trade-secret theft and essentially killing the Denizen brand.^[7]

In June 2009, 400 homeowners filed a lawsuit against the developers, claiming breach of contract and seeking refunds for their deposits. They believed that the projected finish date of June 2010 was unrealistic and expressed fear that the developers might turn the condo rooms into hotel rooms only or "finish the building as a shell and not do any interior work.^[7]

In April 2010, it was announced that the Cosmopolitan would open in stages, beginning in December and ending in July 2011. It was the only hotel-casino to open on the Strip in 2010. The project officially opened on December 15, 2010, and became part of Marriott International's Autograph Collection, a collection of independent hotels with access to Marriott's enormous reservation and rewards system. Cosmopolitan is also partnered with the Ritz-Carlton, which is Ritz's first presence on the Las Vegas Strip and their second property in the Las Vegas area.

Restaurants

In March 2010, the casino announced several celebrity chefs and restaurants that will open there.^[11] Some of them being, Bruce and Eric Bromberg's Blue Ribbon, Costas Spiliadis to open Estiatorio Milos, Scott Conant, who will open Scarpetta, and David Myers will open Comme Ça.

On May 2, the resort announced that José Andrés will be joining the program with two restaurants - one based on his tapas restaurant, Jaleo. And the other, China Poblano, is a new concept combining Mexican and Chinese cuisine.

Additional restaurants include: D.O.C.G. a restaurant and wine bar by Scott Conant; Holstein's, a specialty burger restaurant. Also, STK, a steakhouse by Todd Mark Miller; along with The Henry, Va Bene Caffè, and the Wicked Spoon.^[12]

Controversy

On April 27, 2011, Cosmopolitan security staff allegedly removed a transgendered guest named Stephanie from a womens' restroom, photographed her, and said that she would be banned for life if she didn't leave the premises. Shortly after the incident, the hotel-casino was flooded with complaints on its Facebook page, which prompted the hotel-casino to issue an apology to the LGBT community and to Stephanie that they would "welcome her back to the resort anytime." The incident also prompted the hotel-casino to train its staff on awareness initiatives involving the sensitive issue.^[13]

Affiliation with Marriott

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. Although Marriott is not mentioned on anything in the hotel itself, it is on the Marriott website and on its own website with the Autograph Collection logo.

Gallery

• 

  Night view from the east side.

• 

  Cosmopolitan construction as seen from Caesars Palace

• 

  The Cosmopolitan nearing completion in March 2010

• 

  The street front view from across the Strip

• 

  Viewed from the Eiffel Tower

• 

  Night view

Notes

1. ^ http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232/?video=1697482016&play=1
2. ^ ^{a b} Arnold M. Knightly (2010-03-20). "Dispute settled, Strip resort renamed". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/dispute-settled--strip-resort-renamed-88718002.html. 
3. ^ Stutz, Howard (April 10, 2010). Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/cosmopolitan-of-las-vegas-sees-up-high-views-as-draw-90463999.html. 
4. ^ Knightly, Arnold (February 28, 2008). "DEVELOPMENT: Project saved by pair's aid". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/16067872.html. 
5. ^ Forsyth, Jennifer (March 15, 2008). "Foreclosure on Las Vegas Casino to Begin". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120554452781938671.html. 
6. ^ "Buyout keeps Cosmopolitan in play". Las Vegas Sun. 2008-09-04. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/04/buyout-keeps-cosmopolitan-play/. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Illia, Tony. "Homebuyers sue Cosmopolitan". Las Vegas Business Press. http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2009/06/22/news/iq_29465588.txt. 
8. ^ Berzon, Alexandra (November 17, 2010). "Deutsche Bank Doubles Down With a Casino". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703628204575619044069421202.html?KEYWORDS=cosmopolitan+resort. 
9. ^ Miller, Matt. "MGM Mirage, Hilton Hotels in Talks to Acquire Cosmopolitan Casino". Online Casino Advisory. http://www.onlinecasinoadvisory.com/casino-news/land/cosmopolitan-casino-may-go-to-mgm-1888.htm. 
10. ^ Benston, Liz (March 11, 2009). "New Hilton brand expected to replace Cosmopolitan". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/11/hilton-hotels-launches-new-brand/. 
11. ^ http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2010/mar/30/cosmopolitan-reveals-all-star-lineup-new-restauran/
12. ^ http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection.aspx Cosmopolitan Restaurant Collection
13. ^ "Cosmopolitan responds to backlash over report on banned transgender guest". Las Vegas Sun. 2011-04-27. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/apr/27/cosmopolitan-responds-backlash-over-report-banned-/. 

References

• 'Cosmo says hello:Guests see model of condo-hotel', Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 26, 2005.

External links

• The Cosmopolitan Official Site