Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Vdara Hotel Grand Opening Party is December 1st. Orlando Bloom, Rosario Dawson.

STAR-STUDDED EVENT MARKS GRAND OPENING OF FIRST CITYCENTER HOTEL – VDARA HOTEL & SPA

Famed Photographer, Adventurer and Advocate Sebastian Copeland to Host Vanity Fair’s Opening Night Gala Tuesday, December 1 2009

LAS VEGAS

CityCenter has partnered with Vanity Fair to co-host the grand opening gala of the newest
luxury boutique hotel – the sophisticated all-suite Vdara Hotel & Spa. Host Sebastian Copeland, will be joined by friends Orlando Bloom and Rosario Dawson, to celebrate the evening in support of the Sebastian Copeland Foundation. The invite-only event will treat guests to their first glimpse of CityCenter, the dazzling vertical city destined to transform the Las Vegas Strip.

Vdara Hotel & Spa is designed for those who love the excitement of Las Vegas but prefer to enjoy it in an exclusive, non-gaming, smoke-free environment. Physically connected to Bellagio and directly adjacent to ARIA Resort & Casino, Vdara will offer access to all of the excitement of Las Vegas, while providing a retreat from it all.

Solidifying CityCenter’s commitment to sustainability, Vdara has achieved LEED®† Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Sharing in Vdara’s commitment to sustainability, the star-studded evening will be hosted by famed photographer, adventurer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland. His pledge to environmental activism and global awareness has grown into a passionate dedication to the causes of sustainability and the preservation of the planet. He is currently working on the launch of the Sebastian Copeland Foundation whose primary mission is to advocate from the front lines of climate change. Copeland’s friends and award-winning actors Orlando Bloom and Rosario Dawson will join him to celebrate this evening and support the launch of his charity.

Copeland stated, “We stand at a crossroads in our development as a species. After transportation, buildings are the single greatest source of green house emissions. "Green" building and development stand to reduce carbon emissions into the air by up to forty percent. Vdara, with its LEED certification, has committed to the simple notion that luxury and responsibility are not mutually exclusive and hence stands as a model of innovation. Vdara and CityCenter set a new standard for Las Vegas, one which hopefully others will follow.”

Two of the hottest DJs in the business today, DJs Donovan Leitch and Mathieu Schreyer (kcrw), will entertain guests as they dine on exquisite cuisine from Martin Heierling, executive chef of Vdara and the hotel’s contemporary Mediterranean restaurant, Silk Road. Guests also will enjoy Patron cocktails and Veuve Clicquot champagne as they stroll through the 18,000-square-foot, two-level wellness spa, Vdara Health & Beauty, featuring the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar. Vdara Health & Beauty, the first Las Vegas spa in the Green Spa Network, will offer a selection of signature treatments focusing on holistic health.

Edward Menicheschi, vice president & publisher, Vanity Fair, said, “We are proud to be partnering with Vdara in this exciting celebration. Vdara has combined luxury with green design and the alignment could not be better for both our environmental beliefs as well as that of our readers.”

Angela Lester, general manager, Vdara Hotel & Spa, said, “It is truly an honor to partner with Vanity Fair and famed photographer and environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland as we open our doors and showcase Vdara’s remarkable services and amenities. Hosting the grand opening with Copeland and honoring his pledge to environmental activism will help create awareness of our commitment to sustainability and the benchmark set by CityCenter in Las Vegas and worldwide.”

The Patrón Spirits Company, including Patrón, Ultimat Vodka and Pyrat Rum, as well as Veuve Clicquot champagne owned by Moet Hennessy USA, are sponsors of the grand opening gala.

Vanity Fair is the premier general interest magazine of our time. Covering the worlds of politics, business, fashion, entertainment, and society, its muscular, long-form journalism, luscious photography, insightful essays, and superb design make each issue of the magazine a must-read.

About CityCenter

CityCenter is an unprecedented urban metropolis opening in December 2009 on 67 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE(NYSE: MGM) and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World. CityCenter will featureARIA, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas’ first Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel & Spa; Veer Towers, the development’s only strictly residential buildings; andCrystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers will include approximately 2,400 residences total. Additionally, The Harmon, a 400-room luxury boutique hotel, is slated to open at CityCenter in late 2010. CityCenter also will feature a resident Cirque du Soleil production celebrating the timeless musical legacy of Elvis Presley; and an unparalleled Fine Art Collection with works by acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, among others. CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM MIRAGE and eight internationally acclaimed architectural firms including Pelli Clarke Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Helmut Jahn, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Viñoly, Foster + Partners*, Studio Daniel Libeskind*, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, and Gensler. At the forefront of sustainability, CityCenter will be one of the world’s largest green developments. ARIA and Vdara are the first Las Vegas hotels to achieve LEED®Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Crystals also has received LEED® Gold certification,making it the world’s largest retail district to receive this level of recognition. CityCenter’s remaining venues are poised to receive a combination of LEED Gold and Silver ratings. For more information about CityCenter, please visit www.citycenter.com.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

CityCenter Website Uses 3D Tours

The CityCenter project abounds in superlatives and the website is no exception. New 3D tours help orient visitors to the development that is creating a whole new major hub of activity along the Las Vegas Strip.

CityCenter, along with the Aria Resort and Casino, Vdara Hotel, Crystals Retail, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and more, is just south of the Bellagio and across from the growing Hollywood Planet development. The CityCenter area is north of the "south strip" hub that includes New York New York, MGM Grand, Luxor, and other south strip hotels.

Website developer John Schadler of SK+G noted in the press release:

“In developing this Web site, we focused on establishing an immersive, first-person perspective that puts the entire collection of CityCenter’s brands at the visitor’s fingertips,” Schadler said. “We utilized full-motion 3-D elements as the basis of navigation to draw visitors in while providing an enhanced sense of both scale and detail. The goal is to intrigue guests by giving them a quick taste of the CityCenter experience and its rich list of offerings.”

About CityCenter [from press release]

CityCenter is an unprecedented urban metropolis opening in December 2009 on 67 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM) and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World. CityCenter will feature ARIA, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas’ first Mandarin Oriental andVdara Hotel & Spa; Veer Towers, the development’s only strictly residential buildings; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers will include approximately 2,400 residences total. Additionally, The Harmon, a 400-room luxury boutique hotel, is slated to open at CityCenter in late 2010. CityCenter also will feature a resident Cirque du Soleil production celebrating the timeless musical legacy of Elvis Presley; and an unparalleled Fine Art Collection with works by acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, among others. CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM MIRAGE and eight internationally acclaimed architectural firms including Pelli Clarke Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Helmut Jahn, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Viñoly, Foster + Partners*, Studio Daniel Libeskind*, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, and Gensler. At the forefront of sustainability, CityCenter will be one of the world’s largest green developments. ARIA and Vdara are the first Las Vegas hotels to achieve LEED® Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Crystals also has received LEED® Gold certification, making it the world’s largest retail district to receive this level of recognition. CityCenter’s remaining venues are poised to receive a combination of LEED Gold and Silver ratings. For more information about CityCenter, please visit www.citycenter.com.



Disclaimer: This blog, Las Vegas, is run by one of the partners in Technology Report which has an advertising relationship with the Aria Resort and Casino and Vdara Hotel.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

"Viva Elvis" by Cirque du Soliel at the Aria Debuts Very Soon

Viva Elvis, the spectacular new show by Cirque du Soleil, will debut very soon (I think December is the planned date) at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas CityCenter which is also opening in December.

This tribute to the king of rock and roll will be the latest in the series of amazing Cirque Shows that run in Las Vegas year round.

The show's website details the show as a fusion of dance, acrobatics and live music and a "tribute to the life and music of Elvis Presley"

Cirques Viva Elvis was created in the image of The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and will highlight the man who transformed popular music in the USA.

Vignettes from Elvis' life blend with the music and dance as the show focuses on the man whose name became almost synonymous with Las Vegas.

Tickets and showtimes will be available soon at the Viva Elvis Website