Las Vegas Hilton - The New Posh?

It seems that over the last couple of years, the home of the Star Trek Experience, the Las Vegas Hilton, has been undergoing some serious renovations. This investment in the hotel, has been pushing the quality feel of the place in whole new directions. One might think that the hotel and casino is trying to elevate itself above its nerdy (and fantastic!) attraction.

Casino City Times has the story:

Over the past three years, the Hilton has remodeled 1,523 of its 3,000 rooms and suites, installed Italian marble floors in the lobby, remodeled the casino and the porte cochere, added a new lounge and expanded the sports book. "This is probably phase one of different phases of enhancements for the property," said Rudy Prieto, Las Vegas Hilton general manager and chief executive officer for the off-Strip property. "We will always continue to consider what our options are in terms of redevelopment." The room upgrades include new beds, 37-inch plasma televisions, wireless Internet access and ports for MP3 music players. The hotel, which is owned and operated separately from the Hilton hotel chain by Colony Resorts, plans to continue the hotel room renovations in 2008. Bill Lerner, a gaming analyst for Deutsche Bank, said the remodeling has made the resort's public areas in the entrance brighter and more comfortable. "That's a critical public face to have focused on," Lerner said. "Working on the entrance and the hotel reception and lobby are important things to have focused on. Keeping it fresh is critical, and I think they have done a good job." Lerner said the demographic for the hotel, which is on 59 acres on Paradise Road north of the Las Vegas Convention Center, are midweek conventioneers and value customers. The hotel has been running at 90 percent occupancy during the week and slightly higher on weekends, spokesman Ira Sternberg said. Nearly 40 percent of the occupied rooms during the week are bought by people attending conventions at the hotel's 200,000-square-foot meeting space. Sternberg said the property also benefits from being near the northern anchor of the Las Vegas Monorail, which averages 19,000 passengers per day, connecting the Hilton to the Strip. Prieto said redevelopment projects on the Strip's north end should increase foot traffic to the property in the next few years.

September 26, 2007

Las Vegas Hilton - The New Posh?