Putting the NO in casiNO – Just (a few hundred) steps from a bustling Las Vegas casino floor guests find a hotel with NO gaming, NO smoking, NO Noise and NO Lines. Is this Vegas’ Future?
 
Minutes from the tumultuous casino scene at the mammoth MGM Grand on the Sunset strip – after a two-minute walk/ride along a people mover – a visitor arrives at what seems to be a different world entirely. And that’s the way it was designed to be.  

• The message from the beginning has been: Near the craziness of Las Vegas, but an enclave.  No lines at the front desk or for a taxi, no noise, no smoking.

• Signature is not alone, but there is, according to Luvisutto, “no direct competition yet.” There are similar concepts at Mandalay Bay where The Hotel is a hotel within the hotel, as is the Four Seasons – but they are not physically separate from the hotel. Others will be following soon, including a non-casino Trump hotel which Luvisutto believes may have challenges because it is not attached to a casino.  While Mandarin Oriental and other luxury hotels are coming to Las Vegas, Luvisutto welcomes them because “they will all be part of transforming the image of Las Vegas into a high end one. That is where Las Vegas is going,” he said; “when a visitor is spending $150 a person in a restaurant, you have to revise your idea of where they are going to stay.”

• While The Signature misses out on two major Las Vegas markets – those whose priority is to be near a casino and convention delegates (meeting space is limited), the properties have run strong occupancies at solid rates since opening. Even with a soft economy, bookings are strong for the second quarter – with Los Angeles, Texas and New York the biggest market.

• In January, readers of Trip Advisor, the top consumer review Website, voted The Signature the Number 1 luxury hotel in the country.

Harvey Chipkin