With its vertical multi-tower design allowing for stellar views, terraces in residential-style guestrooms, a three-tier, crystal-ensconced bar in the center of the casino, and interactive art columns in the lobby by New York-based Rockwell Group, as well as curated floors of F&B from Rockwell and other high-profile designers, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas redefined luxury and dynamic design when it opened on the Strip in 2010. Now, thanks to new owners Blackstone Group, the contemporary, art-filled urban resort continues to reinvent.
In fact, Patrick Nichols, senior vice president of strategy and business development at the hotel, says one of the Cosmopolitan’s priorities is to keep innovating. 2018 will reveal a complete overhaul of 2,895 of the resort’s 3,027 guestrooms dreamed up by both the in-house design team and New York-based Virserius Studio. “Las Vegas Strip hotels have occupancy in the mid-90 percent range, so the rooms are in use nearly every night,” says Nichols. “We felt the ideal time for a refresh was before it was needed.”
A development of this magnitude comes on the heels of other significant design initiatives executed over the past two years. The Restaurant Collection, for example, still devoted to the resort’s original philosophy of only working with brands and chefs that don’t yet have a presence in the city, expanded with the likes of Eggslut, Blue Ribbon, Momofuku, and Milk Bar outposts. The posh Boulevard penthouses—21 in total, ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet—were also unveiled, conceived by three firms: New York designers Daun Curry (marking her hospitality debut) and Adam D. Tihany of Tihany Design, and London-based Richmond International. Tihany was also the mastermind behind the corridors and the Reserve, an Art Deco-style private gaming salon for the penthouse guests.
This most recent guestroom revamp, adds Nichols, focused on making the spaces feel more like the rest of the resort. Except for one suite category, which was opened up to allow for more seating, all the architectural bones remained intact. “We stripped the rooms down to concrete floors and drywall so nearly every finish is new,” says Nichols.
Comfortable wraparound Terrace suites and City rooms and suites by the Cosmopolitan in-house team have neutral hues, brightened by bespoke graffiti art and unexpected details like wallpaper found inside closets. In various other Terrace rooms and Reception suites, Therese Virserius, founder of Virserius Studio, opted for a sophisticated, edgy scheme through a palette of jewel tones and sculptural furniture. “A canopy over the beds has a custom-drawn damask pattern and takes up the entire wall, creating a room within a room,” she says. “Las Vegas is a theatrical city, so we wanted to keep that mystique and drama at the Cosmopolitan in a tasteful way.” Inspired by the resort’s tagline, “Just the Right Amount of Wrong,” Virserius introduced “playful elements that straddle the fine line between too little and too much.” Artwork imbues each space with “theater and fantasy, and invites guests to ponder what the ‘right amount of wrong’ is.” Consider the photograph of a woman’s profile “brought to life using powder delicately printed on recycled corrugated craft paper” for a 3D effect, she adds, or the piece incorporating blue velvet that nods to the 1986 film of the same name. By peering at this soft powder print charcoal drawing of a woman exercising with ribbon, “guests can follow the lines in an endless loop and imagine themselves similarly,” she explains.
