The Las Vegas scene has been in a nonstop roar of late with a flurry of significant openings from the Sydell Group’s NoMad Las Vegas to high-end, design-driven restaurants by esteemed chefs Roy Choi, Daniel Humm, and Bobby Flay. This new wave of playful and immersive experiences means more transformative environments and, in some cases, a return to thematic design in the city’s interiors. “It is all part of discovery and surprise,” says Palms Casino Resort creative director Tal Cooperman. Here’s a look at a few of the latest must-see spots in Las Vegas.
Park MGM and NoMad Las Vegas
The Park MGM, the redo of the Monte Carlo that debuted last spring, is finally complete with the NoMad Las Vegas. For the third entry in the NoMad portfolio, which opened in October, and the third collaboration with Jacques Garcia, the French designer bestowed the site with a handsome European influence. Spread across the top four floors of the Park MGM, 293 guestrooms and suites are endowed with custom furnishings and eclectic artwork, while 179 of them have freestanding bedside bathtubs, a NoMad signature. Inspired by the surrounding desert scenery, refined warmth permeates the hotel’s dedicated public spaces. “[We took] what we had done in New York and adapted it for Vegas,” says Sydell Group founder Andrew Zobler. “From a design point of view, it’s an idea that got transported, which is mostly due to the fact that in Vegas, there’s not a local architecture [language]; it’s almost all imported.” The triple-height grandeur of the Monte Carlo’s former sports bar amplifies drama across the NoMad Restaurant, from partners chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara, allowing David Rockefeller’s 25,000-volume literary collection to be showcased throughout the interior. A lavish combination of amber, mahogany, and emerald establishes an air of Old World comfort in the dining room, while across the hall, the NoMad Bar draws inspiration from the historic theaters of France. In the high-limit casino, the original Tiffany ceilings were preserved, and the newly introduced NoMad pool (also run by Guidara and Humm’s Make it Nice) references the charm of the North African Majorelle Garden in Morocco. “We did something cool [with the property], but in a Sydell way, which is softer and more welcoming,” says Zobler.
In addition to the NoMad, the Park MGM continues to welcome new venues to the sprawling resort, including chef Roy Choi’s Best Friend and On the Record from LA nightlife denizens Jonnie and Mark Houston. For the latter, which was conceived by the Houstons, visitors enter through a record store before heading up an escalator and into a wonderland that celebrates music styles from all eras with karaoke rooms lined in vinyl and neon signs etched in famous lyrics. Outside, a 1963 Bristol Lodekka double-decker bus has been converted into a DJ booth, while inside, a Rolls Royce gets the same treatment.
Martin Brudnizki lent his keen eye to both Primrose restaurant and Bavette’s, a decadent steakhouse with French flair from Chicago-based Hogsalt Hospitality. “The ambiance is moody and seductive, with low-level lighting, sumptuous fabrics, and tones of red and navy blue,” says the London- and New York-based designer. Primrose, in contrast, has the feel of a French countryside estate with dusty tones of pink, green, and yellow cultivating a whimsical and playful escape. Pillows, clad in flora and fauna patterns, and circular chandeliers bring continuity to this multiroom space that unfolds from a drawing room to a bar to the dining room, revealing a lush garden and the Park MGM pool, also designed by Brudnizki. “Traditional millwork accents are offset by rustic elements, while a distressed teak pergola creeping with vines and plants offers Vegas revelers a wholly unique experience,” he says.
Palms Casino Resort
After unveiling the first phase of a $690 million remodel last May that touched every part of the 1,400-room Palms, the iconic property has ushered in a slew of new spaces, including the decadent 9,000-square-foot Damien Hirst Empathy Suite, the world’s most expensive hotel accommodation at $200,000 for a two-night stay, and two Rockwell Group-designed suites, Hardwood (complete with an indoor basketball court) and Kingpin, which boasts two regulation-sized bowling alleys.
In addition, Clique Hospitality, which also operates rooftop bar Apex Social Club (by Toronto’s Studio Munge), unveiled Greene St. Kitchen. “It has this great urban, hip vibe to it,” says founder and CEO Andy Masi. “It feels like a restaurant out of New York or London.” With a design from Rockwell Group, the space is cleverly fronted by a classic video game arcade and a secret vending machine door labeled Greene St. Cola that leads guests through a tunnel painted by New York-based graffiti artist CES. “It looks like a blast from the past,” says Cooperman, who curated the art for the restaurant, with pieces from street artist Banksy and a 3D mural by Vihls. “Sumptuous design elements are set against a gritty, neutral backdrop,” says Shawn Sullivan, a partner at Rockwell Group. “We contrasted luxe and humble materials, from gold accents and elegant blue molding to rough plaster and exposed brick.”
The New York firm also handled the interiors for the light, airy Mediterranean restaurant Shark, Bobby Flay’s first new concept in five years, and KAOS nightclub, where the centerpiece kinetic ceiling—a massive sculpture faceted with LED panels and mirrors—hovers above the dance floor. “It can move as the DJ sets progress, breaking apart into smaller pieces that float and spin above the guests,” says Sullivan. “It almost appears to dance along to the music, creating an immense display of moving scenes throughout the night.”
The Cosmopolitan
Clique Hospitality is also behind Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails from New York-based Celano Design Studio, which worked as a design consultant alongside local firm Marnell Companies. Bearing the nuances of a Prohibition-style speakeasy, the cocktail bar and live music venue can only be accessed via a working three-chair men’s grooming salon. “The barbershop at the time was like a gentlemen’s gathering space, an old-fashioned club to meet, relax, and be catered to—to have a cocktail and catch up on neighborhood gossip,” says Celano, who imbued the space with vintage elements, including polished chrome, white porcelain, worn leather, and crafted wood. Behind a mirrored door labeled Janitor, guests enter the speakeasy, which boasts tufted-leather seating, chandeliers, dark hardwood floors, reclaimed tin ceilings, a disappearing stage backed by a wall of motorcycle headlamps, and a throwback bar designed in 1885 by billiards hustler John Moses Brunswick.
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
As part of an ongoing property enhancement, the Venetian revealed a handful of new venues (as well as a fully renovated casino), including Electra cocktail club, and restaurants Factory Kitchen and Mott 32. In the latter, Hong Kong-based Joyce Wang Studio was inspired by 32 Mott Street in New York, where the city’s first Chinese convenience store opened in 1891. Here, she blended playful and sexy New York industrialism with classic Chinese elements. Neon signage throughout references Asian street markets and the iconic lights of Las Vegas. “We pushed for its application into a more architectural and unexpected manner, poised to surprise and impress guests,” Wang notes. Decorative elements, like a dining table made out of a vintage roulette wheel and a chandelier adorned with a feather boa, “pay tribute to the playful history of Las Vegas,” she explains.
Likewise, Factory Kitchen, the handiwork of Thomas Schlesser of New York firm Design Bureaux, infuses industrialism into a casual and warm dining space, dancing between dramatic and intimate. A skylight running the full length of the room juxtaposes dropped ceilings over the dining room, while a high-energy bar and open pasta kitchen bookend the subdued lounge and dining areas. Nearby, a neon pop-art piece is staged within a concrete niche contrasting an upholstered leather sofa. “The bold use of rustic finishes and clean-lined architectural gestures bring an unexpected urban sensibility, while the dramatic orchestration of space and careful integration of richly finished and detailed furnishings make for just the right level of Las Vegas sophistication,” Schlesser says.
Photography by Benoit Linero, James McDonald and courtesy of Palms Casino Resort, Rockwell Group and Joyce Wang
