Red Rock Offers Luxury After Long Drive

Resort Approaches Perfection

Rick Garman, Vegas4Visitors.com

POSTED: 10:28 am CDT July 18, 2006

Usually when I harp on you to get off the Strip and check out some of the so-called locals' casinos it's because I'm encouraging you to save money. Most of the neighborhood joints offer accommodations, dining, entertainment, gambling and other diversions for significantly lower investments than what you'll find in the main tourist areas, and often offer experiences that are just as satisfying.

Red Rock Resort, on the other hand, is not what you'd call a bargain. Just about everything here is pricey, bordering on expensive. But visitors to the hotel can expect a level of service, amenities and atmosphere that goes beyond merely satisfying into territory that can best be described as excellence.

Located about 11 miles west of the Strip, straddling the border between the vastness of suburban Las Vegas and the even greater vastness of the Red Rock National Conservancy Area, Red Rock Resort is the latest from the Station Casinos chain of properties that includes other winners such as Green Valley Ranch, Sunset Station, Boulder Station and the Fiesta hotels. This is the company's most ambitious project to date, a nearly $1 billion resort in an area far removed from where most tourists will ever tread.

Getting there is time consuming. It's located on Charleston Boulevard, along the I-215 Beltway, an incomplete pseudo-freeway that will eventually loop around the entire city. For now, however, you are faced with a lot of detours and plenty of traffic if you choose to take this route off I-15 to the west. Surface streets aren't a lot better, and looping around the northern route by taking the 93/95 to Summerlin Parkway is significantly worse with all the road construction currently in progress there. Long story short -- give yourself at least 30 minutes to get there, more if you're traveling during rush hour.

But once you arrive, it's easy to forget about all that silliness. The building itself is integrated lovingly with the surrounding scenery, using natural sandstones and other materials from the area to create a beautiful desert retreat. A series of water features in front of the building aren't quite as dramatic as the Bellagio fountains but add a nice flair. The entire thing has a vaguely retro 1960s feel, with long sleek lines and dramatic curves evoking the Vegas and Palm Springs resorts of the era.

Inside, the all-natural feel continues, with every surface turned from a simple counter or wall into a work of art. Done in bold reds, deep chocolate browns, and other earthy tones, the interior spaces are at once exotic and comfortable, combining materials like ebony, walnut, mahogany, teak, and other fine woods with sandstone, onyx, marble, etched glass, gold leaf, and chrome and stainless steel accents. Take some time to appreciate how they didn't make just a support column -- they turned it into a wood-and-glass masterpiece, with flowing lines blending organically.

Then there's the crystal. More than 3 million pieces of fine Swarovski were used in the chandeliers that fill the public spaces -- gigantic, breath-taking modern interpretations of the kinds of things that Vegas hotels used to include at every turn.

I'm spending a lot of time describing the surroundings simply because the designers spent a lot of time creating them, and it shows. This is not another bland Vegas hotel/casino, nor is it an over-the-top, themed kitsch-fest. This is what a true luxury resort looks and feels like.

Hotel guests arrive at the lobby and are welcomed with a cool, moist towel -- wonderfully refreshing after a long drive or flight. The lobby spills out into a dramatic rotunda with a 32-foot chandelier hovering over the lounge/bar area. From there you can get direct access to your room without ever having to into the casino, a welcome relief from the norm of having to schlep your luggage past the hordes of people at the blackjack tables.

The 400 or so rooms (going up to 800 when an expansion is complete in early 2007) are just as beautiful as the rest of the place, with your choice of views of Red Rock canyon to the west or the Strip far off to the east. Each is done in more of that dramatic dark wood, marble, fabrics and even leather on the walls. There are fine linens (320-thread-count if that kind of thing matters to you); feather down duvets; a 42-inch plasma TV in the bedroom and a 15-inch LCD TV in the bathroom; Bose stereos with iPod connectivity; VoIP phones; high-speed Internet service (wired and wireless); a mini-bar; plush robes and slippers; a safe; an iron and board; and more. The furnishings are super comfy, although the platform beds are a bit of a stubbed-toe nightmare for klutzes like me.

The casino is "only" 80,000 square feet, smaller in terms of floor space than many Strip casinos, but it feels more expansive and certainly isn't lacking in gaming options. There are more than 3,000 slot machines, 60 table games (including all the basics such as blackjack, craps, roulette and more), a high-limit lounge, a poker room, a bingo hall with an enclosed area for the smokers, keno, and a race and sports book with a 96-foot video wall and individual monitors at each seat. All of the machines have the coinless ticket system, which I know some people hate but most people love for its convenience. There is a lot of vertical and horizontal spacing in the room, eliminating the claustrophobia found at many casinos, but still providing intimate areas for gambling away your life savings.

By the way, I did well here on my first official visit, winning one big jackpot and several smaller ones and doing pretty darned good at the three-card poker table.

The entire resort was built around a circular, 3-acre pool and beach area with luxury cabanas, several pools, a bar and cafe, gaming tables, and a stage where big-name acts perform regularly. An adjacent 25,000-square-foot spa offers full workout facilities; massage and other treatments; both standard and exotic, indoor, outdoor, and couples treatment rooms; sauna and Jacuzzi facilities; and a boxing ring because -- well, just because.

There are 11 restaurants including a steakhouse, Italian, Mexican, buffet, a cafe, an oyster bar, and a first-ever branch of the famed Salt Lick BBQ out of Texas, plus a food court with a Fatburger and a Capriotti's sandwich shop, which makes it the Best. Food Court. Ever.

There are also several bars and lounges, including a terrific nightclub called Cherry from Rande Gerber (of Whiskey and Cindy Crawford marriage fame).

Just in case all of that isn't enough, there's also a 16-screen movie theater with private VIP boxes, several boutiques, and, for the recreation minded, hotel-sponsored rock-climbing and whitewater rafting excursions.

Service from beginning to end was superb, as you would expect in a hotel of this caliber.

As mentioned, this is not a bargain motel. Room rates start at $179 per night, but that's during the week and very rare. The more normal going rate is between $200 and $300 weekdays and between $300 and $400 and weekends. There's also a nefarious "resort fee" of $20 per night tacked on top of the room rate, but it does offer some niceties, such as a shuttle to and from the airport or Strip, full access to the workout facilities and more.

Those are not shockingly high rates for Vegas anymore, but they are a bit gasp-inducing for a hotel that isn't right on the Strip. However, if you are looking for a true luxury spa resort style getaway you will absolutely not be able to do better for the money in this city. Forget Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio and the Venetian, all of which charge similar prices -- there's no way a place with several thousand rooms can compete with a smaller hotel like this when it comes to personalized service and attention to detail.

Even if you don't plan on staying, you really should make the effort to get out and visit. The casino is fantastic (yes, because I won money there), the restaurants are more than worthy of your attention, and the nightlife is a blast.

If the room rates were a little cheaper and it was a little closer to the heart of the action, I'd call this hotel perfect. Close to perfect is nothing to be ashamed of.

Red Rock Resort
10973 W. Charleston
Las Vegas, NV 89135
866-767-7773

Highs: Everything, but the room rates which are high but not "a high"
Lows: Expensive and hard to get to for most Vegas visitors
Location: 4 -- Not close to the Strip, but near Red Rock Canyon
Price: 2 -- One of the most expensive hotels in Vegas
Value: 10 -- You get what you pay for
Rooms: 10 -- Stunning views and luxurious surroundings
Casino: 10 -- Visually and financially rewarding
Amenities: 10 -- Your room has everything you need and more
Facilities: 10 -- You never need to leave
Service: 10 -- Superb
Fun: 9 -- One point off for the bill you'll receive at the end of the stay
Bonus: 10 -- An excellent addition to the city
Vegas4Visitors Rating: 85