Meeting News - December 21, 2009 - (Page 24)

Dateline: Las Vegas By Matt Alderton & Leo Jakobsen MGM Mirage’s CityCenter, Last Of The Mega-Developments, Opens In Vegas The developer-dubbed “unprecedented urban metropolis” that is CityCenter, MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion mega-project at the heart of The Las Vegas Strip, opened this month after years of development. With three hotels—a fourth, The Harmon Hotel, is due to open late next year—a 500,000-sq.-ft. retail and entertainment district and a residential tower, CityCenter may well be the last great development The Strip will see for many years. CityCenter is located on 67 acres between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on South Las Vegas Boulevard. Its first property, the allsuite Vdara Hotel & Spa, opened on Dec. 1 with 1,495 suites, an 18,000-sq.-ft., two-level spa, salon and advanced fitness facility and over 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Vdara was followed on Dec. 3 by Crystals, CityCenter’s 500,000-sq.-ft. retail and entertainment complex, which features five restaurants and a bevy of high-end retailers. CityCenter’s third offering, the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, opened on Dec. 4 with 392 guest rooms and suites, 227 private residences, a 27,000-sq.-ft. spa and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. “Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, provides consistently dedicated service levels and a haven of serenity for guests visiting our newest destination,” said general manager Rajesh Jhingon. CityCenter’s last major opening and the heart of the project, Aria Resort & Casino, was scheduled to debut on Dec. 16 with 13 restaurants, a 150,000-sq.-ft. casino, an 1,800-seat theater featuring a Cirque du Soleil show, an 80,000-sq.-ft. spa and nine bars and lounges. Aria has 300,000 square feet of meeting space on three levels, including four divisible Aria joins Las Vegas’ chorus ballrooms—the largest at 51,000 square feet— and 38 meeting rooms ranging from 800 to 2,000 square feet. For natural light and ambiance, the entire north facade is a glass curtain wall overlooking the pool area. “Aria’s primary audience is corporate meetings,” said Jenn Michaels, vice president of public relations for MGM Mirage. “Vdara, with its intimate 10,000 square feet of meeting space, is focused on small corporate groups under 150 people.” r Ad Index Advertiser Page Beau Rivage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21, 31 www.beaurivage.com Blue Man Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 www.blueman.com Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.embassytahoe.com Fairmont Raffles Hotels International . . . . . 11 www.frhi.com Gold Strike Casino Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 www.goldstrike.com Grand Sierra Resort and Casino . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.grandsierraresort.com Grapevine, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 www.grapevinetexasusa.com Greater Boston CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 www.bostonusa.com/plan Greensboro CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 www.visitgreensboronc.com Guadalajara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 52 www.guadalajaramidestino.com Harrah’s Harvey’s Lake Tahoe . . . . . . . . 34, 35 www.harrahstahoemeetings.com Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City . . . . . . . . 33 www.hiltonuniversal.com Hyatt Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC www.hyattmeetings.com Las Vegas CVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 www.lvcva.com Louisville CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 37 www.meet.gotolouisville.com Myrtle Beach Convention Center . . . . . . . . . . 3 www.myrtlebeachconventioncenter.com NASCAR Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 www.nascarhall.com Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau . . . . 44 www.visitomaha.com Omni Hotels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 45, 48 www.omnihotels.com Riviera Hotel & Casino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.rivierahotel.com Rosen Centre Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 www.rosencentre.com Rosen Plaza Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 www.rosenplaza.com Rosen Shingle Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 www.rosenshinglecreek.com www.rosengreenmeetings.com Taj Boston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 www.tajhotels.com/boston The index to advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, Web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. 24 MeetingNews December 21, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.visitgreensboronc.com http://www.visitomaha.com http://www.guadalajaramidestino.com http://www.omnihotels.com http://www.beaurivage.com http://www.harrahstahoemeetings.com http://www.rivierahotel.com http://www.blueman.com http://www.hiltonuniversal.com http://www.rosencentre.com http://www.embassytahoe.com http://www.hyattmeetings.com http://www.rosenplaza.com http://www.frhi.com http://www.lvcva.com http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com http://www.goldstrike.com http://www.rosengreenmeetings.com http://www.meet.gotolouisville.com http://www.grandsierraresort.com http://www.tajhotels.com/boston http://www.myrtlebeachconventioncenter.com http://www.grapevinetexasusa.com http://www.nascarhall.com http://www.bostonusa.com/plan http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - December 21, 2009

Meeting News - December 21, 2009
Contents
Newsmaker
Viewpoint
Meetings Spotlight
Association Watch
Construction Cites
Event Profile
Meeting People
Dateline: Mississippi
Dateline: Las Vegas
West Regional
Planner’s Choice Awards
Travel Dashboard

Meeting News - December 21, 2009