Downtown Grand Las Vegas
Downtown just got a whole lot grander.
In October, the hip Downtown 3rd district welcomed its first new hotel property in more than 30 years: Downtown Grand Las Vegas. One of the area’s major revitalization efforts, Downtown Grand is an “industrial chic” reinvention of the old Lady Luck Casino, with a unique spin on the Vegas hotel experience.
A different take
Downtown Grand aims to be an integral part of the urban environment by allowing its guests to interact with the surrounding neighborhood with ease.
“The old business model would force you to walk through a casino and through corridor after corridor. The belief was that the more time somebody spends in casino, the more they’ll spend. We believe that idea is very passé,” Downtown Grand CEO Seth Schorr explained. “We want to create a guest experience where people can gamble on their own time.”
To do this, Downtown Grand has multiple street-level entrances. Think about it: When was the last time you sipped a drink at a Vegas bar looking through a door to the street? Or walked up to a window on the sidewalk and placed an order? Designed with brick and granite storefronts, Downtown Grand is home to businesses that cater to tourists as much as locals. Walk-up windows along 3rd Street allow pedestrians to purchase food and drinks, grab a Hawaiian-style shave ice or even place a bet.
“There’s a true pedestrian nature that is unique to the neighborhood and we are catering to that,” Schorr said.
Exploring downtown
As downtown Vegas goes through a renaissance, Downtown Grand is the newest hotel to complement the revival. Located at 3rd Street and Ogden Avenue, the hotel is just steps away from the famous Fremont Street Experience and is also convenient to a number of lesser-known attractions such as the Mob Museum, the Neon Museum and the Smith Center, a high-quality performing arts venue that hosts world-class classical, jazz, pop and theater acts.
For urban explorers looking for an authentic local experience, a number of restaurants, bars and galleries offer adventures around every corner. The monthly “First Friday” arts event features local artists, bands and food vendors, allowing visitors to interact with the community the way you would when visiting other major cities.
Hanging at the hotel
With 17 bars and restaurants on the premises, Downtown Grand’s crown jewel is Picnic, a 35,000-square-foot entertainment and dining playground home to an infinity pool, a full restaurant and beer garden, private cabanas, a fire pit and a synthetic grass seating area.
Another showpiece of the Downtown Grand is the renovated casino that blends old and new with ornate fixtures, chandeliers and canopies against a high industrial ceiling. The 18-story Casino Tower and a 25-story Grand Tower offer 634 hotel rooms, which are 350 to 1,200 square feet and feature Serta Presidential pillow-top mattresses and flat-screen televisions.
Despite Downtown Grand’s many luxurious amenities, the hotel is a budget-friendly alternative to the commercial resorts that make their home on the Strip, with standard room rates of about $69 a night. That’s $36 a night below the average hotel room price in the city, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. And that means more walking-around money.
“We do believe that our experience is not only affordable,” Schorr said, “it’s got great value.”
Downtown Grand Las Vegas
206 N. 3rd St.
702.719.5100
www.downtowngrand.com
—Genevieve Wong, Brand Publishing Writer
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