Mini-hotels play the luxury card

OPEN up one of Sin City’s largest hotels and, like a Russian doll, it might reveal another hidden inside, albeit not one painted like a Siberian peasant.

Call it what you will -- hotel-in-a-hotel, boutique sibling, specialty product -- these accommodations are showing up all over, and in some cases within, the Las Vegas skyline.

The newest, coming in May, is the Signature, the first of three high-rises MGM Grand is building on the grounds of what was once the resort’s amusement park. The Signature will offer studio, and one- and two-bedroom residential-style accommodations detached from MGM Grand.

Like other such sub-developments, it will have its own entry, valet, bell and concierge staffs, pools and fitness center. The bustle of MGM’s casino and amenities is just steps away -- but steps no guest has to take. And therein lies the appeal of such properties.

The Signature is the third in a line of breakaway products offered at MGM Grand, following Skylofts and West Wing, both of which opened in early 2005. Each of those delivers a unique look, vibe and type of accommodation, but they were put into play for the same reason: A casino and low-cost buffet no longer suffice when it comes to catching the attention of today’s visitors.

“MGM Grand started attracting more sophisticated world travelers who are younger and hipper,” said MGM Grand President Gamal Aziz. “And their expectations were not being met in Las Vegas.”

Skylofts is to MGM Grand as Bel-Air is to L.A. Its 51 one- to three-bedroom, two-story lofted accommodations take up the top two floors of the hotel. The design is straight from the pages of a modern-living magazine.

The fly-in crowd is greeted at McCarran International by a Maybach limousine, and at check-in there’s no proletariat-at-the-counter indecency involved; head straight for the loft, where a touchpad controls all audio-video electronics, lighting, temperature and drapes. The showers have enough nozzles to outfit a Swedish bathhouse. Butler services, priority dinner reservations and preferred show seating are all part of the $800-and-up service.

Of course, Las Vegas has offered upscale resorts and bigger, more luxurious rooms for preferred guests (read: high-stakes gamblers) since not long after Bugsy Siegel first spied the desert sand. But the credit for this new mode of hospitality might just belong to the folks at Mandalay Bay.

When Mandalay Bay made its debut nearly seven years ago, tucked away on floors 35 through 39 was a distinct, separate hotel with 424 rooms and suites managed by Four Seasons. One of three AAA five-diamond hotels in Las Vegas -- the Bellagio and Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas are the others -- the Four Seasons remains the truest representation in Las Vegas of a hotel within another hotel.

The boutique hotel -- 400 rooms is boutique in the excess capital of the world -- has its own entry and valet, spa, gym and pool. Its five residential floors are accessible only from the Four Seasons lobby or by card-keyed elevators that connect directly to Mandalay Bay’s main floor, aiding those with a need to indulge a gambling jones at a moment’s notice.

Four Seasons guests also get full run of Mandalay Bay, including the Beach at Mandalay Bay pool complex, but with the Four Seasons’ brand of service. The Four Seasons seemed to anticipate the Las Vegas that was taking shape.

“The analysis of the market clearly indicated that Las Vegas was growing and becoming more sophisticated,” said George Cordon, general manager of the Four Seasons. Casino-hotel owners, he said, realized that good rooms could be as much a draw as the casino. “We had guests who loved Las Vegas but wanted to come to a residential setting, a refined setting.”

Since the Four Seasons was opened, several other specialty or boutique-like hotel offerings have made their way into the Las Vegas market.

THEhotel at Mandalay Bay is a stand-alone hotel with the usual amenities -- spa, eats, concierge, valet -- linked by a short pedestrian arcade to Mandalay Bay. THEhotel’s look is edgy midcentury modern. Every room is a suite, with 700-plus square feet of floor space, and is wired to the hilt with high-speed Internet, fax and flat-screen TVs.

Just up the Strip at the Venetian, post-opening popularity led to the construction atop the parking garage of a second hotel tower, dubbed Venezia. Similar in style and feel to the main property, Venezia has its own reception area and pools and a more subdued look inside. But it’s a long walk to the casino, so Venezia is removed from the buzz of the Venetian. This exclusivity comes with an extra cost, of course.

(Additionally, another resort is going up on Venetian-owned property adjacent to the main hotel.)

Wynn Las Vegas offers residents of its South Tower -- part of the main building -- a separate entry, lobby and elevators, and their own pools. At the Wynn too, a sister resort on the north end of the property is expected to break ground in June.

Then there is the West Wing, a stunning makeover of a part of MGM Grand that in an earlier life was another hotel (Marina), which was subsumed by MGM Grand and christened the Emerald Tower.

West Wing rooms remain small, but they’re done up in a Bauhaus-in-the-desert way, with soft tones, frosted-glass bathroom enclosures and functional-artful furnishings. The intended market is the young-and-party crowd and anyone who wants a chic, urban feel to their Vegas experience. On a more practical level, West Wing offers direct access to the Strip, which can save a lot of walking, given the sheer size of MGM Grand.

However situated on the property, whether owner-operated or managed under contract, these retreats share a bond: They are unlike the mother hotel, in look, flair and often level of service.

“We have seen the success of the West Wing and the Skylofts, and we would like to expand on that in the future,” MGM Grand’s Aziz said. “The incredible success of these two units makes us believe there is a market out there for other boutique experiences.”

At a price. And that prognosis appears to apply at the Signature and elsewhere.

Russian dolls?

Faberge eggs.

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On the Strip, a more rarefied air

GETTING THERE:

From Los Angeles it is 270 miles to Las Vegas; the drive in light traffic takes 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

Nonstop flights to Las Vegas are plentiful from Southern California. From LAX, American, America West, United and Southwest fly nonstop. From Burbank, only Southwest flies nonstop. From Long Beach, only JetBlue does. Southwest and America West fly from Ontario, and America West also flies from Orange County. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $99.

WHERE TO STAY:

Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, 3960 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (702) 632-5000, www.fourseasons.com/lasvegas. A true hotel-within-a-hotel combining the best of Mandalay Bay and Four Seasons. From $310 a night.

THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 632-7800, www.thehotelatmandalaybay.com. Others claim it, but THEhotel is Sin City’s only all-suite casino-hotel. From $170 a night.

The Signature at MGM Grand, 145 E. Harmon Ave.; (877) 727-0007, www.signaturemgmgrand.com. Condo-style accommodations amid the Residences at MGM Grand; the first of three towers to come behind the resort opens in May. Studio units begin at $200 per night. (Prices for one- and two-bedrooms were unavailable at the Travel section’s Tuesday deadline.)

Skylofts at MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 646-5638, www.skyloftsmgmgrand.com. Uber-high-end, uber-urbane, uber-expensive two-story units perched atop MGM Grand. One-, two- and three-bedroom lofts from $800, $1,500 and $3,800 a night, respectively.

Venezia at the Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 857-1861, www.venetian.com. A bit more luxurious tower at one of Las Vegas’ most luxurious hotels. Starting at $209 a night.

West Wing at the MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 880-0880, www.mgmgrand.com. The once-dour side of MGM Grand is now current and chic. Small rooms serve up a ton of pizazz, and there’s a cool bar just outside the elevator foyer. From $90 a night.

Wynn Las Vegas -- South Tower, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; (877) 321-9966, www.wynnlasvegas.com. Private entry and reception area -- and other goodies -- await the denizens of the South Tower section of Wynn Las Vegas. From $350.

-- Ken Van Vechten