Thursday, March 03, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEW TWIST: Sky's the Limit

MGM Grand now offers elegant, yet understated, high-end suites

Every loft in Skylofts at MGM Grand provides guest with a breathtaking view of the valley. Photo by John Locher. Guests staying in Skylofts at MGM Grand don't have to leave their rooms to go to the spa. Each master bathroom features a sauna and a bathtub with a massage feature. Photo by John Locher.

Just when it seemed that every extravagant, luxury accommodation had been built on the Strip, and that every untoppable high roller suite had been topped again and again, along comes a new twist on an old concept: Skylofts at MGM Grand.

The panoramic vistas are still there, from 30 stories above the Strip, as are the exceptional service and extra touches one expects when staying in a high-end hotel suite. But gone are the elaborate fixtures, ornate décor and over-the-top frills typical of Las Vegas super-suites.

When you walk into any of the one-, two- or three-bedroom Skylofts, it feels as though you've walked into an urban apartment in New York City, Shanghai, Milan or Hong Kong, said Tobias Mattstedt, Skyloft's vice president of operations.

The floors are wood, the ceilings high -- 26 feet, to be exact -- and furniture understated, yet elegant. Two-story floor-to-ceiling windows frame a spectacular view of the valley, with the upstairs master bedroom providing a singular viewpoint.

"In the past, we've said, `Let's give them sensory overload.' We wanted to capture your attention when we built that. Now, we don't have to impress you," said Gamal Aziz, president and chief operating officer for MGM. "From the moment you're picked up in the Maybach limo at the airport, you know you're in for something different."

Construction began on the 51 units in March 2004, with the first ones coming online in January, Mattstedt said. Since opening, they have had a 100 percent occupancy rate in 33 of the rooms. The remaining rooms are slated for completion in early April.

The concept of the Skylofts is to provide wealthy guests with unique accommodations that make them feel comfortable, while offering them more than they can get at home, Mattstedt said.

"You need to stay on top of things in this city. You have to keep reinventing yourself," he explained.

Each loft, despite the number of bedrooms, contains similar features and offers identical amenities, Mattstedt said.

The 3-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath lofts at 4,845 to 6,040 square-feet, cost $3,800 to $10,000 per night. Each has a foyer, living room, dining room, den and bar, media room, kitchen, billiard room or sitting room. The 2-bedroom, 2-bath units are 3,017 square-feet and cost $1,500 and up per night. They feature a living room, bar, media room, dining room, billiard room or game room. The one-bedroom, one-bath lofts measure 1,400 to 1,800 square-feet with a foyer, living room and dining room at $800 per night and up.

Each unit has a bathroom with sauna and a tub with a "Champagne Bubbles" massage function.

The amenities include state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment, and anywhere from four to 16 televisions in each unit. Specially trained Dream Butlers provide guests with herbal teas, unique pillows, music and anything else to ensure a good night's sleep. They also brew coffee in the mornings.

The rooms are designed to appeal to people with money, Aziz said, such as CEOs, entertainers and others. There are no plans to build more units, despite the popularity of Skylofts, he added.

"It's intentionally meant to be so special and hard to get in to," Aziz said. "The moment you mass produce, it loses that special quality."