Fontainebleau sets Las Vegas opening date after 18 years

The Fontainebleau Las Vegas set its opening date for Dec. 13, starting the countdown to the public’s first chance to see the inside of a building that’s been in the works for nearly two decades.

The Wednesday opening, pending regulatory approvals, fulfills a decades-long dream for Fontainebleau Development CEO Jeffrey Soffer to open the property on the north Strip.

“For almost 70 years, the Fontainebleau brand has challenged boundaries and expectations,” Soffer said in a statement. “With Fontainebleau Las Vegas, we have transcended aspiration and set the stage for a new era of luxury hospitality defined by innovation, sophistication, and opulence, with an inextricable link to our roots at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. This building represents a remarkable new chapter in our storied legacy and will be a beacon for those seeking to indulge in the unforgettable.”

Reservations can be made online beginning Monday, the resort said. The website also features a first look at the 36 restaurant concepts opening in December and throughout the resort’s first year of business. Restaurateurs and chefs featured will include Chef Gabriela Cámara, Michelin-starred chefs Masa Ito and Kevin Kim, Alan Yau, Evan Funke and David Grutman, among others.

The property’s design plays up texture and bright blue and gold throughout the building, as seen on a recent exclusive first look tour with the Review-Journal. The simplified bowtie logo can be found throughout the public and private spaces: on the casino carpet, in the glass chandeliers, in the shape of the wayfinding signs, on drawer handles in the rooms and more.

The resort has several nods to its sister property on Miami Beach, such as a lobby bar named after Collins Avenue and pillars throughout the public spaces that call back to the Florida hotel.

Soffer pitched the Las Vegas location in 2005 and broke ground two years later, but the project was abandoned during the 2009 financial crisis. Its ownership changed hands several times over the years, returning back to Soffer and partners in the Kansas conglomerate Koch Industries’ real estate wing in February 2021.

The property will bring in several concepts from its Miami Beach location, including the Lapis Spa. The 55,000-square-foot spa will have 44 treatment rooms, 11 spa suites, a purifying salt cave, saunas, hydrotherapy lounges and a “co-ed sensory room with communal healing waters.”

Additional resort amenities will include a 96,500-square-foot luxury boutique retail district, located on the first two levels of the resort; a six-acre pool district, 550,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor meeting space; 150,000 square feet of gaming space; and the forthcoming LIV and LIV Beach, both nightclub and entertainment experiences at Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.