Penguins, polar bears add holiday dash to Strip resorts’ decor

It's a Saturday in December, historically one of the slowest months on the Strip, yet the Bellagio lobby is nearly standing-room only.

All movement seems to be a version of the Conservatory Shuffle, a lurching quickstep in which people dodge and slide around one another to get to the penguins and polar bears.

There is pointing and exclaiming -- "Will you look at that!" -- when penguins pop out of an igloo. There are smiles and gasps, some in delight, and a couple of "oh, my foot/bag/phone" declarations. It's bound to happen in a crowd like this. Still, these people look like kids in a candy store, if you'll pardon the expression.

With as many as 22,000 people coming through the conservatory every day during December, "this is the busiest time of year for us," Andy Garcia, director of horticulture for Bellagio, says of his department.

He visited the conservatory on a Saturday in early December and was dismayed that he could barely walk through the crowd.

"We know we are going to get a lot of people," Garcia says of the holiday display. "But we're still surprised when we see so many."

Lasting one month, the holiday show is the conservatory's shortest. This year, it features 43,000 flowers, 350 shrubs and other plants. The 42-foot-tall white fir pine Christmas tree is covered in nearly 2,000 ornaments and 13,500 lights. Nine animated penguins are positioned throughout the area and two toy trains with cameras broadcast images from the conservatory onto four TV screens.

It will be dismantled Jan. 3, replaced by the Chinese New Year show. Since Bellagio opened in 1998, the conservatory's holiday display has developed into a destination in its own right. Garcia has heard anecdotally that people plan their Las Vegas trips around the November change-out. Even the installation of the Christmas tree draws a crowd.

"If you're going to be in Las Vegas, this has to be one of your stops," says Californian Bill Waite. Though he was staying downtown, he brought his family to the Strip just to see the conservatory's holiday display. It's become a tradition of sorts, taking advantage of December's low hotel rates and taking in the Strip's bling. After studying the toy trains and flower-embossed polar bears in the conservatory, they were on their way to see what other hotels had to offer.

On the Strip, the winter holidays are handled in as many different ways as you can imagine. Some, such as Bellagio, embrace them and offer giant Christmas trees, poinsettias by the thousands. Fashion Show mall offers Santa Claus and sexy elves. The Venetian has strolling carolers, gargantuan snowflakes and a 60-foot Christmas tree made of lights.

Fashion Show mall treats the holiday like a real production, staging a show on the mall runway. There are dancers, music, a jolly St. Nick and snow.

Of all the major Strip properties, Bellagio has been the most consistent with its holiday display, says Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter. It has generated the kind of foot traffic that most resorts can only wish for Santa to bring them.

"The job of (holiday displays) is to draw attention to your resort," Curtis says.

Several years ago, Caesars Palace held a tree-lighting ceremony in front of the casino, making an elaborate show out of it, bringing Caesar and Cleopatra out to mingle with the crowd. For several holidays, the hotel froze its outdoor water feature to allow ice skating.

Now, Caesars decor is understated compared to Christmases past. The hotel's management declined to comment for this story.

It's impossible to compete with the conservatory's holiday display, hotel representatives say.

"We don't really have a space like the conservatory," says Stephanie Ishii, director of special events for Aria. "Still, the decor is important because you want to be in the holiday spirit."

The Aria installed two Christmas trees, 18 and 12 feet, each made of oversized shiny ball ornaments. One is in the lobby of the north valet while the other is in front of the baccarat room.

"We all get inspired by Bellagio's conservatory," says Farid Matraki, senior vice president and general manger of Crystals at CityCenter. "You don't want to copy them. You want (guests) to move from one (display) to another. These are huge productions, they cost a lot of money to do. There are not a lot of people who invest that kind of money and people want to see them."

Planning for the conservatory's holiday display starts early. Garcia says 2012's show is 70 percent finished. Though he visits other hotels and shopping malls to inspire him, there is no sense of competition.

"I am competitive with myself," Garcia says. "I do visit the other resorts, I want to see their beauty. But I think I do this the best. The challenges we have are giving something new to the guest. We have people who come back each year to see what we've done."

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @StripSonya on Twitter.