Renovation – Touristician

Las Vegas is a city of change, always evolving, reinventing and innovating itself so it does not become stale and stays relevant. It is no secret that oftentimes these changes revolve around the mega hotels and resorts throughout the city. While some may come and go, some hotels often get rebranded and reconfigured into a whole new experience instead of meeting the wrecking ball.

Rebrands in Vegas are pretty common these days. We have seen the Monte Carlo become Park MGM, Bally’s become Horseshoe, and most recently, Mirage transforming into Hard Rock Las Vegas. (If you are interested in the Hard Rock conversion, check out our blog post on that). And there is yet another change coming to Las Vegas and no we are not talking about the As or Bally’s here. Instead, we are going to be focusing on the most recent news of the Delano being converted into the W Las Vegas.

Join us in today’s blog as we take a deep dive into the history of this property and all the changes that are coming within the next few years. So without further ado, let’s get to it!

History:

^{Thehotel as pictured in 2003 shortly after opening.}

Before we dive into and discuss all the changes coming, let’s first take a look at a brief history of the Delano. The hotel originally opened as the THEhotel at Mandalay Bay and was built as an all suite hotel tower meant to complement the Mandalay Bay Resort. It was designed to stand out with bold stylish design and high end finishes. TheHotel opened to much fanfare on December 17, 2003.

In August of 2012, MGM Resorts International announced the rebranding of THEhotel into Delano Las Vegas as part of a partnership with Morgans Hotel Group. Through the deal, MGM would manage the hotel under a licensing agreement with Morgans Hotel Group, which owned the Delano brand. All of the suites at the hotel were to be redesigned, along with new bars, lounges, restaurants and nightclubs.

Although THEhotel had been financially successful, the decision to renovate and rename it was part of a transformation at the Mandalay Bay. In addition, there had already been plans to renovate the nine-year-old hotel tower prior to forming a partnership with Morgans Hotel Group, which had been expanding the Delano brand.

Delano Las Vegas officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 2, 2014. Flash forward to 2024, The Delano Las Vegas is getting a complete transformation and will officially be rebranded as W Las Vegas as part of the new MGM and Marriott partnership.

This collaboration between two trusted hospitality brands means more than 200 million Marriott Bonvoy members can enjoy unique benefits and redeem points at MGM Resorts’ destinations while MGM Rewards members can status match and receive member benefits at Marriott’s global portfolio of approximately 9,000 properties.

Ironically enough, this is not the first time the W brand is going to be in Vegas as there was previously a W Hotel in Las Vegas from 2006 to 2009 and 2009 to 2017.

W Hotel Las Vegas (2006 – 2009)

The W Hotel Las Vegas in its earlier incarnation actually opened in 2006, but it wasn’t a standalone hotel at that time. Instead, it was part of the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel and Casino property, which was undergoing a significant renovation.

The W Hotel was essentially a brand overlay within the Sahara’s renovation efforts. This was not a complete transformation but rather an infusion of W’s style and luxury into the existing Sahara property.

W Hotel Las Vegas (2009 – 2017)

_{Crews remove the W branding and signage outside of the SLS, soon to be renamed to the present day Sahara Las Vegas.}

The W Hotel was located within the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip. It opened in 2009 as a full-scale, standalone hotel with its own identity, separate from the Sahara property. By 2016, it was operating under the same brand and offering the trendy, upscale experience the W brand is known for.

This version lasted until 2017, when it rebranded as part of the larger Sahara Las Vegas operation, ultimately ending W’s presence in Vegas.

What’s Changing?

^{Rendering the new W Hotel Las Vegas expected to begin renovations in early 2025.}

While there is little details known about the exact timeline or details of the project publicly available at this time, we can definitely say the hotel is going to go through a renovation and conversion process to meet the W brand standards. The W brand is known for its bold, trendy, and youthful vibe, so expect a lot of style, art, and an Instagram-worthy atmosphere throughout the property. It’s a bit of a shift from Delano’s more subdued luxury, so it’ll be interesting to see how the two compare once the dust settles.

It’s worth noting, as with Delano, W Las Vegas will not have a casino but will still have access to the Mandalay Bay Resort and its casino floor.

Final Thoughts:

I think it is going to be interesting to see the W brand finally return to Vegas after a lengthy absence. It is interesting to think about why Marriott, another company or a developer did not try to bring a W hotel back to Vegas sooner. I think it is sad the original W Hotel had a relatively short lifespan before being rebranded. I truly think if the original W was still there today, it would have done very well all these years and would have become a Vegas landmark for luxury and lifestyle.

With that being said, I can not wait to see what the new W Hotel has in store for Vegas and I think it is going to fit right in. W is known for appealing to luxury travelers, and a younger, trendier crowd. I think with the well throughout high end design, experiences and amenities, it would have no problem appealing to that type of crowd.

I personally can not wait to see all the renderings and announcements about what the property is going to look like post conversion and am very excited by this news. I have no doubt that the W will bring fresh energy that is sure to turn heads on the Strip. I think this is going to be the first of many new hotels and or branding deals we will see from MGM and Marriott. I can see this being a trend going forward with other casino operators, not just in Vegas, bringing in luxury hotel brands to supplement their offerings they already have.

We’ll keep you posted with any new details as the renovation gets underway, but in the meantime, it’s time to start thinking about what’s next for this exciting new chapter in Vegas history!

Author: Blake

Ever wonder what it’s like to work in a full service hotel for a day? You’re in luck today! Today, I will be taking you inside a day in my shoes as a front desk agent at a full service hotel. Just a quick note I want to mention, not every hotel is the exact same or runs the same since each property is unique or has different standards. For example, if you work in a select service hotel (a hotel with no ballrooms and select amenities) or a full service hotel (a hotel with ballrooms ,restaurants and expanded amenities), it will change your work environment. I hope you all enjoy it and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them down below!

America’s Best Value Under The Sun

Before I take you through my day to day, let’s explore the property I work at and essentially consider a second home. So prior to being a Days Hotel, the property opened as a Holiday Inn in 1974. In 2016 the property was renovated and converted into a Days Hotel. The hotel currently has two ballrooms, a restaurant, indoor pool, fitness center, outdoor patio area. There are a total of 173 rooms in the hotel which makes us the largest hotel in town.

You may be asking yourself, what’s a Days Hotel? Days Hotel is the same brand as Days Inn. The reason for using the word Hotel instead of Inn is due to the fact of how many rooms we have and also the fact we are a full service hotel. I’ll be honest, I was just as confused too when I first started but when you think about it, it does make perfect sense.

I know the Days Inn brand does not have the best image to it. You may think of a rundown or poorly kept location on the side of the interstate. Well… you wouldn’t be wrong there about the brand since a lot of locations are like that. However, not every location is like that. Take mine for example, our property is one of the best Days just simply for how well it is run and how well it is maintained. In a future article, we’ll cover this topic more.

Holiday Inn vs Days Hotel Before & After Photos:

It’s amazing how hard it was to find these photos. I really had to dig for them in the archives but I found them. It was totally amazing to see how the hotel has changed from since I was to a kid to now working there. I remember attending a wedding here as a kid and looking back at these photos and comparing them to what I see daily is just crazy and brings back some memories.

Before taking you through a day in my shoes, I just want to quickly point a few things out and explain a few of the changes made to the building. One of the maybe not so clear things is the changes to the Coral Ballroom and restaurant area. Originally as seen below in the 3rd set of photos, the ballroom was a lot smaller than it was now. When the building was renovated, a part of the restaurant was demolished to create the bigger ballroom you see in the after photo. The restaurant is still there today but is smaller than it once was. Of course by doing this that whole dining room was redone. If I am being honest, I sort of like the original restaurant layout and ballroom design better. (If any of my bosses are reading those please don’t fire me lol). However when I think about it, I see why and it makes sense to increase the size of the ballroom so we can host two events at the same time. (Which is what currently happens here a lot of times on weekends).

The only other thing I want to point out that was a major change is the removal of the saunas and hot tub in the pool area. Sadly, I couldn’t find any photos of these amenities as many of these older photos are disappearing. I am very happy to recover these photos and keep the history of the hotel alive. As I work day to day and roam the halls, I can definitely still see touches of Holiday Inn and design elements of from the past still preserved. For example, we still have in the storage area some original Holiday Inn posters with the old school Holiday Inn logo. If my bosses are reading this, DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THROWING THOSE OUT!

Just Another “Typical” Day

First, let me begin by saying there is no such thing as “just another day” for me at my hotel. My surroundings are always changing from having 2 weddings in house to having a full house during a busy holiday weekend. Depending on what is going on in the hotel on a particular day, it all shapes how my day will be. Like, I just mentioned having weddings. If I have no weddings, then I can expect for the most part a slower day depending on the time of year. On the flip side, if I have two weddings going on at the same time, I can expect a busier day and know to be prepared for it. Despite having events or not, busy or slow, I still make sure to do the best job I know I can do and am expected to do.

The Daily Grind

Typically, I begin my day at 3pm and will wrap up my day around 11pm. When I first come in, I meet up with my team and get filled in on everything that is going on and what happened in the morning. After that, I head around to the desk where all the action happens. I typically check my arrivals, my availability and prepare accordingly. Depending on the day, I can get anywhere from 10 arrivals, if it is slow, to over 100 if it is busy. Of course one of my main jobs is to check guests in and out, serve my guests and assist them with whatever they may need.

Sometimes if there are banquets going on, I will jump in the back and help out as needed. Typically, I only can do that if there is another front desk agent working with me and if it’s not overly busy at the desk. I’m very big on being a team player and helping out where I can. For example, if I go into housekeeping to get more towels, if I see the dryers are done and finished, I’ll take the extra few minutes and empty them for the housekeepers so that it is less work for them.

Anything Can Happen…

Remember how I said how no day is ever the exact same? With the fact, anything can happen anytime and anywhere in the hotel, it makes each day different
and sometimes challenging. On some days you will have a busy shift but it is quiet where nothing happens and there are other days you have a mix of both. From having emergency situations to dealing with crazy people, anything can happen. Sometimes you even have things happen that you have never seen before and you can’t believe it. Believe me, I have plenty of stories to tell and some I still can’t believe even after some time. For example one of my most recent stories includes a guest screaming at a bush outside and having a solid one on one argument with the bush. I think the bush one though… cause after a while the guest gave up. It’s things like this that make the job interesting and play a part in the idea that not everyday is the same. I can honestly, sit and write about all my crazy stories for hours. If you want to hear some of those stories go check out our Top 10 Craziest Stories as Told By Front Desk Agents blog post.

Advantages of Working Full Service:

At this point, you may be thinking why would I want to work in a full service hotel, it seems like a lot of work. I’ll be totally honest, some days are very challenging and you’re running around like crazy while other days it is a lot slower paced. One reason I love full service is for this very reason the fact there is that balance of slow days and busy days. So you’ll never just be dead slow or insanely busy all the time. I tend to notice this more on weekends where Fridays and Saturdays are insane followed by a relaxed Sunday to end off the week.

Another reason I love full service is the fact of the people you meet during your typical shift from the events going on or the large groups coming in. Sometimes you meet the coolest people from these groups and you suddenly find yourself talking with them as if you knew them for a long time. I think the best example of this that sticks out to me is the time this gentleman came up to me and told me he was inside my hotel when it was being built during the late 1970s. He told me this story of how the police department used the half built building for police drills and training. If that wasn’t cool enough, he took out his wallet and showed me pictures of the hotel during construction and of the drills. Even months later, I still put this at the top of my list as one of the coolest interactions I had.

Sunset At The Days

As the day fades into the night and it turns 11, my shift officially comes to an end. Before I leave for the night, I do any paperwork or reports I need to do, count the drawers again and finally I hand off the night to the night auditor. Typically, I fill them in on what happened all throughout the day, things they need to know and anything that needs to be passed on to the morning crew. Lastly before I clock out I make sure the cabinet with all the towels and extra linens is stocked for the night so it makes the night crew’s job easier. After all that is finished, I head out for the night and wait to do it all again the next day.

And that is a day in my life! Thank you all for enjoying this blog!

Tag: Renovation

Big News: Delano is Becoming W Las Vegas! Here’s What You Need to Know