The welcome
Prepare for disorientation. The first Nobu hotel is more of a renovated, cordoned-off and rebranded tower inside the gigantic Caesars Palace complex. Guests have to navigate the maze to find the small entrance lobby. If others are checking in or out, it becomes quite a squeeze – although the walls, lined with randomly shaped and patterned wooden blocks, look incredibly cool. On arrival, the receptionist tells us that no rooms were ready – a seemingly automatic response – although one miraculously materialised when she actually checked the computer.
The neighbourhood
The Nobu is on the most eye-popping, stark ravingly insane street in the world. Las Vegas Boulevard – universally known as The Strip – is lined by most of the world’s largest hotels, and is a visual blizzard of outright chutzpah. Walk in one direction and you’ll find the dancing fountains of the Bellagio and a pastiche Eiffel Tower. In the other, there are fake volcano explosions at The Mirage and gondolas floating around the canals at The Venetian. Laid-back and subtle it’s not; uniquely extraordinary it certainly is.
The room
A choice of black or white robes, little red tassels that double as “Do Not Disturb” signs, gorgeous bathrooms with large, shimmery-tiled marble showers – lots of elegant little ideas have gone into a coherent, mildly Japanese-tinged design. The rooms are agreeably spacious too – 32.5 square metres is the standard. Dark woods create a mellowing, chocolatey richness.
The scene
There’s a sense of sanctuary, somewhere for those who want to temporarily levitate above the madness of The Strip, rather than throw themselves headlong into it. The Caesars Palace facilities – including the gigantic, faux-Roman pool complex – are open to Nobu guests should they wish, however.
By Vegas standards (many resorts have thousands of rooms), this is an intimate, 181-room effort, aimed at the more discerning visitor. But it’s a retreat with a cool cachet to it. One of the world’s most famous chefs, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Robert De Niro are the key investors – it was never going to be dowdy.
The service
A welcome tea and bowl of exotic fruits (some so exotic that I haven’t a clue what they are) arrive shortly after arrival; a lavender mist spray is left by the bed at turndown. Nice touches, but cancelled out by maids knocking before 10am to clean. And when your surname is needed to log on to the internet, it’s helpful if staff spell it correctly. Sadly, the hotel’s not as thoughtful and personalised as it aspires to be.
The food
A Nobu-backed hotel was always going to appeal to the stomach. Sure enough, the attached restaurant is world class. Nobu’s trademark, inventive, Peruvian-tinged Japanese menu is hit after hit – with the beef tenderloin toban yaki (US$36 [Dh133]) and black cod miso ($34 [Dh125]) being particularly stellar. The key, standout selling point? You can order it as room service.
Loved
A prodigiously comfortable bed that makes an excellent case for never leaving it, with off-the-charts thread counts in the sheets.
Hated
A non-negotiable $25 (Dh92) resort fee is added to the bill, whether you use the facilities (gym, Wi-Fi for one device, local phone calls) or not. Sadly, it’s a practice that pretty much every Vegas hotel indulges in.
The verdict
It feels and looks fabulous, but the opportunity for a genuinely guest-focused hotel in a city that does personal awfully has been missed.
The bottom line
Deluxe king rooms cost from $228 (Dh837), including tax, room only. 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas (www.nobucaesarspalace.com, 001 702 785 6677).
[ weekend@thenational.ae ]
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