Wandering on and off the Strip, Jason Sheeler finds that all this world-building has made Vegas no less delightfully, wickedly, itself
Headpieces on display at the Las Vegas Showgirl Museum The immersive art and performance space the Sphere
IT'S the hottest day ever recorded in Las Vegas: 120 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm at the pool of LIV Beach at the Fontainebleau, the hottest club in town. At 2 p.m. the party is already in full swing. I am trying to talk to John about it, but he can't hear me over the 2024 Fisher remix of Jennifer Lopez's 1999 song "Waiting for Tonight." He just nods and takes a gulp of his Liquid Death. John is in his 30s, shirtless, with the pink-y hue of a New York City guy on his first day in Vegas. His truck stop sunglasses are sliding off his nose, there's not a drop of sunscreen on his body, and his Fontainebleau room key is somewhere beneath the water. He's sloshing between a group of bachelorettes from Miami and two German fashion students who tell me that they are having the "most American experience ever" after waiting two hours to get in.
The $3.7 billion Fontainebleau, with its 67 stories, 3,644 rooms, 36 restaurants and bars, private VIP check-in, and 140,000-square-foot hotel gym landed on the Strip in 2023 like a crown atop a prom queen. The chandelier in the gaming room doesn't so much shine as drip from the 42-foot ceiling. The hotel also contains the largest Saint Laurent in the United States, outposts of the acclaimed restaurants Mother Wolf and Cantina Contramar, and after-hours parties deejayed by Vanderpump Rules star James Kennedy.
Its opening was the culmination of a troubled 16-year real estate odyssey, which led many to conclude that the site was cursed.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2025-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
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Denne historien er fra January - February 2025-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Brando
THE STORY GOES that actor Marlon Brando first arrived on the 18-isle atoll of Tetiaroa by water-as in, he swam ashore.
Jumeirah Burj AI Arab
IF EVER THERE WAS a hotel that could achieve landmark status, it is Dubai's Jumeirah Burj AI Arab, which stands alone on its own purpose-built island just off Jumeirah Beach.
Blackberry Farm
BLACKBERRY FARM LOOMS in the consciousness of many travelers as an almost mythical Southern sanctuary in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a place whose storybook perfection has to be experienced to be believed.
Fogo Island Inn
THIS 29-ROOM MODERN CLASSIC in Newfoundland is a model for place-specific hospitality, dreamed up by founder Zita Cobb and built by Shorefast, a nonprofit that supports economic and cultural resilience on the hotel's namesake island and runs artist residencies in four isolated, incredibly photogenic studios.
ALAN CUMMING on CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
I went on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 for the first time in 2011.
high life
Italy's unfussy Dolomites are a place of cheerful communities, where simple chalets and good food can almost outshine the skiing
the possibility of an island
Cuba may be facing tough times, but the country's hoteliers, creators, and artists are forging a hopeful and beautiful way forward
in full bloom
Over the past three years, hotelier Fabrizio Ruspoli has turned an old olive farm south of Marrakech into the High Atlas's most intoxicating garden retreat
ALLIN
Fun has never been hard to come by in Las Vegas, but the arrival of pro sports, the Sphere, and lavish new hotels has upped the ante.
Forward March
Across Kenya, community initiatives are protecting the country's wildlife and environment. By Mary Holland
