Las Vegas Places

Wynn Las Vegas

In a city that keeps raising the bar for sheer luxury, the Wynn—monolithic in both name and appearance—has taken a new, more discreet turn for the tasteful.

With this mammoth resort, Steve Wynn, the high-profile developer of the Mirage, Treasure Island, and Bellagio, shirked the campy, theme-park trend he brought on in the '90s for a new one: haute Vegas. There's no volcano or dancing-waters, and the man-made "mountain" with a short multimedia show at night is concealed from the Strip, on view mainly to restaurant and nightclub patrons. So what's all the fuss about? Consider the Madison Avenue lineup of boutiques: Chanel, Manolo Blahnik, Gaultier, and De La Renta. Then there's the assemblage of talented chefs, including New York's Daniel Boulud, legendary Italian chef Paul Bartolotta, and France's most renowned pastry chef, Frédéric Robert. There's a Ferrari car dealership, a theater-in-the-round showroom, an exclusive championship golf course, and a poolside cabana-style casino. It's a best-of-everything list under one roof—a playground for jet-setters, high rollers, or anyone who wants to feel like one.

The History

Built at a cost of $2.7 billion, the Wynn still stands as the largest privately funded construction project in the nation's history. The hotel sits on the site of the former Desert Inn Hotel, and it opened on April 28, 2005, five years from the day Wynn purchased the site. When it opened, the Wynn became the first Vegas casino to combine room key and casino frequent-player data in one card. The complex is also home to the Strip's only resort golf course—the Wynn Las Vegas Golf Course. Encore, this property's smaller cousin, sits next door and is attached through the casino.