Las Vegas - 1
Wynn Las Vegas has wonderful people - take EVP Operations Kris Kaminisky, above, a Lithuanian Kansas boy who’s finally, after years checking out Asia, found his professional home, where everything works…
Of course the ‘car’ from Wynn Las Vegas had arrived about five minutes early and driver Ryan remembered Girlahead from her last visit so the conversation continued as if uninterrupted. This time the people-mover, black of course, was a Cadillac Escalade and required mountaineering talent to enter but fortunately two strong Top Hoteliers were on hand and our intrepid traveller was yanked up and in.
Arrive at Wynn Las Vegas’ Tower Suites to a picture book of perfection. Outside greenery is manicured. Go in through tall glass-and-brass doors to the conservatory that is a feature of top entrances in Vegas, but here the tropical greenery seems greener and more lush, the real swimming fish appear fresher and the tiled flooring’s more highly polished. The young ladies on front desk are also, to use another meaning of the adjective, highly polished, and they wear identical corsages, which brightens their uniforms no end.
Girlahead hadn’t realized how much having an Alexa in a hotel room allows one to feel at home, though Wynn Las Vegas, for all its elegance, always feels like home anyway. And feel is a good word here, because Todd-Avery Lenahan's interiors are strong on texture. The corridors feature fabrics, and some panels that actually are carved stone. There might be gargantuan head and shoulders coloured photos here, and antique sepia prints or a Matisse there.
Suite 3703, the whole the size of a padel court, is understated luxury. Alexa sits on a desk below a nude on a chair (Picasso Blue Period?). Controls are easy-see switches or easy-work tablets. Carpets, plush enough for floor-exercising without hurting the spine, extend into the bathroom – lovely. The bathroom has hooks, which more and more designers seem to forget about these days. White robes are cuddly inside, elegant outside. Another Wynn signifier is satisfactory bathroom lighting, bright enough and realistic when it comes to flattery (see below). The two basins are separated by a storage unit. Its shelves have stitched leather inner linings. Discreet, well done style. Own-brand toiletries are easy-open tubes (there are a couple or gold leaf cards urging planet awareness). The previous bling-bling gold hair and toothbrushes, and razors, have been replaced by matt stainless. Real style. The shower’s a surprise. In 20th century style there’s only a wall-set head complementing the hand-held and after a hot soak you have to turn the lever though really cold to reach off. Both toilets, however, are a delight; admittedly not Toto or other washlets, but the proper pressure that Europeans now have to forgo.
The bed is an outline four-poster, with seven pillows. The top one’s embroidered with a Wynn logo – US hotels do’t seem to follow peers in the rest of the world in guest personalisation. Of course there’s a duvet, and the sheet underneath has a corded edge to it. It's little things like this that are real luxury today. Telephones are practical rather than useless-designer. There are four bottles of Wynn water - on a golden tray, along with a take-home of Wynn’s room spray. Typically Wynn, the room is full of unnecessary odd bits. Textured cushions on a sofa have a backdrop of a marvellous ivory cabinet. On the corner table with two chairs and a curved banquette, there's a very heavy marble bowl. Yes, totally unnecessary. And that's what helps the overall luxury effect….
