Drai’s Beach Club sits atop the Cromwell Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Guests at the hotel receive complimentary entry to the club, which features performances from some of the world’s most popular DJs. (Adrian Brijbassi/Vacay.ca)
Vacay.ca occasionally publishes articles on destinations outside of Canada. As our readers plan their winter escapes to warmer climates our experts are reporting from exotic destinations. In this article, Vacay.ca Founder Adrian Brijbassi reports from Sin City.
Story by Adrian Brijbassi
Vacay.ca Managing Editor
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Las Vegas markets itself on offering any kind of luxury experience a traveller could desire, but until recently it lacked a popular hotel choice — boutique accommodations.
That changed with the launch of the Cromwell Hotel in 2014, a 188-room property with elegant decor and three enticing on-site amenities that make it a choice place to stay.
The beach club scene at Drai’s is reminiscent of spring break fervour. (Adrian Brijbassi/Vacay.ca)
First, there is Drai’s, the club whose spring-break-never-ends pool parties attract crowds of scantily clad young women and men to splash around while star DJs spin hits under the glare of the scorching Nevada sun. At night, the temperature cools but the figurative heat turns up as the pool party morphs into a nightclub. On the day I visited, Montreal’s Chromeo DJ’d during the afternoon and then hit the club stage at night for a terrific set of funky songs. Their show followed close on the heels of the appearance of another Canadian star, The Weeknd. While the entry to the shows can be pricey and even the pass to the day-time beach club can cost $30 for guys (ladies can enter for free), Cromwell Hotel guests receive complimentary entry. It’s quite the perk when you consider the calibre of the artists performing at the venue.
Montreal duo Chromeo, which includes frontman David Macklovitch, plays day and night when they appear at Drai’s at the Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas. (Adrian Brijbassi/Vacay.ca)
Although you won’t get any break on the price of your drinks at Bound, the year-old cocktail lounge at the Cromwell, you will appreciate the convenience of one of finest drink lists on the Vegas Strip. Salvatore Calabrese, the renowned mixologist based in the United Kingdom, created Bound’s cocktail menu, which includes unique espresso cocktails only available at the Cromwell, as well as dangerously good classics, such as the Corpse Reviver and Sidecar.
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After a couple of drinks, make your way to Giada, the recently opened Italian-focused restaurant on the second floor of the Cromwell. Named after its celebrity chef and owner, Giada DeLaurentiis, the restaurant doesn’t disappoint. Its cuisine is light and delicious, with a couple of flavour notes that define DeLaurentiis’s taste, namely a citrusy accent that comes through in the lemon spaghetti and the decadent bread basket that includes lemon-thyme flatbread.
The cocktails from Bound are created by celebrated UK-based mixologist Salvatore Calabrese, nicknamed “The Maestro.” (Adrian Brijbassi/Vacay.ca)
The rooms at the Cromwell evoke the Belle Epoque period of Paris, with lush red textures, and feature luxuriously comfortable beds, 55-inch flatscreen TVs, and large, well-appointed bathrooms. VIP suites accommodate groups with such furnishings as refrigerators, dining room tables and chairs, and billiards tables. While elegant and sophisticated, the Cromwell’s one drawback is the same with many Vegas hotels: The low price of the rooms attracts young clientele who arrive in crowds and with the intention to party. No one visits to Vegas to sleep, so best to come ready to indulge in your favourite late-night activity till dawn.
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More About The Cromwell Hotel
Location: 3595 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV
Telephone: 844-426-2766 (toll free)
Website: www.caesars.com/cromwell/hotel
Room Rates: Nightly rates currently start at $99 USD.
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Where Else to Stay in Las Vegas
Nobu Hotel: You don’t find too many restaurants that can morph into operating in other industries. Usually, it’s the other way around. But Nobu, the high-end Japanese restaurant chain founded by Iron Chef icon Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro, has expanded its brand to include hotel accommodations. There are about 20 of Nobu hotels in the world and the largest — with 181 rooms — is in Las Vegas. Part of the Caesars Palace complex, Nobu offers rooms with Asian-inspired decor and some incredible suites, including one that comes in as among the priciest in Vegas at roughly $30,000 per night. It includes a massive terrace that allows you to view all of the action happening down on the Strip.
Of course, there’s also a Nobu restaurant on the ground floor. It seats 327 diners, covers more than 12,000 square feet and offers a range of Japanese cuisine, including omakase ($125-$175 per person) and teppanyaki ($125-$280 per person) experiences.
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More About Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace
Location: 3570 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV
Telephone: 866-227-5938 (toll free)
Website: www.caesars.com/nobu-caesars-palace
Room Rates: Nightly rates currently start at $99 USD.
Las Vegas is loaded with hotels and entertainment. This view of the Strip is from the top of the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris Hotel. (Adrian Brijbassi/Vacay.ca)
Booking Now App: The Booking Now app, developed by Booking.com, lets travellers find last-minute hotel deals anywhere in the world on their mobile devices and book them with a single swipe. Enter your desired location and price range and Booking Now generates last-minute hotel deals.
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