Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is slated to open in late March 2021, but interestingly, it will also be a Hilton.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Basics
The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas are located in the former Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas. The new mega-resort will offer over 1,500 rooms. The design of the hotel is based on the desert ambience of Las Vegas with neutral colors and splashes of color. The hotel will also have a 5 acre pool area.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas exterior
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas lobby
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Casino
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas restaurant
Each guest room (referred to as the “Chamber”) has two rooms – “The Dressing Room” and “The Lounge”, which are separated by a privacy door. Each room has lounge beds and reading areas. Selected chambers are dog-friendly.
The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will feature three towers – Opal, Canyon and the Ruby Tower with all suites – offering a variety of experiences.
Below is the first major Virgin Hotels Las Vegas advert that is sure to be … unique.
The growth of Virgin Hotels
Virgin Hotels opened its first property in 2015. While Virgin is a popular brand with consumers across the board, Virgin did not previously have any branded hotels. The brand has grown at a modest pace with properties in Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, and San Francisco. In addition to the planned property in Las Vegas, Virgin Hotels are also in preparation for Edinburgh (2022), Miami (2023), New Orleans (2021) and New York (2021).
In general, it’s fantastic to see another entrant in the hotel market, although Virgin Hotels is unlikely to be competing with the “big guys” anytime soon in terms of space.
Virgin Las Vegas hotels will be a Hilton
What interests me most about the new Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas is that they are actually being branded as the Curio Collection by Hilton. The Curio Collection is Hilton’s collection of high quality independent hotels.
This is the only property in Virgin Hotels to join the Hilton Curio Collection. At first glance, this doesn’t sound intuitive – Virgin Hotels is its own brand and markets its properties separately. Why is Virgin Hotels Las Vegas becoming a Hilton?
Here is what Virgin Hotels CEO had to say back in 2019 when it was first announced:
“This partnership is offering Virgin Hotels Las Vegas a premium lifestyle hotel option for Hilton’s world-class global hotel sales teams for their clients at global meetings and conventions. All Hilton Honors members can enjoy their benefits while staying at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. These are new customers who will hopefully become fans of Virgin Hotels. The relationship is good and smart for our upcoming hotel. Our typical Virgin Hotels properties average 275 rooms and are located in major urban markets. So it made sense to work with Hilton in Las Vegas. The Curio Collection by Hilton is the right destination for the Las Vegas Convention market as Las Vegas is one of the best meeting and convention destinations in the world. “
That explanation makes sense, as strange as it may be – Virgin Hotels understands that a hotel this size is unlikely to be independently marketable. Therefore, having access to the members of the Hilton global sales and loyalty program is very valuable here.
It’s cool that you can redeem Hilton Honors points at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, although in many cases the rates paid are also quite low, so you might be better off paying in cash.
Bottom line
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will open in the former Hard Rock Las Vegas in March 2021. The hotel has undergone extensive renovations and hopefully should be significantly improved.
I have not yet stayed at a Virgin Hotels hotel despite hearing good things generally. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to stay at a Virgin hotel while earning and redeeming points and receiving elite benefits with a large hotel loyalty program.
In general, the Virgin Hotels portfolio has grown rather slowly – the first hotel opened nearly six years ago and only two other hotels have opened since then.
What do you think of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas joining the Curio Collection?
