Posted on 03/01/2024 12:45:30 PM PST by NohSpinZone
It took almost 20 torturous years to build the Fontainebleau Las Vegas and, when it finally opened, four executives left in the first month. In a town built on luck, those aren’t good odds.
There are few Vegas projects as snakebitten as the Fontainebleau. What was supposed to be a towering spinoff of the Miami icon has turned into a nightmare for just about every owner who’s taken it on. Not even its grand opening on Dec. 13 could stop the barrage of bad press, from execs bailing to a viral $21 plate of six sad nacho chips.
With this in mind, I booked a one-night stay at the Fontainebleau in late January. When the hotel opened, the rack rate started at around $300 a night; mine was $192 before taxes and fees, suggesting demand was indeed softening. Upon check-in, I was upgraded to a room near the top floor, yet another sign that the Fontainebleau wasn’t exactly bustling.
*SNIP*
For over a decade, the Fontainebleau sat watching over the Strip. The bottom began to rust, and firefighters used its empty floors to run drills. It switched hands again in 2017, but construction never restarted — and then a global pandemic hit. Seeing an opportunity, Jeffrey Soffer reentered the scene, this time funded by Koch Real Estate Investments, and bought back the Fontainebleau. After a 12-year pause, construction started up again.
Although the building was about 70% done, its early-aughts aesthetic was now dramatically outdated. Everything had to go. Finished rooms were gutted, and $3.7 billion went into completing the project — second only to Resorts World in Las Vegas Strip history. After 19 years of stop-and-start construction, the Fontainebleau opened in December.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
BTW (from another article), this is the $21 nachos you get at their sports bar. Nuts.
The YouTube video blogger “Dingo Bob” got thrown out of the place for videoing a meal.
Its pretty close to the best taco place I have ever been to, so its got that going for it....
I thought Las Vegas was destroyed by that big monster from Godzilla.
This and Nikki Haley were both Koch disasters.
My experience with Las Vegas is that you don’t wander off the street by a block and you take the bus to Old Las Vegas.
“This and Nikki Haley were both Koch disasters.”
Koch rescued the hotel!
Koch rescued Nikki as well.
Lol.
I suppose this is why they have been advertising it heavily on television.
The wife and I have been to Vegas every year, at least once, since 1986. We’ve seen a LOT of hotel/casinos come and go. I never thought anyone could spend more money building a place than the City Center group. I expected THAT to be the boondoggle that collapsed. It hasn’t, yet.
But, City Center is in a great location, surrounded by terrific casinos. Fountainblue? It’s in the middle of no-where.
We were just there last September. I didn’t even notice that it was back under construction. I just heard about it on the Kelley and Mark TV show this week. They are trying hard to make it look good.
Resort World was the previous record holder. I doubt it will survive. It’s a beautiful place. But, it’s SO HUGE, and dead... no people. No excitement. I would never pay money to stay there.
I can’t imagine how this new place will survive. I watched that ugly-ass building for YEARS now. I guess, I’m glad it’s finally something? We’ll probably go look at it on our next visit... in September... IF it’s still open. We’ll see.
There ONLY chance, IMO, is for someone to take over Circus Circus, tear it down, and build a phenomenal place there.
Koch is focusing on winning back the senate. Wish him well.
NEVER Take the bus to/from Old Vegas... Get and Uber, or pay a can... Trust me, it's WORTH the money.
Replying to
My experience with Las Vegas is that you don’t wander off the street by a block and you take the bus to Old Las Vegas.
Never take any bus in Vegas. Armed or not
Some of Koch’s candidates fall into the pukeworthy category.
You’re probably right. I walked from the strip to Old Las Vegas. It was like ghetto city when I did that.
The bus is only safe if you are a hood rat. Otherwise, take an Uber. Also, don’t take a cab as you will likely get clipped. [I lived in Vegas for over a decade and a half]
Yes, I would probably agree now that I’ve been to Las Vegas.
I have a funny story about a cabbie customer getting clipped.
We used to have an airport that was almost downtown. One customer booked a room at the hotel and he was told that the hotel was next to the airport. So, they got off the plane and called the cab. They told the cab to take them to the hotel and the cab drove them all around the city, charging something like $60, when it should have been about $5 due to the initial charge.
The cabbie dropped them off and they stormed into the hotel and complained that they paid $60 bucks for a cab ride when they were told that it was very close.
The clerk took them outside and pointed at the airport, which was only about a block or two away from the gate.
Free hotel rooms for illegals, er, “newcomers”. Yay!
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