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The Desert Inn |
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| 3145 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Las Vegas, NV 89109
702/733-4444 Fax: 702/733-4437
Reservations: 800/634-6909
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| Latest news: The Desert Inn has been aqcuired by Stephen Wynn, former owner and chairman of Mirage Resorts, Inc. (Mirage Resorts, Inc. is now owned by MGM Grand, Inc.). Mr. Wynn has decided to close The Desert Inn on September 30, 2000. The resort will be demolished and Mr. Wynn plans to build two 3,000 room hotel towers on the property. This also means that, eventually, the Desert Inn Golf Club will have to disappear. The land is regarded too valuable to have a golf course on it. So if you want to stay at The Desert Inn, you've got to hurry. Please read on for information to see what you're gonna miss when you're not staying at The Desert Inn before September 30! |
The construction on The Desert Inn was first begun by Wilbur Clark in 1946, just after the 2nd World War. Unfortunately, in 1947/48, construction was halted by the enormous shortage of building supplies, that drove prices up to unacceptable levels. Construction resumed in 1949 and a year later, on April 24, 1950 The Desert Inn opened its doors. The project had cost about $4.5 million and had a total of 229 rooms. The Desert Inn was an instant success, earning $750,000 in its first week.
The first expansion came in 1963, when the St. Andrews Tower was built, adding 100 rooms to the property. Followed by a $54 million renovation in 1978, which added 149 acres to the property, as well as the Augusta Tower, taking the room total to 825.
In 1997, a renovation take took 2 years was completed at a cost of $200 million - while bringing the number of rooms back to 715, creating an intimate and luxurious resort.
The Desert Inn now has 5 buildings:Villas Del Lago: 11 suites;The Palm Tower: 83 suites;Wimbledon Tower: 175 Superior rooms and 21 suites;Augusta Tower: 308 deluxe rooms;St. Andrews Tower: 117 Superior rooms & suites.
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 The Casino
The casino offers 32,000 square feet of gaming under dome shaped ceilings, that are hand-painted royal blue and gold leaf (creating an image of stars across a night sky), where you will find 59 gaming tables and 450 slot machines, and a Race and Sports book. The Desert Inn also has 4 separate Baccarat salons.
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The restaurants at The Desert Inn are among the best in Las Vegas. The Monte Carlo, for instance, offers French gourmet, and has received an AAA Four Diamond Award (the only one in Nevada) and a DiRoNa (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) Award.
Ho Wan (Chinese for 'Good Luck') offers Mandarin, Cantonese and Szechwan delicacies, while Terrace Point offers an American/Continental menu, with a selection of Far Eastern meals. Terrace Point is open around the clock and also has a breakfast and lunch buffet.
Portofino Italian Steakhouse and Club Deli (for sandwiches and salads) complete the list of dining options at The Desert Inn.
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Even though The Desert Inn hasn't got a huge shopping mall, it does offer toiletries, magazines, candy, postcards and stamps in the Desert Inn Hotel Shoppe, fine jewelry at The Jewelers and the award-winning Golf Shop at the Desert Inn, which is located in the Country Club. Here you can find equipment from Callaway, Mizuno, Ping and Titleist/Footjoy as well as apparel from Bobby Jones, Hugo Boss and Polo Ralph Lauren. For more apparel, the Fashion Show Mall is across the street, offering Neiman-Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Dillards and others.
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That's not all, folks. Oh no, there's more. The Desert Inn is also home to the only golf course on the strip: The Desert Inn Golf Club. This 18-hole, 7193 yards (par 72) championship course features several lakes, waterfalls, streams and traps throughout the course. There is also a large practice area, with sand bunker, chipping area and putting greens.
The Desert Inn Golf Club hosts the LPGA PageNet Tour Championship and the Gold Cup Golf Tournament - the largest amateur golf tournament in the world that has been hosted at the Desert Inn since 1963. Many celebrities have taken a swing on the green of The Desert Inn Golf Club, such as US Presidents Clinton, Ford, Johnson and Kennedy and starts like Alice Cooper, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, Willie Nelson, Robert Redford, Charlie Sheen, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie van Halen and Tiger Woods. The Desert Inn Golf Club is rated among the Top 75 by Golf Digest Magazine.
Apart from the golf club, there is also The Spa at the Desert Inn. This 20,900 square feet health center offers 20 treatment rooms, 2 VIP all-inclusive treatment rooms, 6 whirlpools, 6 hydrotherapy tubs, 2 Finnish saunas and 2 Turkish steam baths, a 2,000 square feet exercise room, complimentary fruit and juice bar and many more facilities.
Other guest services include concierge, valet parking, laundry/dry cleaning (same-day dry cleaning available), a business service center and a hair studio.
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