Scale is what Las Vegas is doing well – and keeping ahead of elsewhere in the process. Recently HotelDesigns had a press release announcing an hotel in the Gulf that at 6,000 rooms would be the world’s largest; sorry guys, but the new extension to the Venetian/Palazzo complex makes it bigger, over 7,000 rooms. Nor is this, as someone suggested, a ‘trailer trash destination’ or just a gambling resort. It may well be that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, and gambling is a key lever that has opened this up as a destination, but this is now an up-market, upscale resort that can compete with London or Paris in its attractions. Mammoth Hotels are a part of this and the continuing expansion of Las Vegas and its offerings will help to make this the prime resort globally, and with the continuous increase in the space available for conferencing it will soon be the world’s premier conference destination if it isn’t already.

The Wynn is one of the prime properties leading a move to quality. Designed on a grand scale not seen since the Victorian railway boom gave rise to major hotel building in Britain, the interiors provide a visually engaging and comfortable environment that almost conceals the fact that there may be over 5,000 guests on the property. The harmony between design and operation ensures waiting in line happens infrequently and the staffing level of roughly three hotel employees per room ensures that service levels throughout are high. Design standards in many of the Las Vegas hotel are high, and nowhere epitomizes it better than Steve Wynn’s eponymous operation; it lays down a marker for others elsewhere to match.