From Restaurant Openings To Hotel Renovations To Residencies: What’s Hot In Las Vegas For 2023

Photo Credit: Sphere Entertainment

2023 IS THE YEAR OF LAS VEGAS. SIN CITY HAS NEVER BEEN HOTTER — both literally and metaphorically (summer temperatures do top out at 120 degrees, after all). With F1 making its debut on The Strip in November, Super Bowl LVIII hitting in February 2024, and the unexpected surprise of a Stanley Cup win for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights this year, there really isn’t another city in the States that’s living as large. As such, it’s a city in flux, constantly evolving, with a seemingly endless string of exciting new openings. Here are the haute highlights of where to stay, play, dine, and drink in this haute Nevada city.

HOTELS & CASINOS

Photo Credit: MGM Resorts

Most major hotel news is coming sometime in the near future, though currently, all 14 MGM Resorts properties are upping their health game with Stay Well accommodations: overnights that include elevated wellness amenities such as air purification, aromatherapy, dawn simulation, and Vitamin C-infused showers that reduce chlorine to keep hair and skin supple and silky. The Bellagio has followed suit, shelling out $110 million for its newly renovated Spa Tower, which is inspired by the beauty and tranquility of Italy’s Lake Como. Bally’s made its official metamorphosis into the Horseshoe last year, while the Fertitta brothers — Frank III and Lorenzo — are adding to their Station Casinos portfolio with the $750 million Durango, built on 71 acres of vacant land on Durango Drive, with an opening slated for Q4. The Strip will also see a Sin City outpost of Jeff Soffer’s high-end Miami Beach hotel, the Fontainebleau, this year, while a Dream Hotel is coming in 2025.

Photo Credit: Station Casinos

RESIDENCIES

Photo Credit: Travis Schneider

Las Vegas is rife with star power, and this year, that includes some of the biggest artists in the world. Miranda Lambert and her Velvet Rodeo are dominating the Bakkt Theater inside Planet Hollywood, as are Keith Urban and Kelly Clarkson; Garth Brooks is tipping his ten-gallon with Plus One at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace alongside longtime resident Rod Stewart; Usher traded Caesars for Dolby Live at Park MGM, where you’ll also find Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars; American Idol judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry, along with Idol alum Carrie Underwood, are all hanging out at Resorts World Theatre; Santana is keeping things sexy at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay; Lionel Richie has headed back to Vegas with his show at the Wynn’s Encore Theater; and U2 will become the first music act in history to play the new MSG Sphere. There’s also Awakening, a dazzling spectacle of a show at Wynn Las Vegas, that, while isn’t technically a residency, is narrated by Hannibal Lecter himself, Anthony Hopkins.

SHOPPING

Photo Credit: Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton has opened at The Shops at Wynn, where gaming trunks with built-in roulette wheels and a limited-edition Louis Vuitton Party Trunk with a disco ball are the local luxurious objects of desire, while Fendi has opened its fourth Las Vegas boutique. Harry Winston is sparkling at The Shops at Crystals with its new 1,900-square-foot boutique. Also at Crystals are Rimowa, which features a limited-edition poker attaché made of sleek anodized aluminum that houses a premium poker set; Kilian Paris, which opened its second U.S. location with furniture specially curated by Hennessy; Frederic Malle, which houses a perfume library; luxury apparel brands Canada Goose and Golden Goose; and French fashion house Celine. Diptyque Paris has also opened at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in the form of a chic Parisian apartment, with a gorgeous, hand-painted ceiling by French artist Charlotte Bohn.

Photo Credit: Rimowa

DINING & DRINKING

Photo Credit: Villa AzurA slew of new and noteworthy eateries have hit The Strip and beyond. Tao Group Hospitality is churching things up over at Aria Resort & Casino with the debut of Cathédrale, a stunning, Rockwell Group-designed eatery that originated in New York City’s East Village even bigger, badder, and more grandiose than its predecessor, while Easy’s, also at Aria, is a sexy speakeasy from Clique Hospitality located in the new, high-end Proper Eats Food Hall that features live music and showstopping cocktails. Over at The Palazzo, Danko Hospitality Group’s Villa Azur has opened another location, pairing upscale European cuisine with a vibrant Miami vibe, while Eyal Shani opened Miznon there as well as an outpost of his Miami hot spot HaSalon at The Venetian. Chris Santos has brought his A game to Caesars Palace with his high-end New York City steakhouse, Stanton Social Prime, while Café Lola — every pink, perfect, Instagrammable inch of it — has opened at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Spiegelworld, famous for its weird and wonderful vibe, has the glorious Pier 17 Yacht Club inside the Green Fairy Garden outside of Caesars. Noble 33’s Toca Madera has created an incredibly beautiful venue for its upscale Mexican cuisine at The Shops at Crystals, and at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, brothers and Top Chef stars Bryan and Michael Voltaggio have pulled references from their childhood and poured their hearts into the whimsical Retro by Voltaggio. The “Mayor of Flavortown” is putting his spiky spin on bar food and betting on Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Sports Kitchen at Horseshoe Las Vegas. And at the former Genting Palace Lounge at Resorts World, Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge transports guests to a tropical escape, serving up storied Tiki bar cocktails like the Jungle Bird and the Scorpion with a modern, Las Vegas twist. Off-Strip, the offerings are just as great: Palms Casino Resort is home to the ultimate brunch spot, Laguna Pool House & Kitchen; Naxos Taverna, Kallisto Oyster Bar, and Lotus of Siam popped up at Red Rock Resort, as did the Parisian restaurant and lounge Rouge Room; Sam Marvin’s Echo & Rig steakhouse chose The District at Green Valley Ranch for its second location; The Sundry, a new food hall by Michael Mina, is now at the mixed-use Spring Valley space UnCommons; Ocean Prime — with its smoking seafood towers, three bars, and $20 million development price tag — made a splash near The Cosmopolitan on Harmon; while the sushi-centric Kaia Handroll, which utilizes AR technology and features a full wall of AI-generated artwork, opened at AREA15 in June.

Photo Credit: MGM Resorts

COMING SOON

Photo Credit: Sphere Entertainment

MSG Sphere, or more simply “The Sphere,” is opening in September with much fanfare. The world’s largest spherical structure will provide audiences with a 16K x 16K resolution screen — the highest resolution LED screen on earth — that wraps up, over, and around the audience. Sphere Immersive Sound’s 164,000 speakers and precise spatial technology deliver crystal-clear audio to every guest, making every seat in the house the best seat — and all the better to hear first-time residents U2 with. Everyone in the world already knows that F1 is heading to The Strip November 16 through 18 and that Super Bowl LVIII is heading to Sin City on February 11, 2024, but not all are as in the know about imminent restaurant openings. After many delays, NFL legend Emmitt Smith’s Emmitt’s is nearly ready to open at the Fashion Show Las Vegas. LPM Restaurant & Bar, with its French Riviera vibes, is opening its ninth worldwide location at The Cosmopolitan this fall. There is a currently unnamed restaurant by Alon Shaya opening at the closed Intrigue nightclub at the Wynn; and James Beard Award-winning chef Bobby Flay is opening a French café at Caesars Palace in his Brasserie B by Bobby Flay in late 2023.

Photo Credit: FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN SILVER LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX