Tallest hotel in Las Vegas finally opens after sitting empty for over a decade

15 December 2023 , 10:42

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Fontainebleau, stands in Las Vegas, Nevada is finally ready to open (Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The tallest hotel in Las Vegas is finally ready to swing open its doors after 10 years of building.

The 67-storey hotel-casino tower Fontainebleau had became famous for sitting unfinished on the famous strip for more than a decade. Now it is finally open to the public it is the tallest, newest and bluest hotel in southern Nevada’s glittery resort corridor. At $3.7 billion (£2.9bn), it’s second in cost to the $4.3 billion (£3.3bn), 66-story Resorts World that opened in June 2021 a short walk down Las Vegas Boulevard.

The name of the 3,644-room Fontainebleau recalls Miami Beach’s icon among destination resorts, which owner Jeffrey Soffer’s family acquired in 2005. But the project in the Mojave Desert has its own lore about starts, stops and changing ownership since work began in 2007.

“Bringing Fontainebleau Las Vegas to life has been an extraordinary journey. Opening a resort of this size and scope is a once-in-a-lifetime experience., said Soffer, who started the project, lost it and reacquired it to finish it.

The hotel is the second tallest unoccupied building in Nevada (Getty Images)

The hotel has been under construction for more than a decade (Getty Images for Fontainebleau L)

The Miami-based chairman of Fontainebleau Development lost funding for the project during the Recession, leading him to walk away from the project in 2009. At that point the building was about 70% complete. Other plans were tabled about ten years later to finish the project, but they never came about. Occasionally fire fighters would use the large empty shell of a building for high-rise rescue training.

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Now that it is finally done, the hotel will fit into Las Vegas's gambling scene thanks to its 1,300 slot machines, 128 gambling tables and more than 36 bars and restaurants - some featuring chefs with Miami roots. Mark Tricano, Fontainebleau Las Vegas president, has said that the resort will employ more than 7,000 workers.

The cheapest rooms will be on sale for $300 (£239) nightly. The structure is the tallest occupiable building in Nevada and second-tallest in Las Vegas. The tallest is the nearby Strat tower observation deck at 350 meters.

The Strip in Las Vegas is famed for its glitzy hotels and infamous nightlife (Getty Images/Westend61)

The sin-centric city has long been seen as the place to go if you want to indulge in excess and enjoy some gambling. It is far from a cheap holiday destination however. The general consensus is that a day in Les Vegas costs around $500 in terms of eating, drinking and some entertainment short of gambling. The high cost of hotel rooms, drinks, taxis and other likely holiday expenses means it is difficult to keep a trip their within a tight budget.

In terms of getting there, there are several airlines that run direct flights from the UK but you'll be limited in your choice of departure airport if you want to go direct. Only London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, and Glasgow Airport offer flights without a stopover.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are currently selling direct flights from London Heathrow to Vegas in the new year, although they will set you back close to £2,000 for an economy return ticket.

Milo Boyd