MGM’s Bellagio Las Vegas to Spend $110M Remodeling Spa Tower Rooms

Article ByDavid Weir

April 3, 2023

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Posted in: US Casino News, Nevada Gambling News, US Gambling News

One of the Vegas Strip’s most luxurious and celebrated casinos and hotels, The Bellagio, is about to get even more glamorous. This week, they announced a complete overhaul of nearly 1000 rooms in their Spa Tower building.

“Bellagio’s commitment to delivering unparalleled accommodations, experiences and guest service for our discerning guests from around the world is the hallmark of our brand promise,” company President and CEO Ann Hoff wrote in their official statement.

The upgraded rooms will be built according to blueprints provided by New York-based architects and interior designers Champalimaud Design. The first spaces will be ready by July 2023, with everything else scheduled for completion by October.

Italian Designs

Each of the redesigned rooms and suites will be themed in an Italian style. “We found inspiration in the colors of Lake Como’s surrounding flora and the classical style of the building’s architecture,” said Champalimaud spokesperson Winston Kong.

Think imported marble, floral motifs, and a color palette featuring garnet, azure, indigo, and the traditional pink-magenta color of Solferino.

The suites will take the Italian lake theme to new levels, with flowing carpets and ripple inspired mirrors supposed to evoke feelings of sunsets over lakes. It’s a feeling much-needed in the Las Vegas desert, you can imagine.

Illuminated mirrors and headboards, motion sensor lighting, and designs echoing the Bellagio fountains are also among the new features.

Picture Perfect

Some 819 guest rooms and more than 100 expansive suites will be remodeled as part of the project. This includes all classes of rooms, from 850 foot Salon Suites to mega 2500-foot Executive Suites with pool lounges and home theaters.

All this is in aid of continuing to attract high-end clients and embracing the casino’s reputation for luxury. The Bellagio’s famous fountains are the number-one most popular photo spot in Las Vegas, and up there in the world rankings as well, according to research published in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

This redesign is just part of a wider upgrade by the Bellagio. A further upgrade project with Champalimaud is expected in 2024, with some 400 other suites set for an Italian village makeover.

“The Spa Tower’s beautiful and luxurious new suites and guest rooms will reinforce our position as one of the hospitality industry’s premier destinations,” CEO Hoff said of the project.

Financing Renovations

The not-small cost of this $100 million-plus upgrade will likely have been paid for out the eye-watering $4.25 billion buyback lease agreement reached between MGM and global asset management firm Blackstone in 2019.

In this deal, Blackstone bought the casino’s buildings and land for that initial $4 billion. They then leased it back to MGM to operate on a long-term basis. However, in these kinds of agreements, it is usually on the operator to pay for upgrades and upkeep of the property, often out of the initial buyback sum. So it’s no surprise that MGM is fronting the cost of this latest upgrade.

MGM doesn’t outright own any casinos in Las Vegas, despite being one of the Strip’s biggest operators. Their other Vegas properties are actually owned by VICI Properties, in a similar setup to The Bellagio deal.