In the annals of hotel design, last year will certainly always be remembered for the opening of the massive and impressive CityCenter, but despite a deep downturn, there were plenty of other projects worth noting. Lodging Hospitality chose five Design Award winners from 54 worthy nominations.

CityCenter
Las Vegas

The Team: MGM-Mirage and Dubai World (ownership); Gensler (the architecture and design firm led the design process and a team of seven world-renowned architects and 45 interior designers); Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn Architects (developed master plan)
The Brief: Bring something completely new and unique to Las Vegas, something unlike any of the architectural recreations lining The Strip.

Bar Vdara

The Project: The $8.5-billion city-within-a-city covers 18 million square feet, 67 acres and includes 6,000 hotel rooms, a high-end casino, 500,000 square feet of luxury retail and entertainment space, two 37-story condominium towers. Each of the buildings, which began opening in early December, earned LEED Gold ratings.

The Finished Product: The 61-story ARIA Resort and Casino was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and features 4,004 guestrooms, 150,000 square feet of gaming space, 300,000 square feet of meeting space. The 57-story all-suite Vdara Hotel & Spa with 1,495 rooms was designed by RV Architecture and features a distinctive crescent shape and patterned-glass exterior. The 47-story Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas has 392 guestrooms, 225 luxury condominiums, a stunning spa and a 23^rd floor Sky Lobby offering dazzling views of the city. A team of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Adam D. Tihany, Kay Lang & Associates and Page & Steele Interior Architects brought the Mandarin to life.
The Focal Points: The new skyline of rippling steel and glass architecture is unlike anything else on The Strip. The attention to detail, from the high-tech guestrooms to the world-class artwork spread across the sprawling campus of luxury, CityCenter has redefined Las Vegas and accomplished the goal of creating the city’s signature piece of architecture.

A deluxe king suite at Aria