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Aresort hotel is ahotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations andamenities. These hotels may attract both businessconferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay.[1] These hotels may be referred to as major conference center hotels, flagship hotels, destination hotels, and destinationresorts. The market for conference and resort hotels is a subject formarket analysis.[2]
These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing. They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations.
Since the 1800s, the traditional concept full-service conference and resort hotels have been based upon a venue which is typically remote and has anatural feature as its attraction.[2] For example, theKviknes Hotel inNorway is a difficult to reach remote location which provides visitors access to the scenicfjord atBalestrand orThe Brando Resort onTetiaroa which is only accessible by a private plane fromTahiti. Historically there were certain built-in amenities such asgourmetcuisine,musicrecitals, andshorelinetrails; however, the amenities of modern (post-1980) destination hotels dwarf the scale of these earlier models. Many of theLas Vegas andCaribbean resort hotels have completeshopping malls,conference centers and large entertainment halls on site; thus, the contemporary version of a destination often features large on-sitecapital investment in activities, although the access to a local natural feature is still retained by many newer destination hotels.[citation needed]
A mega-resort is a type of destination which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuring large-scale attractions (casino,golf course,theme park, multipleaccommodations). The hotels along theLas Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as mega-resorts owing to their immense size and complexity. Kirk Kerkorian is credited for building the first mega-resort in 1969 earning him the nickname "father of the mega-resort".[citation needed]
Two projects in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1973[3][4][5] byarchitectMartin Stern, Jr. andentrepreneurKirk Kerkorian, the International Hotel and the MGM Grand, set the standard for such casino resorts.The Mirage gave its size and emphasis on non-gaming entertainment options like shopping andfine dining to draw in customers. Mega-resorts use the same fantastic or mythical theme (medieval life atExcalibur, tropical at The Mirage, famous cities, etc.) throughout their properties.
Many mega-resorts have a largetheme park as itscenterpiece. Resorts such as theWalt Disney Parks and Resorts feature multiple hotels, multiple theme parks, ashopping complex, and other features. Other mega-resorts exist with no specific centerpiece, having many features that are considered prominent, such asAtlantis Paradise Island and its upcoming sister park inDubai.
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TwoMartin Stern-designed andKirk Kerkorian-built casinos, theInternational (laterLas Vegas Hilton) andMGM Grand (laterBally's) had just raised the bar in casino/hotel design. Whereas previous casinos had featured modest, low-slungmotel wings or mid-rise hotel extensions, these two structures opened with over 2000 rooms and suites located in mammoth hotel towers. These two projects boasted virtually every feature of what is today canonical casino resort construction: a single complex combining casino, dining, and entertainment facilities with a massive hotel.
Stern's most enduring contribution to the Strip was his trailblazing fusion of convention hotel, casino space, and retail, seen first in 1969 in Kirk Kerkorian's International and then in his original MGM Grand, which opened in 1973. These behemoths integratedhigh-rise hotel towers, parking garages, convention space, gaming, entertainment, and shopping for the first time. These structurally integrated designs supplanted the patchwork of older Strip casinos, which had grown by adding a showroom here or a hotel tower there. And the International pioneered the tri-form, y-shaped design that has become a Strip trademark. The freshly minted mega-resorts of the 1990s, fromThe Mirage toParis, all usedStern's basic ideas of casino design.
The massive, 2.5 million sq.-ft.MGM Grand set a new standard in defining the mega-resort. The monolithic building, larger than in size than theEmpire State Building, had over 300 miles of draperies, 2,300 television sets, and enough heating and cooling capacity to serve 8,000 homes.
