Plans for the site have gone through several iterations over the past few years. At one time, plans called for two towers, one pure condo tower and a pure hotel tower. "But the straight condo market made no sense, so we blended the two and upgraded the whole project," Doumani says. "We've always planned it to be between four and five stars, but now we expect to be a minimum of five stars, and our goal is to be the first six-star hotel in the US."

The bottom 50-floors of the Art Deco tower will carry Hilton's Brussels-based luxury brand Conrad Hotels and will include both straight hotel rooms and condo-hotel rooms. The top 10 floors of luxury condominiums will carry the Waldorf-Astoria brand.

The project is entitled and a commitment letter is in hand from the construction lender, Bovis. The pre-sale requirement is 65%. Nearly one-third of the Waldorf-Astoria-branded units are reserved and ready to go to contract. Many of the condo-hotel units also have been reserved, "and there is a waiting list of hundreds for the rest," says Doumani, who removed larger units in the design in order to meet demand for smaller units.

"What people were looking for were 650-sf units in the $600,000 range," he says. "So now two-thirds of the mix is units that size."

As part of the program, the Conrad-branded condo-hotel units will be marketed first to eight million Hilton Honors members. Doumani says he expects a strong response from Hilton members because it will be the only high-end Hilton brand on the Strip.

The Conrad Hotel on the lower 50 floors will have 216 straight hotel rooms on floors 11 to 20 and 696 hotel-condominium units on floors 21 to 49. The condo-hotel units will average 800 sf in size and sell for between $650,000 and $1 million. Hotel amenities include a 27,000-sf spa and health club; a two-and-a-half acre tri-level infinity pool with whirlpools, cabanas and views of surrounding mountains; three signature restaurants; a night club; a lounge, and 56,000 sf of retail shops and boutiques.

In addition to the hotel amenities, owners of the Waldorf-Astoria Residences will have exclusive access to their own club level with a piano lounge, a library, a screening room, a cigar bar and a wine cellar. The 2,000-sf to 5,000-sf residences and penthouses will feature designer kitchens and baths, 10-foot-high ceilings, large private balconies and fireplaces. Priced from $2.8 million to $10 million, they are being offered exclusively through Christies Great Estates.

Lorenzo Doumani is the son of Edward Doumani, who built the Tropicana as well as El Morocco and La Concha. The elder Doumani also was Steve Wynn's longtime partner in the Golden Nugget Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Instant Insights /

Doumani Site Set to Go as $800M Single Tower

Related Stories

Recommended For You