Unbenounced to throngs of Las Vegas casino denizens that seldom shift their gaze up from the one-armed bandits staring in front of them, a unique change of pace environment for fun and frolicking is emerging in Las Vegas. It is a radical – some say refreshing – departure from the blinding neon and glitz of our valley.
And it’s also that special kind of place where local Las Vegans wouldn’t tell their visitors about it, because then they’d have to pop them to insure the word about the good find doesn’t get out to others. But Bugsy Siegel is long dead. (He is, right?) Safely releasing the cat out of the bag – I hope – the alpine getaway is . . . drum roll . . .Mount Charleston, located about an hour’s drive north from downtown Las Vegas.
But the travel news is much more than just another scenic day trip. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the scenic 64-room Mount Charleston Hotel is being renamed to the Resort on Mount Charleston, and the facility, originally built in the 1980s, is getting a major facelift including the current building of a new gym that will face out to the canyon, and renovations to the bar, dining areas, and spa. The spiffed-up resort guest suites are planned to feature such amenities as kitchenettes, granite counters, mini-refrigerators, wine refrigerators, ovens, ranges, and even flat-screen TVs.
And you thought Las Vegas was just for gamblers? (But for those of you reading this and are getting a nasty flair up of gambling shakes, there are limited video poker machines on the property now with plans for expanding gaming.)
In our challenging economic times, it’s a business risk for Stephen Siegel, owner of the Resort on Mount Charleston, and Michael Crandall, the director of business for the Siegel Group. But they have an innovative – brilliant – marketing idea: In addition to expanding their traditional advertising methods to draw new clients, they want to link the Resort on Mount Charleston into listings on Las Vegas hotel-booking websites in search of new customers who want to visit Las Vegas but stay in a more serene or non-Strip setting. They also want to establish a rewards program that links their resort to their other Las Vegas properties – the Gold Spike apartment complexes and Barcelona hotel-casino – to draw even more potential visitors.
In tough times, the tough always get going. Godspeed to the Siegel Group.
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