LAS VEGAS -- A bit of Tuscany and the Mediterranean has come to the
MGM Grand Hotel Casino here. On May 15, the property opened its
Mansion at MGM Grand.
The mansion, modeled after a 200-year-old Italian villa,
features 29 villas ranging in size from 2,400 square feet to 12,000
square feet on the property's northwest side.
The villas will not be marketed to the public, according to a
spokeswoman for the resort. Instead, they will be reserved for high
rollers and other preferred guests.
"We want to position this as the [MGM Grand's] crown jewel," the
spokeswoman said. "The mansion does not exist within any other
property within our industry. We consider it one of the ultimate
products within the hospitality industry," according to the
spokeswoman.
In other MGM Grand news, the MGM Grand Marriott project, which
had been announced at the same time as the mansion plans, has been
canceled. The project, a joint venture of MGM Grand Inc., and
Marriott International Inc., was to include the construction of a
1,500-room Marriott Marquis hotel adjacent to the existing casino
property.
According to MGM Grand, Inc. officials, the company decided to
cancel the project because of the number of new hotel rooms coming
on line in Las Vegas by the end of the year. In addition, the
officials indicated the company would direct its resources to other
growth opportunities such as MGM Grand's new casino project in
Detroit.
However, officials haven't ruled out entirely the possibility of
adding another hotel to the Las Vegas property. "Depending on
market conditions, we intend to build a hotel adjacent to our
highly successful conference center in the future," Alex
Yemenidjian, president and chief operating officer of MGM Grand
Inc., said in a statement.