HENDERSON, Nev.
-- When Station Casinos and GCR Gaming, a company owned by the
Greenspun family of southern Nevada, opened the $300 million Green
Valley Ranch in December 2001, the intention was to follow the
successful pattern of Stations other properties.
The plan was to
build a casino with 2,200 slot and video poker machines, 53 gaming
tables, a 170-seat race and sports book -- then, slap a hotel
around it, offer standard amenities at reasonable rates and let the
gaming begin.
The projected
room rates were $99 to $249 a night. One tower with 196 rooms
comprised the accommodations, which were designed to be trendier
than other Station properties but not so trendy that it would scare
off the typical slot player.
We were always
very bullish on gaming, said Lori Nelson, Station Casinos director
of corporate communications. And they still are, with more than 80%
of revenue coming from the slots.
But this property
is a departure from past properties, Nelson said. At Green Valley
Ranch, its the amenities that bring people in.
Drawing
in spa-goers
Like the spa, she
said. The spa has gone through an amazing expansion because of the
demand.
The spa was one
of the features enhanced in the second phase of a three-phase
expansion project that began early last year and has a completion
date of late 2006 to early 2007. The spa tripled in size to 30,000
square feet and now has 28 massage and treatment rooms, five
outdoor treatment cabanas, a salon and a workout
facility.
Another tower
with 300 rooms came on line last December. Of those, 90 are suites.
The most exclusive are the 4,000-square-foot penthouse suite, with
butler service and a baby grand piano; the Whiskey Suite, with its
own DJ station and a terrace with bar and barbecue; and the Villas,
three 2,500-square-foot suites, each with its own courtyard and
pool.
Similarly, the
Whiskey Bar was refitted, the 24-hour Grand Cafe opened in August,
and Hanks Fine Steaks and Martinis is slated to debut this week.
The steakhouse will be open for dinner and the bar area will
feature a piano player and singer nightly.
Meanwhile, 25,000
square feet was added to the meetings and conventions
space.
As the second
phase ended this month, the third began. The final expansion adds
slot machines, a new poker room, a new race and sports book, the
Race and Sports Grill and the Oyster Bar, a 500-seat entertainment
lounge and 14,000 square feet of meetings space. The cost: $110
million.
Drawing
in business groups
Just as demand
resulted in the expansion of the spa, demand brought about the
expansion of the hotels meeting space.
Fifty percent of
our guests are groups, said Brett Magnan, vice president of hotel
operations for Green Valley Ranch. We appeal to the upscale
convention market. They choose us primarily for the amenities and
service. But also important is that they dont lose attendees to
other Strip hotels. People at the meetings generally stay and
attend meetings. Once we get a group customer here, we tend to keep
the customer.
A free shuttle
does run regularly to the Strip, he added.
Magnan said the
hotels market is mostly the luxury sector, and not unlike the
resorts Las Vegas counterparts, the hotel has an adult
feel.
Our services for
children are limited to a pool, an arcade and movie theaters.
Relaxed elegance is the tone we strive for, he said.
Green Valley
Ranch offers a selection of packages, ranging from Bed and
Breakfast, priced weekends at $206 per night, double, Nov. 20 to
Dec. 28, to Escape Spa, valid to Nov. 19 and priced weekends at
$505 per night, double. The plan includes a 50-minute massage, a
pedicure and use of spa facilities.
Whats next for
Station Casinos? Another upscale resort, the $925 million Red Rock
Resort, coming to Summerlin, Nev. It will also undergo an
evolution, eventually doubling the number of rooms from 400 to
800.
Green Valley
Ranch Resort is 5.3 miles from McCarran Airport.
For details, call
(866) 617-1777 or visit www.greenvalleyranchresort.com.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to [email protected].