{"id":7134,"date":"2014-03-26T15:45:39","date_gmt":"2014-03-26T15:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/03\/26\/making-a-disused-hotel-roof-a-striking-las-vegas-pool-club-all-in-drais-work\/"},"modified":"2014-03-26T15:45:39","modified_gmt":"2014-03-26T15:45:39","slug":"making-a-disused-hotel-roof-a-striking-las-vegas-pool-club-all-in-drais-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/03\/26\/making-a-disused-hotel-roof-a-striking-las-vegas-pool-club-all-in-drais-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a disused hotel roof a striking Las Vegas pool club all in Drai\u2019s work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- Original Post Content --><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i59.tinypic.com\/2115daf.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 185px\"><br \/>\n\tDrai&#8217;s Beachclub and Nightclub on the roof of The Cromwell, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. South, overlooks the Las Vegas Strip. The 65,000-square-foot rooftop nightclub, day club and pool deck were designed by Victor Drai. (Bill Hughes\/Las Vegas Review-Journal)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\tBy HOWARD STUTZ<br \/>\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL<br \/>\n\tNightclub operator Victor Drai considered the roof of the former Barbary Coast and Bill\u2019s Gamblin\u2019 Hall &amp;Saloon untapped potential.<\/p>\n<p>\tDrai, 66, a Los Angeles-based nightlife mogul, operated Drai\u2019s After Hours in the basement of the small Strip casino. On New Year\u2019s Eve he would venture to the roof of the 11-story property to watch the annual fireworks show.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cIt was the best view from here looking up and down the Strip,\u201d Drai said of the property at the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cI knew this for years. I always had a vision in my head,\u201d Drai said.<\/p>\n<p>\tNow, that vision is taking shape.<\/p>\n<p>\tA Memorial Day weekend opening is planned for Drai\u2019s Beachclub and Nightclub a 65,000-square-foot rooftop nightclub, day club and pool deck \u2014 designed by Drai \u2014 that sits atop The Cromwell, after a $185 million remodeling of the building.<\/p>\n<p>\tDrai spent Friday afternoon touring the site, which overlooks the Strip. The spacious nightclub adds three floors to the hotel-casino and opens up onto the pool area, which also has a dance stage set aside for a DJ.<\/p>\n<p>\tAt first, Drai was only able to present renderings of the project. He initially brought a ladder to roof and had Caesars Entertainment Corp. executives and property officials to see what the view would be from a platform.<\/p>\n<p>\tNow, with the pool area and adjoining spas taking shape, along with 24 private cabanas and an upper-level for \u201cEuropean-style sun bathing\u201d deck, Drai said the space is even more spectacular that he originally visioned.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cI think it\u2019s the most beautiful space and I hope it will be the best location we have ever built,\u201d Drai said.<\/p>\n<p>\tA group representing Billboard Magazine toured the space with Drai last week. They were treated to an afternoon performance by the Bellagio Fountains, which take on a much different perspective when the water spectacular is viewed from above.<\/p>\n<p>\tBillboard, Drai said, is considering the pool deck and nightclub for a private event.<\/p>\n<p>\tCromwell General Manager Karie Hall said the day-club and nightclub will be a central attraction of the renovated hotel-casino, which opens May 21, a week before the rooftop space.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cWe feel as if you are closer to the fountains from here than if you are actually staying at (Bellagio),\u201d Hall said. \u201cThe special events highlight the space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tUntil a few years ago, Drai could only dream about a rooftop facility. Power lines above the building prohibited adding new floors atop the tower.<\/p>\n<p>\tHowever, when Caesars \u2014 which acquired the property in a 2006 asset swap with Boyd Gaming Corp. \u2014 decided to take the power lines underground and renovate Bill\u2019s, Drai approached the company with the idea.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cI\u2019ve been looking at this place with enthusiasm for such a long time,\u201d Drai said. \u201cI have high expectations for what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\tConstruction of the rooftop facility required Caesars to add a support building between The Cromwell tower and neighboring Flamingo for additional bracing for the club facility, elevators and an emergency stairwell.<\/p>\n<p>\tHall said the walls of the structure \u201cwill be used for a yet-to-be revealed experience\u201d that will entertain guests.<\/p>\n<p>\tDespite constant construction, Drai enjoys showing off the rooftop space to guests. It\u2019s the centerpiece for The Cromwell, which will also feature a second-floor restaurant operated by television cooking personality Giada De Laurentiis that offers Strip views, 188 remodeled hotel rooms and suites, a renovated 40,000-square-foot casino, a lobby bar and casino lounge.<\/p>\n<p>\tDrai\u2019s After Hours, which moved across Flamingo Road to Bally\u2019s Las Vegas when Bill\u2019s closed for remodeling, will move back into its original basement location in May.<\/p>\n<p>\t\u201cCustomers are ready,\u201d Drai said. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky lots of people are already looking at this place.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Replies:<\/h3>\n<p>No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drai&#8217;s Beachclub and Nightclub on the roof of The Cromwell, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. South, overlooks the Las Vegas Strip. The 65,000-square-foot rooftop nightclub, day club and pool deck were designed by Victor Drai. (Bill Hughes\/Las Vegas Review-Journal) By HOWARD&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}