Some of the most exclusive suites on the Las Vegas Strip have a winning new look. ARIA Resort & Casino recently unveiled a renovation of ARIA Sky Suites, its extravagant Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel-within-a-hotel, along with the elite invitation-only SKYVILLAS perched on the top floors of the soaring glass tower.
Sky Suites’ 420 accommodations have shed dark, clubby interiors for a look inspired by the views from their floor-to-ceiling windows. Whites and blues lend a light and airy feel, while pops of dark terra cotta recall the peaks. Watercolor-like clouds cover the living room’s main wall — a nod to the clouds that frequently build up over the surrounding mountains — where a photograph of a solitary desert road hangs. An ombre area rug of rich dark blues recalls the landscape at dawn and dusk.
The idea didn’t originate from the Sky Suites name, says Richard Riveire, founding principal of Rottet Studio, whose work includes the newly renovated Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. Riveire was inspired by a 2018 drive from Los Angeles to Vegas. Along the way, he saw thunder clouds hovering over the valley and flashes of lightning illuminating the city. “Every time you turn around, there is something competing for your attention. There’s really these incredible images and things to do and places to go and see,” Riveire says about Vegas. “But nobody really pays attention to what the place is like, what the land is like. Part of what we were thinking was that maybe we should take a step back and think, ‘How do we connect in a broader sense of the valley and what that landscape is like, what the desert is like?’”
Riveire says his goal was to provide a break from the city’s visual overstimulation, making it a residential-style suite where you can recharge. The framework was already there — the expansive 1,050- to 2,060-square-foot Sky Suites were originally laid out like luxurious apartments with a foyer; separate spaces for a full-sized living room, a kitchenette, a dining room and a bedroom; and tall ceilings. To feel even more like home, the revamped accommodations incorporate soothing gray and beige; sculptural chairs in front of the windows; piles of thick Taschen tomes like Jazzlife, The Book of Palms and Andy Warhol. Polaroids 1958-1987; and eclectic art, including a lot of photography. And of course, whether you’re sitting under the chandelier at the glass dining room table or lounging in the living room, the windows frame the scenery outside (but automatic blackout curtains will shut it out when it’s time for rest).
While the cushy bed is the ultimate place for relaxation, the best place to recharge is the spacious and indulgent bathroom whose showpiece is an inviting standalone oval tub stocked with products from the clean beauty brand LATHER.
What hasn’t changed in the suites are their lavish perks. ARIA is home to Taiwanese dumpling house Din Tai Fung and old-school Italian eatery Carbone — which are cult favorites for their mouthwatering xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and spicy rigatoni, respectively — and Jean Georges Steakhouse, which should be a cult favorite for its luscious meats and sauces like the tasty soy miso butter sauce and the light-as-air béarnaise along with its attentive service. The luxury resort also boasts The Spa & Salon at ARIA, the largest Five-Star spa in the world with one-of-a-kind offerings like a shio salt room and heated ganbanyoku beds — it’s the first in the country to feature the Japanese stone beds. But Sky Suites guests get a lot more with their stay: a luxury SUV airport pickup and drop-off (the vehicles use more eco-friendly compressed natural gas), access to a lounge with bites and drinks throughout the day, and the dedicated Sky Pool, all of which are complimentary.
Among the VIP villas, seven sprawling 2,000- to 7,000-square-foot spaces were made over by KES Studio (which did the design for another Five-Star all-suite property, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills) to heighten their glamour. One of the most sought-after villas is the two-bedroom 2.5-bathroom refuge with a corner location for the best views and a white marble-topped curved bar that overlooks the airport and Allegiant Stadium and is stocked according to your preferences — it’s been occupied every night since its debut in December 2021. Upon arrival, you are whisked straight to the villa for in-room check-in, and you will enjoy amenities like a customized cigar cart, a butler’s pantry and a 24/7 concierge to make all your Vegas wishes come true.
The villa offers a contemporary and flowing feel with long sofas and benches that snake around the windows, a gray painterly rug, circular ceiling cutouts and art that winds and curves. Just like the Sky Suites, the bathroom is a sanctuary, with full-size Creed and Hermès toiletries, a roomy standalone tub set against the window and vanity mirrors floating above the sink that provide sky-high glimpses out the glass panes behind them.
