The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas C-E

Bold is the word I keep coming back to at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. From the layout to the design, from the casino to the rooms, everything about this hotel is bold, visual, and different from any other Las Vegas hotel. The closest comparison is to its neighbor Aria Las Vegas, a hotel that moved away from the traditional into modern, contemporary, cutting edge design. But Aria is practically staid in comparison to The Cosmo; the older hotels that once had big “wow” factors seem almost quaint.

The hotel is wedged onto a narrow chunk of land between Bellagio and CityCenter, directly across the street from Planet Hollywood, offering a great location for getting to a million different things nearby.

There is no theme here unless you count art and design as one. From the moment you enter the property you are treated to a visual feast that at times almost borders on overload.

Come in from the parking garage and you are greeted by a gorgeous lobby done in black marble with leather walls. The support columns are covered in giant video screens that can change the mood of the space, at one moment a pink field with butterflies and at another sparkling champagne bubbles. Notice the red desks and baroque white chandeliers at the registration area; covet the high backed, French bordello banquettes complete with built in pedestals for old-fashioned dial phones. Adjacent is a lobby lounge Vespers done in radiant, shimmering silver surrounding a traditionally designed wood bar.

Or come in from the southern Strip entrance directly into the casino and you are welcomed by a three-story "chandelier," featuring over two-million crystals surrounding three bars on multiple levels.

Enter from the northern Strip entrance and you'll find a bar called Bond, complete with LED panels built into the walls and ceilings that make the space change almost constantly.

The moment you step in, you understand that this is not a typical Las Vegas hotel even though all typical things you'd find in a Las Vegas hotel are present and accounted for.