The 61-story Aria Resort & Casino is the central feature of the CityCenter development. CityCenter is a 16,797,000 square feet (1,560,500 square meter) mixed-use, massive urban complex on 76 acres located on the Las Vegas Strip. The project is a joint venture of MGM Mirage and Dubai World, and is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.
The name "Aria", from the world of opera ("an elaborate song for solo voice"), perfectly captures the sense of art and elegance that this resort represents, and maps to the concept of a performance by a star that is nonetheless part of an ensemble. Aria is the star turn within the CityCenter opera, and is deftly positioned as, in many ways, the antithesis of the stereotype Las Vegas experience. Think cool and classy, not cheap and trashy, with nary a hint of "themishness", of prentending to represent some other place or time in the world. As this review nicely summarizes:
...Aria has redefined the Vegas hotel experience. Wood, glass, metal, stone. Real works of art. Clean air. One-touch computers in your room that work the lights, temperature, music, TV, DVD, etc. all from your bedside. And a whole new fibre optics system that delivers wireless internet at eight times the speed of normal hotels. Sweet.
Clearly, this is not a "normal hotel". This is Aria. And Aria, as with all of CityCenter, includes so many innovative environmentally friendly touches that it earned a LEED® Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Some fast facts about Aria:
Designed by the world-renowned firm Pelli Clarke Pelli
4,004 guest rooms, including 568 suites
150,000 square feet of gaming
300,000 square feet of meeting and pre-function space
Three primary pools with 50 cabanas, one European-style pool
16 restaurants and 10 bars and lounges, including a nightclub
80,000-square-foot, two-level spa and salon with 62 individual spa treatment rooms; 55 salon stationsFull-service salon, barbershop, deluxe fitness room, group exercise studio, meditation and relaxation rooms, separate men's and women's spa with eucalyptus steam rooms and red wood saunas
1,800-seat theater that includes the celebration of the timeless musical legacy of Elvis Presley from Cirque du Soleil
ARIA has received LEED® Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council