Virgin Hotels Las Vegas made its debut one year ago this month, and like two other new resorts that have opened during the pandemic—Circa in Downtown Las Vegas and Resorts World on the Strip—it had challenges to overcome. But locals and tourists who have visited Virgin in recent months have noticed a substantially energized destination with busier restaurants and bustling entertainment offerings.
After the 4,500-seat Theater at Virgin came alive in the fall with consistent concert programming, the pieces started to come together, and now Vegas is getting a taste of the new resort that was promised, with all of its venues operating together.
“We’ve been working toward figuring out what life looks like post-pandemic, and how to create buzz and get that energy back into the property,” says Gary Scott, COO of Virgin’s ownership group JC Hospitality. “We had to educate the Vegas tourist a bit about the brand, and like every property, we’ve struggled with virtually no group business and little international travel. You name it, we really got to experience the hardest aspects of opening during the pandemic.”
The Theater—set to host concerts from Incubus (March 25-26) and Alt-J and Portugal. The Man (April 3) before a Premiere Boxing Champions event on April 9—has been essential in driving traffic to the off-Strip resort, but the 650-capacity 24 Oxford entertainment space recently stacked its calendar with diverse programming, too. Two March 11 jazz performances by actor Jeff Goldblum sold out and were met with acclaim , and touring acts like alt-rockers 10 Years (April 8), rapper Rittz (April 12) and electronic group The Avalanches (April 13) are on the way.
A key operational change is expected to amp up the experience at Élia Beach Club for its second spring and summer season. The hotel is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, and that big-name company was operating the pool space when Virgin opened, with daylife programming designed by veteran club executives Mio Danilovic, Jason “JRoc” Craig and Michael Fuller. That team is still in place, but now the Wish You Were Here Group, which operates the Kassi Beach House restaurant, will oversee operations at Élia.
“We recognized a need to focus on programming and content,” Scott says. “It’s a beautiful venue that feels like you’re on a Mykonos beach. We said, let’s focus on diversifying the programming and cast a wider net.”
The dayclub simply requires “a very different operation skill set,” says Nick Mathers, founder of Wish You Were Here. “I think with the success of Kassi and everyone learning which operators they wanted to work with and who was making a mark at the hotel, they wanted us to work with the guys from last year and help guide [the club] through the things that work and didn’t work.
“It’s a huge compliment for these amazing operators to give us more of the property to work with,” Mathers adds.
Élia, which reopened on March 18, will make its first big pool-season splash when Snoop Dogg performs on April 2. Expect other live performances there from artists running the gamut, from hip-hop to country to Latin music mixing into DJ offerings.
“We really want to venture into different formats for Vegas, and we’re not trying to go up against other venues that have the deepest pockets,” Mathers says. “Virgin is still new to a lot of people who haven’t been to Vegas in the last 12 months—people from outside the country—and they’re ready for new experiences.”
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