Interior Photos
 

4/17/07  Aladdin is Dead - Long Live Planet Hollywood

It's official, as of midnight, this resort is now referred to as Planet Hollywood.

9/28/07  New Rendering 

Well (damn-it), just like automobiles (with or without fins), the prototype/concept is always more sleek and beautiful than the dumbed-down final product. It seems strange that Planet Hollywood is still using the concept photo (far left) to promote Planet Hollywood Towers (at the building site and on their website). I found this updated rendering (near-left) on the architect's site, which is notably different.

Gone are the rounded-corner balconies on the lower floors. The too-cool thin balconies in the red fins have been reduced from six floors to only four. The color has shifted to a darker blue. And the overall design is less streamline, less dramatic.

I always thought the first renderings were too good to be true and, alas, I was right. Oh well, they're still pretty cool buildings.

Older news below the construction photos
 

Photo 12/26/06 by Mark Diederichsen
shows the progress of the PH Towers
Click image to enlarge

Nearly one year after the announced groundbreaking,
 we finally see some activity at the
Planet Hollywood Towers site.

Photo by Mark E. Adams 11/20/06

Click image to enlarge

This construction photo of the Desert Passage transformation
was taken 10/12/06 by Mark E. Adams
Work is well underway.

Click image to enlarge

Planet Hollywood News & Views

Planet Hollywood

The latest rendering (left) shows a much cleaner approach than was originally planned (below). Gone, are the giant globes at the entrance and on top. Gone, is the blue exterior and the dated logo which has been replaced with a fresh, simple design.

I just received one too many emails concerning the small, unmarked, vacant piece of land at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Harmon Ave. So, to thwart further inquiries and to further enrich this website, I have included a small map (left)
which shows the land in question.

The land is owned by the county and a small portion of it is being used for the Harmon Ave. realignment.

According to county data, the county purchased the 3.3-acre parcel in 1996 for $27,714. They have used about 1 acre for the realignment.
 
My guess:  the county is probably sitting on the remaining 2.33 acres (now worth well over $40 million) for an eventual profit. I'm sure Planet Hollywood would love that small corner lot, and hopefully they would use it for a parking garage (with shops on the ground level (hint).
 

09/24/06   From Tan to Blue to White

The blue paintjob (left) on the resort tower has stopped. The tower is now being painted white (right). Maybe they read the countless forum threads and articles that stated how ugly the blue paint looked.

Meanwhile, the Desert Passage entrance (right) makeover is in full construction.

Click images to enlarge

03/18/06   Desert Passage to get Interior and Exterior Makeover

The Desert Passage Mall, within the Planet Hollywood resort complex, is about to go under the knife. A $50-million exterior makeover, shedding the heavily mid-eastern theme and putting on a modern new skin, should be complete before 2006 ends. The interior work will be finished by mid 2007.  This will coincide with the rest of the Planet Hollywood takeover of Aladdin.

1/19/06   Groundbreaking of Planet Hollywood Towers

Construction started on the Westgate Timeshares at Planet Hollywood. The new rendering (left) shows a radically changed design (see the original rendering below). The new price tag for this project is $750 million. The two towers will be 50 stories with a total of 1,250 units. The 28 high-end penthouses (on the top six floors) will be priced between 4 and 10 million dollars.

The twin towers now boast a stunning modern design, and from the looks of it, will have some very interesting penthouse floor plans.

Outside amenities include a 40,000-sq.ft. elevated outdoor recreational
pool area on the second level and an exclusive 46th-floor Penthouse Pool. 35,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, supplementing the resort's meeting space.

The towers will be fully integrated (with Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino). There are no others like that in the industry. That creates excellent value for the time-share buyer, as you can choose to let Planet Hollywood rent your unit-time as hotel stock inventory. This will be the first time-share linked directly to a casino-resort.

 
The towers are scheduled to open in late 2009.

The Lobby Bar

Early rendering of the proposed timeshare.
 

Planet Hollywood (Westgate) Timeshares (original rendering)

These are the original plans. Updated specs are reported above.

The time-share tower is planned on 4 1/2 acres on Harmon Avenue east of the main entrance of Aladdin...err...Planet Hollywood and is part of the burgeoning Harmon Corridor.

Planet Hollywood will use unsold time-share residences to supplement the resort's hotel room inventory. The 800 two-, three- and four-bedroom time-share suites will boost room inventory to more than 4,700 at the hotel. The project is being developed in one phase and that the top two floors would include 16 5,000-foot penthouses that would sell for $5 million each.

Westgate Resorts will begin construction of the $400 million, 800-unit development later this year with completion of the first suites targeted for New Year's Eve 2007.

 Paint job continues. Taken 02/13/06  

 

 Click to enlarge

12/26/05   The Transformation Begins

The exterior transformation of the Aladdin to Planet Hollywood has begun. The buildings' exterior is getting a coat of blue paint...yes paint. I guess the original idea of covering the building with a new skin of blue glass was too expensive. I was looking forward to this rather hodge-podge architecture disappearing, but I guess it's going from ugly to uglier.
 

9/10/05   Interior Renderings Released

The first renderings of the lobby and casino have lead me to start preparing a meal consisting of my earlier statements. These are quite stunning, with design by Dougall Design (who also did THEHotel at Mandalay Bay), the PH folks have me raising an eyebrow. They may actually transform the Aladdin into a truly great resort.

The entire transformation is scheduled to be completed one year from now and will be done in three phases.

The lobby will be a clean and sleek design. Click the images for a closer look.

The casino will be more open as the removal of the centrally located escalator bank are in the plans. They are also planning to use space from the Desert Passage Mall to create a full sized Race and Sports Book (something the Aladdin never had).

The  property will also boast new restaurants and nightclubs as well as renovated hotel suites and rooms.

08/20/05   Renovations About to Begin

A year after Planet Hollywood bought the Aladdin, the re-branding of the property has started and the renovation work is about to begin.

The renovations will be done in phases so that the casino can stay open and the guests will not be (too) inconvenienced. The Strip entrance is the major issue. The confusing old facade (left) will be opened up and a huge plaza entrance will grace the strip. The new entrance will showcase both the mall and the casino, making it clear where each is located. 

The Harmon Ave. entrance will also be reinvented to lure the (soon to be) heavy pedestrian traffic, which Harmon's string of new condos, clubs and resorts will bring.
 

Latest exterior rendering     Click to enlarge (high-res)

 Early exterior rendering

Planet Hollywood

The planned $120-million transformation of the bankrupt Aladdin into Planet Hollywood looks more like a downgrade (sorry for the commentary, but look at it). The Planet Hollywood folks are gearing up to add some gaud to the strip while other developers are replacing gaud with class (go figure). As of June, 25th 2005 nothing has been done. Maybe changes are in the works (I hope so). Sheraton will be managing the hotel operations. Often, preliminary renderings are exaggerated, maybe it won't be as horrible as it looks.

Some of the reasons the Aladdin wasn't successful: There was no obvious entrance  for  pedestrians on the Strip, the entrance was above grade through a series of stairs and ramps, most of the pedestrians that did manage to enter the property, entered through the unpopular (dark) Desert Passage Mall. The mall (unlike the Forum Shops at Caesars) does not guide you to the casino, it meanders you around the casino, past countless uninteresting shops and right back to the Strip. The interior and exterior design is terrible (I could write volumes on this) and the Strip signage is useless.

Lastly, a middle eastern themed casino in a time of terrorist activity made the place seem more like a target than a resort. This less than brilliant design cost the Aladdin millions in lost revenue. 

Sordid Past

From its 1962 beginning, this property seemed to be doomed for failure. This property, at times, was called "The Vegas Jinx".

 

There were many owners, name changes, remodels, bankruptcies, closings, openings, and mob dealings throughout the years. The history of this resort reads like the 'who's who' in the underground world.  During this 'history', the 19-story tower and a performing arts center were added in 1972.

On November 25, 1997, the Aladdin closed its doors forever. The Aladdin was imploded at 7:30 p.m. on April 27, 1998. The performing arts center was the only structure saved.

The new Aladdin mega-resort opened August 17, 2000, but the troubles didn't stop. Another bankruptcy, and much legal mumbo-jumbo led to its sale to the Planet Hollywood folks, who "planetized" the whole resort in 2007 (we'll see how long PH lasts).

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