SBE
has big plans for the aging Sahara and will not blow
the place up to realize them (well the oldest tower
will go).
The plans include: a new 520-foot 1,000-room hotel
tower, renovation of rooms within the Alexandria
and Tangiers towers, demolition of the
mid-rise 200-room Tunis tower, 92,300 square
feet of new construction for the podium level, major
renovations of the existing spaces, and a pedestrian
realm along Las Vegas Boulevard.
The new spaces combined
with the refurbished spaces will bring the resort's
totals to: 90,000 square feet of casino space,
56,900 square feet of retail, 78,900 square feet of
restaurants, 19,000 square feet of
entertainment venues, 32,600 square feet of
meeting/convention space, 22,600 square feet of
spa/fitness space, and 26,600 square feet of
nightclubs.
These plans went before the Clark County
Planning Commission on 2/20/08 and have been
approved. No renderings were
available as of this report.
Conjecture (if
you please)
With this remodel, I am hoping to see the Sahara
return to its mid-century-modern roots. In the 50's,
this was a very chic two-story resort. Clean modern
lines, limestone, no heavy theme, and an air of
sophistication. 1959 brought the new Tunis Tower
which was clean
,
simple and modern. The beautiful, modern Alexandria
Tower was added in 1963; at the time, it was
Nevada's tallest building. In 1978 The simple,
utilitarian Tangiers Tower was added to the back of
the property. The tower was (is) not attractive by
any stretch of one's imagination (the decision
makers must have thought "hey, it's in the back, you
can barely see it").
In the theme-riddled Las Vegas of the 90's, the
Sahara suffered a horrific transformation into a
harem-esque, jewel-laden monstrosity with a
roller-coaster. Just about everything (inside and
out) was "decorated". The Alexandria Tower received
Arab-styled window coverings and it's
mid-century-modern roof-line was extended then
adorned with more mid-east decor. They cheaped-out
on Tangiers Tower, it's window dressing was only a
stenciled paint-job.
Hopefully (with fingers crossed) the new owners will
embrace the history of this old girl and treat her
right with this renovation; there are a few clues
that lead one to believe they will. One: their
redesigned website uses vintage photos of the
resort. Two: they are keeping the Alexandria Tower.
Let's all prey they keep the name.
A brief photo history
(right) shows the changes. Click the image to
enlarge it.
