Las Vegas is constantly reinventing itself. New restaurants arrive every season, residencies seem to materialize overnight, and hotels regularly undergo multimillion-dollar transformations in pursuit of the next big thing. It takes a lot for a property to break through that noise, but the Vanderpump Hotel—Bravo personality and hospitality entrepreneur Lisa Vanderpump’s first hotel venture, occupying the former Cromwell on the Las Vegas Strip—started causing a buzz long before its official debut on June 11.
And it wasn’t just from Vanderpump Rules watchers: When the renderings dropped, hospitality insiders, design fanatics, and everyone in between started chattering. Would the interiors be too kitschy? Would it be ready in time for its big debut? As both a long-time Bravo fan and travel writer, I flew out for a three-night stay on June 8 to find out, stopping in during the opening week. And I certainly wasn’t the only one. When I arrived, curiosity was arguably at its peak—chattering reality stars hung out around the rooftop pool, while clear LVP fans took pictures around the lobby casino. Each sparkly corner was filled with an excited-to-be-there energy.
I checked into my room after a long flight from New York, delighted to be welcomed by a plush oasis filled with pastel purple and moss green—a jewel box of velvet, crystal, and cheeky little flourishes that felt like they’d been plucked straight from one of Vanderpump’s confessionals. That’s so Lisa, I remember thinking.
“Vegas is the perfect place to start with for the Vanderpump Hotel because it’s playful,” Lisa told me as she took me on a tour of the space. It was nine in the morning, and the vibes were already high—as we passed, fans and guests alike sang her name; she smiled, waved, and giggled, soaking it all up. “Everything about this hotel is meant for play,” she added, explaining that she wants people to feel swept up in fun (and a bit of naughtiness, of course) as soon as they arrive. “Vegas is the playground of the world—and you know, I have a sense of humor, so I belong right here.”
While the property does arrive with all the fanfare of a celebrity-backed opening, reducing the Vanderpump Hotel to its namesake misses the point entirely. It’s more of a culmination of LVP’s impressive career in hospitality, decades in the making. From the attention to detail and curation of atmosphere to the boutique scale and easy-to-access amenities, this new hotel on the Strip is not your average newcomer. And after 48 hours inside, I can promise you don’t need to know anything about reality TV to see that it firmly holds its own against Vegas’s most established luxury giants. Read on to see why I think you should take The Vanderpump Hotel seriously.
