For planners who want to make good use of Las Vegas but shun the Strip, this gem offers an oasis of luxury — and value.
By John Buchanan
Rooms average about 560sqft
The 548-room, AAA Four Diamond JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa, rendered in Spanish Revival style and sprawled across 54 acres of lush grounds, is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. But it is still a relatively well-kept secret among planners who relish Las Vegas as a destination, but want to avoid the Strip as home base.
Located in Summerlin, about 25 minutes from McCarran International Airport and 20 minutes northwest of the Strip, the JW Marriott offers a formidable portfolio of benefits and perks aside from the comfort and sophistication of its sleeping rooms, which include luxury bedding, whirlpool baths and European showers.
The JW Marriott features more than 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, which includes a 14,600 sq. ft. Marquis Ballroom, 14,400 sq. ft. Grand Ballroom and 12,300 Valencia Ballroom, as well as 35 individual meeting rooms.
The hotel’s flagship restaurants are Spiedini, which serves creative, excellent Italian cuisine at very reasonable prices, and Shizen, which serves world-class sushi. Ceres serves Mediterranean-influenced American fare and is also the venue for the hotel’s excellent breakfast buffet.
The hotel has an exclusive arrangement with the highly regarded TPC Las Vegas golf course, located across the street, and expert staff on the Executive Golf Desk can also direct planners or attendees to 10 other popular golf courses within a short distance.
The hotel’s Aquae Sulis Spa is a 40,000 sq. ft. facility that offers a broad range of treatments in an extraordinarily serene environment that includes a superb sauna and steam room complemented by hot and cold plunge pools.
An elegant resort with several restaurants
Planners who discover the hotel sing its praises. “The JW Marriott is incredibly beautiful,” says Ingrid Abrom, CMP, director of meetings and membership at the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA) in Alexandria, Virginia. Abrom hosted 700 attendees for a three-day conference at the hotel. “You feel like you are in a resort destination like Arizona,” she says. “And I loved the location, too – you’re away from the insanity of the Strip, but close enough to get there in about 20 minutes if you want to go.”
But most important, perhaps, Abrom discovered first-hand the value that Las Vegas and the JW Marriott deliver. It was her first encounter with both the destination and the hotel. She knew she was in good shape when the Las Vegas response to her RFP – sent to 10 destinations around the Southwest – was the best she got back from a budget perspective.
“The value that you get in Las Vegas and at the JW Marriott Las Vegas is exceptional,” Abrom says. “I’ve discovered the JW Marriott brand, too, and they are at the top of my list now.”
Abrom also gives the hotel high marks for its F&B services. Her DMC staged a banquet serviced by the hotel’s catering staff. On the proverbial 1-10 scale, Abrom gave the hotel a 10. “That’s rare,” she says. “It’s hard to please meeting planners. But I was very pleased with everything about the hotel. The resort, the service and the food were all just great.”