Inside Las Vegas' Two New Hotels: Circa and Resorts World

While the rest of the world was shut down for the pandemic, two new hotels in Las Vegas were busy opening their doors in record-breaking fashion.

Circa Hotel, located off the strip on Freemont Street opened in October 2020 and is home to the world's largest sports bar. Resorts World Las Vegas, debuting in June 2021 is the first new resort to be completed on the strip since The Cosmopolitan and is the most expensive property ever developed in Las Vegas.

Circa is owned by the Steven Brothers (Derek and Greg) who also own the Golden Gate Hotel and the D Las Vegas and the name is meant to page homage to past Vegas' greats, "circa" different eras. The design is a mix of modern with throwback to the early days of Vegas, complete with the famous Vegas Vickie neon sign hanging over the lobby's cocktail lounge. The hotel's quirky - a regular parking garage located across the street, is called "Garage Mahal" - and the rooftop pool area called "Stadium Swim." It's an appropriate name for the area, a sports watching hubspot, there's a massive, 143 foot TV at one end providing a perfect spot to watch the big game from anywhere in one of the 6 pools.

Resorts World Las Vegas and Hilton partnered to bring three of Hilton's premium brands under one roof; The Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas, a relatively rare luxury hotel brand in North America, for a grand total of 3506 rooms.

Each hotel has its own lobby, and the layout makes it very easy for guests to get to their rooms; there's no walking through the casino to get there, the elevators are located just off the reception area.

The Conrad however has one very special feature … robotic puppies. Yes, there are three AIBO puppies who are "trained" to interact with guests and have already proven to be quite a hit with guests.

The complex is located on the old Stardust Hotel property and is home to the Las Vegas Strip's only infinity pool. The pool view currently overlooks part of the strip and an adjacent empty lot, where the company is planning an expansion, though details are not confirmed as of yet.

All rooms feature keyless room entry, which is accessed through the guest's smartphone. Check-in is also available remotely through the Hilton Honours mobile app, saving valuable Vegas time better left for exploring.

Resorts World Theatre is a music venue for up to 5,000 people and contains one of the largest and tallest stages on the strip. It's currently home to Katy Perry's residency (returning in July) as well as upcoming acts Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and David Blaine. There's also Famous Food Street Eats, a mini-city in itself, a collection of 18 food stalls offer dishes from around the world. In an interesting new offering, all room service is offered by GrubHub, the first hotel partnership of its kind.