El Cortez Cabana Suites
Las Vegas, Nevada

OWNER: El Cortez Hotel & Casino
DESIGN FIRM: YWS Architects
INTERIOR DESIGNER: Heather Hassan
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Burke & Associates
TOTAL INVESTMENT: $6.4 million

In 2008, big changes were in the air at the El Cortez Hotel & Casino, a staple in the Downtown Las Vegas gaming market since 1941. Legendary owner Jackie Gaughan decided to sell his stake in the company, making business partner Kenny Epstein the casino’s majority shareholder. The property also began renovating the adjacent Ogden House Hotel, which was used by the El Cortez for its overflow rooms.

The renovated Ogden House reopened as the El Cortez Cabana Suites last May, and its redesign has been touted as part of the Downtown renaissance currently taking place (which includes the construction of Symphony Park and the creation of the Fremont East entertainment district).

Design firm YWS Architects restructured the hotel from 95 rooms to 64 South Beach-inspired suites, complete with mod furnishings. From the electric blue and sparkling white exteriors and sumptuous, Mad Men-style lobby to the retro-inspired suites themselves, complete with high-tech touches like 42-inch, flat-screen plasma TVs and iPod docks, the El Cortez Cabana Suites have revolutionized Downtown design.

Guests have three suite options, the deluxe room, junior suite and super suite, which range in size. The hotel’s suites are tied together by their design elements, which are straight from the 1960s Vegas stylebook: imported white marble tiling in the bathroom walls, black and white checkered marble tiling on the bathroom floors, beds with white tufted headboards, white crocodile wall coverings, crown moldings and avocado green walls give the El Cortez Cabana Suites a distinctively stylish edge.

The Cabana Suites also feature amenities like a state-of-the art fitness center, business center and access to the main casino’s dining and lounge options.