Meeting planners traditionally have equated Las Vegas to being a destination for big groups numbering from the hundreds to the thousands, but in recent memory, the city’s hospitality suppliers have introduced a slew of event venues, hotels-within-hotels, and resort properties catering to smaller groups.
Rumor, a resort with 150 suites by the Siegel Group, is one of those properties that zero in on ultra-small groups visiting Las Vegas. Located on the site of the former St. Tropez Hotel, across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on E. Harmon Ave., Rumor has served groups as “large” as 40 attendees since its July opening and could be employed as a higher-tier to VIP-level answer to a group’s housing needs. Yet, the resort can be bought out, capturing all 150 rooms. This includes four master, 1,000-square-foot suites and the Addiction restaurant, with a private, 14-person dining room.
The resort does not have indoor meeting space, but its main calling for groups is a 30,000-square-foot, centerpiece courtyard—colloquially known as the the “backyard”—that can hold events for up to 2,400 attendees. Recently, the “backyard,” which has several pool areas shaded by palm trees was the site of the wedding of TV’s Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak and Bachelor contestant Ann Lueders. The “backyard” is also outfitted with five cabanas and a wet deck for 500 guests.
“The property has an intimate feel, with a South Beach-meets-Hollywood-meets-Palm Springs vibe,” describes Michael Crandall, the Siegel Group’s director of business affairs. “We gutted [the St. Tropez] and made it a high-end boutique,” he says, in a $5 million investment.
The Rumor’s guest suites sport a “hip, fun, and sexy” décor with contrasting shades of charcoal accent with purple hues and ornate touches, according to the company. Crandall argues that an event at the property, just two stories high and with its suburban-like spaces, is an antidote to the big ballrooms and cavernous resorts on the Strip.
Among the “more intimate” things the Rumor can do, Crandall says, is the shuttling of group members who are not staying at the resort to events held there. It can do a red-carpet welcome event on the lawn area of its “backyard,” featuring a full bar and sponsor backdrop. “We can create custom packages,” inclusive of F&B, Crandall adds. “We’re not big, so we offer personalized service.”
Rumor also provides guests complimentary Internet access and has arranged a deal with the neighboring Hard Rock that allows them to work out in the latter’s fitness facility at discounted rates.
The Siegel Group is a commercial real estate investment and business development company and has three other properties in Las Vegas: the 64-room, non-gaming, “true boutique” Artisan, on W. Sahara Ave.; the 110-room Gold Spike Hotel & Casino off of the Fremont Street Experience in downtown (property originally was the Rendezvous) and its 54-room Oasis at Gold Spike hotel-within-hotel; and, outside the city, the 57-room Resort on Mount Charleston, nestled inside the Toiyabe National Forest.
All of them were acquired by the Siegel Group within the last three years and reinvested. Funky Artisan, located down the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, features—behind wrought iron door—a space called the Library, for up to 20 board meeting attendees. At Gold Spike, a group can take over adjoining penthouse suites for cocktail receptions, in a 2,500-square-foot combine. Gold Spike also has a poolside patio accommodating events of 300 attendees.
The main confab spaces at the Resort on Mount Charleston are the Canyon Terrace, with elegant gazebos and decorative arbors, for 150 guests, and the Aspen Room, which features a mammoth pine post near the middle of the banquet room for 200 meeting-goers.