Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in Las Vegas U-Z

When this property first opened in 1969 it was called The International but it became the Las Vegas Hilton shortly thereafter, a name it kept for nearly 40 years. For the last few years when it operated under that moniker, the hotel was not actually owned by the Hilton Hotel chain but rather licensed the title in a deal that ended in 2011, after which the property became simply the LVH – the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Not much changed in the few years it operated under that name, which was both good and bad (it needed some work).

Now the resort has gone through its most substantial change yet, becoming the Westgate Las Vegas, a hotel/timeshare hybrid that has providing the building with its first major overhaul in a decade. To say that it’s about time is an understatement.

Most of the public areas are getting some attention, with a new casino bar just inside the main doors the primary sign that things are different. There is also new carpeting, floors, and wall-treatments but they aren’t much different than they were before. It all looks pretty much the same, just spiffier.

The rooms are a different story. A chunk of them, now known as the Signature rooms, have gotten new decor treatments that are using some of the furniture and the overall design aesthetic from the former Westgate tower at Planet Hollywood (now Elara). They are heavy on the use of bold black, red, and purple with contemporary furnishings and other “Hollywood” inspired touches (think: pictures of Marilyn Monroe). The headboards and the bench at the foot of the bed are tufted leather and the mattresses are plushy comfort. Each has 60″ LED flat screen 3-D TVs, coffee makers, mini-fridges, and all the other usual Vegas hotel room amenities (from safes to irons and boards and more).

The basic footprint of the rooms has not changed – most are the typical rectangle although some at the junctions of the three wings of the building have a little extra room. The reason that this is important is that they are not the big, luxury sizes that you’ll find at newer hotels like Wynn or Bellagio but they still have plenty of room to stretch out.

The so-called Premium rooms are leftovers from the LVH and Las Vegas Hilton days, with standard hotel furnishings that aren’t going to get anyone too excited. All of the rooms will be converted to the Signature style over time. For now, it’s probably worth the extra $20 or so per night that it would cost you to get one of the newly renovated rooms but if it’s more than that, the older ones are perfectly fine (and can be a bargain to boot).