Dan St. Yves poses in Elvis’ Las Vegas suite.
Even Great Britain can’t boast a ruler living like a king just yet, given the Queen’s remarkable longevity on the throne (or cursed persistence if you happen to be someone like …Prince Charles, for example). However, if YOU wanted to live like a king – specifically the King of Rock and Roll, start saving your money. You can do it in Las Vegas.
I recently attended the 2014 Las Vegas Elvis Festival, held at what is now The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. Prior to that, it was briefly the LVH, The Las Vegas Hilton, and The International Hotel. If you’re an Elvis Presley fan, either one of those last two incarnations will remind you that long before Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil ruled the strip, Presley broke all the box office records established before him during his run from 1969 through the early 1970s. He also lived in a luxurious 30th-floor suite, which was part of a behind-the-scenes tour offered during the festival.
Talk about prime Vegas real estate! A staggering 15,400 sq. ft. of living space in just one of three villas sitting high above the casino and showroom, with views of the entire city of Las Vegas below. While much has changed since the time this penthouse housed Elvis and his entourage, it is nonetheless pretty surreal to walk freely through his old stomping grounds. There’s plenty of space to sing in the numerous showers, or if you prefer, to shoot out TV screens if you happen to see or hear Robert Goulet appearing on them (something Elvis is apparently famous for doing in this space).
There are marble floors and hand-painted ceilings everywhere, an ornate bar area, plus a piano room adjacent to a living room. There is a TV area, as well as more Jacuzzis than you could use in a week of Jacuzzi-ing. You may even recognize some of these extravagant finishes if you watch TV. HBO’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra was filmed in this suite, as well as in the showroom where Elvis performed 837 sold-out shows back in the day.
After just a short while inside, you simply forget that you are 30 floors up, especially when walking around the private pool and outdoor grounds built within the interior of the surrounding villa. When you do look outside, you might have seen the new owner tossing the old LVH lettering down off of the marquee, to make way for the new signage. You know, if you happened to be named Louis V. Huntington, you may just have a place for those old letters on your own home or garage wall, but be forewarned, they appear to be a good six feet tall or more.
Look how I’ve rambled on – I still haven’t even mentioned that if you’re a high roller or entertainer, you can stay in this suite (named Verona), or the other two, Tuscany and Conrad. You might choose to be like rock legend Robert Plant though, and ask to stay in the smaller suite Elvis used when he wanted to get away from his entourage on occasion. However, big-name star or mere mortal, you can stay in this historic lodging. It’s a mere $17,500 per night – but there are some substantial bragging rights to say you lived like a king, or The King, even briefly!
Humour columnist and author Dan St. Yves was licensed with Royal LePage Kelowna for 11 years. Check out his website at www.nonsenseandstuff.com, or contact him at [email protected].
