A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized resort facilities with full-service accommodations and luxury amenity. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay.Alvin L. Arnold, Arnold Encyclopedia of Real Estate, John Wiley and Sons (1995). These hotels may be referred to as major conference center hotels, flagship hotels, destination hotels, and destination resorts. The market for conference and resort hotels is a subject for market analysis.Grant Ian Thrall, Business Geography and New Real Estate Market Analysis, Oxford University Press, Oxford, England (2002).
These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing. They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations.
A mega-resort is a type of destination which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuring large-scale attractions (casino, golf course, theme park, multiple Lodging). The hotels along the Las Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as mega-resorts owing to their immense size and complexity. Kirk Kerkorian is credited for building the first mega-resort in 1969 earning him the nickname "father of the mega-resort".
Two projects in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1973 by architect Martin Stern, Jr. and entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian, the International Hotel and the MGM Grand, set the standard for such casino resorts. The Mirage gave its size and emphasis on non-gaming entertainment options like shopping and fine dining to draw in customers. Mega-resorts use the same fantastic or mythical theme (medieval life at Excalibur, tropical at The Mirage, famous cities, etc.) throughout their properties.
Many mega-resorts have a large theme park as its centerpiece. Resorts such as the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts feature multiple hotels, multiple theme parks, a shopping complex, and other features. Other mega-resorts exist with no specific centerpiece, having many features that are considered prominent, such as Atlantis Paradise Island and its upcoming sister park in Dubai.
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