After descending a wrought-iron spiral staircase, I took a seat at a bar in a wine cellar that could easily be mistaken for one in central Italy. The space felt worlds away from where I really was: the basement of a Las Vegas casino just slightly off the Strip.
Indeed, the Wine Cellar Tasting Room inside the renovated Rio Hotel & Casino is a place guests can escape to for a couple of hours. The stones on the floor and walls were imported from Tuscany and assembled here, and the fare transports guests to Europe, too.
A charcuterie plate overflowing with an impressive array of cheeses — from a French Camembert and a 5-year-aged gouda to a sharp Hook’s cheddar — sat before me and was designed to complement my wine.
Hung Nguyen, who has run the tasting room for years, peddles wine flights with a level of enthusiasm you don’t find just anywhere. His main goal, he says, is to make people feel comfortable and steer them toward what they like.
“I have two rules,” he told me. “First, don’t be intimidated. And two, have fun. We’ll take care of you.”
The resort pool was recently remodeled.
Credit: 2024 Rio Hotel & CasinoRenovation Details
From the outside light show to the casino floor, the Rio (now a Hyatt partner) is in the midst of a rebirth, and Nguyen is one of the staffers who remains, connecting the Rio’s past with its present.
The Wine Cellar Tasting Room opened in the hotel in 1997 and has the distinction of housing some of the rarest vintages in the world — at one point, the collection was valued at $2.2 million. Guests here can still have a rare wine (some priced at $10,000 a bottle) shipped home or delivered upstairs to the rooftop restaurant VooDoo Steak, which features million-dollar views of the Strip from its 50th-floor perch.
Last October, Dreamscape took over operations of the Rio from Caesars Entertainment. Since then, the company has made big strides in improving the property. All 1,500 suites in the resort’s Ipanema Tower have been refreshed, as has the pool. The buffet has been transformed into the Canteen Food Hall, home to quick-service outlets specializing in an array of items, from burgers and sushi to ramen and Philly cheesesteaks.
All 1,500 rooms in the hotel’s Ipanema Tower were renovated.
Credit: 2024 Rio Hotel & CasinoOther recent additions to the resort include an English-style pub called Luckley Tavern & Grill and Brazilian bar Lapa Lounge. I found the scallops at Luckley to be outstanding; others I spoke with who visited the pub raved about the lobster pot pie. The menu also features a 32-ounce tomahawk steak, smoked short ribs and pastas.
The lobby bar, Lapa Lounge, is the casino’s main gathering spot. There’s an Italian blown-glass chandelier hanging over a honey-onyx bar with playful brass monkeys and jaguars dangling from the ceiling. It’s a fun spot for a craft beer or a tiki-style drink.
“We’re reimagining the whole property and bringing it back to life,” said Patrick Miller, CEO and president of the resort. “It’s life in technicolor.”
Even the building’s exterior is colorful, thanks to more than 3 miles of LED lights that create an ever-evolving show. The project was made in partnership with renowned lighting designer Chris Kuroda. Miller wouldn’t reveal all the plans for the Masquerade Village portion of the hotel, but he did share that more new restaurants will debut over the next several months. Clients can also look forward to the opening of a refreshed VooDoo Lounge.
