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Former Ritz-Carlton to begin filling 125 jobs
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DUANE PROKOP/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Dolce Hotels and Resorts, the new management company of the former Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas, plans to reopen the property early next year. It was shut down in May. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Dec. 1, 2010 | 8:42 a.m.
Dolce Hotels and Resorts today will begin filling 125 jobs at the former Ritz-Carlton hotel at Lake Las Vegas .
Former employees of the Ritz-Carlton who wish to return to the 349-room nongaming hotel, which closed in May, will be given preferential treatment in the hiring process.
"The short answer is yes, but we're also looking for the best possible employees available," said Steven Bello, acting general manager for the property, which is expected to reopen early next year under a new name.
Dolce, an international boutique lodging operator with 27 properties in North America and Europe, is accepting job applications on its website, www.dolce.com. Bello said the hotel will hire workers for food and beverage positions, hotel operations, finance, marketing, human resources, facilities and security.
When it closed, the Ritz-Carlton laid off 350 workers.
"We'll hire our (initial employees) and build from that flexibility," Bello said.
Dolce leased the site in September from Village Hospitality LLC. The only remodeling planned is for the lobby, which is being viewed as an interactive gathering area for hotel guests, with a restaurant, a light snack area and a technology center.
"The Ritz left us a very attractive property. It's in great shape," Bello said. "The hotel is not in need of a remodel and our owners are being very generous in allowing us to upgrade the lobby and dining areas."
Dolce is majority owned by Broadreach Capital Partners and has corporate headquarters in Montvale, N.J., and Paris. The company has hotels and resorts in 12 states and five countries, employing more than 4,000 workers.
Bello views the hotel as more contemporary than the Ritz-Carlton and he hopes the property will become a necessary part of the 3,600-acre Lake Las Vegas community in Henderson. Lake Las Vegas includes 1,700 homes and condominiums and the MonteLago Village retail and restaurant development.
The property opened as a Ritz-Carlton in February 2003 with 32,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space and a 30,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.
Lake Las Vegas filed for bankruptcy in July 2008 and emerged in July; two of the development's three championship 18-hole golf courses have closed and the Casino MonteLago, the community's only gaming establishment, closed in March.
Dolce's entrance was welcomed by the 493-room Loews Lake Las Vegas and the Aston MonteLago Village Resort, which manages almost 350 condominium units within MonteLago Village that are available for rent when not being used by their owners.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed SouthShore Golf Club continues to operate as a semiprivate facility.
"Our primary objectives are to be a great community partner and help revitalize the charming Lake Las Vegas community," Bello said. "Hiring 125 people is a big step in the right direction."
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
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As I stated in my prior posts, Dolce brings it's own captive audience to Lake Las Vegas. It is not in competition with the strip or Loews, which makes it the perfect match for the Lake Las Vegas venue.
Currently, the Loews occupancy is good as is the Montelago Village Condo Hotels. The Montelago Village condo hotels which are Viera and Luna buildings are invidually owned and some, not all are rented via a hotel type situation through the Aston Hotel on premises. Many owners use these condos as a 2nd home. Some rent to tenants etc. Viera and Luna properties are WELL capitalized by the owners and the HOA.
Another difference between Dolce and the former Ritz in Lake Las Vegas is the committment to the community and making it better. The Ritz was set in their ways, did their own thing, charged the higher prices and never seemed to care much about LLV. Now, the Ritz's all over the place are making changes to their strategies which was too late for LLV. This is why they are no longer managing the property. Dolce is also only managing and does not own the property.
With this in mind I had the opportunity to meet Alex Shelton of the Dolce Hotels a few weeks ago at a brokers open held at Lake Lake Vegas. He is very passionate about Lake Las Vegas, including the residents, guests and the village and wants to work with everyone in making it a better place. Alex advised that as soon as the announcment of Dolce Hotels in Lake Las Vegas was made,he immediately began to receive many inquiries from brides wanting their wedding there. It is the best place for a wedding!
Despite what the usual nah sayers post here, Lake Las Vegas has a great future. Dolce will bring it's own unique hotel brand to the village, the casino will be re-opened shortly after and fresh new tenants will also arrive too!
Welcome Dolce! I look forward to your grand opening on 2/4/2011!!!!
Wow, this company sure is living in fantasy land. They honestly think LLV has a future. The hotels had low occupancy rates even in the good times. How in the world do they think they can make a profit? How? Three large hotels in LLV with a demand for less than one? Good luck with all this Dolce, you are going to need it.
@JR. The bankruptcy plan for LLV has changed everything there for the better. Most of the former insiders who ruined LLV are now gone. (I read the entire plan)
Dolce specializes in large groups, weddings and conferences and will bring their own captive audiences to the village. Their successful formula places their resorts outside of the city hubs and focuses on rest and relaxation retreats. Their hotels host 32k events a year. Their competition is not the LV Strip. ( I did alot of research on Dolce)
So, it is a new whole new ball game for Lake Las Vegas now. Hammers are swinging building new homes in the Belle Fiore subdivision and I saw new flags flying for homes being built in Tremezzo neighborhood as well.
Well well well, someone at the R-J got off his duff and fixed the misspelling I pointed out yesterday. Memo to the new editor at this Podunk newspaper: If the Review-Journal is so careless about getting the little stuff right, why should your readers believe that you're not equally deficient at doing the nuts-&-bolts reporting required to cover Las Vegas.
Just throwing good money after bad. Lake Las Vegas didn't thrive during the boom years, how will it survive now. All of these place that are coming out of bankruptcy should present a plan showing how they will do things differently and make money where all others have failed. Sadly, stiffing creditors and ditching prior debt is often not enough.
I was always told that it takes 1.5 employees per hotel room to maintain an adequate level of service at a resort.
Start off cutting corners, and you end up back where it all began. Hope they mean to bring in other employees from other resorts they own.
PS: The article stated that LLV has been in bankruptcy since 2008, which leads you beleive they still are. Lake Las Vegas is no longer in bankruptcy. It emerged with a solid plan back in July 2010.
It is my understanding that there are currently 2 or 3 interested parties in the casino. The prior operator caused about 14 million dollars in damage when they left, which will have to be repaired/paid for by Duetsche Bank, the current owner of the casino building. Duetsche is in the process of getting the repairs underway. (Until I heard this,I always thought the casino was turn key)
With that in mind, the casino will not re-open until at least April or May of 2011. The repairs have to be made, leases and build outs agreed on and the new operator has to obtain a new license which can take at least 90 days to get approved. I also spoke to the new Commercial Realtor Julie out at LLV recently. She is really making things happen in LLV. She is working on getting new/exciting tenants in Lake Las Vegas which should open around the same time Dolce opens. This should also create additional jobs. Dolce's opening is going to be the catalyst for great a 2011 for Lake Las Vegas. Welcome Dolce! We are happy you are here!
another 5,000 people in line for a job and the tv news media glorifying it how sad
Would it kill this cheap newspaper to hire a copy editor? The other hotel at Lake Las Vegas is a Loews, not a "Lowes".