Last month we got news that SLS Las Vegas was going to become a Starwood Tribute property and a W Hotel. The acquisition was Starwood’s single largest addition of Starwood rooms in North America since before the recession, and was so huge that the property was split into two separate hotels.

The two-tower 1,613 guest room property became the Starwood Tribute property named the SLS Las Vegas, and the third 289 room “LUX Tower” is in the process of being transformed into a W Hotel. You can read more background on the SLS Las Vegas property and the acquisition here.

Today we got news that SLS Las Vegas is open for reservations on Starwood’s website! The property is a Starwood Preferred Guest hotel in category 5 for redemptions, requiring 12,000 to 16,000 for a free night.

Opening up the calendar at Starwoodhotels.com I found that even tonight December 17, 2015 was available, for the somewhat expected prepaid rate of $40 (when it was a Hilton, rates were found at Hotels.com for $49) for a Story tower non-smoking room with King bed.

I’m sure the renovations were a little challenging considering they were working with an older building that had very small guest rooms, and I was curious what the new rooms looked like.

Previously, the lowest category Superior King Bed room looked like this, via a screengrab from SLS’ old website –

Today, the picture for same room category (albeit with double beds) looks like this on Starwood’s website –

It’s difficult to tell what changes were made. There aren’t a lot of other room pictures on the website yet, but the Lux Queen room looks very similar to the old Lux Signature Suite.

Here’s the old Lux Signature Suite –

And the new Lux Queen room –

There are no suites available for booking yet, perhaps because they are still doing renovations which are expected to be finished in 2016. Rooms booked outside of the prepaid non-refundable low $40 rate is at $139, though as an SPG Hot Escapes property this week you can book for $111.

Here’s more detail on all the dining options at the new SLS Las Vegas –

Note that there is a daily resort fee of $29, which includes airport shuttle, in-room Internet, local and toll-free phone calls, and access to the pool and fitness center. I hate resort fees, and to me this one seems to be on the high side for even Vegas. New York New York, Hard Rock, Rio and Excalibur all have resort fees $25 or under, and $29 puts the SLS Las Vegas right on par with Caesars and Paris. Only the Cosmopolitan and a few other properties have a higher resort fee, at $30. Unfortunately, when redeeming points at Starwood properties you still get hit with the resort fee.

I look forward to trying this property out, and am sure that our resident Vegas expert Michael Trager will be curious about the “new” property as well. One of the challenges guests experienced when the hotel was a Hilton property was lack of elite recognition. Elite recognition is an area where Starwood typically shines, so this new addition promises to offer a good option for SPG loyalists in Las Vegas.

Will you stay at the new SLS Las Vegas hotel?