Most Vegas hotels have some kind of a shtick. From half-scale Eiffel Towers to skanky pirate-wenches, the city is a veritable playground. Vdara Hotel, however, went too far with its death-ray, which its management refers to simply as a "hot-spot."
In typical hotel euphemism-speak, the spokesperson for the hotel chain which owns Vdara played down the poorly-designed hotel, which reflects sunlight from its curved shiny windows straight down to the swimming pool, as nothing more than "solar convergence." A hotel employee, speaking somewhat more honestly, said it was like "a magnifying glass that shines down."
Ever play that game as a kid, where you held a magnifying glass above an ant in direct sunlight?
The picture below shows a plastic shopping bag that melted in the face of Vdara's death ray. That wasn't all, however. Its owner, Chicagoian Bill Pintas, suddenly smelled something was amiss after sunbathing in the midday sun. His hair had been scorched. The pretty hair on his head had been compromised.
But what to do? Vdara staff is going to build a shaded area, put up more sun umbrellas and plant some trees, but when the patch of heat (said to be "20 degrees hotter" according to an employee) is constantly shifting in its 90-minute poolside reign, it could be a case that even more visitors are caught in the dangerous tourist trap. Novelty foot-long margaritas at the ready, folks. [Las Vegas Review Journal via @ratevegas via @jetjocko]