The Stratosphere, view from the ground

View from the Strip

Last weekend when Drake threw his 25th birthday party in Las Vegas over two nights, I jolted myself out of New York City on a Virgin America flight for an LED-smeared respite in the blingy, blurry city of endless construction and megawatt hotel facades in order to celebrate with the VMAN-approved Young Money heavyweight on the eve of his new album, Take Care. Aside from the Araabmuzik-soundtracked speed cruises down the strip, the half-hearted attempts at gambling, and the indescribable reason for my being there, the trip was well worth it if only for the introduction to Vegas’s most major hotel/casino to spring up in years, The Cosmopolitan.

The bathtub

Two views from the private balcony

Less than a year old, The Cosmopolitan may have hit your radar via its surreal advertising campaign; in which well-heeled young hedonists cavort through hotel room photo shoots, waiters walk into swimming pools fully clothed, and kittens roam the halls freely alongside white puppies and rabbits. The tagline: “Just the right amount of wrong.” In person, the hotel boasts five different pools, private balconies that wrap around all sides of two gigantic towers, fully controllable lighting designs in each room, a beautiful bar shrouded in draped crystals called “The Chandelier”, and its own Marquee nightclub. Bands like the Smashing Pumpkins have played poolside shows, and on Sunday night Drake took over the Marquee’s Boom Box room for his private birthday party, that included a performance by the JabbawockeeZ dance crew.

The bed

Me on the balcony, night

JabbawockeeZ

Between my Liberace-inspired bubble bath and my late checkout on Monday afternoon, it was difficult to ever think about leaving.

cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

KEYWORDS: Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Drake, Hotels, JabbawockeeZ