With ARIA (you have to spell it in ALL CAPS) being open less than 24 hours, much to my amazement, I was able to check-in at 9:00 AM. I guess they weren't even close to full on opening nightso plenty of rooms were open. We were in a "City View" room on the 22nd floor almost dead-center with the entrance way from the Strip. The room locks are the same as Vdara, requiring just a swipe of the key to open the door. Upon entering the room, the blinds open and the lights come on. Motion detectors are just one of the many technology features of the room. The decor was also similar to Vdara; the modern design with a lot of dark colors. There is the obligatory large flat-screen TV with complete connection panel. Also 2 large chairs and a end table near the window with another chair for the desk area. The bed was incredibly confortable and not just because it was new, they most certainly are a step up from standard hotel beds. There is floor to ceiling glass which makes for a well-lit room but also may cause privacy issues. The way the building is designed, there are many different angles, some of which allow for a direct view into those all glass rooms. We had an excellent view of the bathtub and toilet in a suite not far away from us. Anyone in that room better have the blinds closed or they would have definitely been on display.

The bathroom features plenty of marble, a double sink vanity and probably has the best design in the room. The toilet room is behind frosted glass that gets progressively less frosted towards to top to provide both privacy and light. There are a "seperate" bath and shower but interestingly, both are behind the same glass. You have to step through the shower to get to the tub. Definitely different but don't know how crazy I am about it.

As nice as the room is, the star of the show at ARIA is definitely the technology in the room. The lighting, temperature, blinds and TV are all integrated into a single system. Using either the control panel next to the bed or the TV, you can create customized schemes and program them to come on at different times of the day. For instance, perhaps you want it pitch black and 60 while you sleep but want to wake at 7 AM to 70 degrees with the lights gradually coming on over 15 minutes and have jazz music playing. It can all be programmed through the system. You can also save the settings and have them waiting there for you on your next stay. Pretty damn cool. As a techie, I found the technology to be awesome and it makes the rooms at ARIA a notch above anything else in town. Not everyone will be as impressed as I was... My wife got frustrated when she manuallly shut a light off and it screwed up the whole system! I think those of us who are less technically inclined may actually find all the bells and whistles a little tiring pretty quick.

There were quite a few "new hotel" issues with us and others we talked to. Our room had no ashtrays, room service menu or toiletries. When we called housekeeping, they were in pandemonium fixing issues. While I was in the hall looking for the housekeeper, my neighbor came out and asked what I was waiting for, I told him an ashtray and toiletries and he nearly had a stroke. He apparently wasn't happy that the fridge he asked for wasn't waiting for him and now he finds out he's on a smoking floor. The fridge shows up a minute later and he goes ballastic on the guy demanding to be moved to a new room. Other people we talked with had problems with a host of issues from the TV not working to lost dinner reservations. Unlike my short-lived neighbor, I was fully expecting things to be far from perfect in a 4,000 room hotel that was less than 24 hours old and all things considered, a few things missing from the room was hardly a huge deal for us.

Overall, we were quite pleased with our stay at ARIA. We were more than happy to trade the small opening issues with the fact that we were amongst the first to experience the place. It's definitely a unique property with a ton of beautiful features and a place everyone should stay at least once for the experience.