We thought the pièce de résistance in Las Vegas's Palms Casino Resort was Unknown, a Damien Hirst-designed bar that opened in May 2018, replete with a segmented shark preserved in tanks of formaldehyde and eight of the artist's ultra-colorful Spot series paintings. But as it turns out, the resort had more up its sleeve. Among its newly renovated Sky Villas—six suites on the hotel's top floors—is the Empathy Suite, designed by Hirst himself and decked out in some of his most iconic works. And while the other Sky Villas range from $25,000 to $40,000 a night, this new 9,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-story suite is $200,000 for a two-night minimum. (Don't mind us as we pick our jaws up off the floor.)
The suite, part of a $690 million overhaul of the Palms's rooms, restaurants, nightclubs, and casino, features some of Hirst's newest large-scale works, like two bull sharks suspended in formaldehyde in the billiards room, a marlin skeleton and a taxidermied marlin hanging over the 17-seat bar, and a large pill cabinet filled with diamonds (diamonds!). But the artist also helped design the more, erm, traditional elements of the hotel room, like the bedroom curtains, leather seating for 52 of your closest friends, and marble bathroom floors, which all feature his signature butterfly motif. The other place you'll find butterflies? All over the suite's private pool, which is cantilevered over the side of the hotel with panoramic views of the Vegas skyline through glass decorated with—you guessed it—more butterflies.
But don't think you're just paying up for Hirst's work. As with all Sky Villas, the Empathy Suite comes with private fitness, massage, and therapeutic salt rooms. Oh, and did we mention the 24-hour butler and chauffeured car service?
With the addition of the Hirst-designed suite, three of the Palms's Sky Villas are available to book, with the remainder coming as the renovation comes to a close later this year. If $200,000 (or $25,000, for that matter) doesn't suit your Vegas budget, we've got 16 other stellar hotel options that we love on the Strip, like the Ariaand the Delano Las Vegas. After all, you can always stop by Unknown for a drink to get your Hirst fix, no matter where you spend the night.
