The 9,000 square foot suite, priced at $100,000 per night with a minimum two-night stay, the Empathy Suite may be one of the fanciest, most artfully created, yet bizarre hotels in the world. For many years, The Mark Hotel penthouse, priced at $75,000 per night, and the Royal Penthouse Suite in Geneva, priced at $80,000 per night, were in constant competition of not only having the most expensive hotel options in the world, but also the most luxurious. It wasn’t until 2019 when the Empathy Suite in the Palm Casino Resort in Las Vegas, blew these two, and many more luxurious hotel options, out of the water. With its carefully crafted rooms, blatant artists messages, and cool ocean tones, this hotel room offers a Las Vegas experience unlike any other.
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Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst, the artist behind this hotel room, features many of his bold works of art and furniture creations (1). One of the signature pieces of the suite is its 13 seat curved bar the overlooks the Vegas strip. The counter of the bar is filled with 100 pounds of medical waste, with two vitrines hanging overhead, one with a taxidermy marlin and one with a skeleton of a marlin. The piece is titled Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time, the artist’s ode to the reputation of the city.
Aside from that, the suite is dotted with pharmacy paraphernalia motifs such as a large medicine cabinet wall lined with colorful pills titled Money, pill accents on the floors, windows, and pillows, and many more medicine cabinet like walls filled with colorful pills and medical supply boxes. One of the most icon pieces, however, is a large wall lined with real diamonds that Hirst titled The Winner Takes It All that sits adjacent to Hirst’s other bold piece of two taxidermy bull sharks titled Winners and Losers. The bold bull shark artwork sits as the main eye-catching piece overlooking the game room featuring a futuristic foosball table, chess table, and a rather psychedelic designed billiards table.
From the pillars around the pool, to the pill lined wallpaper in the bathrooms and sitting areas, Hirst projected a blaring message to visitors. We see this particular accent come out in much of Hirst’s work as he contrasts the extremes of self-indulgence and sobriety. While there is some mystery as to why Hirst has chosen such an aggressive message in his artwork for this particular hotel room, many speculate it was meant to project the aesthetic of the ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ experience.
In addition to this, the room has many butterfly accents on the pillows, walls, and headboard in the bedroom – another signature accent of Hirst. While this does give yours eyes a nice rest from the medical supplies, it still works itself into the overall message of the room.
Suite Perks
Aside from the artwork you will be immersed in, this room comes with many incredible perks. Choosing to stay in this 9,000 square foot, two story, $200,000 suite, you will also get to enjoy the benefits of the Las Vegas strip. The Empathy Suite comes with 24-hour private butler service, luxurious welcome amenities, a private property tour, chauffeured car service, VIP and A-list access to any day or night clubs on the strip as well as recording studios, and finally, a $10,000 credit you can spend onsite (2).
And that’s only the beginning. The suite also includes a gym with the latest equipment and small theatre in case you enjoy entertainment while you work out, and leads into a private massage room filled with butterflies. There is also a Himalayan salt relaxation room, a ceiling to floor room covered in Himalayan salts meant to heal, calm, and rejuvenate the body by naturally pulling out toxins. It also includes two media rooms that seat over 50 people, all with Hirst designed furniture and accents, and a pool that hangs out over the edge of the building, suspended over the beautiful skyline view.
Booking The Empathy Suite
This gorgeous layout, and highly coveted experience is meant to fully immerse you in the best amenities Las Vegas has to offer (3). However, booking this incredible suite is not something that can simply be done online. Due to its outrageous price and artful experience, the hotel treats it more as an investment than a vacation. In order to stay in the room you must call the hotel, fill out a few questions, and start the process of investing into your experience. Since the room is still fairly new, booking it could be up to a few months wait before you are able to enjoy this vacation splurge.
Additional Fine Art Pieces
However, this isn’t the only art you will be experiencing at the Palm’s resort. The Fertitta brothers, who own the resort, have boasted that as part of the resorts $690 million dollar renovation, they have acquired some of the finest art pieces, making their hotel the most extensive collection of world class are of any hotel in the United States. With pieces featured by artists Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dustin Yellin, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and many others, this resorts extensive art collection would have any art enthusiasts in complete awe.
In addition to this, the hotels most recent art collection, is a 60ft tall and crown jewel of the hotel that sits in the center of the lobby. The centerpiece is another work by the infamous Damien Hirst titled Demon With Bowl (4). While no one knows the final price of this extremely intricate statue, additions of the colossus were said to be priced at about $14 million.
Final Thoughts
First impressions of the Empathy Suite have been described as confronting, gaudy, over-the-top, and even selling out. After all, it’s no Palm Springs with its minimal aesthetic, and modern mid-century vibe. However, there is no doubt that this massive immersive art exhibit is quintessentially Vegas. In learning more about the artist, his message, and purpose for the room, many have found that giving in to it, rather than fighting its aggressiveness, or rather misunderstanding, actually gives it a more relaxed and calm vibe. While it may not be everyone’s definition of a luxury vacation, it is no doubt one of the finest, most expensive, fanciest hotel in the world.
