The Basics Steve Wynn, the hotelier and casino owner, reportedly spent $2.7 billion to build his dream resort, which opened April 28. That's about a million dollars each of its 2,716 rooms.

The Location The crescent-shaped tower is the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard - the Strip. An artificial 87-foot hill covered trees separates the building the street. The architects cleverly disguised the size of the hotel eliminating scale-revealing details from its glass facade: it's hard to believe it's more than 30 stories. Actually, it's 50, and the wait for elevators can be maddening. (Tip: book a room the 28th floor, the first stop for the express elevators.) The hotel's size makes impromptu movements practically impossible. Say you're at the pool and decide you want to read a newspaper. Do you really want to spend half an hour walking the gift shop?

The Rooms Most hotel rooms are rectangular; the standard Wynn room is a 20--20-foot square. And with a 10-foot ceiling, the room is a half-cube, which any architect will tell you is a magical proportion. One wall is entirely glass, with just enough of a sill so that you don't feel queasy checking the spectacular views. The room's other walls are a copper-colored fabric that suggests a rich wood paneling with an added bit glitter. The room is very high-tech, which can compromise privacy. When I had trouble accessing the Internet the TV, the front desk put me touch with a technician, who was able to see what was happening on my screen, real time.

The Bathroom Try finding a fault. The shower is big enough two, as is the tub (which fills in record time). The toilet is in a separate room. Quilted towels are super-plush. The shampoo has just the slightest hint lemon.

Amenities The gallery, 15 paintings from Steve and Elaine Wynn's personal collection, costs $15 to enter, and it's worth it. "Le Rêve" by Picasso is one of the greatest paintings of the 20th century (as Mr. Wynn himself points out on the audio guide). The gallery sits in a ridiculously high-end mall - how about an $18,000 fake-diamond-encrusted mirror? And there are more than a dozen restaurants. At Daniel Boulud Brasserie, it's possible to enjoy the master's cuisine as little as $19 for a prix fixe lunch, while wearing shorts and sitting a terrace. The busiest restaurant is the Buffet, where dinner ($27.95 during the week), king crab legs, fingerling potato salad, chicken cacciatore and rack of lamb were all outstanding, but many other dishes were disappointing. And service was poor: dirty dishes piled up on tables.

In September, the Broadway hit "Avenue Q" will begin an indefinite run. Outside, there's an 18-hole golf course and acres water (including a vast pool where women can sunbathe topless). The design the public spaces is stylistically incoherent (a bit of Italy, a bit of France, more than a bit of Disneyland), but there are plenty nice touches, including the curved escalators leading a lounge decorated with giant parasols.

Room Service In a hotel this big, you may not want to hike a restaurant for your first cup coffee. Room service - which comes from a separate kitchen, not any of the restaurants - is an expensive alternative - breakfast for two came to $73. Ordered the night before for 7:30 a.m., it arrived 10 minutes early. Eggs "over medium" were undercooked. And the Japanese breakfast came without chopsticks.

The Bottom Line In summer, rooms start $179, and suites at $400. Parking is free, but extras ($12 for Internet access; $8 for potato chips) add up.

Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard South, (888) 320-9966; online www.wynnlasvegas.com.