Aria's $4 Million Gold Lounge Makeover Starts Soon

Three months after the Hakkasan Group's blockbuster, $36 million purchase of The Light Group's nightlife properties, the companies are working together to stamp some new branding onto their well-established assets.

Gold Boutique Nightclub & Lounge will be the first purchase remodeled at Aria, completely transforming the 3,756-square-foot lounge. Originally created with Cirque du Soleil to promote their Viva Elvis production rocking the theater across the way, Gold Lounge will soon be stripped of all its trademark gilt furnishings and mood lighting.

Current paperwork quotes the new project's footprint as filling 10,488 square feet, almost three times the original size, and refers to the improvements as a new "restaurant." The dramatic increase in scope explains the dramatic estimated construction budget of $4,153,000.

Part of the upgrades will be a new bar and exterior patio, a further hint the switcheroo will turn the ultra-lounge into a restaurant.

Gold Lounge is still open for business, with the event calendar advertising resident DJ appearances for months ahead. The Hakkasan Group restaurant portfolio includes Yauatcha, HKK, Sake no Hana, Herringbone, Searsucker and Social House. They also operate lounge style destinations like Bootsy Bellows, Hooray Henry's, The Nice Guy and SHOREbar.