Coming to the Las Vegas Strip this spring, the Lexi seeks to offer a ‘cannabis-forward’ hospitality experience – and topless sunbathing. Rose Dykins reports

Following a multimillion-dollar renovation, the Artisan Hotel Boutique in Las Vegas is reopening as the Lexi, a fun-loving property that embraces cannabis-friendly hospitality.

Owned by Elevations Hotels and Resorts, the Lexis is the first of its kind in Vegas. Situated moments from the Vegas Strip, the property has 64 all-new rooms, with its fourth floor designated as cannabis-friendly.

A “cheeky” hotel concept that seeks to normalise cannabis in travel, the Lexi will also offer a high-end experience, an exciting culinary and cocktail offering and a season of spring-summer pool party events.

The Lexi’s Cajun-inspired steakhouse will be overseen by executive chef Jordan Savell of Hell’s Kitchen fame.

The Lexi pool will offer one of the only “European-style” pool experiences in Las Vegas – meaning women may sunbathe topless – while the Artisan Bar and Lounge is set to be a “high-energy” party venue.

As part of the reopening, the hotel building now has a towering lobby with an indoor water feature, a café, cocktail, live music and entertainment.

The Lexi is the brainchild of Alex Rizk president and CEO of Elevations Hotels and Resorts, who has previously developed the cannabis-forward hospitality experience at the Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix. The vision is for the Lexi to become the flagship property for the hotel group.

“The Lexi allows the Elevations Hotels and Resorts brand to truly showcase our commitment to creating a new type of hotel concept that is defined not only by our acceptance and normalisation of cannabis in the hospitality space, but also by our dedication to reclaim storied properties and transform them for the modern-day travellers,” says Rizk.

The Lexi continues the trend for cannabis-friendly hospitality, as more than 20 states across the US have now legalised weed, and the cannabis tourism industry is valued at US$17 billion.

The Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica became one of the first hotels to welcome cannabis use, having partnered with cannabis delivery marketplace Eaze to offer a cannabis concierge service (despite the Fairmont having an anti-smoking and anti-vaping policy in its rooms and on its grounds). Guests aged 21 and over can used an in-room menu to order low-dose and non-inhalation cannabis products.

Meanwhile, the Patterson Inn in Denver is set to launch the first “weed consumption lounge” inside a hotel later this year, where guests can enjoy cannabis in a bar setting.