Okada Offers Oasis of Opulence

Okada
Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV USA 89109

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/

Where is it?

Finding the restaurant is increasingly more difficult than finding the restroom once you are there. To be honest, I have no idea how I stumbled upon this place -- we were just walking through the Wynn to see the sights while waiting for our dinner reservations at Daniel Boulud (reviewed later this week) and roamed into a back corner of the mega-hotel to find this place. Seeing that we had to use the restroom at the time, the discovery couldn't have been more opportune.

So, you may have to ask someone on Wynn's staff how to get there. But once there, and once inside, head down the hallway to the left of the greeting counter and you'll find the bathrooms there.

What's it like?

This is a classy, upscale Japanese place filled with black marble glass, curvaceous tables and lots of shiny wood fixtures. It's also not as expensive as one would assume -- most sushi and Japanese places I passed on the Strip won't let you get out of there without spending at least $20 per California roll. This one was at about half of that (decent for Strip prices, if you think about it) and boasted a pretty varied and impressive menu to boot.

Unfortunately the kitchen wasn't open on my visit so I was unable to sample the food. (I'll definitely be trying to next time I visit Vegas.) However, the people here were kind enough to let me use the bathroom. I am in their debt for this.

The facilities here offer a Zen-like approach, much like the one found at the outstanding Sensi at the Bellagio. But unlike that place, which offers amazing solace for only one person, this bathroom can accommodate more people at once while still providing an environment that feels private, spiritual, sophisticated, clean and practical.

What impresses you first about this place is the decor. The floors are covered with off-white stone tile that resemble the pattern found on a stone path in rural Japan, if you will. The walls alternate between jet single colors of black and light brown, and the fixtures (like in Sensi) stick out from the walls as if they were pieces of modern art. The urinals are small, yet functional and elegant, almost flower-like in design (as if Georgia O'Keefe has created them), and the stalls serve more like private rooms than mere stalls. The fact that everything is spotless (granted, I was here before the place opened) made it all the more amazing.

The centerpiece here is the vanity. Featuring two stations, the area boasts flat glass sinks that drain away water in soft-flowing sheets (like an infinity pool), personalized mirrors behind each sink, and two faucets that look and work like spigots from a water spring (they contain motion sensors to get the water flowing, of course, but still it's pretty neat). Metallic soap dispensers and ring towers of thick paper towels sit in the gaps between each sink station. It's elegant, sleek and functional.

Marks out of 10:

11. Heavenly on all accounts.

Comments to the Management:

Normally, I would suggest adding a divider wall between the urinals, but then that would ruin the decorative perfection of this place..... so I've got nothing......