Las Vegas’ commercial real estate company and developer, the Siegel Group announced last week it had sold the Artisan Hotel Boutique for $11.9 Million to Pro Hospitality Group.

Alex Rizk is the Phoenix-based owner of Pro Hospitality Group. He told the Las Vegas Review-JournalHe said that the $3 million project to renovate the 64-room hotel located on Sahara Boulevard near Interstate 15 is in the works. He said that when the regulations are in place at the state and local level, he will make the Artisan a “cannabis-friendly” destination for tourists to the city.

“This is a lifestyle, boutique hotel,” Rizk said.

The Siegel Group acquired the Artisan Hotel in 2009, “transforming the location into one of the most well-known and visited boutique hotels in Las Vegas,” the company said in a statement about the sale.

“The hotel gained a loyal following among locals, tourists, and boutique enthusiasts who were drawn to the location’s eclectic design and hip, intimate atmosphere,” the company wrote. “The unique hotel contained a bar-lounge with a popular after-hours scene, a restaurant, wedding chapel, and one of the few topless pools in town.”

Cannabis Consumption Lounges Authorized Last Year

Nevada legislators passed legislation last year that gives the state Cannabis Compliance Board authority to regulate lounges that permit the consumption of marijuana products onsite. The state Cannabis Compliance Board is currently drafting regulations. Local governments will also have the power to implement tighter measures. Clark County is the home of Las Vegas and officials announced in January they would be keeping tabs on efforts to regulate recreational cannabis use at the state level.

Nevada legalized recreational cannabis use in 2016. However, only private households were allowed to legally consume marijuana products. The legalization of regulated cannabis consumption lounges was intended to give visitors a place to enjoy the benefits of the state’s cannabis reform.

Tick Segerblom was a 2017 state senator and led efforts to legalize marijuana consumption lounges in Clark County. Last year, he characterized lounges as a “game changer” for the state’s hospitality businesses.

“Consumption lounges are so perfect for our tourism industry,” Segerblom told the Review-Journal. “The sooner we get out there, the more we’ll be looked upon as a marijuana-friendly city and state.”

Phoenix Hotel Now Opened by a Cannabis-Friendly Owner

Pro Hospitality Group has a marijuana-friendly hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, called the Clarendon Hotel & Spa. The hotel’s website informs potential guests that the property features “cannabis-friendly rooms and amenities” that allow “vaping, dabbing, flower, etc.” The Clarendon also boasts a cannabis consumption lounge that is open to both hotel guests and the general public.

“Since we are currently a split-use hotel with cannabis and non-smoking rooms, we do ask that any smoking take place in your cannabis-friendly room and not in the public areas of the hotel,” the website notes. “Vapes and smokeless products can be used in outdoor public areas, not including the restaurant.”

The Clarendon also notes that it is “working on a cannabis shuttle service to take hotel guests from the hotel to a local dispensary and back again,” according to the website.

It opened its first marijuana-friendly room in July. This was followed by 16 rooms on the west side of the hotel that allow the use of cannabis. Reservations for limited rooms at the Clarendon are now being accepted on Bud and Breakfast (a cannabis-friendly lodging booking website).