Years since my first trip to Nevada, I fly to Las Vegas with friends and experience a much different side of the fabled, frenetic neon oasis. Zipping through the desert, we get our first glimpse of the new Vegas as we motor by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s brilliantly colorful Seven Magic Mountains. A site-specific sculptural installation of towering, Crayola colored boulders – totems that rise out of the desert sand in the Ivanpah Valley – it is a cheerful greeting as we approach the Vegas skyline, glimmering gold and silver in the 118-degree desert sun.

The reason for this pilgrimage in the scorching heat? To witness the world’s newest man-made wonder: the Sphere, where Dead & Company are doing a weeks-long residency. But the true surprise lay in where we stayed. Our new home for the weekend is not the Wynn or the Bellagio, but something much more special. Known as the best and newest alternative to Las Vegas’s loud, crowded casino cum hotels, the fully serviced residences at the Ariva make our trip as comfortable and stylish as if an art collector pal lent us their tricked-out, ultra-designed Miami penthouse. Toto, I have a feeling we are not in Vegas anymore.

Located a couple of miles south of the Strip – just far enough away from the craziness of slot machines, mega-designer stores and fast-food joints, lies a pristinely landscaped 30-acre compound of newly constructed state of the art condos. Luxurious and more SoHo minimalist Zen than Vegas gaudy glitz, each condo – from one bedroom to penthouses with balconies looking out over the desert to Vegas’ skyline, are professionally maintained by a doting concierge host. The Ariva residences were also just designated as the official luxury apartments of the Las Vegas Raiders. Touchdown! The managed residences at Ariva come with a stylish pedigree – they are the brainchild of Sylvia Wong, whose debut into the world of high-end hospitality was in 2020 when she opened the uber-chic Roundtree hotel in the Hamptons village of Amagansett.

Glowing like a planet from a sci-fi flick, the Sphere dominates the skyline as we drive down Las Vegas Boulevard from the Ariva. There are no slot machines, all-you-can-eat buffets, or bottle service tables inside the Sphere. Surrounded by a 30-story, 360-degree screen of more than 1.2 million LED lights, Dead & Company gig surrounded by the most visually advanced, highest-definition screen in the world. Combined with over 160,0000 speakers, Dead classics like “Franklin’s Tower” and “Truckin’” are nothing short of mind-blowing – imagine being inside a VR video version of each song. Post-show, hankering for a fast fix of that other Vegas, we test our luck in the Venetian casino which is overrun with Dead Heads in tie dye everything. After a few up and down spins, we (thankfully) break even at the roulette wheel. The big payoff comes when we retreat to our own private Emerald City: the Ariva. We feel like high rolling winners with a fridge our always on-call concierge has stocked with goodies, Frette linens on the beds, Matouk towels in the bathrooms and an epic sound system to stream – what else? Dead & Company tunes.

The next day, we skip the Strip and explore the Arts District, a low-slung neighborhood of pop-art galleries, restaurants (Esther’s Kitchen is the best Italian food in Vegas), and vintage shops that feel more Williamsburg than Sin City. The dry heat takes a toll so we lounge by the long Ariva pool which is calm and devoid of Spring Break-style bathers clutching pink frozen drinks, splashing water to ear-drum splitting loud DJs. The Ariva boasts three pools and two Jacuzzis, two state-of-the-art spas, indoor and outdoor lounges, a theater, and a fully loaded gym. There is also yoga and cycling studios, group fitness classes, outdoor firepits, basketball and volleyball courts, a game room with billiards, foosball and ping pong tables, a business center, and conference rooms. We didn’t want to leave.

On our last night, after watching movies and cooking dinner at home, we didn’t need to venture outside of the Ariva’s gates to see more of the Strip. And we didn’t feel it necessary to keep our Ariva experience in Vegas a secret.