Some hotel thoughts

[greenie]

With all the nightlife connected to these mega resorts in Vegas, seemed to me worthwhile to post my hotel thoughts after the recent trip... curious what other people's experiences have been in similar circumstances... or entirely different ones for that matter.

For the record, THEhotel is my #1 choice. Provided they have a rate I can afford. (or I'm on a client's dollar )

MGM Grand: Fri & Sat nights
Check-in: around 5pm, at least two dozen people working the front, no line.
Valet: Extremely busy but very fast and professional.
Bell staff: Outstanding. Handled 9 items (incl. 2 cases of wine and soft-sided portable bar) with kid gloves. Tipped $15 after cart was loaded to have them take it up to the room for us -- we had to hit the pool right quick after all -- and although I thought we skimped on the tip a bit, when we got the room they had hung our garment bags and arranged the rest nicely in the room. When we checked out, tipped another $15 in the room when the cart was loaded, and by the time we got downstairs our car was waiting for us and the bellman packed it expertly.
Calling bullshit on: Closing their pool so damn early (7pm), especially shutting down the bar and lazy river at 6pm. Don't these fools realize that it was the summer solstice? And poolside service from the waitresses is so slow that the ice in your drink is mostly melted by the time they bring it to you. ALSO: similar to closing the pool early, all of the good restaurants close early, with last seatings all at 10:15-10:30. On a Friday? Are you kidding?
Comments
Zipping down 15 near Valley of Fire my phone zinged... an old buddy from my clubbing days in Beantown was in LV for the poker series and had a block of rooms comped at MGM Grand and was able to hook us up with a suite for two nights (another of his friends was either eliminated early or arriving late, I forget). We were booked in a standard room at THEhotel for these nights, but figured whatever cancellation they would charge us would be worth a free suite at MGM... but who woulda guessed, big up to THEhotel who didn't charge a dime for cancellation despite our canceling at 5pm on the day of check-in. As for the MGM, certainly it's a nice place and convenient with all the good stuff downstairs (esp. Teatro, Emeril's, Craftsteak and Centrifuge) but I've always thought the rooms were average given the price. But lemme tell ya, the Bungalow suites are fantastic. Must have been about 700sf with a HUGE bathroom and big living room area. Ideal room for a pair of guys looking to set up a good spread in the room, especially for inviting folks upstairs (more below).

Hard Rock: Sun & Mon nights
Check-in: around 2pm, three working the desk, no line. Had initially reserved the $69 limited Rehab rate through their website; asked about upgrading to a room with a pool view and they gave it to us for an additional $25 (total, not per night). Sweet deal considering we were on the 7th floor, dead center to the main pool on Rehab Sunday.
Valet: Fast as can be. One thing I love about HRH valet is that when they bring your car around, they pump up your stereo.
Bell Staff: Weak. Despite a $20 tip, bellman scowled at our remaining case of wine and portabar. Then he told us we'd have to go to the room first and then call down for our bags. I can understand this routine at many hotels, but this shouldn't be the case at HR especially when the driveway was empty and staff was looking for something to do. Sorry for not being a rock or porn star, buddy. Naturally we wanted to head to Rehab as fast as possible -- especially as we were having a few hangover shakes and needed to get the booze flowing again -- so we didn't put up a fight. After an hour or so at the pool took a break to go upstairs, called down for the bags and it took at least 30 minutes for them to bring the bags up.
Calling bullshit on: Bell service, obviously. Table games that use chip colors that are not only non-standard, but hard to quickly distinguish from one another. Even the dealers often couldn't tell the difference between two-chip $30 and $50 bets. And these bastards still don't let you surrender in blackjack. ALSO: I can understand that AJ's isn't open on Sunday and Monday nights, OK. But why the hell does Pink Taco stop seating at 10pm on a night when BE goes off?
Comments:
Despite the negatives above, they are crushed when it comes to getting a room on Sunday at HR. Prime pool view of Rehab and quick take-a-break access from Body English? Hard to put a price on that, really. I've done the Rehab/BE combo when staying elsewhere and the back-and-forth is a drag. I'm also a real sucker for the double-doors, nothing like letting in the air when the evening cools down (not to mention survey they pool). And of course the rooms are nicely done, and it never ceases to amaze me how many ladies are just dying to check out what the rooms are like there... and try on the robes...

[lalate]

THEHotel - def #1 and everyone is learning that. Standard room is the largest on the strip - 700 sq feet.


But the best place in my opinion - Ballys. And Im never gonna reveal why on the board. Just trust me on this one.

[lalate]

Yo greenie -

wat part of their website has the limited rehab room rate? i cant find that.

[vegasguy25]

big up to THEhotel who didn't charge a dime for cancellation

Very, very rarely, if ever, would a hotel in this town, the ones on the Strip at least, keep your deposit instead of refunding it. They can resell your room in 10 minutes.

[greenie]

Originally Posted by lalate

Yo greenie -

wat part of their website has the limited rehab room rate? i cant find that.

This one (along with the 1 or 2 that I've seen before) came via email late on a Wednesday night before the weekend it was being offered. If you followed the "click here" link you were taken to a different page on their site that only asked how many rooms you wanted -- the date was pre-programmed.

Since I had already booked my room I called HR and told them I was staring at a much lower rate by email, the gal pulled it up on the computer and pushed it through. She told me than whenever they do have these rates they limit it to 50 mountain view rooms and they usually sell very fast.

We scored the same thing for the weekend of May 15th, we were already booked for Sunday night or something like $149 and then late Thursday an email offer of $89 showed up.

Next time I see one I'll zap you a PM to make sure you're aware.

[lalate]

Thanks.

[lalate]

Im doing Ballys and Hard Rock in two weeks

[sancib]

My favorite hotel is the NY NY, they always treat me like royalty. Take for example this last weekend (June 24-25) I was booked at bally's, for a king n/s
when we checked in they didnt have what we reserved, said its first come, first serve. I dont see why they charge a deposit if they are not guaranteed. So she didnt say if it came up they would change me to that room, or give me any other accomodations for my inconveinence. I called up NY NY on players club, they gave me a suite for $129/night that weekend and sent over a car to get me...Now thats service.