American Express Membership Rewards - did anyone else get the new NOV/DEC Departures magazine yet?

There are two new ads for Vdara and the Aria hotels located in Las Vegas CityCenter. I am crossing my fingers that they will be part of the FHR program in the future. They look ultra-luxurious.... does anybody have any word on this?

I think we will find out soon enough. Both look like intriguing properties, though I wouldn't be surprised if only the Sky Suites ended up on the FHR list (in much the way the Skylofts, but not the MGM Grand do). I'm interested in seeing this property; their amenities look pretty lackluster, but their constant promotion of guest-room technology and eco-friendly innovation has me intrigued.

Vdara looks like a great value for room size (and FHR upgrades would be awesome there, maybe even coupled with $100 spa credit?), but their hotel amenities don't seem to compare much to other properties (i.e. Wynn, Four Seasons, Skylofts).

I seriously can't wait to get my first departures magazine. I hope to see it soon. :rolleyes:

...can't wait...

Try here...

http://www.departures.com/

vdara is cheap

MO is expensive (might be fairly good for cent)

aria is cheap, skysuites/villas arent

im looking forward to harmon personally

if skylofts keeps 15% discount, and no other mgm has it, that will be interesting

MGM is positioning Aria toward the higher end. They're hoping that Aria's room rates will be at a premium to Bellagio, so far that generally is the case. Vdara will probably have nicer rooms though -- it's essentially an all-suite product. The touches/finishes might be nicer at Aria though. Although Signature at MGM (the predecessor model for Vdara) is a pretty darn good room product, probably the best standard product MGM offers except maybe THEhotel.

It will be interesting to see what makes it into FHR. I would think the Mandarin Oriental and/or Aria, but who knows.