Las Vegas: Four Seasons vs Mandarin Oriental
I had the opportunity to stay at both the Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental back to back on my recent trip to Las Vegas. I will comment more generally as it is difficult to compare specifically when I was in a Strip View suite at the FS and a Mandarin Executive room at the MO at the same nightly rate.
My observations:
Arrival: Tie -- very welcome greetings offered to myself and all other arriving guests. House car at both properties offered proactively to clients if available.
House car: Four Seasons The Four Seasons House car has a 3 mile radius which stretches to the Rio Hotel, upto Encore, south to Town Center, and to the airport. The Mandarin Oriental house car as a similar radius but will not take you to the airport unless you negotiate with the doormen.
Rooms: Mandarin Oriental-- the hard product is probably the best in Vegas currently. Only Encore comes close in this regard. Great design with a great bathroom -- the consequence is that the living areas can feel a little small in the rooms and entry level suites.
Bathrooms: Mandarin Oriental -- the bathrooms are gorgeous and the bathtub is the highlight. I have rarely felt like I wanted to take a bath at most Four Seasons hotels but I immediately felt like a soak at the MO. Aromatherapy Associates toiletries in the rooms and a choice between Red Flower or Bulgari White Tea in the suites.
Casual Dining: Four Seasons I will only compare casual dining as how can you compare Twist by Pierre Gagnaire to Charlie Palmer Steak? But between MOZen bistro and Verandah, Verandah hands down. MOZen food is average but considerably overpriced for what you get. I ordered an American breakfast and was charged $8 for a second glass of juice. The ability to dine outside at Verandah is a huge plus rather than an overly air-conditioned room with a view of Crystals.
Concierge: Four Seasons -- I quizzed both Concierge teams with various requests and the FS team wins hands down. The MO staff tended to sell, er, recommend, heavily restaurants in City Center or the MO more than beyond that scope. I asked for good dim sum restaurants and while the FS gave me 2-3 recommendations off the strip, the MO gave me Wazuzu, Jasmine, and MOZen.
Views: Four Seasons-- the Strip views at the Four Seasons are much nicer than that of the MO. Unfortunately, City Center and Crystals is not a very nice site at all!!
Value: Four Seasons -- I do not feel that the premium the MO charges over other hotels in Vegas is worth that premium at this point. This may, of course change, as time moves along.
The two hotels are very different products. The MO is a very sophisticated and chic city hotel and doesn't pretend to be anything else. Being the new kid on the block they have had time to watch and learn from the others to get it right and largely they have succeeded. I felt the service to be a little cold and formulaic -- they haven't quite developed the warmth of a Four Seasons yet. The staff at the MO also did what was necessary but I did not feel as if anyone went above and beyond what was necessary. The rooms are outstanding and particularly the bathrooms. The In room technology is superb in certain ways but totally irritating in others.
The two hotels most certainly have respect for eachother and I think are the two best in Las Vegas. Can one be considered better than the other -- very difficult to say. But despite some of my experiences at the MO, I still would not hesitate to recommend, to the right people, any of these two properties.