Didn't see a thread on this, so I thought I'd start one.

We did a short (three night) stay at the Vdara last week. The mLife discount, lack of casino, and proximity to Aria and Cosmopolitan made this a very attractive property and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Overall Property

The Vdara is in between the Aria and Bellagio on Harmon Blvd. There is a common driveway and loop shared with the Aria; it can be a little confusing at first, but go slow and follow the signs carefully and once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. Luckily, there isn't much traffic on the loop as it's the back entrance to the Aria so not as heavily-used as the front.

Hint - I *hate* driving on The Strip and dealing with all of the traffic. If I have to drive on The Strip, I will do my best to make left turns into the properties as right turns often mean dealing with pedestrians trying to cross in front of you. I find the jaywalkers are less common on the stoplights for the left hand turns. So, take Tropicana off the 15 instead of Flamingo going to Vdara. Also, when leaving Vdara you can take Harmon to the west over the 15 and then get on the freeway with a few turns. Did I mention how much I hate driving on The Strip?

Valet service is included in the resort fee. Unlike places like the MGM, I never saw much of a wait for cars. The only time I flashed my Platinum card, the valet gave us some cold bottled waters for the road, which I thought was nice.

Not having to wind through a casino to get to/from the valet is, IMO, a huge benefit.

To get to the Aria, it is a short 2-3 min walk across the loop. To get to Bellagio, there is a walkway that connects the Vdara's lobby to a wing of Bellagio and the station for the free tram that connects to the Crystal Shops, Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay.

Check In and lobby

There's an "Invited Guests" line at the far left of the lobby that we used. Check-in was quick.

Room

We booked a corner suite. We didn't get a room upgrade, but we were very happy with our room on the 38th floor on the west (closest to I-15) side of the property. We had a panoramic view looking down The Strip and out to the west.



The suite was very large and spacious. There is a small washroom adjacent to the entrance and then a small dining room table with seating for four.



The small kitchen has a full size fridge with an ice maker and is stocked with bottled water each night by the turn-down maid. The kitchen also has a two burner halogen cooktop, small dishwasher, a sink with a garbage disposal, and a K-cup machine (also stocked with breakfast blend each night). My only compliant is that there aren't any dishes, cutlery, or glasses/coffee mugs stocked, so if you need any of these, you need to call housekeeping.



One thing we really liked was the stacked washer and dryer in the unit. The front desk was happy to supply us with packets of detergent and dryer sheets and we did several loads of laundry (note - these are Euro-style units and have LONG cycles).



The bathroom is HUGE with a soaking tub and a walk-in shower. We always appreciate bathrooms with double sinks.



The bedroom is adjacent to the living room with a king bed with a pillow-top mattress and soft sheets/bedding.



We slept very well. My only pet peeve is that the lights in the room are all linked to a master on/off switch at the front entrance. It's possible to turn lights on/off via individual switches, but the light fixture in the dining area is only controlled by the master, so to turn it off at night, you are turning off the master and every light in the bedroom. Of course, you can just leave the light on in the dining room all night and just close the bedroom door, but it seems a strange design.

We will certainly try and stay here again.