After two smooth flights on Delta from PBI to LAS via ATL that made getting to Las Vegas half the fun, I had arrived at the Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World just before 2:00PM. Once Marc, my Uber driver dropped me off, Daniel, one of the welcoming and informative Bellmen, first escorted me to the Bell Services Desk, where CT from Atlantic City, NJ and Muktar from Ethiopia assisted me. Both men were very personable and polite, even conversing for a bit as they tagged my bags to be delivered to my room. Me and CT talked a bit about New Jersey, as I have extended family there (mainly in Northern NJ) and I used to be from New York, so we talked about how we were both connected to New Jersey. Muktar, noticing my Star of David, mentioned how Israel is an awesome country, thanks to their relationship with Ethiopia. Naturally, CT and Muktar made me feel very welcome and we could have conversed all day, but they needed to make sure I got to my room as well as assist other guests. Once my bags were tagged, they gave me a ticket that matched my luggage and groceries and they said that once I was in my room to call Bell Services from my room phone. With my luggage and groceries tagged, I then made my way to the Front Desk, but not without taking in the lobby's scenery. I was wowed, which wowed me due to being sophisticated and stylish, with features such as a crystal chandelier shaped almost like the keys of a piano, marble floors, various art installations, and in spots, gold trim along the walls and ceilings.


At the Front Desk, I waited about two minutes to be assisted by a Front Desk Agent. From what I could see, there appeared to be ten stations where guests could check in and since it was not too crowded, there appeared to be five sharply dressed Front Desk Agents. There appeared to be two guests in front of me and since it was well staffed, I waited less than two minutes to be helped. I was assisted by Martha, who was engaging, professional, and fantastic at her job. As she registered me, she made my amazing day even more amazing by stating that my room was ready before the regular 4:00PM check-in time. What's more, thanks to my status with my major hotel chain's second highest status (Thank you thank you! What can I say my job has its rewards?), she gave me a complimentary upgrade to a room with a City View as well as a $25/day meal credit for each day of my stay, to be used at the Dawg House, the sports bar/sports book for Resorts World. Martha was also very thorough, stating every facet of the property I needed to know. In addition, she also issued me two bottles of water. When I was telling Martha I was a fellow Front Desk Agent, her face lit up and she told me this was actually her first time in the industry, which pleasantly surprised me as I would have never known thanks to her excellence at her job. Once all was said and done, she issued me my two bottles of water, showed me my key packet, which had my room on the 51st floor, which suited my request for a room on a high floor, and pointed me in the direction of the nearby elevator bank. She did warn me that when using the elevator, the key card reader used for security can be a little fiddly, but it would read after two tries at the worst and to aim the key right on the center of the reader. Thankful for an amazing check-in and now ready to go, I made my way to the elevator bank to head upstairs. Being that the Resorts World is 64 stories high, there were separate elevators for different floors. I took the ones leading to my floor. Luckily, my card read on the key reader correctly on my first attempt and going up, being that it was an express elevator, felt almost what I imagine a rocket blasting off would feel like as we took off. Due to the slight change in pressure, my ears popped slightly, but there was no pain. Thanks to the elevators being very quick, I was on the 51st Floor in no time. From the elevator bank, I made a right turn down the well appointed hallway and my room was not too far from the elevator. Before I knew it, I had arrived at my home away from home for the next five days of Room 51221.

Upon entry to the room, I could see that it looked large, luxurious, and modern! After entering, I passed through the foyer, which had off-white tiled floors. To the right of the foyer, there was a generously sized closet as well as the bathroom. Just past the bathroom, there was a built-in with a small refrigerator and the minibar. At the end of the built-in facing the main part of the room, there were three small shelves, very handy for storage. On the left side of the foyer, there was a mirror.

And the same view taken with the wide-angle feature on my iPhone's camera:

The main part of the room was large, at 550 square feet and had multicolored carpeting, with light gray broken up with swirls that had black outlines on the outside and dark gray on the inside. The walls were painted in a cream color, adding brightness to the room. The right side of the room had the king bed, which had two built-in nightstands on each side and a small couch in front of it. Above the bed but below the wall, there was a built in red headboard with gold trim on the top, likely due to the resort's Asian influence. If I am not mistaken, according to a review I read by The Points Guy, those colors symbolize luck, which may explain why those colors were used in the room's design (We stayed at the first new casino in Vegas in a decade - and it accepts points - The Points Guy). Above the bed, there was a large piece of curated artwork. Across from the bed, there was a large wall mounted flat screen TV and underneath the TV, a built-in chest with drawers serving as the dresser and also part of the built-in, another bench. Finally, further back along the floor-to-ceiling window were two red chairs, with their color coordinating with the headboard facing a round table. Unfortunately, there was no desk which would be preferred for business travelers, but the table was fine for most, including myself. All in all, this room would make for a very luxurious home away from home.

-View of bed and nightstands:

Upon closer inspection of the nightstands, I noticed that there were two USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and an outlet, convenient for keeping devices charged. I briefly checked the bed, which felt a bit on the firm side, which I did not mind since I prefer a firmer bed. Looking from the bed, I could see the huge flat screen TV, the ornate looking white built in with gold-trimmed handles (see where the gold and red design aesthetic comes into play again?) that even had diamond patterns in the drawers, and to the right of the built-in, a colorful curated art piece and a modern looking gold standing lamp with three fixtures.

-Looking from the bedroom area to the foyer.

After checking out the bedroom area of the room, I then checked out the bathroom. The bathroom looked luxurious and immediately, my eyes were drawn to the black marble vanity, with two sinks and a red cutout in the front of the vanity, which contained towels and a hairdryer. Above the countertop was a mirror shaped in an elongated D, that had a light trimming the outer edges of the mirror. It didn't fill up the entirety of the frame, as there was gold trim on the right side of the frame, but it was eye-catching and functional for sure, thanks to the light emitted from the edges of the mirror being bright. On the right side of the vanity, there was also a wall mounted makeup mirror.

The shower was on the left side of the vanity and the toilet, which was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a frosted glass wall with a door, was to the right of the vanity.

The glass enclosed shower was large and lavish, with tile flooring, opulent looking white marble tile for the walls, save for the portion above the dispensers with soap, conditioner, and body wash that had a small portion of rectangular shaped, red tiles to add a splash of color. What was also neat was a ceiling mounted shower head in addition to a handheld showerhead.
On the other side of the bathroom was the toilet, which was separated from the rest of the bathroom with a frosted glass wall.

I must note that the bath products, including the hand soaps by the sink and the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower were attached and refillable, which detracted a little bit from the otherwise luxurious bathroom. However, this seems to be the way in which the hospitality industry is going to reduce waste, as I noticed being done at some of the Disney-owned hotels (like my stay at Disney's Coronado Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando in March 2018) and at most of the hotels I stayed at in Israel in Summer 2017. After checking out the room, I also found it to be immaculate and in perfect condition! Since I was ready to settle in, I then used the room phone to call Bell Services. Unfortunately, a live person didn't pick up, with calls instead being routed to a menu operated by voice. Luckily, saying Bell Services sufficed and I was immediately transferred to Bell Services. Nicole took my call and was very professional and polite! I gave her the number of my luggage ticket and said that Bell Services would be at my room in five minutes. Happy to be in my room, I then decided to check out the view from the floor to ceiling window and it was even better than I expected! In the foreground, I was able to see Circus Circus, the Fontainebleau, the Strat and in the background, I could see Downtown Las Vegas and the mountains.

Looking further to the north, I was able to see Downtown Las Vegas and could even make out some buildings from left to right, including The Plaza, Circa, and The Golden Nugget along with the
Looking to the north and east, I got another glimpse of the mountains, eastern portions of Las Vegas, and even a Southwest Boeing 737 on its approach to Harry Reid International Airport.

Less than five minutes after I had called Bell Services, AJ arrived with my luggage and my groceries. I granted him access to the room and immediately got to work, helping me get settled even further. He had a warm disposition and was very detail oriented, making sure that all my bags were placed to my liking and he even helped me put away my many bottles of spring water, Perrier, cheese, and orange juice in the fridge. Unfortunately, we ran into some trouble, as the refrigerator was small in size, almost like that of a college dorm. This meant that in addition to my cheese and orange juice, I was only able to fit a few bottles of water and Perrier in the different compartments. Luckily, AJ was resourceful, as he got some plastic bags and went to the nearby Ice Machine/Vending Area to fill them with ice. When he returned, he put the remainder of my waters and Perriers in the bag, also placing a double bag around the plastic bag with a spare towel underneath to prevent any leakage. This turned out to be an excellent idea, as all of my water were cold and I would not have to worry about the refrigerator's small size limiting what I could store. AJ's warmth, attention to detail, and resourcefulness made for an excellent continuation of my warm welcome. With my suitcase and groceries received, there was not much left that I had to do. I must add that although the refrigerator was small, it was better than nothing, as if I am not mistaken, some of the hotels in Vegas charge extra for them.
My only plan for later was a 6:00PM reservation at the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace, so I would relax at the pool until 4:00PM, then going back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. With that in mind, I changed into my bathing suit, applied my sunscreen, and headed out of my room, using the quick elevators down to the sixth floor, where the pool was located. Once at the pool, I was very impressed, as the complex, with its multiple pools, many chaise lounges, and many palm trees lining the pool area made you feel relaxed right away. In addition, the bustling crowds and the rock and pop music playing made for a vibrant atmosphere. Save for lacking a fake beach like the Mandalay Bay or the defunct Hard Rock Hotel, it reminded me of the old days when I used to hang out at the Hard Rock's pool area. I grabbed a pool towel and a complimentary bottle of water from the towel stand. Although the pool area was packed, I immediately found a chaise lounge and was able to place my stuff down. While there, I met a very kind younger couple from the Salt Lake City area. We hit it off right away, as I told them that my friend/boss is from there and has fond memories of that area. As we were speaking, I asked them if they could take a couple of pictures of me, which they agreed to.


Thankful to have met this couple, we then parted ways, as they were heading out and I was just about to begin my swim. I then entered one of the multiple pools and although the sun was baking and the temperatures were in the low 100s, the water of the pool felt crisp, cool, and refreshing! I did a few laps, happy to be in the pool and just letting my cares float away! After doing a few laps, I then met a couple of fun loving middle aged gentlemen by a couple of the in- pool lounge chairs, who were good friends. One of the friends was from Southern Utah by way of Los Angeles and the other friend was from the Queens borough of New York City. With their exuberant personalities, we hit it off right away. I mentioned to the gentleman from Queens that I used to be from Long Island, but had been living in Delray Beach, FL for the past six years at the time of the trip. Both gentlemen knew where I lived right away, thanks to the fact that besides the warm weather and palm trees, they loved Downtown Delray's vibrant Downtown and solid dining scene. I wholeheartedly agreed and the gentleman from Utah added that although LA had a good dining scene, he said that LA pizza could never touch New York pizza (and NYC's dining scene in general), even saying that places in Florida have better pizza than LA, which we agreed on as well! Somehow, the gentleman from LA mentioned liking conservative politics (he brought it up first), which me and his friend agreed with, all liking Florida for that reason. The gentleman from LA moved to Utah due to the quality of life going down and LA being expensive, liking Southern Utah. However, the icing on the cake during our conversation was talking about The Clash, which happened to all be one of our favorite bands. We talked about their songs, their messages, and even the artists themselves. It was a lot of fun just taking in the festive pool vibe and cooling off in the refreshing water. We then parted ways and since it was getting closer to 4:00PM, I then left the pool, since I had to get ready to go to Caesar's Palace. I relaxed on my chaise lounge for 20-minutes or so and the blistering sun dried me off in no time flat! Once I was dried off, I left the pool at about 4:15PM and took one of the super fast elevators back to the 51st Floor.
When I got back to my room, my first course of action was to take a shower, as I wanted to freshen up and rinse off the chlorine. Naturally, I was intrigued by the ceiling mounted shower head as I had never tried one before. My goal was to use both shower heads, however, after realizing the valves were not configured in that fashion, I could only do one shower head at a time. Unfortunately, either due to the Resorts World being new construction (a new construction home I once lived in had weak water pressure until our handyman removed the washer, improving water pressure) and/or having to conserve water due to the shortages in Lake Meade, the water pressure was weak. The good news was I was able to get warm water right away, which was good! Although I liked the ceiling mounted shower head, I ended up using the handheld shower head, which had much better water pressure! Once I figured out the shower, I felt even better thanks to being clean and relaxed! I then brushed my teeth and got dressed once again. The countertops had more than enough space to keep my toiletries and were conducive to helping me get ready. Now ready to go, the time was close to 5:00PM. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and belongings, ready to hit the town! Would Bacchanal live up to the hype? Find out soon!