poptarts

My trip report. I booked the Deluxe Strip View Room for $149 and was hoping, especially since I was arriving on a Tuesday, that I would be upgraded to the next level up, a Corner Suite. No luck. I was offered a different suite for a $60 upgrade per day and I took it. The suite was beautiful and came with lounge access.

The Tower Suite lounge (not Sky Suite lounge) was somewhat disappointing. In the evening, there was one appetizer, no plates, napkins only. There was only one offering for dessert and it rotated in the evening. At one point, it was macaroons and later in the evening, unimpressive oatmeal cookies. The macaroons may have come from Jean Philippe Patisserie located in Aria. They were wonderful. There was plenty of bottled water, sodas, teas, coffee, OJ, and a high end expresso machine.

All staff I've encountered at the Aria have been very kind and go out of their way to ensure you have an enjoyable stay. Shout out to Marisa at the front desk for all her patience!!

Another benefit of staying at the Aria is that Crystal Court is next door and the hotel is centrally located on the strip.

The Virtuoso rate includes:

A complimentary (1) category upgrade (did not receive), based on availability.

Two $30 breakfast credits per room, per day, redeemable at ARIA Buffet, Cafe Vettro, and In-Room Dining.

$100 USD equivalent Spa Services credit to be utilized during stay.

12 noon early check-in, subject to availability/Guaranteed 4:00pm late check out

“Invited Guest Line” for check-in registration and check-out.

I'm glad I had the Invited Guest Line for check-in and my Mlife Gold status. I only waited a short time to check in. Otherwise I would have waited at least 45 minutes to the regular check-in line. (I know it was 45 minutes because I overheard the guests next to me complaining about the long wait.)

For our $60 breakfast credit, I went to the buffet ($31.38 after 9am) and my daughter got a to-go order from the Aria Cafe. ($33.00). I considered room services but decided otherwise. The buffet is excellent, lots of seafood, meats, waffles and fried chicken, and an array of international dishes.

I will update my trip report as my stay progresses along.

offerendum

Common problem in Vegas if you stay at the big resorts in the "normal" hotel. This hotels are in my eyes only acceptable if you book the special rooms like Sky Suite or Wynn Tower Suites. Once stand in such a line and had the full "wonnabe luxury" experience. Never again!

jasondetar

Yeah Aria is a popular Virtuoso benefit choice in Vegas for sure, I just booked one for a client and is a no brainer for a short stay as the Virtuoso benefits increase the value quite well, especially if you're staying at $149/night. Also the resort is very responsive to us for special requests so that helps you too...

It's not "luxury" to the standards of MO across the street but for those that like it, it works well for that price. I'm staying there in August. But first... off to Chablé in two weeks.. they just won the Prix Versailles! Will do a review on the forum after this visit.

Enjoy Aria, and try Javier's if you like Mexican... VERY good. Otherwise, eat just about anywhere at the Cosmopolitan tons of great food there.

RichardInSF

Since this is not about a luxury hotel in a city that allegedly has them, I'm sending this thread to the Las Vegas forum for additional comment.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

DSI

Aria is my choice for luxury hotels in Las Vegas. This belongs in the luxury hotel forum.

poptarts

Long story short, I lost an item and got a huge runaround from staff and management. If this didn't happen, this would be my new fav hotel. The rooms are nice and super quiet. I check out tomorrow but I will no longer gamble or dine here. Too bad for them because I came out ahead from BJ.

txflyer77

Is the Aria really a luxury hotel? When I stayed there I didn't feel like the rooms were much better than a good Hilton.

SkySuites, perhaps, but I'm not sure the regular rooms are luxury.

gengar

I don't even consider SkySuites luxury, and that's saying something as my standards tend to be a tad lower than those who usually post on FT's "Luxury Hotels" forum. Service is certainly well below luxury standard, and IMO the hard product isn't quite luxury either. (And I am in no way just belittling the property - I have stayed in SkySuites 1br Penthouse a lot over the last year due to a comp arrangement.)

Aria's Sky Villas are much more interesting from a hard product perspective, but I've only visited people in them and not stayed in them myself so cannot comment on soft product. And even then, I think Wynn's Fairway Villas and Encore apartments are far more impressive.

This is one of the pitfalls of such a gigantic property. I once left a CC in the check folder at an Aria venue and it was turned over to security, and I was left waiting 45 minutes just to get it back from security. I hope at least you got your item back.

uclacolumbiaunc

can you exchange the $100 spa credit to $100 foot/beverage credit?

jasondetar

Possibly, their policy is not to exchange it but I have had success with this there.

KristenNix

For 2018, the $100 credit is for Food & Beverage with Virtuoso.

uclacolumbiaunc

it's still showing $100 spa credit in classic travel webpage.

KristenNix

A Virtuoso travel advisor can confirm that the Virtuoso amenity for 2018 at Aria is $100 Food and Beverage credit. I'm happy to help if you have any questions.

offerendum

Low Roller

For those who can't access the invited guest line, Mlife does offer a mobile check-in option which avoids the long line. The tower suites are very nice, although the lounge is a bit lacking compared to the sky suites lounge. Still, it will save you a fortune on coffee and bottled water, so that alone will almost cover the cost of the upgrade.