Las Vegas stays at Wynn and Skylofts: A tale of two hotels
Dec 20, 2006, 2:53 pm
#1
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Las Vegas stays at Wynn and Skylofts: A tale of two hotels
My wife and I just returned from four days in Las Vegas, where we spent the first two nights (Friday and Saturday) at Wynn in a Parlor Suite and the second two at the Skylofts in a 1BR. I wanted to give a quick review, but the bottom line is that we are already planning our next trip to the Skylofts. The Wynn won't be on the agenda.
But first, I have to apologize that I have no photos. We still haven't figured out how to use the digital camera.
Wynn, 12/15-12/17
I should preface this by saying that some of the problems that we experienced at Wynn were of our own doing, although the hotel could have handled them better. In other words, I hope our mistakes will serve as a cautionary tale.
We arrived at Wynn at about 1:30 pm, with our bags still at the Westin, where we had stayed the night before. We were staying on an Amex FHR rate, which included lunch, so we figured we'd check in, grab the free lunch amenity and then head back and pick up our bags (We had started the day on the north end of the strip.). Not realizing that there was a separate entrance for the Tower Suites, we went to the main check-in area. The desk employee mentioned that there was a suite on a lower floor available or we could go to a higher floor if we wanted to wait. We chose to check-in now. She also spent a few minutes trying to upsell us to a Salon Suite for another $100 per night. We declined.
We asked for the details of the FHR benefits, and she told us that we weren't booked under FHR. Unfortunately, the confirmation was back at the Westin, so we asked her to call a manager while we called Amex. She called her manager, who kept transferring her to different departments. Meanwhile, we called Amex to get it sorted out on our end. Then Wynn and Amex got into it, and finally we got back to our Amex person, who had talked to one of the people at the Wynn sales desk. Apparently, Wynn had been having problems with its computer system that wasn't booking the FHR packages correctly, and that someone was coming to help us. Problem solved, we thought.
Meanwhile, the front desk worker with whom we were working had stepped away while helping another customer. While she was gone, we noticed that she had left another customer's folio wide open on the counter, with his full credit card imprint (entire number and expiration) lying out. We pointed this out to her when she returned, and she said, "Oh, he's right over there," pointing to a guy halfway across the lobby.
We asked her to check us in with the updated info, and she brought over an assistant manager. We had to re-explain the situation to him, and after several minutes, he agreed to give us a F&B credit for the value of one lunch and two breakfasts. None of the other FHR benefits were extended, and he was quite condescending. We weren't thrilled, but we had been there almost an hour and were tired of arguing. He said that he would "look into" the problem and call the person at the sales desk that Amex had talked to. He also said that he would call us back that night or the next day with an answer. We never heard from him, and when we questioned it later, the manager with whom we spoke told us that he claimed to have left a message in the room. Which means that the message light on every phone in the room was broken, or he, um, forgot. Sorry to go so long on just the check in, but we were surprised at the level of service at a hotel that claims to be the nicest in Las Vegas.
The suite itself was nice, although we felt that it lacked amenities. The bathroom amenities were the same as in the regular rooms and that it lacked basics such as complimentary bottles of water. The bathroom was huge, with two sinks (which was good, because the drain on one of them would not open) and we had a view of both the pool and the golf course. The suite was surprisingly plain, although certainly nice.
We felt like the best assets at the hotel were the restaurants. We did not eat at any of the upscale restaurants, but we did go the the Terrace Pointe Cafe a couple of times, which had excellent service and very good food. We also tried the buffet, which had the best food of any of the buffets in Vegas. We found out later that the room key to the Tower Suites served as a line pass for the buffet.
We did very little gambling at the Wynn, which is clearly not designed for the low-rollers. The room key serves as your Players Card, which means that the hotel opens a new account for you every time you go, unless you request the accounts to be linked. It's easier just to get a completely separate Players Card.
The people at the front desk at the Tower Suites were wonderful, and it was unfortunate that when we checked in, nobody told us that we could check in right at the Tower. We explained the check-in situation to the manager, and emphasized that we were less upset about the FHR mistakes and more concerned about the attitude that the assistant manager had. The woman at the Tower Suites was quite sympathetic, and noted that we were not upgraded for free to the Salon Suite as we should have been under FHR, so she gave us the $100 per night difference as a credit. She also promised to check with the asst. mgr. and call us back, which is when we found out about the mysterious non-message. We also found out that there is free continental breakfast for Tower Suite guests, a little too late.
MGM Skylofts, 12/17-12/19
Wow. I mean, wow.
We checked in at the Skylofts in the afternoon, and the woman at the front asked us to have a seat in the lobby. Two couples wandered in after us, and the front desk employee helped both of them before getting to us (Admittedly, they looked a lot more like high rollers than we do.). My first thought was, "Here we go again," but after I pointed out that we had been waiting, she was very apologetic and offered to get us drinks while they checked us in. We chatted about the original Nechita on the wall and she took us up to the lofts section to complete the check-in.
Note: There is a pre-arrival concierge named Erica who takes care of you ahead of time. We requested Danny Gans tickets (She got us dead center, about 25 rows back.), green Bulgari amenities instead of the white (done) and only Diet Cokes and water in the fridge (There was some alcohol still there, but plenty of what we asked for.). All the non-alcoholic beverages in your fridge are free.
The check-in is actually done in your loft. We were met with a large box of berries, several chocolate displays and glasses of fresh juice (cantaloupe, with coconut and vanilla extract). We were also introduced to our butler, who showed us around the loft. Normally, that process takes about 30 seconds. In this case, it took 15 minutes. They had everything, and I mean everything. covered. Need to recharge your I-Pod? There were two I-Pod chargers/speakers. Need to tell people where you were? You got personalized business cards. There was an office space, dining area, etc. in the downstairs portion of the loft. We ended up with Unit 91, which is the biggest of the 1-bedrooms (We did not book through FHR, which was more expensive.). One word of caution: the living room is sunken, and I tripped over the step about a thousand times.
Upstairs was also incredible. The bed was quite comfortable and the butler noted that there were 13 different types of pillows, in case the first twelve weren't right. The bathroom was huge, with an infinity soaking tub (Think infinity pool.) and a shower about the size of a steam room (five shower heads). There were two televsions in the bathroom alone, one over the sink and the other over the bathtub.
One of the benefits was being able to get room service from any of the MGM restaurants. At one point, we had four people in our room, two doing turndown, two delivering and setting up the room service (Okay, one was the butler, who was there to show me how to work the coffee maker.). Come to think of it, it was a touch uncomfortable, although I'm not used to living like a king. Overall, we saw far more employees than we did other guests.
At times, we felt like we never needed to leave the room. My wife got the flu one night and we ended up staying in the room. Fortunately, all the "pay per view" movies were free, so we had a chance to lie back, order room service and watch movies.
Bottom line is, it was a few hundred dollars more to stay at the Skylofts. But it was worth infinitely more. It's not necessarily a fair comparison, given that the Skylofts is really a hotel within a hotel and the Towers are a part of a larger hotel. Feel free to PM with more detailed questions.
Mike
But first, I have to apologize that I have no photos. We still haven't figured out how to use the digital camera.
Wynn, 12/15-12/17
I should preface this by saying that some of the problems that we experienced at Wynn were of our own doing, although the hotel could have handled them better. In other words, I hope our mistakes will serve as a cautionary tale.
We arrived at Wynn at about 1:30 pm, with our bags still at the Westin, where we had stayed the night before. We were staying on an Amex FHR rate, which included lunch, so we figured we'd check in, grab the free lunch amenity and then head back and pick up our bags (We had started the day on the north end of the strip.). Not realizing that there was a separate entrance for the Tower Suites, we went to the main check-in area. The desk employee mentioned that there was a suite on a lower floor available or we could go to a higher floor if we wanted to wait. We chose to check-in now. She also spent a few minutes trying to upsell us to a Salon Suite for another $100 per night. We declined.
We asked for the details of the FHR benefits, and she told us that we weren't booked under FHR. Unfortunately, the confirmation was back at the Westin, so we asked her to call a manager while we called Amex. She called her manager, who kept transferring her to different departments. Meanwhile, we called Amex to get it sorted out on our end. Then Wynn and Amex got into it, and finally we got back to our Amex person, who had talked to one of the people at the Wynn sales desk. Apparently, Wynn had been having problems with its computer system that wasn't booking the FHR packages correctly, and that someone was coming to help us. Problem solved, we thought.
Meanwhile, the front desk worker with whom we were working had stepped away while helping another customer. While she was gone, we noticed that she had left another customer's folio wide open on the counter, with his full credit card imprint (entire number and expiration) lying out. We pointed this out to her when she returned, and she said, "Oh, he's right over there," pointing to a guy halfway across the lobby.
We asked her to check us in with the updated info, and she brought over an assistant manager. We had to re-explain the situation to him, and after several minutes, he agreed to give us a F&B credit for the value of one lunch and two breakfasts. None of the other FHR benefits were extended, and he was quite condescending. We weren't thrilled, but we had been there almost an hour and were tired of arguing. He said that he would "look into" the problem and call the person at the sales desk that Amex had talked to. He also said that he would call us back that night or the next day with an answer. We never heard from him, and when we questioned it later, the manager with whom we spoke told us that he claimed to have left a message in the room. Which means that the message light on every phone in the room was broken, or he, um, forgot. Sorry to go so long on just the check in, but we were surprised at the level of service at a hotel that claims to be the nicest in Las Vegas.
The suite itself was nice, although we felt that it lacked amenities. The bathroom amenities were the same as in the regular rooms and that it lacked basics such as complimentary bottles of water. The bathroom was huge, with two sinks (which was good, because the drain on one of them would not open) and we had a view of both the pool and the golf course. The suite was surprisingly plain, although certainly nice.
We felt like the best assets at the hotel were the restaurants. We did not eat at any of the upscale restaurants, but we did go the the Terrace Pointe Cafe a couple of times, which had excellent service and very good food. We also tried the buffet, which had the best food of any of the buffets in Vegas. We found out later that the room key to the Tower Suites served as a line pass for the buffet.
We did very little gambling at the Wynn, which is clearly not designed for the low-rollers. The room key serves as your Players Card, which means that the hotel opens a new account for you every time you go, unless you request the accounts to be linked. It's easier just to get a completely separate Players Card.
The people at the front desk at the Tower Suites were wonderful, and it was unfortunate that when we checked in, nobody told us that we could check in right at the Tower. We explained the check-in situation to the manager, and emphasized that we were less upset about the FHR mistakes and more concerned about the attitude that the assistant manager had. The woman at the Tower Suites was quite sympathetic, and noted that we were not upgraded for free to the Salon Suite as we should have been under FHR, so she gave us the $100 per night difference as a credit. She also promised to check with the asst. mgr. and call us back, which is when we found out about the mysterious non-message. We also found out that there is free continental breakfast for Tower Suite guests, a little too late.
MGM Skylofts, 12/17-12/19
Wow. I mean, wow.
We checked in at the Skylofts in the afternoon, and the woman at the front asked us to have a seat in the lobby. Two couples wandered in after us, and the front desk employee helped both of them before getting to us (Admittedly, they looked a lot more like high rollers than we do.). My first thought was, "Here we go again," but after I pointed out that we had been waiting, she was very apologetic and offered to get us drinks while they checked us in. We chatted about the original Nechita on the wall and she took us up to the lofts section to complete the check-in.
Note: There is a pre-arrival concierge named Erica who takes care of you ahead of time. We requested Danny Gans tickets (She got us dead center, about 25 rows back.), green Bulgari amenities instead of the white (done) and only Diet Cokes and water in the fridge (There was some alcohol still there, but plenty of what we asked for.). All the non-alcoholic beverages in your fridge are free.
The check-in is actually done in your loft. We were met with a large box of berries, several chocolate displays and glasses of fresh juice (cantaloupe, with coconut and vanilla extract). We were also introduced to our butler, who showed us around the loft. Normally, that process takes about 30 seconds. In this case, it took 15 minutes. They had everything, and I mean everything. covered. Need to recharge your I-Pod? There were two I-Pod chargers/speakers. Need to tell people where you were? You got personalized business cards. There was an office space, dining area, etc. in the downstairs portion of the loft. We ended up with Unit 91, which is the biggest of the 1-bedrooms (We did not book through FHR, which was more expensive.). One word of caution: the living room is sunken, and I tripped over the step about a thousand times.
Upstairs was also incredible. The bed was quite comfortable and the butler noted that there were 13 different types of pillows, in case the first twelve weren't right. The bathroom was huge, with an infinity soaking tub (Think infinity pool.) and a shower about the size of a steam room (five shower heads). There were two televsions in the bathroom alone, one over the sink and the other over the bathtub.
One of the benefits was being able to get room service from any of the MGM restaurants. At one point, we had four people in our room, two doing turndown, two delivering and setting up the room service (Okay, one was the butler, who was there to show me how to work the coffee maker.). Come to think of it, it was a touch uncomfortable, although I'm not used to living like a king. Overall, we saw far more employees than we did other guests.
At times, we felt like we never needed to leave the room. My wife got the flu one night and we ended up staying in the room. Fortunately, all the "pay per view" movies were free, so we had a chance to lie back, order room service and watch movies.
Bottom line is, it was a few hundred dollars more to stay at the Skylofts. But it was worth infinitely more. It's not necessarily a fair comparison, given that the Skylofts is really a hotel within a hotel and the Towers are a part of a larger hotel. Feel free to PM with more detailed questions.
Mike
Dec 20, 2006, 3:35 pm
#2
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I have stayed at the Wynn Tower Suites sevrel times and IMO it is the best hotel in the city. There are never lines at the checkin area and the front desk staff would hande any request i had. I did remember the miad leaving water in the rooms at turndown though. All in all it is my favorite hotel it Las Vegas and I have no Idea why the Bellagio is 5 star and the Wynn is not. I spent Spring Break at the Belliago and it did not compare to the Wynn.
Ben
BTW. What is AMEX FHR
Ben
BTW. What is AMEX FHR
Dec 20, 2006, 5:55 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2001
Location: The Wild West
Posts: 1,334
If you book directly through the Wynn, the confirmation gives explicit instructions on how to proceed to the separate entrance and check in (including driving directions). In my experience, they check your name at the gate to confirm that you are checking into the Tower Suites.
Unfortunately, it seems like Amex does not include the same information in their FHR confirmation.
Dec 20, 2006, 6:21 pm
#4
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Thanks for your reviews.
Dec 20, 2006, 7:48 pm
#5
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Nice reviews, thanks.
We must all face the facts that there are very few hotels in Vegas. Most, like Wynn and Bellagio, are casinos first, gimmicky (i.e. not luxury) resorts second and hotels third.
There are few luxury hotels in Vegas like the FS.
There are few true luxury resorts like the RC-LLV.
It sounds like Skylofts deserves recognition as over-the-top luxury that pays proper attention to guests...I'll need to check it out.
We must all face the facts that there are very few hotels in Vegas. Most, like Wynn and Bellagio, are casinos first, gimmicky (i.e. not luxury) resorts second and hotels third.
There are few luxury hotels in Vegas like the FS.
There are few true luxury resorts like the RC-LLV.
It sounds like Skylofts deserves recognition as over-the-top luxury that pays proper attention to guests...I'll need to check it out.
Dec 21, 2006, 2:34 am
#6
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The Fine Hotels & Resorts programme run by Amex for Platinum and Centurion card holders. Basically, it offers extra amenities at a few hundred of the best five star hotels in the world, including:
a) special rate (usually lower than the hotels best web rate, although at slack times hotel specials can undercut the FHR rate)
b) guaranteed 4pm check-out
c) free breakfast
d) upgrade on availability at check-in
e) special amenity - this is often a free lunch for 2 or free dinner for 2, although occasionally it is something less useful like guaranteed noon check-in
It is a great programme if you travel a lot in high-end properties. I probably saved 3 x my annual Platinum card fee last year using FHR last year to book hotels I was going to stay at anyway. If you look on the Amex board there is a thread where people post about their FHR experiences.
a) special rate (usually lower than the hotels best web rate, although at slack times hotel specials can undercut the FHR rate)
b) guaranteed 4pm check-out
c) free breakfast
d) upgrade on availability at check-in
e) special amenity - this is often a free lunch for 2 or free dinner for 2, although occasionally it is something less useful like guaranteed noon check-in
It is a great programme if you travel a lot in high-end properties. I probably saved 3 x my annual Platinum card fee last year using FHR last year to book hotels I was going to stay at anyway. If you look on the Amex board there is a thread where people post about their FHR experiences.
Dec 21, 2006, 3:14 am
#7
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no upgrade to 2BR skyloft? thats surprising, since most of the units are 2BR.
also in case anyone is interested in more wynn tower / skyloft differences, and info on the publicly available villas >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619407
also in case anyone is interested in more wynn tower / skyloft differences, and info on the publicly available villas >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619407
Dec 21, 2006, 10:28 am
#8
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no upgrade to 2BR skyloft? thats surprising, since most of the units are 2BR.
also in case anyone is interested in more wynn tower / skyloft differences, and info on the publicly available villas >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619407
also in case anyone is interested in more wynn tower / skyloft differences, and info on the publicly available villas >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=619407
Mike
Dec 22, 2006, 12:44 am
#9
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I would love to stay at the Skylofts one of these days. I am going next week to Vegas but staying at the Venetian. I do have a question about the FHR and AMEX. I have the Delta AMEX card. Do I get those FHR benefits too or do I have to have the regular AMEX card?
Dec 22, 2006, 2:23 am
#10
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Needs to be a Plat or Centurion charge card, and the booking needs to be made through Platinum Travel Service on the telephone.
Details of participating properties (although no rate info) here: http://www134.americanexpress.com/tr...csg&cdtyp=plat
Details of participating properties (although no rate info) here: http://www134.americanexpress.com/tr...csg&cdtyp=plat
Dec 22, 2006, 3:56 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 584
I recently noticed on the Wynn website that they are the "only casino with both Mobil 5 Star and AAA 5 Diamond ratings for 2007" - that being said I have stayed there several times and do not think the property is all that great.
I have stayed at the Wynn Tower Suites sevrel times and IMO it is the best hotel in the city. There are never lines at the checkin area and the front desk staff would hande any request i had. I did remember the miad leaving water in the rooms at turndown though. All in all it is my favorite hotel it Las Vegas and I have no Idea why the Bellagio is 5 star and the Wynn is not. I spent Spring Break at the Belliago and it did not compare to the Wynn.
Ben
BTW. What is AMEX FHR
Ben
BTW. What is AMEX FHR
Dec 22, 2006, 4:24 pm
#12
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thats the bellagio isnt it? (5 star/diamond hotel and casino)
the bellagio has 1 thing going for it really: overall atmosphere
skylofts are the best rooms, and value really; although with wynn's lowered prices they arent as bad of a value anymore
and the villas all have different features >
wynn - trendy/flashy atmosphere, pools overlooking golf course
bellagio - "best" overall atmosphere, outdoor courtyard pools, fine art
mansion - way over the top, lots of public areas, (but its still part of MGM)
the bellagio has 1 thing going for it really: overall atmosphere
skylofts are the best rooms, and value really; although with wynn's lowered prices they arent as bad of a value anymore
and the villas all have different features >
wynn - trendy/flashy atmosphere, pools overlooking golf course
bellagio - "best" overall atmosphere, outdoor courtyard pools, fine art
mansion - way over the top, lots of public areas, (but its still part of MGM)
Dec 22, 2006, 11:21 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 584
I believe Bellagio has only been rated as AAA 5 Diamond and Mobil 4 Star.
I usually don't put too much weight on AAA ratings in Las Vegas, as I always use the Las Vegas Hilton as a point of comparison...if the Hilton is 4 diamond, then Bellagio/Wynn must be 5 diamond. That being said, I don't know the rating now, but the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas was AAA 5 Diamond and dropped down to AAA 4 Diamond.
[QUOTE=Kagehitokiri;6891994]...thats the bellagio isnt it? (5 star/diamond hotel and casino)...QUOTE]
I usually don't put too much weight on AAA ratings in Las Vegas, as I always use the Las Vegas Hilton as a point of comparison...if the Hilton is 4 diamond, then Bellagio/Wynn must be 5 diamond. That being said, I don't know the rating now, but the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas was AAA 5 Diamond and dropped down to AAA 4 Diamond.
[QUOTE=Kagehitokiri;6891994]...thats the bellagio isnt it? (5 star/diamond hotel and casino)...QUOTE]
Feb 4, 2007, 6:25 am
#15
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info on THEhotel penthouses, not sure why i didnt link this before >
http://www.natpe.org/conference/exhi...ctionSpace.pdf
Pages 5-8 have floorplans for the Penthouses. M,H,O,T,E,L. M seems like a terrific corner suite with wraparound windows, it goes for about $700. E is the best layout for parties in my opinion, and has 2 bedrooms/beds. It's $1110. And L is about the same as E, not as good of a layout, but it has 3 beds. (2BR) L goes for about $1200.
similar price/size to skylofts, more open layouts are better for events/parties, do not include complimentary butler service, but do include access to foundation room.
and another good thread to be linked to this one >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652918
http://www.natpe.org/conference/exhi...ctionSpace.pdf
Pages 5-8 have floorplans for the Penthouses. M,H,O,T,E,L. M seems like a terrific corner suite with wraparound windows, it goes for about $700. E is the best layout for parties in my opinion, and has 2 bedrooms/beds. It's $1110. And L is about the same as E, not as good of a layout, but it has 3 beds. (2BR) L goes for about $1200.
similar price/size to skylofts, more open layouts are better for events/parties, do not include complimentary butler service, but do include access to foundation room.
and another good thread to be linked to this one >
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=652918