Four Seasons Las Vegas

Of the 5 nights we were in Las Vegas we spent two nights at the Four Seasons. Unfortunately, our stay was atypical of a usual Four Seasons stay. Below is a report of our visit.

We booked through Virtuoso a 1 BR Strip-view suite which included valet parking of 1 vehicle, a $50 spa credit, breakfast credit of $52 per day, and an upgrade if available at check-in. I was not offered an upgrade at check-in and when I enquired I was quoted double my nightly rate for an upgrade to the next category suite, the Deluxe suite, which is considered a specialty suite at the property.

We arrived by taxi from the Signature @ MGM Grand. There was no welcome at all and despite giving my name to check in the Doorman was not very helpful. Only when we started to unload our luggage did the bellmen start moving to help us. I was not shown where the check-in desk is which is not a huge problem but certainly differs from most other Four Seasons Hotels I have been to.

The check-in was lacklustre if not cold and impersonal. It felt as if I was ordering a deli sandwich at a NYC deli AND didn't know what I wanted. Again, no welcome and it took some time for the agent to find my reservation. In the first 5 minutes never once did I feel welcome nor as a (valued) guest of the hotel.

Once the formalities were over we were informed that our suite was not ready which I had expected. We headed off to brunch at Bally's as the hotel promised to call once the room was ready. As promised, we did receive a phone call to inform us that the room was ready. By then, we were trying to find a way out of the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. We returned to the hotel to get our room keys. No room escort provided.

Our suite was on the 35th floor and as promised did have Strip views but due to the location of the suite in the building, they were not the best views of the Strip. If we were on the other side of the hotel, the views would have been much better.

The suite was large, about 1200 sq ft, with a powder room off the entry foyer, which was actually large enough that a shower could have been installed. The living room was large with a sofa (convertable to a sofa bed), 2 arm chairs, glass topped table, wet bar area, large LG plasma screen and a work desk with 2 chairs.

Double doors led to the bedroom which was an equal sized room with a king sized bed, another large plasma screen, chaise longue, dressing area and full marble bath. Toiletries were L'Occitane.

While the suite was large, there was also a lot of wasted space. The decor is rather muted even for a Four Seasons hotel but is a welcome relief from the absolute gaudiness of the rest of the city.

In my profile with Four Seasons there are specific requests which are taken care 99% of the time like how the beds are made, room temperature, request for humidifier (for medical reasons) etc and virtually none of those were met which was quite disappointing even though my travel agent had communicated these preferences to Four Seasons.

We decided to dine-in for dinner so we ordered some soup (special request french onion soup) for my sister and myself, a garden salad for my mom; a hamburger for me with truffle-parmesan fries, homestyle fried chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuit and corn for my sister, and spaghetti with meatballs for my mom.

I was first surprised that the order taker did not know what french onion soup was and then promptly told me they don't have it. I asked if he could check with the chef to see if they could make it and upon checking the hotel was able to meet our request. We were informed that due to the soup our order would take a little longer than usual, 40 minutes which was no problem for us.

45 minutes later, we received a call from room service saying that the food was on its way and 20 minutes thereafter the food finally arrived. I can appreciate the distances involved from the hotel kitchen to the room but over an hour for room service is a little much at a Four Seasons. Of course, if we were told that it would be an hour at the time of ordering, it would not have been as bad.

We used the work desk in the living room as our dining table -- oddly enough, there was enough space in the suite for a 4 person dining table in the living room if the work desk was moved into the bedroom -- and the server served the first course first, keeping the rest of the food on the room service table covered to keep warm.

The french onion soup was decent. When we opened up the main courses we found that only the fried chicken and mashed potatoes came with the order for my sister and the gravy on the side, corn and biscuit were missing. We called room service again and without apologies they said they would send immediately those missing items. Another 40 minutes later and the missing items arrived by which time it was too late.

The taste of the food was quite good but I was disappointed with the overall handling of the meal. In true Four Seasons fashion when we mentioned that we had some hiccups over the meal the Room Service duty manager called immediately and removed the fried chicken from our bill and also sent up a dessert amenity which was kind and thoughtful.

We phoned in our breakfast orders the previous night and both mornings they arrived promptly on time and the quality was high with excellent quality. I was very pleased with the breakfast the only hiccup being on the 2nd evening when my sister phoned Room Service to order the breakfast she was told to fill out the breakfast card and hang it outside on the door. When she explained that since our room was not turned down there wasn't one in the room she was told that spares were kept in a drawer in the bedroom and to use that which ended the call.

As a result I called the Duty Manager to explain what had just happened -- I can accept the Room Service attendant's answer at a 3 star hotel but not at any property which claims to be a 5 star hotel and charges accordindly. The Duty Manager was apologetic and took our breakfast order. He also comped the breakfast which was a very nice gesture. However, since breakfast was included in our rate and we were over the allotted dollar amount by a little, the rebate was small. I was, yet, still appreciative of that gesture.

On the first evening we asked for turn down to be "at our request" due to our room service dinner. However, half way into the dinner housekeeping knocks on the door for turn down. While the quality of the turn down was excellent, this was not quite what we asked for. We did not send them away as we didn't know if, or when, the would return.

On the second day, after we had returned from a day out, we entered the room to find the sofabed still in bed mode. I enquired if that is standard procedure and apparently it is not according to the Duty Manager. Still none of my profile requests were met and in the evening no turn down service at all.

The Concierge service was the only area of the hotel which was fantastic. Lisa Carson, Chef Concierge, is a wonderful person who runs an excellent team of Concierge staff. From restaurant reservations to all the information and directions we needed they took care of the requests in a timely manner and very professionally. The Concierge I worked with also helped negotiate a 25% discount off of a watch at Tourneau at the Forum Shops as I was only able to negotiate 15-20% off the price. I was clear to mention to the Managers I spoke with that the Concierge service was excellent.

Our rate included a $50 spa credit so my sister and I went for a 60 minute massage each. The Spa is very well done with spacious locker rooms with the scent of eucalyptus from the steam room wafting through the rooms. There are about a half dozen shower rooms though the two I tried had no hot water. The Spa area is very tranquil with treatments rooms named after herbs and other flora.

My sister had a wonderful massage while I had a horrible massage. This therapist, apparently is one of the most requested by clients, gave the most unsoothing unrelaxing massage ever. I felt as if I was a percussion set!! It felt as if the therapist just wanted for the treatment to be over. I mentioned to the Receptionist of my dissatisfaction and she offered to take 20% off the bill. Instead, I requested to speak with the Spa Manager in the morning as I was off to dinner at Nobu.

In the morning, the Spa Manager called and offered to take 50% off the bill and 20% off a future treatment. I accepted with reluctance. In the end, the Duty Manager who I spoke with before check-out removed the massage from the bill which was more than I expected -- I was just hoping to have a proper massage.

All in all it was a disappointing stay. I spoke at length with the Front Office Manager about the issues during the stay and she was quite decisive in trying to make things right. She did offer an upgrade to a 1 BR suite on our next visit but I have not yet heard anything from the hotel since our check-out.

For Four Seasons, without their hallmark service, there is little reason to stay there over competitor hotels. With 2 poor Four Seasons stays in a row (the first was the Beverly Wilshire this summer followed by Las Vegas) my confidence in Four Seasons' US properties has slipped ever so slightly. Even though it is only two stays it has been enough to make me wonder if things will go smoothly the next stay in the US. Fortunately, our stay at the FS San Francisco shattered my fears -- that report is forthcoming.

On a final note, I will be writing to the hotel directly with my comments and we shall see if or how the hotel responds.