NV Las Vegas The Wynn North Strip

[jicms]

Just returned from a five night trip to Vegas. Stayed 2 nights at Palace Station (good standard 3* bargain, off strip), 1 night at the Red Rock Resort and Casino (review to follow) and 2 nights at The Wynn.

The hotel approach was impressive with manicured gardens. The Wynn tower looked even bigger in the flesh. Registration was a bit of a shock. We arrived at presumably peak time around 3.30 pm and stood in line nearly an hour. The desk was efficient, polite and informative. We were asked whether we would prefer a Boulevard or Golf Course/pool view and we opted for the latter as it was a higher room - floor 38.

The room was amazing, the largest I'd ever stayed in with a huge, amazingly comfy bed each for my daughter and I. That was the downside we didn't have enough time to spend in the room watching the flat screen TVs in the room and bathroom. We didn't touch the mini bar after looking at the price list. The view from the whole wall sized window was fantastic. We could see the Wynn and Encore pools, the golf course (which we would have loved to walk around and see the waterfall), the mountains and the airport. The bathroom again was very large with every imaginable product. It was lovely to be able to put the cases away from the room racks in the spacious hallway area. The room was extremely quiet probably due to the beds being so far away from the door! Only occasional plane noise could be heard outside. When we phoned the conciege for information the staff were very friendly and helpful. Only staying for two nights our room was only cleaned once, they did a very good job and it must be the first time I didn't even see any maids, they were so discreet!

We visited most of the Strip hotels and in our opinion didn't find a hotel to better The Wynn, at least in the public areas we saw. Some of the older hotels looked a bit drab and dated, not to mention smokey and many seemed very busy with people using them as connecting walkways. The Bellagio also looked impressive. The Wynn and it's newer sister hotel the Encore were connected by a beautiful shopping boulevard. All the facilities of the Encore were available and in fact the only pool open was on the Encore side. This was certainly not a problem, the Encore being if anything even more impressive, we were just taken aback by the beautiful decor (we have the photos to prove it). The weather was a bit cool so we only managed to use the pool on our last day when it was beautiful, the pool area was immaculate with lovely landscaping. We spent a few hours in the spa which was perfect, very luxurious with all toiletries provided. Teas and fruit were provided. No need to take anything in with you.

We only ate at the Buffet, for the $20 breakfast, which was excellent, once we battled the queues to get in. The only disappointment was that we couldn't eat enough to sample everything we wanted! We did however manage to last till dinner time without eating. The bars were very attractive, if somewhat expensive, but then you pay for quality.

The Wynn definitely met and exceeded our expectations. We thought the location excellent, being opposite the Fashion Show Mall in a slightly more relaxing area than further down the Strip. We walked to the Stratosphere to the north one morning and down to the far end of the Strip to the Mandalay Bay the same day!

Check out was very straightforward and our bags were quickly stowed till departure when they were whisked staight to the taxi line. There was no expectation of a gratuity (although we gave one as the guy was so great).

Overall, we would definitely go back, hope the $109 rates or similar are still around! :) :) :o

[JNR]

The Wynn room we stayed in for Friday, March 13 to Sunday, March 15, 2009 was clean and beautiful with an amazing bathroom. There is a wall of floor to ceiling windows with remote control drapes and an extremely high ceiling. The bed was comfortable, the linens soft but this was not a five star experience.

The room smelled clean when we arrived but by morning you could smell cigarette smoke coming from the ventilation system in the bathroom. At night, even on the 23rd floor, you could hear the pounding boom of the bass from the nightclub below and it continued until 4 a.m. No staff member held any door even one time the entire weekend. The free shuttle to the monorail has been discontinued. There was a long line to check into the hotel and a long line to check out. The check in screen the hotel staff uses when registering guests was unbelievably complicated and barely above Dos in sophistication. There must have been 20 screens requiring data input. Then the room key printer kept malfunctioning and the staff had to run to the back room to retrieve keys that did not include a player number to be used as a player card.

Since we paid only $143 a night through Hotwire to stay here, I feel we received value but I would have been mad had we paid full price. The few staff members I did have interaction with were friendly and helpful, there were just not enough hands on deck for the spring break crowds.