I posted this trip report over at covers"
I went to Las Vegas on Tues of last week for 4 nights – stayed at the new Wynn Las Vegas Hotel.
This place is very upscale. Nothing is left untouched – you look at the ceilings and they are decorated in mosaics and everything is very beautiful. The problem for me is that it is too upscale. I like to go to Vegas to get dirty not to be sterile.
I was comped a suite, not only a suite but one of the nicest suites I have ever seen or stayed in. It is called a Salon Suite and is about 1950 sq feet with huge bathroom and tons of amenities saved for suite residents. Everything was just awesome in the room and I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about it.
I traveled with my wife and 4 year old daughter. The Wynn is not a place for kids, PERIOD. First of all, out of the 15 restaurants, only 3 allow a child under 5. There are no strollers allowed anywhere because Steve Wynn broke his foot on one about 8 years ago. There is no activities for kids and nothing designed for them. They are seen as a burden here. I understand this philosophy, I just wish I had known about it before I went.
The food was great – but once again we were limited to the buffet, the upscale coffee shop, and a deli – oh and room service. We were comped on food so we ordered everything on the room service menu – and it was excellent. So was the buffet – absolutely unreal – king crab legs already split and you can eat with a fork. I would have loved to try one of the gourmet places, but couldn’t just toss my girl in a locker for 2 hours.
Overall, there was an air of stuffiness. All the way in to the casino. I was playing pretty big and finally winning some at the craps table, and I like to get a little loud (nothing out of the ordinary) when things are going well. When I won a hard 8 that was worth 4800 bucks – I yelled. The croupier standing next to me says “Mr. X, act like you’ve done this before” and gives me a wink. I wanted to kill him. I didn’t say anything – in retrospect I should have – but that gives you an idea of the atmosphere. Dull and boring. And they want it that way. That aint me and that’s not why I go to vegas.
They took care of us like royalty. When we left they drove us to the airport in one of their 4 Bentleys that are reserved for feature guests. They got us anything we wanted. But you could not get around the fact that they looked at my daughter like she was a burden – and that’s something I wont put up with. When I asked for a car seat in the Bentley you would have thought I asked for the title to the car – but the truth is I would rather take a cab with a carseat than a Bentley without one.
So – if you don’t have kids – like exclusivity – like the casino atmosphere to be posh and stuffy – than this is the place for you. Next time, I will go with down and dirty, maybe Mandalay Bay, Caesars, Paris, or MGM.
GL
