Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

December 23, 2005

Reader Reviews: Wynn Las Vegas December 2005

Posted by Hunter

Another segment in our 'Reader Reviews' category, reader John Hall was kind enough to submit his thoughts after a recent stay at Wynn Las Vegas (12/19-12/21). These segments are not written by our 'staff' but instead provided by our loyal readers. To submit your own, please send it to editor@ratevegas.com. More after the jump.

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To start off, Wynn is one beautiful property. Up until the moment I arrived, Bellagio was my favorite Strip property, but not anymore - Wynn is spectacular. I arrived at about 11 a.m. and checked into my Regular Room in the Tower Suites section of the hotel. Check-in went smoothly, and we were assigned a double-bedded room with a view of the Strip on a high floor (exactly what I requested). I did notice some of the same complaints that have been brought up about the elevators, some of which being, the three elevators were rather small and served a number of floors (which was surprising to me, hopefully with Encore, Steve changes his elevator configuration a bit).

Later, we arrived at our room, an amazing example of Steve Wynn style and design. I was not expecting the super-high ceilings and the vast amount of amenities in the bathroom: you don’t get razors, shaving cream, and toothbrush sets in the regular rooms at Bellagio. The beds were fantastic, I had no idea what to do with all of those pillows. Again, Steve did a fantastic job with these rooms. Kudos should also be given to Mrs. Wynn, who I heard had a major role in designing the rooms at Wynn. Oh I almost forgot... the cornerstone of this resort has to be the attentive service that is exuded by all of the employees. Every one of the employees who served me were so nice and couldn’t do enough to help me, and they had nothing but good things to say about the boss, Mr. Wynn.

Now a few gripes I had with the guest area in the Tower Suites section: the lack of ice machines in the Tower Suites section was a bit of a pain, and the overall lack of vending machines on the entire floor (resort and tower suites section included). The thought of the mini-bar isn’t enough, I don’t really want to spend $4.00 for a bottle of Coke, or $10 for pistachios. I would have rather walked to the end of the hall for a $2.50 bottle of Coke, but I either had to go downstairs or pay $4.00 for one. Other than that, I only have complaints about aesthetic things in the resort and guest areas (i.e.- scuff marks on the guest doors, bathroom doors, and scuffs and dents in the elevators. All in all, the resort is far superior to anything else on the Strip. GREAT JOB STEVE.

During the stay I enjoyed one fantastic meal at SW Steakhouse. What an amazing dining experience. To start off the evening, shortly after we were seated, Chef Klein dropped by our table and chatted with us for a short time. He seems like an interesting man, and seemed to be impressed with not only my knowledge of the resort, but with my knowledge of the resort restaurants in particular. I enjoyed the filet thermidor, while the person I was dining with enjoyed the wild Scottish salmon. Both of these dishes were fantastic, and I would go back to this amazing restaurant in a heartbeat.

I also observed a few renovations at the resort since I walked around the resort in August. Corsa Cucina has undergone a massive re-design and is looking amazing - definitely a change for the better. One change I am still on the fence about is the addition of the massive lighted-marquees in the Wynn Theatres area. The numerous chasing-light signs and marquees become a little annoying after a while, however, they do evoke a sense of Broadway theatres. One other thing, the B Bar is gone, it has basically been converted into extra baccarat space. Steve really should think about the amount of walk-up and lounge-type bars in the entire complex.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip and I would love to stay at this resort again in the near future. However, during the trip I would have loved to meet Mr. Wynn, no such luck. Maybe I might meet him during my trip over the next week, while I stay at the Mirage (which will be covered this time next week)

Once again, Steve, if you read this, you have done one fantastic job on this beautiful property. There are a few things that need to be re-worked and I would love to be able to meet with you and present some of my ideas about this resort and future developments with you. I hope I can run into you during the next week - I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

That should conclude this part of my trip report. In my next volume, I’ll cover my stay at the Mirage, including the on-going renovations both there and at TI.

Categories: Las Vegas Strip, Reader Reviews, Trip Reports, Wynn Resorts


Comments

Read archived comments (10 so far)
December 23, 2005 1:04 PM Posted by Mike E

Great read! Someone finally unveiled the mystery behind double beds facing the strip.

I've got to agree about the scuff marks throughout the property. I wrote a letter to VP Richard Cotter regarding those and a few other things after my last stay. He hasn't responded yet, but I know he will and he takes suggestions very seriously; you may want to consider writing him a letter if you want your voice heard. Catching Steve walking the area without an entourage can be tough. I know Hunter was fortunate enough, but I could never get past a knod and a smile.

The B Bar is being used as casino space? That probably looks very awkward. I hope it's only temporary and doesn't last.

Thanks again for the update and report. Can't wait for the Mirage installment.

December 23, 2005 2:01 PM Posted by detroit1051

John, thanks for the report. it would be great if you would describe some of the changes to Corsa Cucina for us. I've heard it would be larger with a much more open bar. Does it look more upscale now, and is it open from both hallways, or just at the corner?

Wynn's website still shows Corsa Cucina closed until December 16. Well, today is December 23rd. Someone should have updated the site. In fact, the entire site is cumbersome. Steve tried to be too creative and dramatic about it. Just give us information without all the theatrics!

I agree with you on the B Bar. The back of the casino needs some walk-up bars and nice lounges such as Petrossian and Baccarat Bar at Bellagio.

I must have missed the scuff marks on the doors that you and Mike noticed. The elevators are definitely a weak point.


It will be great to see your comments on Mirage. It was not very guest-friendly in November because of all the construction.

December 23, 2005 2:48 PM Posted by John

Thanks for your comments.

In response to Corsa Cucina: It looks much more MGM Mirage/upscale contemporary and seems to work much better than the previous design. The entrance is still only at the corner of the hallway, and the restaurant's name has changes slightly. It is now Corsa, Cucina and Bar.

The B Bar/Bacarat space looks ok. Nothing spectacualr, but the bar and lounge department is definitely a weak point in the whole property (in addtion to the elevator situation).

I should have pictures to accompany my next trip report (including the Mirage construction/new restaurants/carpet replacement and some Corsa/B Bar/Wynn Theatre District photos)

Again, thanks for you kind words.

December 24, 2005 11:18 AM Posted by Mike P.

Does anyone know what's happening in Vegas in early March? We just booked the Bellagio for a week starting the 4th at the highest weekday rates we've ever paid there. All of the strip properties we'd consider staying at are trying hard to price themselves out of our range. We definitely would not be traveling to Vegas in March if my wife didn't have a course to attend which she'll be partially reimbursed for.

Getting back on topic, I sent a reader review of the Wynn to editor at ratevegas.com after our October trip. Please don't even consider running it. There have been enough of them here lately and I didn't have anything special to say. I do still have some pictures posted at http://wildlife-pix.com.

I thought the Salon Suite we stayed in was the best suite we've had on the strip, although it did show a few signs of haste or slop in construction (mostly paint splatters). I couldn't get as excited about the rest of the property as most of the Wynn lovers who hang out here though. We both spent the week wheezing from smoke induced allergies; if they didn't have full pay video poker I would avoid the casino.

We'll probably add SW to our regular steakhouse rotation, and we liked Tableau also. Alex was a once in a lifetime experience. We used our comped buffets from our first 500 players club points for lunch one day, and it was OK. I'm not a buffet fan, but I got my money's worth.

We walked back to Bellagio to work out with our favorite personal trainers. Wynn it seems has no trainers on staff. Workout facilities seem to be a Wynn blind spot. It took MGM to fix Bellagio's gym, which is now about as good as Canyon Ranch at the Venetian.

Mike P.

December 24, 2005 12:21 PM Posted by Sean S

Thanks for the good read. I too was at Wynn and returned home yesterday. My review will follow over the next few days.

And the perplexing double-bed question was finally solved for me this week as well. The resort rooms do not have double beds facing the strip; the tower suites do. Although a marketing person told me otherwise, when I went to check in, the front desk told me the truth!

December 24, 2005 12:57 PM Posted by Hunter

Mike - I don't remember seeing your review - I would have published it. That said, I agree - there have been a few of these so far and unless we're talking about another resort, I think I will ask Sean to publish his thoughts in the comments to this story - then I can adjust the headline to reflect multiple reviews. Hope that's okay with you Sean! We certainly do want to hear what you have to say.

December 27, 2005 6:24 AM Posted by detroit1051

Mike P, I just checked Bellagio's rates for the first week of March, and they are high; $400 per night for a Deluxe Room. There is one 52,000 attendee convention that week. I usually check the LVCA site to see how busy Las Vegas will be. I don't care to be there when there are 100,000+ conventions. Here's the site if you haven't seen it:
http://www.lvcva.com/finder/conventioncalendar/meetings

December 27, 2005 2:36 PM Posted by Mike

Hunter:

That's alright! I'm a better photographer than writer, and I'd rather have people taking a look at my pictures than skipping over my prose.

detroit:

Thanks for the link! What a great planning tool! Looks like there are two conventions that week with 40-50,000 attendees.

Mike

December 28, 2005 12:39 AM Posted by Sean

Hey all! Here are my thoughts on my most recent stay at Wynn:

I was very impressed with our first stay at the resort. I must say that the check-in area is a bit of a dog-and-pony show, and I'm not a big fan of the mile hike to the elevators from the registration. All in all, the stay was very enjoyable. I won't reitterate the great things about the resort that have already been mentions; rather, I will mention two things that greatly irritated me while I was there.

First, shortly after we arrived, we checked in to our panoramic, golf-course view resort room on the 57th floor of the hotel. Damn those elevators really move quickly. You can feel the elevator start to slow down at floor 52! After getting settled in our room we decided to go downstairs to gamble a bit. There was a problem with the elevators! The call light would not stay on, and we could not get an elevator for well over 7 minutes or so. I then called down, and was told (after they called engineering) that they were re-initializing the elevators and that it would take a few minutes. We were told to use the suite elevators and were given crappy directions to locate this elevator bank. My friends and I could not find the trap door to the other side of the resort. I returned to the house phone in the resort elevator bank and called back down. I was patched through to security, and they had no idea what was going on. When the elevator finally arrived (15 to 20 minutes after initially calling for it) it proceeded to stop on every floor of the resort where people had been waiting for up to the same amount of time. The elevator got quite croweded and stopped countless times. It was sweltering in there! I went to the front desk to let them know what happened. They said that they would call engineering and look in to it, and that somebody would phone my room. I received no phone call, and no follow up. I was hot and irritated by this point :-p

The second thing that got my goat a bit was my dinner reservation at teh DB Brasserie. When I called to make the reservation a few weeks ago, I had asked for a table on the terrace and was said that that was no problem. I called the day of the reservation to confirm the arrangements, reitterating the fact that I would like to be seated on the terrace and I was guaranteed that everything was taken care of. When we arrived we were seated inside and told that the terrace was closed. I was quite upset that nobody (on two occassions) told me this. The Brasserie was our choice to eat BECAUSE of the terrace. ALthough the meal and service was good, I was greatly disappointed in the fact that reservations was not coordinating with the restaurant very well, and that we were stuck inside. It was a beautiful day, and we're Canadian -- we can take the chilly weather!

Other than that the stay was quite enjoyable. The beds are amazing (although I would have to do a side-by-side comparison with THEhotel. Pai Gow was not very kind, but enjoyed it anyway. I would stay here again in the future if I were comped again, or if I were trying to impress a girl ;-)

My stay at Alladin was clean and reasonably comfortable. The craps table killed me, but they called me Mr. Sean which was quite endearing. For a max-odds craps player, I appreciated the $5 minumum. I did most of my hard-core play at the flamingo because $15 mins and max odds at Wynn is a little steep for me!

As a musician, I can't get enough of the Petrossian Lounge at Bellagio becasue I love the piano. Wynn seriously lacks a really cool joint like this. Parassol Up and Down are neat, but do not exude the class of Bellagio.

As an aside, I thought that the Jubilee show at Bally's was awesome. I also enjoyed Wayne Newton...and his wife...the penguins were cute too!

Sean

December 30, 2005 12:18 AM Posted by Doug

There may be a few large conventions in March, but I think a lot of the high rates have to do with March Madness basketball(This has become one of the premiere 'events' for Las Vegas hotels).

I wonder how many baccarat tables Wynn has now...