My Aria Horror Story

Note: I don't know if this should go here or in the trip reports forum because this isn't really a trip report. Just me explaining my awful experience at Aria.

Earlier this month I was in Vegas for 6 nights, Sunday-Friday. Three at NYNY, three at Aria.

Who’d have thought that out of the two it would be the Aria that’d be a massive pain in my butt?

Tuesday was hotel switching day. Checked out of NYNY at 11, drove over to Aria to check-in.

Headed over to the Invited Guests line. Was helped by a nice Asian guy whose name I do not recall (looking back, I think he is the culprit behind all of my Aria problems).

He said that Aria was SOLD OUT and there’d be a wait to get into my room unless I wanted a smoking room with two queens. I said I’ll wait because I don’t want to sleep in an ash tray. Apparently there was a big Hyundai convention at the Aria. I had nothing to do with the Hyundai convention (this will be important later). So he gave me the keys, and said I’d receive a text with the room number when the room was ready.

So I left him and walked over to the “Bell Desk” inside the lobby – there were two girls standing there. They looked at me like I was an insane ax murderer when I told them I wanted to drop off my two bags. They informed me that you do that outside.

Oh, forgive me for thinking the "Bell Desk" was a bell desk.

So outside I go into the heat. The line to drop off bags is a giant clusterf%##.

Finally make it through the line, drop my bags off, and get the heck outta the heat.

My rule is: If a hotel makes me wait to get my room, I will not gamble in their casino during that waiting time. So off to the Bellagio I went to play in their (better) casino.
After an hour or so I get this text that my room is ready! Hooray! (Unfortunately this is where the nightmare truly begins).




First – I go to the “Bell Desk” in the lobby to pick up my bags. When I give them my tag, once again the girl looks at me like I’m a crazy ax murderer. “Oh, you can’t pick up your bags here. They have to be brought up to your room.” I stare at her blankly. “I can’t just get them now?” “No, sorry. They’re in the basement anyway. We couldn’t get them if we wanted to.”

“SO WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING A BELL DESK IN YOUR LOBBY IF YOU CAN’T DROP OFF BAGS THERE, OR PICK THEM UP?!?!”

….is how I should have reacted. But instead I just kind of wandered away, shaking my head.

So up I go to room 23-103. After the 14 mile walk from the elevator bank on floor 23 to the room, I finally get there. But – my keys don’t work. So back down to the Asian guy at the Invited Guests check-in. He gives me new keys.

Another 30 mile walk and I’m finally there. And it’s a pretty great room! I like the view a lot. You can see the Cosmo’s pool really well. I even took some pics in the short time I was there:





So I call down to get my bags. When the girl answers, she calls me “Mr. Herd.” My last name is not Herd, or anything close to it. Ok- whatever. Must be a glitch in the Aria’s fancy schmancy technological system.

She tells me the bags will be there in 10-15 minutes.

Okay – I start to unpack everything and really soak in the room. My friends are downstairs in the pub waiting for me. We were going to eat lunch there. “Were” being the key word in that sentence for me.

At this point, I get ANOTHER text from the Aria saying that my room is ready. Only this text lists a different room.

Huh?



Uh oh.

Maybe that’s why the bell desk girl called me Mr. Herd.

Maybe I’m in the wrong room.

Couldn’t figure out how to call the front desk, so I called the concierge. “Hello Mr. Herd, how can I help you?”

Uh oh.

“Well that’s the thing. I’m not Mr. Herd.”

I got transferred to the front desk pretty quickly.

And then put on hold for a long time.

Finally the girl comes back, sounding somewhat frantic, and explains that I am, indeed, in Jason Herd’s room. I have no idea who Jason Herd is, but he sure had a nice room at the Aria.

She asks if I am in his party. (“No – I am the only one in my party.”)

She says that my room is indeed 19-264, and that I should head down to that room. Someone will meet me there with new keys. I told her that my bags were being brought up to this room though, but that was like a half hour ago and they still hadn’t arrived.

Put on hold again so she could call the Bell Desk (I wonder if she called the fake bell desk in the lobby, or the real one outside in the heat.)

She returned, saying my bags would be brought to my real 19-264 room, not my fake 23-103 room. And that I should go down there now. Someone will bring me keys and bags.

And she said they’re giving me a $75 dining credit for this hassle.

Ok – down to 19-264 I go.

And I wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. This room is so much closer to the elevators. Unfortunately that means while I’m standing there waiting for this mysterious person to bring me my real keys, I get passed by a million people heading to their rooms. I look like a major creeper.

Finally a man approaches me with a clipboard and a walkie talkie… and he walks right by me. Then he comes back, “Is everything okay?”

By this point I am PISSED. But I am such an easy going non-confrontational person, “Ehhhhhh” is all I can respond.

He asks what’s going on. I explain. He dismissively says security is the one who will bring me keys, walks away, and I never see him again. Thanks for the help, clipboard man!

I’m waiting some more. And still waiting.

Ok – screw this. I leave.

Head down to the pub to meet my friends (who by this point, are finished eating). I explain this whole ordeal to them. They say I should eat lunch. I don’t want to. It’s too late – and I’m too mad.

So they join me now. I go back to the Invited Guests line (the Asian guy is still there. By this point I was trying to avoid him, because 1- I was sick of him and 2- I think he’s incompetent and was the whole reason everything got so screwed up to begin with).

Unfortunately he calls me over so I can't avoid him. “I heard what happened.” I tell him no one came to give me keys. He gives me new keys. I leave without really saying anything to him. I’m mad.

We go up to the room. This one isn’t quite as nice as the other one. The view isn’t as good, and the furnishings are different. Weird – they were both Deluxe Kings – but one was totally different than the other.

Oh well – time to finally figure out where my bags were.

Call the Bell Desk (she calls me by my real name! No more “Mr. Herd!”)

I explain (or try to) what has been going on. And tell her I’m finally in the correct room. And I still need my bags. She says someone was supposed to bring them up with some keys. I told her that obviously no one has because there are no bags here.

She tells me they’ll be up in 10-15 minutes. I rudely respond, “That’s what you told me two hours ago” and hang up. My friends look at me in shock. I’m usually such an easy going person. They can tell I’m pissed.

So my friends leave because I didn’t want them to have to stay there and wait for my bags.

So it’s just me again. All alone. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Again.

The telephone in my room rings. It’s a call from a foreign sounding man. He says he is at the Bell Desk. He wants to know what my bags look like.

This. Isn’t. Good.

I tell him. He says thanks and hangs up.

I get another call maybe 15 minutes later. He asks more questions about my bags.

Clearly they have lost my bags.

Maybe 10 minutes later the phone rings again. It is the girl at the Bell Desk that I had spoken with earlier who I was rude to.

She tells me they have found my bags (Yay!!!) and that they were dropped off in another room with someone else in my party (No!!!!).

I finally lost it:

“THERE IS NO ONE ELSE IN MY PARTY!!!!!!!!”

I screamed at her.

“…………...You’re not here with the Hyundai group?”

“NOOOOO!!!!!”

She finally got the picture.

Maybe 10 minutes later, the foreign guy who had called twice finally arrived with my bags. He said he looked everywhere for them in their basement. He said somehow they were delivered to 23-103. He said that room was still empty though, so no one messed with my stuff. I actually did feel kind of bad for him though, because he was sent on a wild-goose chase based on the incompetence of his co-workers.

So –three hours of my life (and more importantly, my Vegas vacation time) wasted.

And a got a $75 dining credit out of it. Whoopie!!!!!

(Not. Worth. It.)

Epilogue:

I got home from Vegas Friday night. I see this bill in my inbox:



Ugh. That $165 room charge should not have been there. That room was comped.

And that $4 Refreshment Center charge was complete and utter B.S. I never even opened up the minibar.

Just what I want to do right when I get home – call the Aria and speak with their incompetent workers to try to get this figured out.

They told me they’d take the room charge off cause that was indeed a mistake. I didn’t even bother complaining about the $4 minibar charge because I just wanted to be DONE with them.

Forever.

I’m never staying there again.

 

sounds like my experience, but far worse.

 

Wow, that stinks. I had repeated problems with Aria the first few years it was open, but it seemed to turn a bit of a corner and I started giving them another chance about a year ago. Sorry to hear about this experience. I guess it doesn't really surprise me

 

You were calm. I would not have handled your " situation" as well as you did.
2nd issue, I would have been right at general managers office.

 

Add this to their 30 minutes between drinks bartop comp policy... ffffffuuuuuu Aria.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. Very interesting to read. Sorry it happened.

 

There is no way I would have handled it as well as you did.

 

Thanks. I've been thinking of Aria to try for one night to see what the rooms are like. Your sense that the same rooms are very different as well as you bell problems turn me off that decision. I think I'll stick to Monte Carlo to use MyVegas and then to Circus Circus for a night or two if they let me.. The resort fees there are smaller and I've always wondered about that downscale casino too because it is positioned where I want to be.

I'm spoiled by the small casinos.
The rooms are much more basic, but it is so simple to resolve problems in a small place downtown than in these huge upscale casinos.
Well, at least for me.

The most ridiculous part is the storing of luggage. I've only been in hotels where I stored my luggage with someone right at the bell desk and picked it up from the same spot. The only dilemma is who gets the tip.

Very entertaining narrative by the way. At least for the readers.

 

Isn't this the second thread where Aria is putting random additional charges on their bills?

 

I would have told them the mistake was that all of my charges were suppose to be on Mr. Herd's tab with the Hyundai group (if that didn't work then the Underhills)

also you would think that the luggage areas would have some type of cages or bins or slots ect in them instead it sounds as though at Aria (and another place where a forum member had an issue and I can't recall where) they just kind of have a big room where they put some luggage and then hope they remember who it goes with

 

WOW!!!

I think you were coming in the day we were leaving. We also had a terrible stay at Aria (bed sucked, pillows sucked, dustiest room I've ever seen, MLife desk lady was rude as f***, buffet service sucked after giving a $15 tip in advance at breakfast!!!, cocktail service great in the day, but sucked at night, etc.....) but nowhere near what you went through!!!

We had a similar issue with the "bell desk" too. After waiting in line for 20 mins, we were also directed outside.

I hate the place and I'll never play or stay there again.

 

man that sucks, my experience there a few years ago was the complete opposite; fantastic room, the best sleep I'd had in years, my wife gambled on the slots and actually WON, etc

Caesar's is the place of my horror story, I got put into a room with no bed. Never staying at that property again so I get your sentiment at Aria.

 

That's why I NEVER leave my bags w/ Bell desk.
Of course, I pack light....only one bag.
I take my bag w/ me + start my Vegas vacation on VP bartop "Beer please !"
Had an experience years ago.......waiting for my bag......waiting......waiting......waiting......

 

Looking back - I should have just thrown a fit when I went to pick up my bags at the Bell Desk and they said they could only be delivered to my room.... made up some lie or something.

"But my heart medication is in there and my room isn't ready!" :evillaugh

The Aria Bell Desk is a disaster.

 

Staying there from July 3rd-6th, and coming from the Wynn, so most likely I'll be there earlier than check-in allows, I hope that I don't have the same experience as you....I won't be as nice .... fingers x'd!

 

I have stayed in an Aria Corner Suite with that same exact view in that corner of the hotel that is in the photos, so if the OP was then sent to a regular Deluxe Room after that of course it would seem like the rooms were indeed different, but they are not the same type of room. The reason the front desk probably panicked is because it WAS a corner suite. Why would they care if it was just a regular room? They would have just put Jason Herd in the other one.

As for Aria, these things can (and do) happen at all hotels, everywhere. I have stayed at Aria many times in Sky Suites, Corner Suites and regular Deluxe rooms and I have enjoyed the hotel more than I thought I ever would. Aria and Vdara have surpassed Bellagio as my favorite Vegas spots (something I would never have believed would happen while City Center was under construction). I wouldn't discount the hotel completely because, while these incidents are unfortunate for the guest who has to go through them (especially such a disgraceful series of errors), they don't happen to everyone who checks in.

I definitely feel for the OP - I do not think I would have been as calm, cool and collected for as long as he was, and definitely would have gotten a manager right away to insist on something more than a $75 credit for everything that had happened. However, I have to state that I had the same guy at Invited Guest Check In help me when I stayed at Aria in April 2013 and he was amazing. He was so helpful in fact that I asked for his supervisor and complimented his excellent service. He went above and beyond, making several phone calls to see exactly what was available to get me the high floor I requested and upgraded the room (complimentary) to a Strip view. I was realty surprised to read this account and am wondering if it might have been one of his colleagues who sent the wrong text (since he said that he "heard" what happened when the OP went back for the second set of keys).

Regardless, a hotel's level of service should not implode because a convention is taking place, and there is no excuse for the string of disasters that took place, but from my numerous experiences at Aria that series of mishaps is not typical of how Aria treats its guests. I would give it a try for the one night and make up your own mind about Aria. It really is a great hotel - most of the time.

 

The first room I was put in was NOT a corner suite. It was just a regular deluxe room, as was the 2nd room I was put in.

The first room was just nicer. Different decorations - different furnishings.

 

this would never had happend if you stayed at cet hotel(lol)