A couple of items of note from recent stay at the Mirage.

Just returned from a week at the Mirage and a couple of things that we noticed during our stay.

1. Parking - When you arrive the first time make sure you take your ticket to the check-in desk. They will void it and program your room key for parking. I left my ticket on the dash and the gal at the front desk told me she would take care of it but when I went to leave the parking garage my key would not work and they wanted me to pay to leave. Went back to the front desk and they said the problem was caused because I didn't have the ticket when I checked in. Took me two days to get the parking situation resolved.
2. You can purchase 30% off coupons for the Cravings Buffet across the street at tixfortonight. It cost $2 for the 30% off coupon. Need a coupon for each person. Unlimited beer and wine with the buffet.
3. If you have a military ID (active or retired) you get 50% off the Cravings Buffet and can use it for four people.
4. Use the Rumbar exit to access Las Vegas Blvd. The front entrance is further walking outside.
5. Go next door to Casa Fuente in the Forum Shops for a great Mojito. You can also enjoy a cigar if you're into that. It was a great place to have a drink, enjoy a cigar and people watch.
6. Uber and Lyft pickups are at the North Valet by 1 OAK nightclub and towards the self parking.
7. Drink service was terrible (slow) at the tables and slots at the Mirage. Much better across the street at Harrahs and Flamingo. Drink service in the poker room was very good.
8. Pai Gow is very strict and the Asian dealers are not fun at the Mirage. All they did was correct people at the table and it was very robotic. Not a fun atmosphere like I had at other casinos where everyone is talking and rooting for the dealer to get a pai gow. Kept telling people to not touch others cards when people were not touching but just pointing. Telling people to not show their cards to others until their hand was set. Telling people to not lay their cards on the table while setting their hand to keep others from seeing before they hand is set, etc.
9. Bubble craps is minimum $5 at mirage and is cheaper across the street at Casino Royal, Harrahs and Flamingo.
10. Food offerings later at night are limited to the Pantry in the Mirage or walking across the street. I was hoping for some more late night choices in the Mirage.
11. Rooms are dated and showing their age. We stayed in a two bedroom hospitality suit and the fixtures were old and worn. The front door was not functioning correctly. The wood in the bathroom was cracked and paint peeling. We also came back to the room several times and it had a damp musty smell we couldn't get rid of.
12. Check out lines are very long for some reason. I did online check out but the line was HUGE when we walked out to leave at 11:00am. Thankfully we didn't have to stand in the line. It would have taken an hour or more to get through the line.
13. The Buffalo machines at the Mirage seemed to be hot. I didn't find out until my last day while playing poker but several people at the poker table said everyone was hitting jackpots on the Buffalo machines.

We had a great time but don't think we would stay at the Mirage again. I enjoyed the MGM, Monte Carlo, and Orleans more on earlier trips then we did the Mirage this trip.

 

Wow, Iv stayed at the Mirage last 16 trips
Always got nice rooms and found the dealers to be great and drink service pretty good.

I do agree with you on the food options and late night food options
Horrible
Pantry is the worst restaurant I have ever eaten at.
No Joke
The absolute worst.
No flavor regarding anything they have.

Love the Carnigie deli
but they close early too now

truthfully if I want a late night snack
I get in my car and go up the strip to Tacos El Gordo
Absolutely Awesome

 

Nice tip about Tix4Tonight at the buffet. I checked and it looks like they offer a similar deal for Planet Hollywood where we are staying on our vacation. That's a significant savings.

 

Thank you for the info I am checking into Mirage 7/22 for 5 days then of to the Rio for 4 days. I love the buffalo machines glad to hear they are hitting.

 

I thought that the Planet Hollywood buffet was "sub-standard". I would rather eat at Carvings at the Mirage.

 

Recently was at Mirage.

We found Pantry takeout fair.
Could not find a single machine that would be nice to me. Tightest ever.
Stack and Japol? restaurants were great - tapa style meals.
Check out - still amazes me how many people actually go down to checkout. Only reason I can see is wanted to apply Express Comps.

 

I'm retired AKC USN. Thank You letting me know that about the Mirage Buffet

 

Sorry you feel that way. I've eaten buffets at Bellagio, Aria, Caesars, Paris, and Planet Hollywood and I would rank them like this: 1.) Bellagio, 2.) Caesars, 3.) Aria, 4.) Planet Hollywood, 5.) Paris. The Paris buffet actually made our friend sick because they didn't label anything and she ate something she was allergic to as a result. I really enjoyed the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood. They have VIP seating for Platinum CET members and there was a good variety of food that was quite delicious. Maybe you ate there a long time ago and it wasn't as good?

 

Couple questions on this...was this purchased during check in or was this purchased at the buffet line? The term "retired" seems to be used loosely amongst civilians. Do you know if this offer is extended to Veterans as well? I've been through several places where they assume that all Veterans are retired military but did extend offers to Veterans. Any insight would be helpful.

 

I'm guessing you need a Active/Retired ID card. I'm going to call and see if I can find out

 

No, I ate there in January. To be honest, we ate at lunch, and the selection was about what you would expect for the price. I also ate there 15 years ago when I got married in LV.

I have eaten at many of the buffets and would rate them as follows: (no particular rating within each group)

1st tier
Baccahnal Buffet
Wynn
Wicked Spoon
Bellagio

then the 2nd tier
Aria
Mirage
Rio
Planet Hollywood
Paris (Which used to be a top class buffet, sorry your friend got sick)

then the 3rd tier
Silver Sevens
Luxor
Excalibur
Fremont

 

For "non-retired" veterans, do you actually carry your DD214 to claim the discount?

 

VA Benefits card

 

I agree!
Pantry is very bad. Carnegie Deli is much better but close too early.

 

Checking in to Mirage in 2 weeks. Thanks for the info!

 

You purchase at the buffet line when you pay. Just ask for the military discount. No, you need an active duty or retired military ID to get the benefit. They showed me the paper they had hanging on the wall and it only had an active duty ID and a retired ID. Didn't have anything about veterans.

Yes, that is correct.

They had a paper hanging by the register showing what you needed to get the discount and the only two on the form were an active duty ID and blue retired ID card. I didn't read the writting on the paper so I don't know if it listed any other acceptable forms of ID.

 

We just got back last night and I wish your experience was better. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Mirage. This was my second trip and her first at this resort so I knew what to expect. I was nervous going in because our last three trips were Bellagio, Palazzo, and Palazzo again. Although there is a noticeable drop off in luxury, besides the room being a step below the aforementioned, my wife LOVED everything else.

We spent 3-5 hours per day at the pool each day and frankly enjoy the Mirage pool more than Bellagio and equally to Palazzo. We have The Pantry for breakfast one day and enjoyed it. Not sure how it would be for late night fare, but did job for breakfast. Carnegie Deli is always great, ate their twice. We had Portofino for dinner and I highly recommend, especially with myVegas reward.

Drink service and bartenders at Dolphin Bar were all quick and attentive. Daniel from Israel was great. Drink service at the slots could have been better.

We really like how centrally located the casino is, as well as the overall size (not overwhelming at all). Decent slot selection, always low limit table games, and my favorite sports book on the entire strip.

The room itself is pretty standard, nice comfy bed and nice TV. Bathroom was a bit small, wish larger. The biggest difference in room for me was the towels were not very soft. Pillows were comfy.

Biggest complaints were the room not be ready AFTER 4PM, especially when checked in around 11am and being told would be ready around 1-2PM.

We will definitely be back.

 

Ha, the only time I played Pai Gow was at the Mirage and had the same experience. I figured the game just wasn't for me.

 

We stayed at the Mirage the end of April and we found the rooms to be a little worn. The room service is actually take out from the Pantry and delivered to you in plastic containers in a paper bag. The housekeeping was minimal at best. We play slots and really didn't have any problem getting a drink; and, we found a European roulette wheel which was really fun to play the minimum was $25 bets but they would let us do it in $5 increments. We ate at the buffet twice for dinner and didn't really think it was worth $34 per person.

 

I should have mentioned that in my first post...if you're paying full price for the buffet then I wouldn't recommend it. Unremarkable for $35/person. With the 50% off military discount or tixfortonight discount it wasn't so bad. We had a glass of wine with our meal so the unlimited beer and wine wasn't a huge deal for us. If you plan to get drunk at dinner then the $35/person may be a bargain.