ARIA worth checking out for an Encore fan?

Most of you know I'm a big Wynncore fan but I have this curiosity to spend a little time at ARIA and check it out for a possible future stay. The rooms and pool areas look cool but not sure about the casino. What's the crowd and casino music like there?

We'd probably play there for an evening and have a good dinner. We eat light and usually have a bottle of wine so not looking for a big 4 course dinner but a nice place, w/ a view of something pleasant. Cost doesn't really matter....it's Vegas

So...would it be worth the evening or will we get back to home base and think, why did we do that..it's nothing like Encore?

 

Because of its size, the casino has all sorts of players and you should be able to find your niche. I've played at tables with older, higher rollers, and also at tables filled with frat boys. There are typically quite a few tables going and a range of limits, so the crowd tends to segregate based on that.

As for a light dinner, I would suggest Julian Serrano. Tried it on my last trip there and really enjoyed it.

 

Definitely yes!!!

100% yes! I was strictly a Wynncore devotee from when it opened until last year, and have been very happy with our last two stays at Aria. The sky suites are at least as luxurious & have as good service as the tower suites at Wynncore, the restaurants are great [particularly Sage - if you've missed Alex, give Sage a try] - and the Carta Privada high-limit room may very well be the coolest venue to play BJ & single-zero on the planet - I always like to describe it as being like playing in a James Bond villian's lair.

The whole place has an upscale - but not stuffy - vibe, and while there's always life, it's similar to Encore in that it rarely gets crowded like, say, Bellagio does. Plus, there are far fewer drunk, obnoxious club kids hanging around compared to Wynncore - you could almost say that the vibe at Aria now is what the vibe at Wynn used to be before they went after the club crowd & opened Encore Beach club - whenever we've been there, it's seemed to mostly be people in their mid-30's to early-50's.

In addition to Sage, we've also enjoyed our meals at American Fish & Julian Serrano as well.

 

One of the reasons I like Aria is the crowd is more well behaved than at any other hotel in LV.

There are also very few families at Aria. This appeals to me.

 

^+1

Excellent point about the families - Now that you mention it, I don't recall seeing one kid in Aria on either of our last two visits...

 

Excellent! Thanks guys for the great feedback

Have you spent any time at the pool? It looks like they have 3 different pool area's plus Liquid.

 

I agree with all posted so far and now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a kid in there. I loved the pool when I was there. Relaxing and not too busy. That was July of last year on a little overcomp they gave me of two Nights midweek. Most comfy beds I have ever slept in.

Pool not as good as the Bellagio but also wasn't as crowded. Can't comment on the pool party scene.

 

We stay at Wynncore 6 times a year and 4 times a year at Aria. Initially, I wasn't crazy about it because it was so dark and SOOOO loud at night. Well, they added extra lighting and brought in some carpeting which has made it a much nicer place to stay.

Aria has a better slot floor than Wynncore does. They have a bigger variety of slots and get the newer slots several months in advance of Wynncore. They have a better selection of video poker games than Wynncore.

I second the nomination to eat at Julian Serranos--it is by far my favorite restaurant there. Last time we were there, we had lunch one day and dinner the following night there.

The negative on Aria--and it's more on MGM than anything else--is their computer system. When we stayed there in April, we couldn't use our point play because the computers were down about half the time.

The Sky Suites at Aria are just as nice as the tower suites at Wynn. Room service at Wynn is much better though.....we waited for 90 minutes one night for dinner whereas my longest wait for dinner in the tower suites has never been more than 40 mins.

 

Service at Aria has been a problem for them since day one. Its simply not consistent.

 

On my last trip I stayed at both Aria and Encore. If I had to pick one to stay at, it would be Aria. I like the rooms better and you can't beat Sage or Jean Phillippe Patisserie. Actually, Sage is now my favorite restaurant in Vegas. Check it out. It's fantastic.

 

I never had a problem with service/time with Sky suites room service, but I will totally agree that Aria's one achilles heel when comparing it to Wynncore is the room service - compared to the amount of offerings on Wynn's room service menu, Aria's room service menu is sorely lacking - I was actually quite surprised that such an upscale place had such a paltry number of offerings on their room service menu.

 

Our last trip there my wife informed me that we're getting the bed and the heated toilet seat for our house... after our next trip, not sure how I'll dodge that any longer!

 

Yes, I loved the heated seat/bidet! one of many reasons I love to stay at the Sky Suites

 

I think every nice hotel is worth trying once to form your own opinion. Im an Encore fan as well and sadly the only thing i think Aria has an edge in is there super comfortable beds. Other then that i wasn't to impressed by there pool area but the casino was quite nice and is a very nice property just not quite as nice as Encore.

 

I've enjoyed Aria, but feel differently about families! okay maybe excluding "the smaller kids" Aria recently had 2 teens stay there, with "Moi and hubby" my prerogative you could say. Although there was a young girl barfing in the trash, it happens everywhere in Vegas! However our teens nearly 16 and 17, said they much prefer the MGM, they love the mix of young, middle aged and elderly, but the pool is the bomb at MGM, as compared to Aria, JMO of course. Aria is definitely geared between 30 something to 50 something crowd, from my past 2 visits, that is. If it's just my husband and myself, Aria is wonderful.