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Live from Vdara- 2/13/10

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by bellamom6, Feb 13, 2010.

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  1. El Cortez from ND

    El Cortez from ND Low-Roller

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    Wow! I stayed in a somewhat dumpy room at the Las Vegas Club back in September & didn't have anything close to those problems! The only problem I had was I had to wait 2 hours to check into my room. And even though the room was kind of run down (north tower double), at least everything worked...and it was comped, too!

    That really speaks volumes, when my stay @ LVC in a shabby room went much smoother than your stay @ the brand-spanking new luxurious Vdara.
     
  2. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    you can put lipstick on a pig, but...it is still a pig:peace:




     
  3. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    Let's hope no one *demands* more rooms open, seems they can't handle the ones that already are!! Yes a few have had a no worries stay but others like bella have had nothing but a nightmare
    Until they completely fill those 400 rooms and have not a complaint, MGMT should rethink about opening more floors/rooms, and if they do, they better have a bigger *complaint dep't* staff!
     
  4. Vdara Hotel and Spa

    Vdara Hotel and Spa Newbie

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    Dear bellamom6

    As General Manager of Vdara Hotel & Spa I wanted to personally take a moment to apologize for the problems you experienced during your recent stay. The service you received did not meet our expected standards. While the time to prove that and rectify the situation you experienced has passed, I wanted to convey to you and the rest of the readers that exemplary customer service is our standard and assure you that your experience at Vdara does not reflect a typical guest stay. Yes, we are a new hotel and therefore still ironing out the bugs. But that is not an excuse. Our goal is to provide quality service and top-notch accommodations, day in and day out. Your feedback, and that of all our guests, is essential to our achievement of that goal. We encourage you always to share issues both during and after your stay. That is the only way we can hope to improve and meet our own expectations, as well as those of our guests. If you have not already, you will soon hear directly from my staff, providing answers to those questions yet unanswered. And down the road, should you see fit to give us another chance, we promise to do everything in our power to ensure you a fabulous stay at Vdara.


    Regards,

    Angela Lester
     
  5. themightydude

    themightydude High-Roller

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    Not that often you see a hotel speaking in a public forums rather than keeping it personal via email.

    That's new to me.
     
  6. RandomTask

    RandomTask Well-Known Member

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  7. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    So, I just got up from a nap b/c I woke up this morning feeling like I got hit by a bus! Decided to log in, and wow! Now, let me just state that I have not heard anything regarding the 2 faxes I sent off to the CEO. The last fax on this past Monday regarding the crazy phonecall to my father last week. For those who are reading this for the first time, scroll back a bit....I am still in shock over that whole ordeal while we still here at home are so bummed b/c we feel "unfullfilled" with our "vacation" in Vegas. Again, this "vacation" was to live it up, and be the big vacation we had for about 6 months. We are going for the weekend the end of March, but not the same circumstances we just had ( going for 5 days). That trip will be fun, but fast :cry:

    So sorry to pout a bit. I will keep everyone posted on what happens over the next few days with this whole mess.....:wave:



     
  8. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    cute, that they, they being the Vdara, would reply on here and not directly
    :rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2:

    me thinks this is one the mods better look into !
     
  9. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    being that we were told, now a week ago today, that we would "hear" something by last week regarding our "refund". Well, we have heard nothing other than what has been posted on this board, which is still really nothing that we have not already heard from Roseanne before we left, basically, a lot of nothing. So we shall we what goes down from this point on. Very, very strange...is this typical for hotels in Vegas? I have never seen this before, other than on Trip Advisor, and we all know, this is not Trip Advisor!


     
  10. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    I just about choked on that Admiral Akbar post.:evillaugh

    classic.....as for the post by the alleged Vdara GM, it sounds like a lot like the Aria management, better at apologizing then pretty much anything else. Standard BS corp-speak. What would impress me is to hear a GM say what a personal embarrassment the performance of their hotel was. If I was that person and took my job seriously, that is how I would feel.

    The thing is we all have limited vacation time in our lives and its not our charge in life to provide training runs for City Center resorts that choose to underspend on staff training.

    I gave Aria a shot at my business, Bellasmom gave Vdara a shot at hers. Both failed miserably. There are other options and those are what I expect the vast majority to stick to in the future.

    From what I've read Aria is making enough of a killing off Bacaratt to more than make up for permanently alienating 40% of their initial customers. That should keep the halls nice and quiet, the way the high-roller like 'em!
     
  11. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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    do you remember where you read about the bacaratt? that would be an interesting read....but....what happens when the whales start winning??? we will certainly check out city center on our trip in a couple of weeks, but that will be it. it certainly doesn't interest me. :beer::beer::beer:
     
  12. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/22/baccarat-boom-believe-it/
     
  13. Thor

    Thor Beer Drinker

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  14. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    I also found out when I ventured over to Aria and donated a couple bucks in the slots due to boredom that...your Players Club "comps" cannot be used @ Vdara b/c of the condo nature? That is why I was offered compd food @ Aria. Only if you are @ Aria can they comp anything. I was told something completely diff. when we checked into Vdara, I know, everyone is shocked... so I guess IF you decide to stay @ CC and IF you expect some of the trip comp, dont stay @ Vdara.
     
  15. FolsomMike

    FolsomMike Low-Roller

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    OK, I have no vested interest in Vdara but I almost feel sorry for them at this point. I just want to point out that my experience there was completely different (see my earlier thread) and I would still seriously consider staying there again.
     
  16. ronc

    ronc VIP Whale

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    I am glad you enjoyed your stay there and I am sure others on this board have had or will have great stays there. I gotta tell you, though, that they have brought this on themselves.

    Had they truly taken care of their customer's issues during the stay and followed up as they said they would, this trip report would be going the way of mine from January--falling farther down the list as new ones come in (well unless it is one of BeeeJay's reports!)--and the issue would pretty much be over.

    I am really just waiting to come here one morning and have the resolution posted and satisfaction all around. Until then, my opinion is that they are getting what they deserve. They treated a friend like crap, told her they would fix it, told US they would fix it, and the issue persists. It is unacceptable for anyone to treat any of my friends like that!!

    Again, I do have hope...we'll see what happens!
     
  17. BeeeJay

    BeeeJay President of The Red Lobster Hostess Satisfaction

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    Of course not everyone is going to have a bad experience. Even at Aria 60% of the reviewers on TA would go back. Top properties might have an 85% return rate. Obviously there is a tendency for people who had a bad experience to be more likely to take the time to complain online.

    However, I would make the point that when people are deciding where to spend their one or two hard-earned vacations a year, they are likely going to want a higher percentage chance of "success" than that being offered by Aria/Vdara at this point in time.

    If the booking/travel websites were required to disclose that you had a 10% chance of being locked out of you room, a 14% chance of AC failure, a 35% chance of encounters with condescending employees, a 34% chance of poor service WHO WOULD stay at these places!?!?!?

    They don't have to be perfect, I don't think any of us are hoity toity whiners LOOKING TO HAVE A BAD TIME. But I do think there is a minimal level of performance expected.

    Based on the sheer quantity of different negative online reviews, watered down slightly with some positive reviews, and combined with my personal experience as well as Bellasmom's excellent/highly detailed report, I would not be able to recommend any City Center property to my friends.

    In my personal decision-making process Aria/Vdara aren't even considered. I can't justify giving them business over a similarly priced Bellagio, Encore, or Palazzo.

    I don't feel sorry for Vdara or Aria. I do feel sorry for their employees, especially those highly skilled employees who gave up their prior jobs and are now disappointed with poor income.

    Please don't get me wrong, I am decidedly pro-City Center. I am glad the Baccarat play is providing much needed cash-flow at an important time. I am hopeful service will improve. Now although I am more drawn to the ultra-fancy, over-the-top, conspicuous consumption type places like Caesars, Bellagio, Encore, and Palazzo, I do think a sufficent subset of society will be drawn to their combination of art, architecture, green-ness, etc. for City Center to succeed.
     
  18. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    :nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy:

    Couldnt of said it better myself! And I have said a lot!
    :peace:





     
  19. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    Just like I said to BeeJay:nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy::nworthy:

    Seriously, everyone's support here is just awesome. And no, we have not heard anything from anyone over at Vdara. Now going on over a week, and past the time frame we were told we would. We are not surprised:grrr:

    The key thing made me laugh. I could never, ever get my key to work there, Bella, no problem, Fred, no problem, me, forget it! It was actually kinda funny! Not so much however, if they were not in the room to let me in!

    So wishing we could "escape" here this weekend and drive to Vegas, I dont want to wait til March:cry:



     
  20. bellamom6

    bellamom6 Low-Roller

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    I thought everyone who has been following this drama would like to see the below email. I never did receive anything else other than this email, which leaves me and my husband with yet still unanswered questions. Why are we only being refunded for the 3 out of 4 days, what was the "magic" formula? How was the amount determined? We were told by the front desk by the front desk person we paid $200 a night, so why is the total amount less than that? I mean we are happy to get some of the money back, however, we cant replace the vacation that was ruined by this nightmare hotel stay. Being that MGM is the huge corporation that it is, this whole ordeal and the way it was handled was less than acceptable. So once again, promises made, promises broken, but then again look at who we are dealing with here.

    This still does not excuse the phonecall that Roseanne made to my father and yet that was never addressed, which again I find so strange and a total invasion of privacy. Is this woman so bored in her everyday life that she actually went to the effort of researching my background and find my estranged father? Possibly she should get out of the hotel industry and look into being a private investigator. We are just sitting here kind of in shock and kind of depressed over the Vegas trip that wasnt....




    Mrs. Puente,

    I am writing you in regards to the promised refund for the three nights at Vdara. Please see below for the response from the online company that you originally booked your reservation through.

    “I wanted to let you know that I have refunded per this request. The three night refund is $559.94 and it was completed to the American Express ending 1002. The credit will be electronically transmitted to the credit card company within two business days of the February 24th posting date.”

    I can not guarantee when this credit will post to your credit card, but you should see the credit shortly after February 24, 2010.

    Once again I extend an apology for the issues during your stay. I hope you will give us another opportunity to impress you sometime in the future. Please feel free to contact me direct for any additional assistance




    Roseanne Ficken
    Director of Hotel Operations
    T 702.590.2400 F 702.862.1719
    2600 WEST HARMON AVE
    LAS VEGAS | NV | 89109
    vdara.com
     
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