Aria Mini-Rant

So this past summer I gave Aria anotehr try. I've always liked the property, so that's why I gravitate back toward it, and it seemed like the service had improved when I was there last year. I was cautiously excited also because it seemed like one of the games supervisors in the bac room had finally set me up with a host that gave a damn about my play.

Starting to think I was wrong to be optimistic! Honestly, I just cannot figure it out. My host at Bellagio takes good care of me, puts me up in the big suite on my last trip adn takes care of most of my charges. Wynn, Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and now MGM Grand are all trying to woo my business (to the point of overcomping me, I think). Nevertheless, at Aria, they will not raise my CL (even though both MB and Bellagio have already done so, the latter without my even asking, they simply called me up and offered) and when I ask my host about a comped suite for my friends and I for March Madness, the response I get: maybe we can get you a corner suite if we're not too full, and your friends will simply have to pay for a standard room (but I can get them a casino rate). Gee, thanks. Think I'll stick with every other place in town that is offering me more....

I am not knocking the property. I really like Aria. And my new favorite Strip restaurant is there. But I just cannot figure out the service. Half the time the dealers seem ambivalent, the front desk and concierge have never been very helpful or pleasant to me, and now the host (the one I got after complaining that my prior host that they had fired never took care of me and never returned my calls) couldn't seem to care less about my business. I might think I'm just being overly-sensitive, but when the other properties in the MGM empire are bending over backward to try and get me to stay there, it makes me think something is just wrong with Aria.

OK, rant over

 

This is a situation where it is appropriate to take your business elsewhere. I've found the same about Aria (and am gold through M-Life and feel the hosts take care of me pretty well at the other properties I play, yet Aria couldn't care less). I'm with you - really enjoy the property for the most part - I've actually paid to stay in a Sky Suite before just because I wanted to see what they were like (twice)... It's unfortunate but maybe what I have to suck up since they are the new/hot property for now.

 

That's basically what I have done in the past. But similar to you, I still very much like the property. I'll probably end up back there for a weekend much later this year once I get over the current treatment I'm receiving. But mostly, I jsut don't get it. The B is a comparable property in the same empire and they treat me much better there. Maybe I understand MGM Grand and MB treating me better because they are a tier lower. But to value my play significantly less than Bellagio just doesn't make sense to me

 

Which is your favorite restaurant? I need to have dinner at Aria my next trip.

Sorry to hijack.

For some on-topic...I had a host that treated me very well for 3 trips. Then he stopped and I easily got better offers elsewhere. It wasn't at Aria. I just think different hotels run on different cycles of what they can/will offer.

 

Just curious what type of bankroll you need for the service you get?

That being said, this seems like a case of you wanting Aria to give you what you think you deserve and for whatever reason they don't agree with you. Why you would want to deal with them (other than ego) is beyond me - just go to another property that treats you as you want to be treated.

 

I find that my nost at Aria is way tighter than Bellago, M-Bay, Mirage. The machines are for sure the tightest of all of those.

Okay, here is my two cents worth, and maybe less than that.

We all know that City Center is a major expense. The money they put into just the Aria per room, etc. has to be massive. So, if the mgmt (read accountants) are trying to balance things, then they need to be tight. That trickles down to staff, supplies, perks, comps, attitude, etc.

It may be counter productive, but we all know that the new MBAs trying to run casinos don't seem to get that part.

Just an opinion.

 

I really like Julian Serrano. Seablue at MGM was my fav, but now it is gone

Of course, I don't eat steak, so my list of favs is always a bit different than other folks. But every meal I have had at JS has been very good!

 

Well, bankroll is not a good question for me because my betting strategies require me to have a significant bankroll to back me up (my base unit is a pretty small faction of what I have available). So even with a CL, I still bring a lot of cash with me just in case (but I hate carrying it outside the room, thus the CL). If you mean, what's my average bet, it varies from trip to trip. $385 a hand on my last trip, but the several trips before that were significantly higher.

You're right, it's exactly a case of Aria not giving me what I think I deserve. But that's not based on ego. The only reason I really like a nice room is when friends are coming with me so they can enjoy it. I think BlueSkadoo can confirm that after meeting my friends last month (why was I the only person not lounging around in a fluffy bathrobe??? Clearly my priorities are out of whack). But I think I deserve the nicer room and nicer stuff because that's exactly what better (Wynn) and similar (Bellagio) properties offer me. There's also been some other issues in the past (I wrote once last year about how a host there was exceptionally rude to me). It's just a little disappointing because, like I mentioned, I enjoy Aria. I would stay there more if not for the fact that I get better treatment, better room, and a bigger credit line elsewhere. I just feel the other places value my business more and go out their way to show it.

But, I would like to try and understand why Aria is so much tighter compared to its sister properties ....

 

Good thought, might explain it. I wonder if MGM's partner on CityCenter has any say in those type of accounting matters as well.

 

Having stayed there late last month and a planned stay early next month (hopefully the trip happens), I noticed, after several other stops there to gamble over the past couple of years is, while they have a semi large crowd sometimes, I made note of the number actually playing and to me, ( not very scientific just an observation over several trips/stay), there were not nearly as many people actually gambling as a percentage of the people actually there as compared to the Bellagio/Venetian/MGM.

So this brings me to one conclusion that they are struggling to attract money and gamblers, so maybe tightening up or never really loosened if you will, but it also makes me think, wouldn't they want to keep a proven gambler happy, even if it is not maybe at the level they want? During our trips, we are gamblers and outside of a dinner and maybe a show, me and the wife gamble at all different times of the day. Never did I have to wait to get on a craps table, and always had the VP machines to myself except one night where there were two others in the general area.

I get no offers, not even reduced rates on the website for ARIA, so when we stayed last month, I booked a corner city view suite and paid the deposit. Upon the night before checkout, I inquired of the Mlife desk about my play and comping my charges etc. and they contacted a host who reviewed our play and they did take care of most room charges except tips, but we still had to pay a good bit compared to staying at Venetian or Bellagio, where the same play or close to it gets us the complete room, all our modest food, and any show we see at the property, all upfront.

So, yeah after all my typing I have no better understanding of them either, except the wife now loves the bed and corner suite and insists we go back there and not the Bellagio or V. I will see, if we make the trip in in three weeks, how it goes with comping as I have a better bankroll as does the wife, thanks to nice hits in AC at the Borgata over the past two day visits.

 

Thanks. Julian Serrano is actually what I was looking at before I asked you, so your confirmation is much appreciated.

 

I had the same issues with Aria the last time i stayed there, horrible service. My gf and I ended up complaining to management and writing their marketing department a long email. They decided to comp us a suite, so hopefully it will go better from here on out. If not, we might try bellagio.

 

That's rough.

Maybe they have bigger clients to take care of.

 

I will channel my Beeejay and add my 2 cents...

It is because the MGM properties are schizophrenic. They have so much in-fighting and internal competition going on that customers can get extremely confused when dealing with them.

That's basically why I stopped going there, because they can treat you really nice one trip, then be total ******s the next. No service quality standards.

For me, I'm a very anal person so I need to know what's going on, what I should get, etc etc....so I need to be able to expect things.

If I can't expect a certain standard to service, I can't stay there.

 

I am sort of the same. My brain is always trying to place things in order and have them make sense. The inconsistency from one mgm property to the next is confounding. So sorry Aria, guess you won't be getting my business for a while

 

Maybe they have no issue selling the rooms, so they're less willing to comp them. The standard tourists (non-gamblers) who are paying for the rooms, are the perfect target for the new Vegas. Pay a lot of money for a nice room, spend money in the high-priced mall, eat lavish meals in the high-priced restaurants, go clubbin at the wicked high-priced clubs.

Which might mean that the casino is less in charge of the rooms than in other properties?

 

For whatever it is worth, my comps at Aria are a lot better that at Bellagio. I have a much smaller play than you do, though (3 line x 1 dollar max coin VP and 10-20 craps are my games of choice). I played around twice what I did at Aria last trip, and for the spring, Aria is offering me some free play and heavily reduced rates (around 1/4 of what I get with gold discount on some days) and a little bit of food credit. I called Bellagio and they told me if I came by Feb 28th I could get two nights at 140/night + resort fee...which I believe is worse than I can get online.

I do agree with everyone here. The comps at MGM properties are really odd. For instance, next week I am going to the MGM Grand on a comped three night stay in a new room with free play. I think last time I was there I ran a hundo through the Lions Share and checked out their video blackjack for about 30 minutes.

 

I don't know about that. My friend who went for the superbowl got a very discounted room package from Aria, and he doesn't gamble except sports bets...they were just on sale at a reduced rate. It was almost like they were giving them away to fill them. It's only one data point, but it's a pretty signficant weekend.

I kind of like the schitzoid nature of MGM properties...it allowed me to play one off the other for this upcoming trip and get a deal I'm very happy with.

 

Yes you start gambling before you even get to vegas!

 

Maybe you have a crappy host at Aria?