The "So You're Saying You can Put Me in the Mansion" Trip Report

So I wrote last week about my covid-era trip to Mandalay. As I described in that report, it was a bit of a letdown and afterward, I wasn’t planning any Vegas trips til 2021. But then I got a call from my MGM Grand host. He was trying to lure me back out. I listened, but said I wasn’t that interested at the moment. So he upped the offer: three nights in the Mansion. To say I was nonplussed is an understatement! I asked was he certain, that I didn’t think my 100k credit line even qualified me for the Mansion, and I didn’t want to make the trip only to get bumped back down to the Skylofts. He assured me he could put me in the Mansion this trip and I decided there was no way I could turn that offer down! So I picked some dates for the trip and I was off to vegas again for what will likely be the swankiest vegas hotel stay of my life!!!

Took an early morning flight so I could get as much time in the Mansion as possible. I landed on a clear morning just after 9am, found my driver, and I was on my way. For those not familiar with the Mansion, the entrance is behind a covered gate off an access road nestled between the resort and the strip mall where the M&M Store is located on the Strip. I had seen cars pulling in and out of that gate on a few occasions through the years because I often use the resort entrance there at the old West Wing lobby as a quick way in and out of MGM Grand near the sportsbook. But I had never seen what was on the other side of that gate. Immediately, the Mansion felt different than other Vegas resorts. I have used the Wynn Tower Suites entrance and the Aria Skysuites entrance many times, but those special entrances still feel like you’re in Las Vegas. The Mansion entrance felt like I was somewhere else. Probably because its actually quit back there. The only sound is the few doormen working the entrance and the water from the large fountain in the center of the entrance drive. Its not near the rest of the resort and its not directly on the Strip. It was immediately relaxing.

I hopped out of the car, took my bag, and was greeted at the door by a butler with fresh juice or champagne. I declined, they asked me a few covid-era health and safety questions, and then led me to the elevator to my villa. I soon realized that the elevator only served, I think, three villas. So no need to worry about an elevator full of coughing party-goers (kind of the opposite of the elevator experience in the main MGM Grand hotel, lol). I went up to the second floor and we were there. A butler escorted me into the villa, took my cc info and handed me the keys to the door. Before he left, the butler asked if I wanted any breakfast or a seat at the Mansion restaurant. I said no thanks, but it reminded me to ask him the hours of the Mansion restaurant. He said it was open til 10 each night, but that if I wanted something after 10, they would open up. Now, I kind of expected him to say they would bring me room service at any hour, but I asked again to make sure I heard him correctly. He didn’t mean room service after 10. He said for Mansion guests they will re-open the restaurant any time of day, seat you and serve a meal! I gotta admit, I was floored by that level of service. I told him there was no way I would ever feel comfortable having the restaurant re-opened after closing just because I wanted a meal, but he again assured me they would do it if that was my preference over room service. Being the High Roller that I am, I said I would be happy if they would just stock the fridge in the villa butler’s pantry with red bull for me, lol. He said no problem and I started taking pics of the villa and unpacking.

So this is as good a place as any to show you some of the pics of the villa and the Mansion atrium from my balcony. Can't get my pano pic of the master bedroom to load, but here is the steam shower


And the tub

Here is a smaller pic of the master bedroom

Nothing says fancy like a vase!

The dining room

The living room

And pics from the balcony inside the atrium







So after unpacking and getting settled in, I decided to go hit up the sportsbook to cash some tickets from my Mandalay trip and make some bets on the upcoming football and basketball games. I walked down to the Mansion lobby. I had eaten at the mansion restaurant a couple times and knew I could cut through the atrium, past the restaurant, and through the casino to reach the book, but that was a long walk. So instead, I asked the doorman to let me out the Mansion gate onto the access road and I walked down to the West Wing lobby entrance I mentioned using many time. Snapped this pic from the access road before I went back in to the resort:


The book was empty so there were no problems placing a few hundred bucks on assorted basketball and football games. Ultimately, I lost on the basketball, but came out a little ahead on football thanks to a good parlay. After that, I decided to walk through the casino and hit up the high limit room.

I hadn’t played at MGM Grand in well over a year and the high limit room refurb was still ongoing the last time I was there. I like a lot of the changes. It looks good. Even the holidays decorations had just been set up:


I sat down at an empty baccarat table and asked for a 20k marker. A few minutes later, they told me I would need to sign updated paperwork at the cage for my credit line. No problem. Or so I thought. When I get to the cage, I find out my credit line needs host approval to be activated. I was a little surprised because my host knew I was arriving that day. Still, I was thinking no problem, someone call my host and let’s get rolling. But, there’s a problem. My host is on vacation and the cage says they will have to instead get approval from central credit at the Bellagio and that approval will take an hour or two! Ughhhh! I am not pleased and I let them know (not rudely, but firmly). I tell the cage that I will head back to my villa for an early lunch and if my line isn’t active by the time I am finished eating, I will simply head to another resort to play. I text the same to my host, hoping he checks his phone on his vacation. I felt like that should have been taken care of before I arrived.

But the delay in gambling does give me time to walk through the Mansion atrium and pool areas:

















Back in the villa, I asked the butlers to bring me pasta and bread from Wolfgang Puck and the food arrives about thirty minutes later. I woofed it down, along with a sugar free red bull from my now stocked pantry. Afterwards, I sat out on the balcony, listened to music on my ipod, and relaxed for a bit. Then, it dawned on me. I have no idea how they do it, but the temperature on my balcony inside the atrium is perfect. I mean, if you have ever heard the expression “room temperature”, this was it! And it was consistent. Considering it a large glass dome overhead, I would expect the temp to fluctuate as the sun moves. But it didn’t. It felt exactly the same as that morning when I first checked in. And it would continue to feel exactly the same, day or night, each time I walked out there. Obviously, I became obsessed with how they kept the temp the same all day.

After the pics and relaxing lunch, I headed back to the casino. It has been about an hour, but they had my line opened! So I got my marker, grabbed a seat at a bac table, and went to work. After two shoes, I was up several thousand and decided to take a break. I went back to my room, watched the UK game that was just starting (if you have followed the college basketball season, you can guess how that game went, lol), did a light workout in my bedroom, and took a long steam shower. I have a few thoughts about the bedroom and the shower, but I will share those toward the end of this report.

I relaxed for a bit on the balcony after the shower and took a few more pics as it got dark:



I decided my next adventure would be a walk to the Bellagio to see the conservatory display. Again, I exited at the mansion gate and walked down the service road to the corner at the Strip (where the Denny’s is located). I liked the juxtaposition of a nearly full moon above the resort on a clear night:


The smell of weed up and down the Strip as I walked to Bellagio was probably the most overpowering I have experienced in Vegas. I’m sure the cold air made it more noticeable. Being outdoors felt nice, thought, and soon I was walking through the front door at Bellagio.

I think most everyone knows now that there is a line to enter the conservatory and they are limiting the number of people walking through the attraction at any given time. I got in line and waited maybe 15 minutes before I was allowed to enter. Definitely worth the wait! I liked this display more than most any other in recent years. Took a ton of pics:





































After the conservatory, I headed back to MGM Grand. Everything on the Strip was lit up brightly like the vegas we all know and love:


After returning to the Grand, I went back to the high limit and played a little roulette. Won a little bit after hitting a tiers and 0-spiel wager. Took the winnings over to the baccarat pit again and the good streak continued. I finished up over 10k for the day and decided to head back to the villa for some food. On the way back, I checked the menu for the Mansion restaurant and had the butlers bring up the salmon and a side. It was good, but not great. I miss Robuchon! After eating, I went back onto the balcony to relax and take more night pics:



After relaxing on the balcony for a little under and hour, I walked back into the villa and realized the butlers had already been there, cleared my dinner setting, and turned down everything in the bedroom. Gotta love that service! I chilled in the room for the rest of the night and then crashed.

Day two started with a little room service breakfast from the Mansion restaurant. It was a traditional breakfast and everything was excellent! After that, I hurried down to the casino and played another shoe of baccarat. More winnings! The casino seemed quiet, so I ventured out into the main floor and shot some craps for about twenty minutes. Won a little bit more and decided to parlay those winnings into some gifts for friends at the gift store. I was glad to see MGM lion being so responsible:


I found some stuff for my partner at the gift shop. When I was checking out, I asked the clerk if I could charge to my room. He said no problem. When I told him my room number was a Mansion villa, he froze. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to charge something to those rooms. Then he told me that the guests from the Mansion usually send a butler over to purchase things for them rather than come themselves. For whatever reason, I thought that was a little absurd and we both laughed about it.

After shopping, I stopped in the high limit for another half shoe of baccarat and won a little bit more. The gambling was going consistent and well to that point, Wish I had been betting more!!! I headed back down the hall to the Mansion and noticed a little Mansion spa area next to the atrium. The spas were still closed at that point, but I asked the security if I could go in to look around. They said no problem, so I peeked in. I am not a big fan of the MGM Grand spa, but this area was a bit nicer. Its clearly individual rooms for guests or couples, each with their own amenities. May have been nice to try it out, but it was not to be on this trip.

I spent the afternoon watching more sports and doing some exercise in the room. Then, instead of a steam shower, I decided to try the jetted bath and watch football in the tub. It turned into a very long bath, lol. Once I was good and relaxed, I decided to walk out to the pool area. I needed to make some phone calls and wanted some fresh air. Nobody was ta the pool or garden area, but it looks fantastic:



Once I was done with the calls, I headed back to the casino. I played for a few hours and it was really up and down. Variance was catching up with me. After losing for a while, I was able to press my bets and get it all back and then some. By the time I stopped, I was up 23k for the trip! It was early in the evening at that point, but I had skipped lunch and wanted an early dinner.

I was a little underwhelmed by the Mansion restaurant dinner the night before and thought about trying something from one of the resort restaurants. Problem was, my two favorite restaurants haven’t reopened yet (JR and Morimoto). And the entrée I wanted from the remaining open restaurants was the same as last night: salmon. So I turned back to the Mansion restaurant and decided to order the caviar. Twenty minutes later, a butler brought it into my room with all the traditional setups. I nibbled on unborn fish all night and spent more time relaxing on the balcony.

Day three , the last day in town, started with another great Mansion breakfast (eggs, hash browns, and bagel), but turned into a gambling nightmare. Frankly, I shouldn’t have been gambling at all. I was up over 20k and leaving the next day. But I have to admit, I think I felt pressure to play. I wouldn’t say I was exactly chasing a comp, since my host had already voluntarily put me in the Mansion with an upfront comp. Nevertheless, I felt like I should be gambling more to justify what I had already been given. Big mistake.

I played for about an hour, gave back a few thousand and should have stopped there. I didn’t. I kept playing and the next shoe was a disaster. By the end of it, I had given back all of my winnings from the two prior days. Again, should have stopped there. I didn’t. I wanted that 23k back! The next two shoes, I had gotten about half of it back. I even told myself that if I hit 14k. I was at 13k with a 1k bet on the felt. Lost it. And then it fell off a cliff. I went on a monster losing streak! By the time the morning was over, I had lost all my winnings plus another 60k! Ugghhhhhhhh.

I needed to clear my head. So I walked back out to the Strip and headed north. By the time I got to Park MGM, I decided I would head to Aria and see if a change of scenery would change my luck. At the very least, I got to see their holiday display outside the high limit:


I sat down at a bac table, took out a marker for 70k, and went to work. I knew I was going to take a chance and bet large. My average bet at Aria that day would end up being over 5k. The first shoe was up and down and I finished it up a few thousand. The next shoe was the opposite and I finished down a few thousand. But the next two shoes were better, I pressed a bit, and when it was all said and done, I found myself down only 15k for the trip. I felt a lot better at that point and decided to head back to MGM.

At MGM, I stopped in the high limit on the way back to the Mansion and played half a shoe. Won another 7k, leaving me down 8k. Break time. Took another long steam shower. With my head clear, I decided I would make one final run at getting even. So I went back to the high limit. Two shoes later, I am actually up almost 4k for the trip! Almost exactly where I started after the first shoe two days ago, lol. I was thrilled with that result considering how far I was down earlier in the day. So I colored up, paid off my markers, and decided to retire to my villa for the evening. On the way, I snapped a pic of the flower display in the lobby:


I called the butlers and ordered an impossible burger, fries, and a celebratory sundae for dessert! While waiting for the food, I got a text from my host. He was still on vacation, but back in an area with cell phone coverage and just then saw my text from the first day. I told him no worries, everything worked out, and that I was scheduled to leave early in the morning. Evidently, he had checked my play before texting me because he was already mentioning how he would try and get me back in the Mansion next trip! I am definitely not counting on that, but it’s an intriguing possibility.

The dinner that last night was actually the best of the trip. Everything was prepared to my exact requests. So I filled up, relaxed on the balcony one final time, and packed my bag for an early departure the next morning.

The flight home was uneventful and gave me time to consider how the mansion compares to the Skylofts. I really loved my stay at the Mansion, especially the service, but the difference between it and the Skylofts was not as significant as I assumed it would be prior to staying there. I would say the Mansion has slightly better service (the skylofts have great service too and since I know that staff better, I am probably more comfortable making requests of them) and better technology (the tv in the bedroom actually has an arm that moves the screen away from the wall and turns it toward whichever are of the room you are sitting in). And that balcony and atrium just cannot be beat. But I think I like the skylofts bathroom better. Its smaller than the mansion, but the steam shower is better and I prefer the infinity tub in the lofts. Plus, the bedroom in the mansion is just unnecessarily huge. I think I prefer the smaller skyloft bedroom and I really enjoy the giant windows you can look out. The Mansion pool might clearly tip the scales in favor of the Mansion, but since I didn’t really experience that in the cold, I can’t say for certain. Either way, you can’t really go wrong. Hope I get a chance to stay in the Mansion again one day. But I still can’t ever see myself asking them to reopen the restaurant for me in the middle of the night!

There are mor trip reports I might write up. Let’s see how this one goes over first ….

 

Awesome report!!! Makes my little itsy bitsy suite here pale in comparison!

 

You are a classic pal.

 

Got to have , cojones

 

Excellent write up and nice that you clawed back your losses. I look forward to the next installment. Thanks for taking the time.

 

Fabulous report and congrats on pulling up from the loss and ending on a win! LOVE that shower, tub, and the color scheme in the villa and the service. From your photos that you took from your balcony it looks like the courtyard is surrounded by rooms/villas. I'm curious if there are regular rooms or suites in the mansion in addition to the villas.

Thanks for all of the pics. Love the pool and of course the greenery and flowers.

 

Thanks for sharing your time at the Mansion.

Wonderful pics. I especially liked seeing the pics of the Conservatory at Bellagio. I guess the upside of having to wait in line is the absence of throngs of people so you can see the entire displays.

Congrats on the grind back to a winning trip. For whatever reason I always enjoy reading about those incredible come from behind wins rather than the ones where someone kills it big time from the beginning and steamrolls to a huge win.

Keep these TRs coming UK; I think it’s safe to say that we’re more than happy you’re posting them.

 

Absolutely magnificent writeup, and likewise for the photos. Glad it turned into a winner, both in terms of gaming and enjoyment. It was somewhat surprising to hear that you prefer the lofts over the mansion, though I have certainly come to form the same types of opinions about things that I thought would be "top tier". If I may cast a vote for "more reports please!", I hope it will influence more reports such as these if you're so inclined.

Out of all things, I had to quote this specifically because I literally felt this emotion as if I was at a casino as I was reading this. For me, it's usually a stack of 19 $5 chips for $95 with a $5 or $10 bet on the felt, as I tell myself "if I'm even at $100 I'll cash out", but then it loses and we all know what happens I think we all know that feeling all too well, but this captured it so well and I just wanted to acknowledge it

 

Awesome report, thanks for sharing and congrats on the comeback

 

Great TR @UKFanatic - love reading about & viewing pictures of the Mansion

 

This was an unexpected treat! Thanks so much for sharing the photos and experience with us.

 

Great report, I'm glad you got to experience the Mansion!

I have been dropped off by limo at the Mansion atrium for dinner at Joel Robuchon. I agree, it is like you are arriving at a non-Vegas resort (of course, there is nobody else to be seen other than staff, lol, you might be arriving at an extremely grand private residence.)

The thing I noticed about the atrium was the light humidity, more like Hawaii than Nevada. It was a treat for the sinuses after days in the crazily dry air of the desert and the casinos. You feel like you are outside but it is 75 and perfect humidity, not 105 and 5% humidity like it was actually outside.

 

I didn’t know this is a thing in vegas...
But now I want to experience it

in my dreams

 

@UKFanatic thank you for taking the time to share this! Glad to see you made a comeback.

 

Awesome report and photos. Well done on the come back!!

 

Glad it turned out positive on the gambling side.

I don’t see my play increasing enough to ever experience a stay in the mansion room. Now I don’t need to.

As far as TRs go....you nailed it!!!

 

I can't thank you enough for this report....it's absolutely riveting. For many of us on this message board, reading your review and looking at the photos is as close as we will likely ever get to the Mansion. What a treat. Thanks again, and please keep the reports coming!

 

What a great report!
I loved the photos of an area of Las Vegas that I will never see in person and was so pleased to read that you made a comeback at the end of your trip.

 

So much this, and any report with a keeping it real part about the flip side of degen.

my new antidote to round number targets is thinking of what portion of any odd amount could be instantly coverted to loose tip change..
whether TITO or chips, then it saves you the step of breaking a hundy back down for more tip money..
in that way something like 896 if you were gunning for a thousand would be great.
somewhat has been working for me so far... moving targets or something...

 

Nice TR, thx for writing it up. Always nice to see a side of Vegas that I won't otherwise be getting to see.