Currently booked five nights over July long weekend at Flammy. Thinking of turning that into 2 nights at MGM/Aria and then three nights Flammy. I have a Flamingo Premium King for the nights I am currently booked. The more I think about this the more I am thinking I need to make a change on those first two nights so I am interested in your opinions. I hit Diamond Plus in New Orleans a couple weeks ago and I see no more value in Diamond Elite anymore thanks to El Dorado's continuing commitment to reducing benefits. Might be time to put my money to work at MGM. For June 30 and July 1st I am comped at every MGM prop except Bellagio. So I am looking hard at MGM or Aria. Some might say this should be a no brainer. I might not disagree. Aria has better basic rooms then a typical Grand Tower room. And the beds are simply the best. But...that MGM pool and lazy river hold a lot of appeal for me. On the other hand, I haven't even been in Aria in years nor have I played there in years. This begs the question as to how am I not comped at Bellagio for either of those two nights because I play at the B a lot. Both MGM and Aria are also throwing in $50 Food and $40 FP. Very little to be sure but it squares the resort fees I will still likely have to pay. So what do we think? Am I silly to pass on Aria for MGM? I can get the MGM for free way more than Aria. The Mirage is also in play to a very small degree but I feel it might be fun to add some South Strip fun for a change up. Looking forward to opinions and persuasions. Thanks.
Are you driving or will you have a car? MGM Grand has the worst self-park to hotel walk of almost any casino in Las Vegas.
Why not seed Cosmo for future offers; I think JR would enjoy staying there. Aria gets my vote over MGM.
MGM vs Aria? I think I would pick MGM over Aria . We have done both places a few times. Aria is nice, seems newer, bit more upscale. Rooms are great, but blackout curtains do not full blackout. MGM has a wider range of food options (pricewise) than Aria. It is much closer to strip than Aria in my opinion. Lots of low rent options on the strip and NYNY and ParkMGM right across the street.
I think it's definitely worth splitting your stay. I'm not a fan of the MGM casino sprawling layout, you do have lots of other Mlife casinos nearby. I'd put Mirage in the running, central, close to Flamingo and closer to Bellagio where you said you play a lot.
Mgm has a food court for relatively cheap eats, Aria only has restaurants. I’d look at the location, I spend more time more north and at the cosmos so I prefer Aria’s location. You're also next to Cosmo which has some good options, $10ish breakfast and burgers at egg slut, STK Steakhouse has a weekend Wagyu burger for $20 and there's the only currently open strip buffet Wicked Spoon.
Aria... But if I may add, Vdara is right across the way and I’m sure your offer would include free nights there.
I believe the Bellagio has rooms off line right now as they are renovating them. They might reduce the amount of comps given as a result. As for your other question, Aria all day long.
Not getting a car until Friday when I pick JR up at the airport. That MGM parkade is a bit of a trek.
You may have something there. But Breanna, if I stay at Cosmo without her, I might get in trouble for that. But I like how you are thinking.
I would choose Aria, in your case you had not been there in a while and giving Aria a look plus being close for the hotel switch. For me: The pool at Aria is more relaxing, less excitement and I would be afraid that the post pandemic crowd would be too much to handle at MGM. Although this is midweek, I would think the summer crowds might be cray-cray this year, more than in others years.
FWIW - Last year I reached out to the Cosmo slot manager who is on here. He comped me a great room, no fees, for a couple nites after I sent him a screen shot of my Mlife offer. I play more slots than you but your coin-in has to be bigger than mine. I'd be shocked if you reached out to him if you couldn't get a room comped. So, you may not have to "seed" anything - you might get a full plant out of the box. I stayed at MGM once and won't again. Its just too big and spread out. Aria is nice but a little sterile for me. I keep winding up at the Mirage...
I would go with Aria over MGM because of the easy walk to Cosmo/PH. I used to really enjoy MGM until they started removing slots. Looking forward to your report. Mark
My last trip was at MGM in March. I was excited about the pool and Top Golf being right there. However the walk to any of those places and even to exit the casino to get to the strip was just too much. I vastly underestimated the distance and if you’re out of shape like I am it’s a real killer after just a few nights. Now that Aria has the tram running you would think the best bet is Aria.
What I liked liked about Aria was the room and location. What I liked about MGM was, let me think, nothing. But I'm not a pool person, so that could be if a big deal if it's important to you. Edit to add...I actually like Mirage better than Aria, except for the room.
Call me crazy but I’m team MGM. I just don’t like the vibe at Aria for some reason. And the MGM pools win for sure!
Count me in the corner of people who enjoy MGM and am not crazy overall about Aria. Even the room in Aria I feel like the climate controls act a bit inconsistent and the room tends to trend a bit warmer than some other places I've stayed at. I find the beds at MGM to be just as comfortable as the ones at Aria, I don't think they're a downgrade by any means. I could definitely see myself choosing MGM over Aria at times if the pool were a factor for me. Aria over MGM for location, for sure. I agree with those who mentioned the food options being an issue with Aria itself, although it's a short walk to Cosmo which more than makes up for that, in my eyes. Getting from MGM to somewhere else is a pretty big hike so I feel like the food options are really MGM/NYNY vs. Aria/Cosmo and I'd prefer the latter. I find the choice to be close as well, but as a poker player I'd almost always lean Aria with access to both the Aria room as well as Bellagio.
I would pick Aria and I would make a pool reservation. The lowest tier rooms at Aria are pretty great. I have nothing against MGM but all that walking gets old for me.
