May 8-10, Wynn Las Vegas (with pics!)

This is part trip report and part review of Wynn's new digs. I hope you guys enjoy! Sorry about the length…

This last trip was simply incredible. We were supposed to be 4 guys, but 2 of them backed out. I didn’t let that get me down—the less people, the less searching for each other and prying one another off tables. My friend Gabriel is at my house at 7am. He had turned 21 a little over a week ago and hadn’t been to Vegas in years. I finish my breakfast, get all the luggage in the car and we’re off by 7:15.

I took the toll roads from my house in south Orange County. It shaves off about 20 minutes from an otherwise 4-hour commute. We’re making great time flying through the I-15 when on one of the downgrades, I see a state trooper stopped on the side. There goes my perfect driving record…

Officer: I pulled you over for speeding. Do you realize how fast you were going?
Me: 85, officer.
Officer: I’ve got you clocked at 89. Wait here, I’ll be back

The officer comes back to the car a few minutes later and hands me the ticket. He marked me down for 85 so I could qualify for traffic school so I think I got off okay.

We arrive at Wynn LV around 11am and there is a line outside of the entrance onto LV Boulevard extending all the way to Spring Mountain Road. Once turning into the resort entrance, I found several employees guiding traffic. Apparently, someone at the entrance needed emergency attention and they were making an opening for an ambulance. The ambulance pulls through but it’s still a traffic nightmare. I call one of the employees guiding traffic and I tell him that I’ve been driving for 4 hours straight and need to use the bathroom badly. He runs over to another employee who gives me priority over the other cars. I’m digging the service so far…

I’ve been waiting for months to see the interior of this resort, but after my bags are taken, I simply don’t care and run to the nearest bathroom. Once relieved, I get the chance to take a good look at the resort. It’s beautiful thus far, but I just want to check-in. While in line, I realize that I left my license in the glove compartment of the car after I got pulled over. I run to the valet and explain the situation. They quickly take care of it.

Once I’ve got my license, I go over to the check-in area. It is stunning with a view of the lake. I approach Frank, our receptionist. The customer before me was giving him a very hard time, so I approach him with a kind smile and address him by his first name asking him how his day was. He is very nice and asks me all about my day thus far and what I think of the resort. I tell him that it is amazing and ask for an upgrade. I wound up with a 39th floor golf course view (no “trick†needed, but I did tip him a 10 for his efforts).

We go up to our room and it is beautiful. There are 2 full-size beds, not queen-sized, which I thought was better because it frees up more room. They are the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept on. Each one has 5 or 6 pillows on it and the sheets feel very luxurious. There are 2 LCD flat-panel televisions (every review you read will say plasma TVs which is a completely different technology). Silk robes and slippers are provided as well. The golf course view was gorgeous, especially the waterfall on the 18th green. After about 5 minutes in the room, I hear someone knocking and open the door. It’s housekeeping asking me if everything is okay and if there’s anything I need. By now I’m very impressed with the service I’ve been receiving. I call the bell desk and my baggage is delivered in a few minutes. The bellman shows me how the TV and Avaya phone work. It’s actually pretty self-explanatory although it looks intimidating at first. Once we’re settled, we go down to check the resort out.

It truly is amazing. Yes, it’s similar to Bellagio, but darker and more intimate feeling. The light fixtures and the ceilings are impressive, the floors with marble and mosaic tiles are beautiful. Almost all the walls of the resort are textured and certain parts are padded and upholstered—perfect for leaning on when you’re drunk. One of the best things it has going for it is that it is very easy to navigate and memorize the floor plan. With an exception to the meeting rooms and ballroom facilities, it took me no more than 5 minutes to get from one point to the next. We have soup at Sugar and Ice that has its own terrace with water view. It's a gorgeous setting.

After the walk-through, we go to the spa. It was smaller than I thought, but the service was outstanding and the décor very unique with natural light and earth tones throughout. One interesting feature was a shower-like enclosure that gushes water from several feet above your head. It provides an excellent massage for the neck and upper back. Outside the spa is an unguarded elevator for the suite section of the tower. We decide to take it since I was interested in seeing some of the suites and how differently that area was decorated. It is nice, but the most impressive area was the private check-in we wound up in when leaving—very bright with free Fiji water for guests.

After the spa, we get dressed and gamble for a bit. I wanted to play big table baccarat so I walk into the high-limit salon. One table is packed with a minimum of $500, another has a $1000 minimum with less people. Okay, so no baccarat for me this trip. Instead, we sit down at a $10 blackjack table. There are plenty at that limit and I never had difficulty finding a seat at one. After 20 minutes, I’m up $80 and scored some drinks for the both of us.

I leave my semi-hot streak because we have a 6:30 reservation at Okada. It’s a beautiful restaurant with an outdoor view enclosed by a mountain with waterfall that leads into a coy pond. We are seated near the pond, but there’s a table situated right at the base of the waterfall. I jokingly asked our hostess if we could sit there. No can do. It’s chef’s menu requiring a party of 8 at $200 a head. The food and service at Okada is superb. We got one sushi dinner and one tempura entrée with the most amazing sake ever. The portions are not small and we were hardly able to finish the food. The bill came out to only $93 excluding tip. I was very pleased with Okada and will return. Here's a (not so good) picture of the pond:



Here's us in front of the pond after it got dark:



We run and meet Jim from Presidential Limo at 8:30. He’s the coolest—courteous, friendly, and extremely professional. The ride was a blast and we stop at the welcome sign for pics. The strip’s not too crowded so we basically get a tour and a half out of the hour and wind up at THEhotel. We went to MIX lounge. This place is beautiful and the view is amazing, but when it comes to rooftop lounges, Foundation Room’s décor and view is still the best in Vegas, IMHO. After a few hours at MIX, a few drinks, and meeting a few cool people, we’re off to Sapphire, but first, I wanted to show my friend Mandalay Bay. We walk by Foundation Room’s elevators with a cute girl about my age standing there behind the velvet rope. Now, I had been up there before on a public night and it was so crowded that I couldn’t enjoy anything so I try to make my way in tonight. I approach the girl at the rope and ask her how one gets in (as if I don’t already know). Before she could respond, some drunk guy next to me yells out, “You need something like $3000 man!†I tell her that it was just my friend’s birthday and it would be awesome if she could let us in just this once. She keeps saying how awful we are and are hard to turn away. I tell her that I appreciate her consideration as I very obviously pull a 20 out of my wallet. That sealed the deal and we’re let in right in front of the drunk guy. Nice.

It’s so dead that I feel like I own the place as you can see by the pic:



Not to sound snobby, but a place like Foundation Room is meant to be enjoyed on a member’s only night. We meet some more cool people who sing my friend happy birthday, have more drinks, and then we leave for Sapphire. By now I’m completely trashed, but I’ve been wanting to see this place forever. It’s smaller than I thought with only one stripper working the pole and several sitting on my lap offering lap dances and discounts off their $500 an hour skyboxes. My memory is kind of fuzzy, but I recall my friend trying to steer them away since it was sort of obvious that they were trying to take advantage of the drunk guy. The night gets a little gross here—you’ve been warned... Anyway, half my time at Sapphire is spent in a toilet stall trying to get myself to throw up. It wasn’t happening so we head back to Wynn. In the room, I finally puke and go to bed.

I wake up at 8am. Ugh! I have the worst hangover ever and am dying of hunger. At least I wake up to a nice phone call saying that there is a cabana available to us after 1pm for $125 so that’s very cool. After a cold shower, Aleve, and some multivitamins, I feel better and we head down to the buffet. By now they are serving lunch. The price is $20 and it’s the nicest buffet setting I’ve ever seen. We are sat right underneath a massive skylight. The selection is excellent and the quality of food fantastic. The pizza station alone has about 6 different selections of pizza. The only disappointing part was the dessert section. They could definitely do better in that department, but overall very much worth the price.

We then head out to the pool and get our cabana. It’s very windy, but the cabanas are solid structures, not tents so we were sheltered nicely. With the cabana comes complimentary pretzels, nuts, fruits, and non-alcoholic beverages in unlimited quantities. It’s very worth it on a hot summer day with 3 or 4 people, but we could have had just as much fun without it. The pool is very nice. Definitely not tropical, but very beautiful. The very best part is the lack of children and noise. The pool reserved for tower suite guests was not blocked so we went up to it. It’s nice up there, but I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed.

After a few hours poolside, we went walking around the strip for a bit. I hit up The Mirage just to see how the vibe of my favorite casino stacks up to Wynn. I’m sorry to say, but Wynn kills it and is now my favorite casino. The limits are the same and the games being dealt have equal conditions for the most part and (maybe this is only because it’s new) Wynn’s casino isn’t smoky at all.

We go back to our room, dress up again to hit up La Bete later in the night, but first we go down to find something to eat. Red 8 can seat us in 45 minutes so we leave our name with them. I really enjoyed the food (I had the Mongolian Beef), but Gabriel thought his food was cold. The service and atmosphere are great and the restaurant is very small by Vegas standards. The total for the both of us came out to 40 something excluding tip—very reasonable.

After dinner, we try to catch the “Lake of Dreams†show. To sit at the center patio during the show requires a 2-drink minimum. I had no problem with that, but there was a line which meant we would not catch the 10 o’clock showing (the first begins at 9). We instead go up the spiral escalators, turn left and wind up on a terrace with a view just as good and no drink minimum. This show is visually stunning. You won’t get the kind of goosebumps you get watching Bellagio’s fountains, but this show is just as amazing. I’d call it a multimillion-dollar acid trip. Here's a picture of me on that terrace just before the show:



We leave the show in awe and head to La Bete. It’s closed on Monday nights. I’m not too bummed since we head out to Lure, Wynn’s ultralounge, instead. Lure is one classy joint decorated in less flashy colors than most the other ultralounges around town. Here's a pic:



There was no cover charge and there's a line designated for hotel guests that moves much faster. Lure’s specialty drinks are delicious. I had the “Lure†and the “Passionâ€. Both are $15 but well worth it. Scotty Nguyen, the big poker player, walked in. I thought it was funny to see him since I’ve run into him back home as well. We leave Lure and eat at the Terrace Pointe Café. The food is good and the setting is very nice for a coffee shop, but I didn’t like the service.

The next day I wake up very refreshed and call to get a late check-out. It’s no problem and they extend my time to 1pm. After we check out, we head over to the Country Club Grill. It has a very nice setting with a terrace overlooking the waterfall of the 18th green. Here's a pic:



I had the best burger I’ve ever had. It was pricey for a burger ($12), but very good. The service was just fair. While hanging out in the terrace, I noticed an open gate that lead to the golf course. So we go venturing the golf course and from here I got a good look at exterior of the Fairway Villas—simply stunning. I’d love to spend just one night in one of these:



We wind up at a garage behind the villas that houses the golf carts. There’s also a road here that wraps around the construction of Encore. Suddenly I see a dark blue Maserati Cambiocorsa flying through here. I guess this is where the dealership takes customers for test drives. Anyway, we head back, but some guy stops us and tells us we can’t be on the golf course. I explain that we’re guests of the hotel and just walked out from the Country Club’s terrace. He’s nice and offers to drive us back on a golf cart. We wind up in the locker room and an employee opens the door for us. “How was your round of golf?†he asks us. “Just wonderful! Steve and Tom have done an excellent job!†I say. Gabriel and I get a good laugh out of this once we’re out of view of the employee.

We’re now both very tired and walk over to the valet to pick the car up, but before I do, I’ve just got to see how much the bed I slept on these last 2 nights costs (yeah, they sell them)--$1600 and apparently they have already sold dozens. The drive home is uneventful and slow—I was not planning on getting another speeding ticket.

Wynn is awesome. Guests of the hotel will receive a much better experience than visitors though. With that said, it cost about the same as Bellagio, but is much better overall. Highly recommended.

[ May 11, 2005, 09:44 PM: Message edited by: Joe Schmo ]

 

Great trip report and pictures Joe. Do you happen to know what a round of golf costs? Also, do guests qualify for a discounted rate and preferred tee times?

 

Thanks for the read, it sounds like you had a great time.

 

Very nice trip-report! I'm definitely checking out the Wynn during our next trip.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. There were some useful tidbits in there, like how the walls are padded, the better to hold up the drunks... I can't wait to stay at Wynn next time I'm in Vegas!

 

$500 for a round of golf.....

Nice review!! Sounds like you had a great trip. Probably better there were only 2 of you, since the beds were doubles, not queens....

[ May 12, 2005, 04:54 AM: Message edited by: HoyaHeel ]

 

Thank you for that review. Sounds like you had a great time.

 

Joe,
one of the best trip reports I have read in a while. Thanks for taking time out to record your thoughts. I must admit that if I think about staying at the Bellagio, I will check out the Wynn instead.

 

Thanks for the comments so far guys.

yellfore, Hoya is right, $500. I'm not a golfer, but people were saying that they thought this course was even better than Shadow Creek. It is exclusively for hotel guest.

Edit to add: I was rated at $10-25 a hand! It's not like that's going to get me anything, but I think this whole RFID chip thing makes it easier for them to keep track and all players get rated.

[ May 12, 2005, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Joe Schmo ]

 

Nice report. Lots of details. Nice pictures too. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it.

 

Thanks for writing such an enjoyable trip report. It sure makes the work day go faster!! Where are you from in CA? I grew up in Laguna Beach, but now call Arizona my home.

 

Joe rated at $10 a hand?? I was hoping to hear he was rating all players. Thanks for the report Lure looks fantastic, I may have to check it out!

 

Joe,
did you get anything for playing at $10-$25 a hand?

 

daj, I live in Irvine. I love the area and proximity to everything.

VA, I didn't ask for anything since I hardly gambled, but I probably would have gotten a line pass from the pit boss.

 

Nice report. Thanks so much for the info.

 

That was an outstanding report. Thanks Joe!

 

Joe, great report. Now I've figured out how to get up to the Foundation Room and I will certainly check out Lure!

 

Very enjoyable trip report and pix Joe...

I can't wait to see (and stay) at the Wynn. I usually don't pay more than $80 for a room per night, but I have to stay at the Wynn because I think it'll be well worth it.

 

Thanks for the report... And the pic's !!!

 

Fantastic report, Joe. Well done, and thanks for sharing!