The Mirage Las Vegas is the quintessential Vegas resort. It is the original mega-resort that started it all. National Lampoons Vegas Vacation. Siegfried and Roy. Steven Wynn. The Volcano. Lots of reasons to stay here.
The property is amazing and you can tell that Steve Wynn really left his finger prints all over this property. Beautiful grounds. Recognizable architecture. Sprawling pool. Over the top volcano in the front. Indoor jungle with huge glass dome. However, I do feel that some of the original magic created by Wynn is gone now to be replaced by the safe corporate decisions of MGM.
What I imagine was once a standout property has become a bit bland. Nothing stands out about the casino, restaurants, clubs or rooms. They are all fine, but thats about all you can say.
Casino: Your run of the mill casino. The only thing I would comment on is the staff. I was not very impressed. Their cocktail waitresses were mostly older and bitter. I never met a friendly one. I am not saying they should all be hot young women, but I would like ones that would actually say hello or smile.
Restaurants: The buffet was average. I also ate at CPK and BLT; both good options, but like so much in Vegas, overpriced. There is a Starbucks and cafe. I didn’t try out any of the high end restaurants so can’t speak to them.
I went to the Revolution Lounge for their Sunday night LGBT event. It was fun and well done, but this is not a mega club by any mean.
Rooms: The rooms are nice and have been refreshed. I had rooms (yes plural, more about that later) on the 21 and 22 floor. The bathrooms are small, but the windows are large and even open a bit. The beds are comfy and linens are nice. The room was clean and well kept. The hallways are modern and I liked the finishes.
Pool: But the real reason I would suggest staying here is the pool. I loved this pool. From the palm trees to the waterfalls to the chilled water (yes, it is COLD and refreshing); one of the best pools you will experience. Definitely a step up from the family water park of Mandalay Bay, this place is relaxing (although you will feel packed in to the chairs like sardines, the pool itself is spacious). Be warned, there isn’t much shade and chairs go fast.
Location: Many like the location of the Mirage Las Vegas as it is central to many other properties. The only thing I would say about location is that if you are an mLife player, know that there are not other mLife properties nearby. I tend to only play at mLife properties so was basically stuck at Mirage to gamble unless I wanted to make a day of heading south on the strip. Yes, Bellagio is two properties down, but Caesar’s Palace is one MEGA property you have to navigate first.
The biggest problem I ran into on my trip was getting locked out of our room. The key card reader stopped working, not even security’s master key could open the door. It took a call to the front desk, and a total of 4 different staff coming up to finally get the door open. I then had to move to another room since they needed to fix our door. That other room was a smoking room, so I had to move yet again to a third room. It took about 2 hours total for all the fuss, and they ended up giving me a $75 resort credit to say sorry. A nice gesture, but they should have fixed the problems sooner and smoother. I imagine another resort (i.e. Wynn) would have been much more attentive and really gone out of their way to help me. While the staff apologized, it felt like everyone I encountered felt like they were doing me a big favor by helping me out and even a bit annoyed that they had to deal with the door problem. Imagine how I felt on my vacation, at least they were getting paid for the ordeal!
Even with this hiccup, I enjoyed my time at the Mirage Las Vegas. I would go back; however still my top hotels in Vegas are Wynn/Encore and Aria. Mirage Las Vegas would probably be my next favorite, followed by Mandalay Bay. Mirage is definitely better than NYNY, Monte Carlo or Luxor.