MGM Skyloft or Cosmo Penthouse (stay one week)

[Michael Germany]

Hi All,

first of all I’d like to thank you for your threads here…
I’ve read many of them for some time since I found your website;
and now registered for asking my question and hope someone can help me. :-)
Me and 3 friend of mine all from Bavaria, Germany (Mid 30) planning our visit
at 26.08.15-02.09.2015 or 02.09.15-09.09.15 in Vegas
We come to have fun, nightlife, shooting range, cars - hopefully get a once in a lifetime experience...
Therefor we want to book either the 2 bedroom skyloft at MGM + one extra room
(Everyone want to sleep in his one bed) or the 2 maybe 3 bedroom Penthouse at Cosmo
We are all smoking and here´s my personal pro´s and con´s :

MGM:
PRO
Cheaper, VIP status, Limo transfer included, smoking room, the rooms (2 bed) do not differ that much in interiors, so it’s more secure to get what you would like
Cons
location – not in the middle of the strip (more to walk or taxis cots), the view from the room, no terrace, really nice, but not that spacious looking like the cosmo, if we get the right cosmo penthouse it would look “cooler” (black bathroom etc.) the MGM as hotel might not be that nice as the cosmo (not sure about that)
no 3 bedroom in our price range, no big chance for upgrade??

Cosmo:
PRO:
Location, looks more spacious, terrace (hopefully), better view (hopefully),
(- that’s what cosmo Celebrations Sales Manager wrote: While décor, views and terraces can be requested, they are not guaranteed; it is based upon availability upon the time of check-in.)
the opportunity to get all people in the penthouse and not have to split the group (for sleeping), nice décor, Maybe better hotel, the chance for a upgrade in a even better penthouse (found some even more nice ones on YouTube, which are not for booking and would be out our range anyway ;-))
Cons:
No limo transfer, not sure to get the terrace (very important for smoking) not sure to get a good view, Not sure to get the décor I like (dark would be preferred) maybe not the same VIP status like you get on the MGM Skyloft?
after all I know, so I think the cosmo would be the better option, but only if we would get what we request?

And now im asking for your opinion about my considerations, what have I forgot, what else do I need to know? Is there a chance to get a upgrade anyway, if we stay 1 week

Thank you very much for reading and your help!
If I forget something, you would need to know for your help, please ask :-)
Michael

[ocam]

Hi Michael

Welcome to the forums.

I will be there (with a number of other people from the forums) between 03.09.15 and 08.09.15. This period includes the busy US holiday weekend, Labor Day. If you are there over those dates, then an upgrade is less likely than normal, because there will be even more people than usual in town.

Are you sure you want to spend ~$500 per night each ($2k as a group) for just the room? You could put that money towards tables in clubs / pools. Unless you plan on hosting a couple of parties in your room during your stay?

Have you looked into the Cosmopolitan Bungalows? These would allow you access to Marquee and would make it easy for you to invite guests from the parties back to the room for drinks, etc. Think they might be roughly the same price

[Michael Germany]

Hi Ocam,

Thank you very much for your replay and advices.
With the date we are flexible ((from End of august till Mid October)
only not in the week of 15. Sep – that’s the first school day of my daughter)

What Date would you recommend (for good prices, upgrades and weather conditions)?

We also consider to take the wraparound Terrace Suite + 2 rooms at cosmo
or the Skyterrace Suite + 2 rooms at MGM
but we thought, for a "once in a lifetime trip" we should get the best we are able to?....
The budget per Day is still equal – we just will spent more ;-)
I also requested the bungalow, but they cost to much


Would you prefer (beside the costs) the bungalow instead of the Penthouse?

[Cle]

Having stayed in all of these let me give you my view.

The 3 bedroom penthouse at Cosmo is pretty bad ass. Nice terrace outside, good area to walk around in the center of the room, but the room sizes to vary so hopefully no fighting. Chances are you will not have the other room (if you need it) on the same floor as the penthouse floors do not have normal rooms on them.

Skyloft is very nice, but is hit or miss for large groups, again, you all won't be on the same floor. Skyloft people will look at your kind of weird when you have a large group of people going in and out all the time, but the service up there is amazing.

Terrace suite I still believe is where it's at. Large outdoor space, king bed upstairs, good size couch downstairs, plus you can get the attaching 2 queen room and keep another couple rooms on the same floor.

Bungalow at Cosmo is alright. It's a great flashy thing, but the butler in it is super annoying. They will come in randomly (had to litterally deadbolt the door a couple times) and check to make sure there is no liquor in the room that wasn't purchased through the casino, they also make sure there is no more than 15 people in there. Surprise "checks" to see if more people are sleeping in the room. They really just nickel and dime you in there room, but it is pretty sweet if you're willing to deal with the hassle. I personally wouldn't stay there anymore - just not a good vibe.

[Michael Germany]

Hi Cle,

Thank you very much for your experience and advice!
I also thought, the Bungalow isn´t really a option for us…

So I think the cosmo 3 Bedroom Penthouse would be best – and hoping for good room, like we requested.
If not available, we may still be allowed to downgrade to 2 bedroom with terrace + room on other floor :-/
or wraparound terrace suits + connector… + another room on same floor and save a ton! ;-)
What date (End of Augsust till End of November) would be a good time for traveling (weather, price + upgrade)?

[OnetimePLZ]

Hi Michael,
in that timeframe there are two national holidays.
Labor day september 7th and Columbus day Oct. 12th. Labor day is a huge weekend for vegas.
(Probably one of the top 5 weekends ( with Memorial day, new years eve... someone correct me plz if im wrong. Im not even from the states )
The higher demand will jack up prices for hotels, tables ... the difference can be HUGE ( like double and more )

Regarding what u actually get at cosmo/ skyloft. Most of the time these rooms arent actually sold but are used to accomodate their highrollers. The chance of getting an upgrade for a whole week is slim, but gets even slimmer if for example you guys choose to stay there over labor day weekend ( As significantly more high rollers will be in town ) So if you hope to get an upgraded accomodation you should avoid the holiday weekend.( They wont give u a bigger penthouse even if it shows avalibility through the week as big players might decide to go last minute. Getting upgraded to a 3 bedroom skyloft for a week with an holiday weekend is probably a smaller chance than winning a multi millon doller jackpot at the slots...:-)
That is also something the check in guy cannot do anything about no matter how big the tip would be

If you wanna have a lifetime experience I would recommand u to mix in some pool parties .
Usually they will go till the end sept. go before the first school week of your daughter to be on the safe side.
August can be very hot over there but its a dry climate so I prefer it then if it would be colder temprature wise but with higher humidity

What I would do is switch the hotels like 4 nights here and 3 nights there ( just depends on the people, I factor the hassle to switch rooms less then the ability to stay/ see two different locations...Skylofts and cosmo will for sure both be worth spending your time over there
Another option u might wanna give a look are the 2 bedroom skysuites at Aria. Should also be way cheaper then cosmopenthouse or skylofts.
While vegas can be a pretty crazy all year long the big weekends can definitiv something that boosts your vegas experience in a positiv way! For myself would go the week around labor day and would rather downgrade the accomodation ( aria skysuite for example still beeing pretty bad ass )
If money is no object at all go for labor day weekend anyways :-)

[OnetimePLZ]

One more thing regarding limo transfer. With the prices u mentioned I would not even care about.
Skylofts have a fleet of Rollce royce and maybachs (not sure if they still use the maybachs or if only the RR are in use now)
If you book with them make sure you request these. For 4 people with luggage they might sent a different car if not requested otherwise )
There are several limousine services in town. I always use presidential and never had an issue with them. You can f.e. get a airport pick up in a stretch hummer for ~ 250$ which might give u the wow effect as well....

[ArmyVegas]

Bavaria!! Just popping my head in to say welcome to the forums Michael. I was stationed at Bamberg there and I miss it everyday! Any chance you can sneak 10 Lamb Doner's in your suitcase? I'll pick them up at the airport....LOL

Bad News: I called Cosmo about the 3 Bedroom Penthouse before and they told me it isn't available for reservation. There is only one 3 bedroom and it is only available as an upgrade during check-in from a 2 bedroom.

As far as dates: Sep 3rd for 7 nights in a 2 Bedroom Penthouse is the cheapest. 1.000 a night from according to reservations at the Cosmo (I called).

[Michael Germany]

Hi ArmyVegas, Hi OnetimePLZ,

Again thank you both for your advices! :-)

For us the ARIA isn’t an option, we would better stay at MGM Skyloft.
To change the hotel is a good idea but also, we would not like to do that…
So after your answers we will stay either from Aug. 26th or Sep. 02th for 7 days
(Depends one better price and that would include better (still small!) chance for a upgrade)

ArmyVegas – the prices you mentions are new to my I got an email from
Alex Tallent, Celebrations Sales Manager from cosmo:

Good Morning Michael,

Thank you for your interest in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. I received your information from our resort team, who mentioned your interest specifically in our West End Penthouse and Bungalow Suites August 26th – September 2nd, 2015.
We would be honored to host the group. Is there a special occasion for the trip to Las Vegas?

The West End Penthouse Suites are a mix of beauty and sophistication for luxury living high above the sights of Las Vegas. Two or three bedrooms this suite can sleep up to 4-6 or 6-8 people and can entertain up to 35 people for a light reception. The Two Bedroom offers two beds, one in each master bedroom, while the three bedroom suite offers an additional connecting room, giving you a total of 3 or 4 beds. While décor colors can be requested, they are not guaranteed. While décor, views and terraces can be requested, they are not guaranteed; it is based upon availability upon the time of check-in.


I would prefer the prices you told me a lot! Would be worth to travel more then 10 Lamb Doner's the 14 hours from Bavaria with me ;-)

[artedm]

Hi Michael-
1st- it will be memorable even if you stay in the cheapest hotel room in town. Its las vegas!
2nd- if you haven't been before- vegas will very happily take all your money. seriously its the city of $1,000,000 champagne packages, $40,000 a night hotel rooms, $10,000 drinks, $1000 a day ferrari rentals, $1000 ice cream sundaes, $500 a person dinners, etc.

So I would get with your friends and try to get an idea of your total budget. Is it $2,500 each, $5,000 each or ?
Say you have $20,000 total to work with $5,000 each then you can plan your whole trip that way.
For example if your there 7 nights you can go to a nightclub each night and a pool party Friday-Monday that is 11 parties. At each party you could be spending $2000+ that is $22,000. See why you really have to figure your total budget.

I would recommend
1. go Labor Day weekend
2. nightclubs each night and pool parties Friday-Monday (during ldw)
3. cheapest hotel room in town. For example directly across the street from MGM Motel 6 is like $250 a week for a two bed room. So $500 for four beds.
All of the pool parties, nightclubs, shows, entertainment, concerts, bars, restaurants, cars races, guns, magic shows etc, happen outside of your room. So if your doing it right you really only need a place for a little rest and to take a shower.

$15000+ just on a room is way to much and takes away money that could be better spend on other entertainment

[ArmyVegas]

Here is the number I called.

1855-435-0005 for Cosmopolitan Penthouse Reservations.

The reservation specialist checked all of the dates and let me know those days are the cheapest for 7 days for a 2 Bedroom.

Side note..... I 10000000% agree with artedm. The amount of trouble you can do with that vs a hotel room is insane.

[Cirilo Medina]

In my opinion, the "Vegas Hotel Room" is just a glorified locker for your stuff, and maybe a napping station. You do not spend much time in the room, so spending so much money is a waste to me. Spend it on bottles strippers fancy restaurants etc! The room will not make the trip memorable, the stories you create in the clubs bars strip will!

[Cirilo Medina]

also, when I go, it's Excaliber now. Maybe Cosmo or Planet Hollywood? The inside of the Quad looks pretty cool for a party atmosphere, and the Linq next to it too. Don't know if the rooms at the Quad have been updated yet, though. Ok I'm getting off my soapbox!

[krepali]

Michael you might not want to get that extra room to accommodate your 4th person. You can easily get away with a 2br skyloft + 1roll away bed... I guess they should provide 1-2 of those for free and you are not going to be short of space as to worry about "how to fit"

For this budget, you might also want to take a look at Encore Tower Suites as well. They have 2br and 3br suites available if I remember well but I don't know how much they charge for the days you need them.

As long as the logistics go:

Although I know a lot of people recommend against spending a lot of money anywhere in Vegas apart from nightclubs/dayclubs, I love your approach to go big with hotel rooms/cars etc in that once-in-a-lifetime trip.

I guess this might limit your clubbing budget but you don't really need to spend thousands of $$$ in alcohol every single day and night for a week for two reasons: 1) As you are from Europe, you are already accustomed to crazy clubbing 2) You are going to be exhausted at some point from the hangover and the lack of quality food/sleep. Instead I would schedule the epic $$$ tables/cabanas only during a weekend (that is Friday night - Sunday noon) preferably towards the end of your stay. For the quieter days I would lounge either at hotel pools or do the necessary sightseeing (which for you means a helicopter tour to Grand Canyon or a quick fly to LA or shooting range or exotic car rental/racing... you get the picture). For the quieter nights you can get away with either cheaper tables (don't forget the midweek deals) or guestlist/GA entry and drinking at the bar.

[Michael Germany]

Hi All,

I’m very happy for all your advices!
You are right with your opinions about spending so much only for the room.
The memories are the things you experience in LV!
And for me, that also includes the limo transfer and first sight of a fancy room is one of that, of course only one of many…

Maybe I need to tell you more details about me / us so that you even better understand my personal concerns:
We are all about 35 years, known each other for about 15 year, 3 of us (me also) have children one not…
We still party quit good like one or two times a month…
But we surely will not party all days in Vegas, and do no shows.


For the Trip now:
We will do the shooting, the dream racing, the Stratosphere, maybe a helicopter...

Again I am very thankful for all your advices and opinions you gave till now and maybe will come! Great forum!
I will call the number for cosmo, and will also ask which of the two weeks is better there (conditions)
...still a little bit undecided if i go to cosmo or MGM :-p