Trip Report - 5/31-6/4 - Mandarin Oriental, Skylofts, Liquid, Light and more...

[CisternaChyli]

Great report - comprehensive in every respect. This has confirmed that I need to check out MIX next trip.

Thanks! Can't recommend Mix highly enough.

Mix is amazing. I went as part of the club crawl thing last time i was in Vegas. The views are spectacular; drinks arent half bad either. I want to check out Red Square though.

[pantlessbellman]

Great TR so far! LIGHT looks intense! Must check it out next trip!

[Chuck]

Great TR man! That Light video literally gave me goosebumps...can't wait to go there!

[JOz Orko]

Great T! I need to make more money and connections. Lol.

[Universal]

Day Three and Four:

Day three started with me walking to the CVS beside Mandarin Oriental to buy Gatorade for my wife, who had thrown up quite a bit a few hours before. I also drank too many red bulls over the course of the previous night and got very little sleep, so neither of us was feeling very well. We then ordered breakfast in the room since my wife wanted to see if she was to the point where she could hold food in her stomach. We both had scrambled eggs and I also had two of the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever eaten.

Our initial plan was to have the Skylofts limo pick us up around 11:00 AM. If our loft was ready, great. If not, we would have them hold our luggage and then head to Daylight, the new pool party at Mandalay Bay. So, we ate breakfast and my wife felt just so-so a few minutes after finishing her food. She decided to lay down for a little while before the limo arrived.

Our pickup time rolled around and we checked out of Mandarin and headed downstairs to meet the limo driver. A Rolls Royce was not available and we were picked up by a “regular” stretch limo. As soon as we started moving, my wife began feeling nauseous again but was doing her best to keep her composure.

We had hoped to take advantage of the potential Noon check in, which is part of the FHR package, but we were notified upon arrival that our loft would likely not be ready until 2:30-3:00 PM. Given the previous night was a Saturday, this was certainly understandable.

Blake, the arrival concierge, offered to let us hang out in the MGM Grand VIP lounge until we could check in. I had told him my wife wasn’t feeling well, so he told us about the food, sodas, couches, etc.. in the VIP lounge. He began leading the way out of the Skylofts reception area and into the casino. Probably no more than 10 steps into the lobby, my wife told me she was going to throw up and quickly made her way to the nearest trash can.

Blake had kept walking and talking and didn’t realize we weren’t with him. After getting about 20 steps ahead of us, he looked back and saw what was happening. Moments later, multiple MGM Grand employees circled around to block her from the gawking people waiting to check in the MGM and to see if she needed paramedics or any other medical attention. I looked at Blake and said, “bet nobody has ever made an entrance like this to Skylofts.” He just laughed and reassured me that he has seen about everything there is to see being a long time employee in Vegas.

After she finished throwing up, I realized it was going to be tortuous for her to sit in the VIP lounge for three hours. After thinking about an alternative plan for a bit, I called Mandarin to see if our room was still available since we were technically entitled to a 4:00 PM checkout with the FHR package. They were gracious enough to allow us to return to our room and Blake offered to have the same limo driver take us back, which we accepted.

My wife was able to take a two hour nap and felt like a new woman once she woke up. So much so that she had a craving for pizza so we headed to Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in Crystals to satisfy that desire. While eating there Blake called my cell to notify us that our loft was now ready and offered to send another limo to pick us up from the hotel. This time we were pleasantly surprised to see the Rolls Royce Ghost waiting for us in the valet area of Mandarin as we came off the elevator from the City Center bridge.

Pic in front of the RR Ghost...



After a short but enjoyable ride back to Skylofts we were again greeted by Blake, who was happy to see my wife was feeling much better. He walked us through the casino up the Skyloft elevators and we began our walk down the hall to loft 67. While making our way down the hall, Blake told us due to availability they were able to upgrade us to a two bedroom loft, which is substantially bigger than the one bedroom we had booked. Just before entering loft 67 he received word through his earpiece that we had actually been assigned loft 83, which is a two bedroom with a strip view. Score!

So he “apologized” for the mixup and we turned around to head back towards the other hallway. Of course, this was no inconvenience for us and we were ecstatic to not only get the upgrade to a two bedroom loft but also a strip view. Prior to arriving my wife had no idea what the Skylofts were and no clue what we were about to walk into. We’ve stayed in some impressive suites in Vegas and other cities, but nothing like this 3,000 square foot, two-level loft. Needless to say she was “wide eyed” as we walked in and blown away by both the size and the quality of the room.

Blake completed the check in process in the loft and went over the various benefits we would receive as part of the Fine Hotels program. After finalizing the paperwork he handed things off to our initial butler, whose name escapes me. She gave us a tour of the loft and went over how everything works from the coffee machine to the remote controls to the bathtub to the shower, etc... She also told us all the various tasks the butlers are available to provide and we took advantage of many of them.

Once we were alone in the loft my wife was speechless. She not only loved the room and all the furnishings but was also blown away by the level of service and attention of the Skylofts team. We then began exploring the loft to get a sense of how best to take advantage of everything.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Skylofts, here’s a video another guest took of our exact loft:

At this point it was obvious Daylight wasn’t in the cards, so I canceled those plans. We instead spent the next few hours exploring and getting settled in the loft and relaxed until our 9:00 PM dinner reservations that night at Yellowtail, a great sushi place at Bellagio.

The restaurant has limited seating on the patio overlooking the fountains and we were fortunate enough to receive one of those tables with minimal wait. We had a great meal there with an even better view. The sushi was excellent and their rock shrimp are some of the best we’ve had. Our server was also very good at what he does.

View from our table...



We had a table reserved at The Bank but my wife still wasn’t ready for any more partying, so we canceled those plans too and headed back to the Skylofts for the night.

We initially thought the Skylofts bed was going to be a bit too firm for our liking but found it to be very comfortable after settling in. We both slept extremely well and each liked the fact that there is a heavy black curtain that can be closed to cover the blackout shades. In our room at Mandarin, it seemed like the lights of the strip always found a way into the room even with the blackout shades down. There was no such issue at Skylofts because of the extra curtain.

The next morning we had 10:00 AM breakfast reservations at the Mansion. My wife had never heard of the Mansion, so she again had no idea what kind of treat was in store. We made our way to the concierge desk and they immediately contacted a butler to escort us to the Mansion. He was very entertaining and told us some great stories on the way there.

Upon arriving we were seated “outside” even though it’s really inside in perfect 72 degrees temperature. We were the only guests dining there and received impeccable service from the staff. I ordered fresh squeezed orange juice, pancakes, bacon and a blueberry muffin. My wife ordered fresh squeezed apple juice, French toast, and bacon. Both of us loved not only the food but the overall experience at the Mansion. We only saw one set of guests the entire meal and they were just walking through with a staff member.

Breakfast at the Mansion...



In the atrium...



We were then met by our butler who escorted us back to the Skylofts. While walking back we mentioned to him that we were celebrating our anniversary. He asked us if we had any plans for the afternoon, and we told him we were headed to Bare at the Mirage. We took a cab over there and had a VIP daybed reserved on the elevated level. We were given the middle daybed we requested and enjoyed a fun but low key final day in Vegas.

We found out after arriving at Bare that Daylight was having their industry day, so the crowd at Bare wasn’t what it normally is on a Monday. It was good but not great. We made the best of it though. My wife did a little shopping in Paradiso in the Mirage and then we headed back to the Skylofts.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

[Universal]

We walked in to find our butler had left us chocolate covered strawberries and a complimentary bottle of Veuve champagne. This was a great touch and we enjoyed both the champagne and the strawberries that night after eating an in-loft meal. As part of Skylofts, guests can order food from any of the MGM Grand restaurants and the butler will bring it to you in the loft.

I ordered a filet from Craftsteak, and macaroni and cheese from Wolfgang Puck. My wife ordered her meal from Fiamma, an Italian restaurant, and a caesar salad from Craftsteak. We ate while watching game 7 of the Miami-Indiana series playing on every TV in the loft. No matter where I walked I didn’t miss any of the action, although it turned out to be a blowout.

Our meal was excellent and it was so nice to be able to eat in the loft on our last night in town. By that point we were exhausted, so it was relaxing to not have to go anywhere. We then ordered breakfast for 7:30 AM delivery the next morning since our flight left at 9:30 AM. It was delivered promptly and was excellent. This time I had the French Toast and my wife had an omelet.

After breakfast we headed down to catch our limo to the airport. Unfortunately a Rolls Royce was not available, so we had to “settle” for a ride in an Escalade limo. We made it to the airport right on time and had a smooth flight back to Charlotte.

So another Vegas trip is in the books. It had its ups and downs but the positives definitely outweighed the negatives. Next time we go we will definitely go with a crew though and save the trips where it’s just the two of us for other cities.

A few final pics...

Skylofts lobby...



At Yellowtail...



Love the Bare pizza...

[ccc]

Great TR.

[kp3205]

Awesome TR. Many thanks for sharing.

[tombrokaw]

they walked us through the mansion when we ate at Robuchon.

The place looks like a villa owned by a south american drug lord.

[nighthawk06si]

great tr! i want to stay at the skylofts now...

[Jhaulotte]

great tr! i want to stay at the skylofts now...

Havent seen your T.R yet Nighthawk. Universal, your TR made me realize there are definitely things I need to still experience in Vegas

[vegas_22]

Cool TR. For mixlounge do you need to book a table or can you just walk up?

[Universal]

Cool TR. For mixlounge do you need to book a table or can you just walk up?

If the night we were there is any indication, there would be no need to book a table.

[vegas_22]

Cool TR. For mixlounge do you need to book a table or can you just walk up?

If the night we were there is any indication, there would be no need to book a table.

Sweet, will be sure to check it out before heading to Light!

[KyleVC]

Awesome trip report, thanks for sharing and it looks like it was a great trip!!