So we are back from our 8 day trip.. suffering from post wedding/vacation depression now. it's so sad that everything is back to normal now!
Vdara Hotel - A - So we stayed at Vdara for the majority of our trip. We also have about 10 other rooms booked through our room block for our guests and ourselves. We checked in on March 22 Saturday and told them we are getting married at Aria and asked for an upgrade (We booked the basic Deluxe suite). Since it was the weekend they said all rooms are fully booked but told us to check with them again the next day. We did and we got upgraded to a Vdara Suite. On March 24 Monday we had to check into another room for the groom/hubby and the bestman. We booked the Vdara Suite and got upgraded to the Executive Corner Suite. Some of our guests asked for an upgrade but were refused (they all checked in pretty late though). One other guy did manage to get an upgrade as well but he used the $20 trick. All in all we would stay at the Vdara again
It was a short 2 min walk to the Aria, so very convenient. As for parking it was valet only. But these guys are quick. We got our car within 2 minutes every time except for the very last day (March 29) since it was check-in/out time. One of hubby's friends left $5 for housekeeping and asked for more water and she loaded the whole tray with water. I would've graded them A+ but our floor of the executive corner suite was stuffy most of the time. Also housekeeping did not refill the amenities in the bathroom even though we tipped $5 every time. We also asked for late check out on March 29 and was granted until 2pm.
Aria Hotel - A - We booked the 1500 sq ft Cirrus suite for March 25-27. I stayed there for the night before the wedding with my MOH and with my hubby on the night of the wedding. The room is huuuge of course. The toilet is heated (so comfy!) A bag of chips from the mini bar was open already when we got there. We told them and they never charged us. There was a separate dining room with 8 chairs, 1 of the arm rests was loose and half broken though, which was a bit dangerous cuz we had guests over to visit us the day before the wedding... there were grandmas and a 2 yr old toddler. Line up for check in was LONG (pretty much every day). Hubby checked in for us on March 25, he waited for almost 40 minutes he said and when it was finally his turn service wasn't even that great. We asked for a late check out the day following our wedding but was rejected. She literally said "the latest we could do for you is noon. You will be charged for another half day if it was a minute past noon". Hubby was not happy but figured there was no use to argue with her. He ended up going back later that day and asked for a manager. Manager was very nice and apologetic and helpful. He gave us a 3pm check out time and congratulated us. The day of the wedding we got a knock on the door as we were getting ready and it was a small gift box with different colored rice crispies squares in there with a note thanking us staying at Aria. However at check in we were charged $25! for it... we talked to them again and they took it off the bill. Aria is a nicer hotel overall than Vdara. But service should've been better.
Aria Buffet - B - We ate at the Aria buffet 2 times (Myvegas redemptions B1G1 lunch and 2 free lunches). The servers were friendly but a bit robotic. Ambiance was nice, decor looked fairly new. They had seafood even for the lunch buffet. I wish they had a bit more variety though. I would rate Bacchanal and Wicked spoon above Aria's buffet.
Cosmopolitan's Wicked Spoon Buffet - Food A - Overall B - We ate dinner here on our first day in Vegas March 22 Saturday. We were there by 6 and there was no line up.. line up was long though during 7-8pm. Loved the food there! This is probably our 3rd or 4th time eating there. Loved the food and the variety. Didn't like the Chinese food though (we are Chinese. so we know what they're supposed to taste like. Bacchanal's chinese food was great. Mirage's was decent as well to our surprise.) There was no fruit at the buffet though. Other than the chocolate dipped strawberries which I loooved. Our parents and our relatives ate here on March 27 Thursday for dinner as well and they got there at 8pm. By 9:15pm they were kicking people out and food was getting cleared away. This was exactly what happened to us one year ago when we were deciding between the Wicked Spoon and the Bacchanal. Last year they even turned out the lights at the food stations by 9pm. I'm SO GLAD we went with the Bacchanal. Our wedding is on a Wednesday, I'm sure they'd be doing the same thing on any other weekday nights. They might be different on the weekends but I wouldn't risk it for our wedding! I would go there for the food again but make sure we get there early!
Mirage Buffet - Food B+ - Overall A - We used Myvegas redemptions (2 free dinners) for this. I'm probably giving them a higher grade because it was free for us. They had more food variety than Aria's buffet. Also our server was fantastic. He offered us a B1G1 free lunch coupon. We knew we wouldn't have time for it anymore but thought our parents probably would. So we asked if we could have a few more and he gave us 4. He even told us to get there closer to 2:30pm so they'll be switching over to dinner and there'll be more seafood by then! At the end my parents and my relatives (7 people) went on Friday for lunch and they all enjoyed it. Like I said the Chinese food was decent so it probably helped with their chinese food cravings
Julian Serrano at Aria - B+ - Spanish tapas. There were 5 of us (us couple, MOH and bf, and bestman). Food was good but not the greatest. And they were VERY busy. Food was served fairly quickly despite how busy they were.
Lobby bar at Aria - This was the only bar that opened till 2am in the Aria. We wish they would stay open till a bit later.
Jean Phillipe at Aria - A - Looove the displays and the dessert! MOH and I ate here the day of my HMU trial. We were going to go to Mandarin Oriental for the afternoon tea but my trial took longer that expected. We both had the savory crepe (Forest and Italian). I love crepes and loved them both
Hussong's Cantina - B - We were the very last day with hubby's friends as they decided to take a walk on the strip. We walked from Vdara to M&Ms, Coke, Luxor, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay. We were actually trying to decide what to eat for dinner as we were walking through the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay and I spotted it and remembered the good reviews from theknot. I'm not a huge fan of mexican food so I'm a bit biased. The guys really liked their food though and they finished everything. I loved the complimentary tortilla chips though! That must've been a reason why I hadn't enjoyed my entree as much.. I was half full already from the tortilla chips and Strawberry lemonade
Zarkana at Aria - A - (Myvegas B1G1 premium ticket) I can't say I loved it but I really enjoyed it. There was alot to look at. Our seats were about the 4th row from the front on the right section towards the center. Since it was so close to the front we could see everything, including the make up on the cast members. It was very acrobatic (that was their slogan I think). We wondered throughout the show why these people aren't in the olympics. We've seen Varekai in Vancouver, LOVE beatles at the Mirage and KA at the Mgm before. I think Zarkana was better than KA and Varekai.
Zumanity at NYNY - A+ - (Myvegas B1G1 premium ticket) We really enjoyed it! We went with another couple and they loved it too. It was very different because of the humor and the sensual side of it
It was hilarious.