VegasChatter

Tags: Candy Shops / Cupcakes / Palazzo / Luxe Vegas / → All Tags

$750 Can Get You a Weekend Stay at The Palazzo or 1 Cupcake

You've just won it big at the tables inside The Palazzo so what are you going to spend your winnings on? If you've got a serious sweet tooth and no understanding of saving your money for a rainy day, then consider the $750 cupcake inside the casino's Sweet Surrender sweets shop near the guest elevators.

Decadence D’Or is made of the exotic Palmira Single Estate Chocolate which is derived from the rare Porcelana Criollo bean and cultivated in Venezuela. The cupcake is also made with Tahitian Gold Vanilla Caviar, a fruit that ripens for nine months and can only be pulled out of its shell by tedious extraction. It's also the world’s most labor-intensive agricultural crop. Already, we're in a sugar coma. But there's still more to this cupcake:

more ›

Tags: Mandarin Oriental / CityCenter / Luxe Vegas / Parking / Fees / → All Tags

The Mandarin Oriental Charges $30 to Park Your Car Overnight

If you didn't know, parking, even valet parking, is free at nearly every hotel on the Strip. Vdara in CityCenter has valet-only parking for guests but the service is rolled into the $15 resort fee which also includes internet access and use of the gym.

However, the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas charges $30 a night for overnight parking. Ugh. If this was New York or San Francisco, we would understand. $30 would even be considered a deal. But no one charges for valet parking on the Strip so why did Mandarin Oriental decide to do this? Especially when their rooms are upwards of $300 a night?

We'd much rather they charged a resort fee and rolled that in there like Vdara does. That way we also wouldn't have to shell out $18 for in-room internet access. Yes, it's one of the most expensive hotel WiFi charges we've seen in the U.S.

more ›

Tags: Mandarin Oriental / CityCenter / Luxe Vegas / → All Tags

The Mandarin Oriental Has Luxury Las Vegas Has Never Seen Before, But at a Price

This video comes with its own soundtrack!

We recently spent two nights at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, admiring the new Vegas skyline from some seriously luxe digs.

But this was not without a serious strain on our bank account. We were able to book the Mandarin's "We Fan Las Vegas" offer which gave you a complimentary night for each night you booked. The bill before taxes was $465 for two nights which is really, a terrific deal when talking about the esteemed Mandarin Oriental brand and their incredible service. Seriously, it was some of the best we've ever experienced.

However, it's the little charges that nearly broke our hearts here. Yes, we know this is Vegas and everything you want costs money but some of the "services" here felt like blatant price-gouging.

You know it's bad when you wish the hotel would just institute a resort fee instead of charging you a la carte. Sigh. More on that tomorrow but for now enjoy the photos we've put up over on HotelChatter and this here video room tour. (And yes, that music playing is coming from the room. It's not something we dubbed into the video.)

Tags: Over the Top / Luxe Vegas / Shopping / Wynn / Gift Shops / → All Tags

To Do in Vegas: Eat, Drink, Gamble and Buy Objets d'Art from The Wynn?

In what takes the trend begun some years back by certain international hotel chains of selling beds, linens and the like, Wynn LVNV allows you to take everything from bedding to your favorite lighting fixtures and restaurant place settings home – for a price, of course.

Organized into separate, mini-boutiques focused on bedroom, dining room, living room, foyer and children’s merchandise, it offers an immersive and easily navigable shopping experience. Here, you can stock up on everything from Murano glass objets d’art, drinking vessels and chandeliers to Anne Geddes children’s merchandise that’s just so gosh-darn adorable.

more ›

Tags: Luxe Vegas / Spring Mountain Motor Sports / Gearheads / Cars / → All Tags

Pampered Adrenaline Junkies Should Seek Out Spring Mountain Motor Sports

Stuck in traffic on the Strip? Feel the need for speed in your exotic rental car? Well, you're gonna have to get out of Vegas to satiate your fast and furious desires. But don't worry, you won't have to go to far.

About 45 miles due west of Vegas in the little hamlet of Pahrump, fast car enthusiasts will find a playground created just for them. A visit to Spring Mountain Motor Sports during your next trip to Vegas might be the splurge you and the fellas decide to make for the bachelor who already has everything else, or just another way to get your ya-yas out in some really tricked-out vehicles.

Several different driving schools are offered and a full calendar of upcoming classes is viewable here. And this is no remedial, judge-ordered driving school neither, boys and girls. Your classroom will be either a Corvette Z06, a Lotus or a Radical SR3 Tracksport.

more ›

Tags: Coffee Shops / Encore / Luxe Vegas / → All Tags

The Swankiest Place To Grab a Cup of Coffee in Vegas

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the swankiest place to grab a cup of coffee is at Encore Las Vegas inside the hotel's Lobby Bar & Cafe. Located in front of the guest elevators the cafe is painted jewel-box red with those colorful mosaic tiles on the floor that you've seen over at the Wynn but set against a black background instead of a white one.

The goddess Daphne presides over the bar (indeed her statue greets you at the entrance) and you can order specialty plates that come with your own personal sculpture of Daphne. We were intrigued by the tomato and feta cheese skewers with basil pesto as well as the bacon and cheddar cheese croquettes and the old bay fried shrimp but we decided at $21 we didn't need a personal statue of Daphne to lug around the casino.

more ›

Tags: Concerts / Encore / Wynn / Beyonce / Tickets / Luxe Vegas / → All Tags

Beyonce Arrives in Sin City; Rates Jump at Wynn and Encore

Tonight is the first night of Beyonce's four-night concert extravaganza at the Encore and after a dismal second quarter profit report, the Wynn/Encore folks could certainly use some "Get Me Bodied" music.

Surprisingly, room rates are still very do-able tonight--$179 for Wynn and $199 for Encore (on Expedia.) Of course, Friday and Saturday are much, much, much higher--$442 for Wynn and $576 for Encore. As for getting tickets to the B-show, there are some limited seats available at a whopping $1,000 a piece. Interested? Tickets can be bought by calling (702) 770-DIVA (3482).

If you can't splurge for the tickets, just remember that Toad the Wet Sprocket will be performing absolutely free tonight at VooDoo Beach at The Rio.

Tags: Shopping / Luxe Vegas / Louis Vuitton / Chanel / Gucci / → All Tags

Non-Recession Question: How Many Louis Vuittons Are There in Las Vegas?

The Louis Vuitton store in Paris. The real Paris, not Paris Las Vegas.

Recently, we spent some time cruising the North end of the Strip--you know, where Wynn, Encore, The Palazzo, and the Venetian as well as the Fashion Show Mall all congregate and we found ourselves wondering just how many Louis Vuitton stores are there in Vegas. (Or in abbreviated form: how many LV stores in LV?)

This was a reasonable question, not because we were interested in buying LVs, but because it seems like we'd seen quite a few LV storefronts in just a short time. Well, it turns out there's only five Louis Vuitton stores in Vegas.

There's a stand-alone store at Fashion Show Mall, inside the Wynn and inside the Forum Shops. There's also LV boutiques inside Saks and Neiman Marcus in the mall. So just remember, if you win it big and you're all the way up at Mandalay Bay, you better hoof it down to Caesars to buy your LV prize.

more ›

Tags: Luxe Vegas / Bellagio / Pools / Sweet Suites / Villas / → All Tags

Vegas Mystery du Jour: How Big is The Bellagio Villa's Pool?

We had an question from one of our Twitter followers recently, who wondered how large the private pools are at the Bellagio’s ultra-luxe Villas.

While no one at the Bellagio seems able to cough up the exact dimensions, by the looks of a lovely pic on the Villas’ photo tour, the pool is the equivalent of an average-sized backyard pool in a nice neighborhood. It shares an elegant, private terrace with an outdoor fireplace and whirlpool.

more ›

Tags: Cabanas / Mandalay Bay / Pools / Luxe Vegas / → All Tags

There Will Be Some Big Pimpin' Up In Mandalay Bay's Villa Soleil Cabanas

The Villa Soleil, the premier cabana offering at Mandalay Bay, will set you back anywhere from $900 on a weekday (Sunday-Thursday) to $1,600 on a holiday weekend, but some would say the “amenities” you get are priceless.

For starters, the villas are technically at Moorea Beach, Mandalay’s “European bathing,” adults-only pool area. That means their third-floor location (atop the poolside casino) offers a birds-eye view of Moorea’s topless bathing beauties down below. If, for some unimaginable reason, that's not enough to make you want to hand over next month's rent money, they also offer other perks like a 50-inch LCD TV, MP3 docking station, wet bar, private restroom, changing area and a private pool that’s shared with the other Villas Soleil.

more ›

Tags: CityCenter / Shopping / Luxe Vegas / Openings / → All Tags

The Crystals Will Open December 3 With Prada, Dior and Bulgari, Oh My

CityCenter construction, late June 2009.

We didn't think The Crystals, the funky-looking luxury retail complex inside the massive CityCenter complex was progressing much last week but MGM Mirage has announced today that the shops will open on Dec. 3 and inside will be a few luxe firsts for Las Vegas. From the Las Vegas Sun:

The company today said large-format luxury retailers now committed to the 500,000-square-foot retail and dining center include Prada, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Carolina Herrera, Hermes, Roberto Cavalli, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Versace.

Retailers opening their first locations in Las Vegas, and that will be unique to the market, include Tom Ford, Assouline, Kiton, Miu Miu, Paul Smith and Porsche Design. Other CityCenter retailers announced today include Bally, Emilio Pucci, Ilori and Dale Chihuly.

Um, Toto? We're not in the Forum Shops anymore. This is quite an impressive retail roster particularly the stores opening their first locations in Las Vegas. Tom Ford only has one other location in the U.S. in New York City. Kitson is a celeb fave for paparazzi shots in Los Angeles and Assouline is a high-end bookstore which sells only photography, fashion, art, design and lifestyle books. And what timing too! Just in time for the holiday season. Let's hope people feel like splurging this year.

As far as hot tables, The Crystals will see Eva Longoria Parker's Beso restaurant and a Mastro's Ocean Club Seafood House. Previously announced was a pub concept from Todd English and (predictably) two restaurants from Wolfgang Puck. Hopefully, he hasn't run out of fresh ideas here.

Tags: Deals / Hotel Rooms / Luxe Vegas / Four Seasons / → All Tags

Get The Third Night Free at the Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay

It may not be very Vegas-y inside, but for a certain variety of Las Vegas visitor, that’s the whole point. When you stay at the Four Seasons Las Vegas, which occupies several of the top floors of the gilded Mandalay Bay tower, you might have a commanding view of the Strip from your room, but the frenetic Vegas vibe will still seem miles away.

The Four Seasons offers the proverbial oasis of tranquility for visitors who like to be near the casino and nightlife action, but want to be able to escape from it occasionally, too. It doesn’t have a casino, it has a top-rated spa, a couple of respectable restaurants (we especially like Verandah), and its pool service achieves near perfection in terms of luxury – pool attendants even periodically stop by to spritz guests with Evian water.

more ›