It was Hard Rock, now it's Virgin by Curio: Here's how a Las Vegas hotel is reborn
The last 24 months for the Las Vegas hotel world have been full of so much news. We have already [...]
Virgin Atlantic
United States of America
The last 24 months for the Las Vegas hotel world have been full of so much news. We have already talked about of the Circa, the first "adults-only" resort in Sin City, but the news does not end there; in fact, in the coming years there will be a real revolution on and around the Strip.
In this article:
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The first big news was the closing of the Hard Rock Cafe, the one famous for the mega guitar featured in the finale of the movie Con Air with Nicholas Cage. Now, After a makeover, this hotel has become Las Vegas' first Virgin Hotel.
For Hard Rock it is only a matter of time, it will be back in a big way since it bought an icon of the strip, namely the Mirage Hotel that was owned by MGM and will reopen under the banner of the well-known restaurant and music memorabilia chain in the next few years.
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The revolution on the strip began this summer when the new ResortWorld, the first new casino/hotel on the world's most famous road after 11 years of "hibernation."
Reservation
I booked through the app; it was Super Bowl Sunday, not exactly the cheapest day to sleep in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, when I booked my flight, I had absolutely no idea that I would end up in the 5 most expensive days of the year With rooms at "world first" prices.
In any case, in Las Vegas I was there and so I tried to visit a new hotel and especially maximize the collection of points, in this case what I was after was the possibility of accumulating the two active Hilton Honors promotions. At the end of only bonus I brought home almost 8000 points, enough to book a free night in lots of Hiltons around the world.
The location
This is one of the sore points of the hotel. The location. It is located near the airport, let's say it is halfway between the airport and the Strip, which means that if you sleep here to get around you have to take an uber, a cab or the hotel limo. Conversely if you have a car it is probably one of the best possible solutions. There is plenty of free parking (in the rest of the hotels parking costs the same as the room or almost), it is not on the Strip or even in Dowtown so you are out of the chaos.
This means moving quickly to Grand Canyon and other typical destinations for those visiting Sin City.
The hotel
The worst thing is. The obnoxious "resort fee" also arrived at this hotel, that is, the hidden tax that all large Las Vegas hotels charge all guests. When it opened it did not charge it, then in early 2022 the policy change.
Again 45$ per person to be able to take advantage of things that are free in other hotels, such as the pool or wifi.
The only ray of light in this legalized theft, the possibility of not paying the resort fee if you book using points, in which case the cost per night starts from 20K Hilton Honors Points.
Here and there are flashes Virgin, but there is a complete lack of air in the other facilities or simply aboard the British company's planes.
Check-in and room
This was the surprise. The check-in clerk, after thanking me for my "loyalty" and for my Diamond status in the hotel chain's loyalty program, said, "Let's see if I can give you a better room. Here it is, you'll see you'll like it."
I had booked a basic room; it was an unpretentious, one-night stay.
However, when I arrived in front of the door to my room on the 11th floor, the top floor, and saw the size of the door (double the size of the others), I realized that he had given me an upgrade to a suite. And what a suite.
An apartment with a double bathroom, separate kitchenette, living room and bedroom, overlooking the resort pools and with Strip views.
The room, or rather the apartment, is really nice. The horseshoe-shaped living room and dining table would be fine for hosting a party with about ten people without much trouble.
You can see that details have been taken care of.
Room service
Knowing that I would have no way of spending the 15$ credit that I was entitled to as an elite customer, I decided to order dinner in the room.
I was on the couch watching the game of the year anyway.. The service was very fast and I must say that the burger was really good, as really good was the creme brulé. Certainly, 70$'s bill makes it clear how expensive services are in Las Vegas' premium hotels.
The resort
Unfortunately, the introduction of the 45$ per night fee has made this facility no longer competitive. Also considering that all the pools were closed and the rest of what is included in the fee is a joke.
I had visited the Hard rock hotel many, many years ago, and I must say that the common areas, signage aside, have changed little. The lobby encompassed within the casino, which is small and much less quality than those around.
There are several restaurants such as Nobu and Casa Calavera, but again it is absurd that the credit that all Hilton Gold and Diamond members have is valid in very few signs (4) and none of the premium ones, as if 15$ could put Virgin or Hilton out of business.
There is nothing special about the casino: there is no Virgin soul, there are not even its colors (red and white), there is not the hype that the brand conveys in all its other ramifications instead.
There is a club, as there is in all the big Vegas hotels, but I expected something better since the night of the superbowl is THE Night of the Year, instead it was comparable to an Italian b-list club, or maybe worse.
In conclusion
Location, resort fee are two big NOs. The Virgin soul can't be seen, the Curio style can't be seen either. All this in spite of the fact that the room was beautiful, but spending 70€ for a hamburger (good) and a creme brulé seems really exaggerated to me.
Pro
- Suite
Against
- The resort fee
- The cost of room service
- Closed swimming pools