Great Amenities and Services Hampered by Lackluster Rooms - The Mirage Hotel and Casino
Written: Aug 20 '06 (Updated Apr 11 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great pool, restaurants, nightlife, casino and services
Cons: Lackluster rooms could be at the Best Western
The Bottom Line: With a great casino, tons of restaurants, nightlife and a relaxing pool, the Mirage's only fault is the run-of-the-mill hotel rooms
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| jps246's Full Review: The Mirage Hotel And Casino |
One of the Strips most well known resorts, The Mirage hotel and casino does offer some significant advantages over other hotel/casinos, but also has some lackluster features. Overall, the resort easily earns a 4-star rating with its extensive casino, numerous restaurants, nightlife and well laid out pool area, I just wish the hotel rooms had kept up with the rest of the resort.
Finding the Mirage
The Mirage is located in the upper part of the newer area of Las Vegas Boulevard near Treasure Island (TI), The Venetian, The Wynn and Caesar's Palace. This location makes it easy to visit the other hotels and casinos in the immediate area, but hotels such as Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand are a very long walk down the strip and in the hotter weather, the distances can be quite daunting. However by using taxis, a bus or taking the Las Vegas Tram, people who want to make it down to the other end of the strip can do so without too much effort.
To the north are the older hotels and casinos on the strip including Circus Circus and the Stratosphere.
The Mirage's parking area and the side drop-off area are also accessible from Spring Mountain Road, which also provides an easy access to Interstate 15 if you are planning on making day trips into the surrounding area from the Mirage.
Checking In and Out
Out of all of the Las Vegas hotels I've stayed in, the Mirage's check-in process seemed to be the most confusing if only because there's almost no guidance provided as to where you are supposed to be going.
There are two main entrances to the Mirage for people arriving via taxis, either the main entrance or a side drop-off area that brings you right into the lobby. For those driving on their own – the garage entrance enters in the same area that the side drop-off area does.
Once you're in the lobby, there's a long counter that runs the length of the lobby and is where both check-in and check-out is. VIP check-in services are all the way to the right and have their own individual area and the Dollar Rent-A-Car area is all the way to the left along the counter.
Unlike many other hotels, there are no distinct check-in areas and no queuing area for those who are waiting to check in or check out. When we checked in late on a Wednesday night this wasn't a problem, since we were the only ones in the lobby – we just walked up to someone standing there and was like “is this where we check in?” As we were there checking in, lines did start to form and most people seem to mill about the middle of the lobby – unsure if they should form a single line, line up behind the few people working check-in or check out or I guess if they are even in the right area.
When checking in you have the option of putting a credit card down so that you can charge room service, meals and other services to your room. You can charge just about anything at the Mirage to your room including beverages at the pool, a trip to the spa or a meal at one of the many restaurants at the Mirage.
Checking out was a bit more confusing as it was quite busy and it wasn't clear if there were any specific lines for just checking out or if checking in and out was accomplished in the same lines. It turns out that it was – and we ended up spending about 20 minutes in line until a manager came through the lines and was willing to do an express check-out for us, even if we had charges to the room (we did) – we just had to sign off and the charges were mailed out to me. If we had to wait, it would have probably been at least another 10 minutes or so.
We later discovered that you can check out in the room by using the check-out service on the TV. You can do this even if you have charges and it will save you a lot of time if it's one of the busier times in the lobby.
Getting to your room
One of my biggest complaints about some Las Vegas hotels is the fact that to get to the elevator for your room, you sometimes have to walk through what seems like the entire casino. The Mirage is no exception here – from the lobby you literally have to walk across the entire casino to its rear where the pool area, the dolphin habitat and the hotel elevators are located.
The elevators are broken down into three different banks for various floors of the hotel and each bank has 6 elevators, which was more than enough to keep everyone moving and didn't lead to any long delays on catching an elevator.
The Rooms
Having always thought that the Mirage was a step above the average Las Vegas hotel from my visits to Las Vegas and from what others had said, when we opened the door and went into our room, I have to admit that I was disappointed. The rooms are nothing special and if anything, I've had better rooms in Las Vegas and paid a lot less for them.
Because there was three of us (my partner and I and a friend), we went with a room with two queen beds. Judging from looking through open doors and their website though, all the rooms follow the same general pattern. When you enter through the door you are in a hallway area with the bathroom off that hallway, along with a small make-up table with a mirror, followed by the room itself, which either had the two queen beds or a single king-sized bed. There was bed stand between the beds, a desk and an armoire that held the TV, offered drawer space and also had a mini-bar.
It's best not to even open the mini-bar though, it's electronically monitored so all you have to do is pick up or move a bottle in order to get charged for it. I opened it, looked at the price list and closed it right away. The drinks including water, soda and alcohol are at least twice if not three times expensive as you can get elsewhere.
The rooms offer high-speed internet access for a fee and a modem connection is available on the two phones in each room. Local calls are free but there are high charges for long distance calls. Cell phone coverage within the hotel was excellent and I didn't have a problem using my cell phone anywhere in the hotel or in the room so I would suggest using that instead of the hotel's phones. There is no wireless access available in the hotel.
The TV offers basic cable along with a move pay-per-view service and hotel information channels.
One of the best reasons to enjoy a hotel room to me is a really nice bathroom. I want a large tub so I can relax if I want and the bathroom should be big enough to comfortably move around and if need be, have two people getting ready. The bathroom in this room basically failed on all counts. It was too small for two people to be standing at the counter working on their hair or brushing their teeth and the tub and shower were as average as they come.
The beds are comfortable, neither very hard or soft. However, extra pillows will be necessary for just about anyone, since they ones they provide are so soft that even two feel like you've got nothing underneath your head.
Room Services
So you've made it to the room, what can guests at the Mirage enjoy? You have access to 24-hour room service that offers selections from all of the various restaurants at the Mirage – including everything from morning coffee to Brazilian grilling. A nifty feature of this room service is that they offer catering service, should you have a large group in your room or are entertaining some friends in your room (a bachelor or birthday party come to mind). You can order various catering platters and drinks and room service will take care of everything for you.
A full-service gym is available in the spa, but it will cost extra to access the facilities. In addition to the gym, the spa offers massages, hydrotherapy, facials and several other treatments. There's also a full-service salon for both men and women. Reservations are suggested for both, as is advisable with almost everything at the Mirage to make sure you get a place in line.
If you're a golfer, the Mirage can arrange tee times and transportation to at local golf courses. The Bell Desk can also help you arrange day trip excursions to nearby attractions. They can also take care of your dry cleaning and help guide you to various other services in Las Vegas.
Guests at the hotel can also use the pool at the Mirage. This was one area that pleasantly surprised me, the pool is laid out in such a way that the pool area is full of private areas and more open areas. You can relax in the sun or in the shade of a palm tree, there are waterfalls to go behind and water slides to ride down. There's also waitresses going through the whole area taking your drink orders and should you have forgotten your sunscreen, a small store sells pool basics. If you get hungry, there's a small restaurant that serves breakfast (for those early sunbathers) and lunch throughout the day.
Dining at the Mirage
Unlike some of the hotels on the Strip, the Mirage has a large selection of various kinds of restaurants, from very expensive and fine dining to simple and inexpensive dining. Except for the buffet and a few of the casual dining spots, reservations are practically required in order to get a seat. It's best to call ahead when you arrive or reserve early on the morning you are planning on dining.
The fine dining options include Kokomo's and Samba, both steak and seafood restaurants, STACK an american bistro, Fin, Onda and Japonais, a Chinese, an Italian and a Japanese restaurant, respectively. Casual dining locations include the Caribe Cafe, the Mirage's 24-hour restaurant, California Pizza Kitchen, the Cravings Buffet, the Carnegie Delicatessen, the Paradise Cafe, Coconuts, the Roasted Bean coffee house and the Dolphin Snack Bar.
Prices on the finer restaurants generally run from about $30 to $40 a person, while the casual dining restaurants average around $15 to $25 a person.
If you like good deli sandwiches, no trip to the Mirage would be complete without a stop at the Carnegie Delicatessen. It feels like you've stepped into NYC and you can enjoy a pastrami sandwich, pickles and a hearty breakfast all day long. Another great stop is the Samba Brazilian Steakhouse, where you can have all the Brazilian bbq on skewers that you can eat. The bring each selection around on the skewers and you can take as little or as much as you want. And while the lines are long in the morning, the Roasted Bean's two locations are a great place to get a morning cup of coffee and a muffin, or any other kind of breakfast pastry that might interest you.
The Mirage's Nightlife
The big push in all of the Las Vegas hotels seems to be to have the coolest, hippest and hottest nightclub and the Mirage is no exception. After years of attracting what I would consider an older crowd, the Mirage now has the 20-something Las Vegas visitor clearly in its cross hairs with the new nightclub, Jet. Attracting Hollywood types along with throngs of younger Vegas visitors, Friday and Saturday nights are Jet nights with very large crowds forming around the club and in the adjacent casino.
If Jet is too much for you, there are several smaller bars and lounges where you can relax with a drink in a somewhat more relaxed atmosphere (since thumping club music isn't for everyone). These other bars and lounges include AVA, the Onda Lounge, the Sports Bar and the Dolphin Bar.
Site Attractions
The Mirage is of course home to its famous volcano, which erupts hourly (weather permitting) after dark. It still is one of the most impressive of the free shows on the strip and is definitely worth watching if you are there. It's even worth the trip if you're not staying at the Mirage.
Even though Siegfried & Roy no longer perform at the Mirage, their White Tigers still figure prominently at the hotel – with viewing available as you come into the casino and additional viewing available in Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Here you can watch lions, tigers and dolphins and if you really want to, they offer a special “Be a Trainer for a day” course that lets you swim and work with the dolphins in their habitat.
The hotel lobby features a 20,000 gallon aquarium behind the check-in desk that has a variety of tropical fish, coral reef creatures and sharks (small ones, I was expecting big ones to hear them talk about it). It can be viewed from anywhere in the lobby, but you can get up fairly close to it and take photos by getting against he lobby counters where check-ins and check-outs aren't occurring.
There's also the tropical rain forest underneath a 100 foot glass dome as you come into the main entrance of the casino. There are living palm trees and other forest plants in the dome and small lagoons travel throughout the forest.
The Casino
Unlike my stays at some other hotels, I actually enjoyed playing in the Mirage's casino. They have a large selection of various slot machines, plenty of table games and more than enough ticket-redemption machines and cocktail waitresses.
The casino is kept very clean and has switched all of the slot machines to the 'cashless’ slots, where instead of coins when you cash out, you get a ticket that can be put into another slot or can be taken to the main cage or a redemption machine where you get the cash.
The Mirage is part of the “MGM Mirage” group of casinos (which includes casinos like TI, the Bellagio, NY-NY, MGM Grand, the Monte Carlo and Mandalay Bay – several more are being added as the MGM Mirage group recently purchased the Mandalay Bay group). Basically, the more you play with your card in a slot machine or registered at a table, the more you can earn cash back, comps, and discounted hotel rooms. You’ll also get information on the latest news when you join and play on your card.
The vast majority of the slot machines on the gaming floor are nickel slots with some penny slots and a few slots with higher denominations of either a quarter or a dollar. There are also higher denomination slots for those of us who want to go really high limit
Overall Thoughts
Having stayed there for four days, I think we got a good idea of the Mirage experience. We went to the pool, dined at the restaurants, played (a lot) in the casino and went to a few of the lounges to relax and kick back.
If I had to rate the hotel and casino on those amenities alone, I'd say it was five stars, but the lackluster hotel room did me in. We paid roughly $150 a night and for a comparable price, I've had better rooms on the strip. Not only that, we paid a discounted rate, if I had paid even more for the same room – I would have been even more disappointed. The room was simply too plain, the beds weren't that great and the bathroom, that was the biggest negative. We had to take turns getting ready and when it came time to relax, the tub was too small for me (at 6'2” I would have had to crunch up to lay down) to have a comfortable bath so I stuck to taking showers the whole time.
Check-in and check-out could have also been a bit better. My biggest problem was the seeming lack of organization and structure to the process. It just made people uptight and angry. In fact, the lady in front of us was literally yelling at the manager because the check-out process seemed so confused.
Final Thoughts
If you can get yourself a discounted room rate at the Mirage, then go for it. However, if you're paying full price, realize that you're paying more for the features and the amenities of the Mirage in place of the hotel room itself.
And while those amenities, including the pool, the dining, the casino, the nightlife and the attractions are great, I would think most people will probably be disappointed with the standard rooms at the Mirage. That is, unless you can get yourself one of the suites, which judging from the descriptions, make up for the missteps in the standard rooms.
I enjoyed the Mirage and while I'd think long and hard again before staying there again, it does offer a lot for those staying there – from a good casino, world-class nightlife to tons of dining options. I was just a bit disappointed by the rooms, but in Las Vegas, who really spends all that much time in their hotel room?
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