Sky Suites – ARIA Las Vegas Luxury at the Right Price

Tastes vary. My partner in crime, Michael Trager, won’t stay at any Las Vegas luxury hotel that has fewer than five stars. He eats at the finest restaurants and only gambles with the really pretty chips. I, on the other hand, am generally happy at a DoubleTree and tend to sweat when the video poker stakes go from pennies to nickels. Amazingly, today we are going to look at the Sky Suites at Aria Hotel.

Indulge your desires at ARIA Sky Suites, a luxurious Forbes Five-Star rated retreat high above the Las Vegas Strip.

Every so often, however, my wife and I make an exception and go upscale, and we’ve found that the best place to get value for your dollar is in Las Vegas. Since almost half of the city’s revenue comes from gaming, hotels are willing to offer deals on the other half, just to get people to show up for the tables.

Aria Sky Suites

The Aria Sky Suites are located right around the mid-point of the main part of the Strip and are a part of the Aria hotel and City Center complex. The Las Vegas Luxury Suites aren’t exactly what I would call cheap The least expensive ones start at about $600 per night (midweek, of course). But a property of this caliber in most major cities would be well into four-figures and, since we don’t gamble, we benefit by default from those who do. Not to mention that we go in October, so 75-degrees without humidity makes for great pool-lounging weather.

And, just for fun, I’m going to throw in a few more hints to keep the prices down. Hey, even when we go big, we like to go thrifty.

The Trip Begins at The Airport
Las Vegas Luxury

Luxury starts from the minute you land. A taxi line? That’s for everyone else. Instead, the hotel sends an embarrassingly large limo to pick you up. The rock star experience continues at the hotel, where a gaggle of employees is waiting for you*. Check-in is taken care of in a private lounge. Hungry? There is complimentary food available throughout the day, ranging from continental breakfast in the morning to wine and cheese at night. Non-alcoholic drinks are also available.

The Scene

The Sky Suites first floor is a gathering area for guests. The setting encourages interaction, although you’re certainly able to have a quiet drink. But watch out for the celebrities who may show up. Two years ago, Shaquille O’Neal came through the lobby to the private elevator. And last year, the Golden State Warriors were staying in the hotel, so they were constantly in and out. Just another day…

The Suite

There’s no such thing as a “room” here. Everything is a suite, the smallest of which is just over 1,000 square feet. You’ll walk into the living area which has a small fridge and table set-up. If breakfast comes with your room, I highly recommend the outstanding room service.

This room is meant for the lazy. You don’t need to get out of bed to do anything. A tablet on your night table controls everything in the suite. There’s a certain amount of frustration that comes with the tablet, though: A week after we arrived, my wife and I still hadn’t figured out to use it and inevitably shut off all the lights in the living room when we were trying to turn on the TV in the bedroom.

The bedroom and bathroom, though, are the real stars of the show. The bed is one of the most comfortable that I’ve slept in, and you may never have to get up because of that tablet. When you do stumble out of bed and into the bathroom, you’ll notice the large soaking tub and a shower the size of a New York City apartment. They also stock both bathrooms with soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and anything else you can think of. Everything is travel-sized and the amenities are replaced twice daily.*

There’s a generous living room with another TV and sitting area. It does look a bit old-fashioned, but it’s certainly big enough to host a small cocktail party. And hey, you can’t beat that view…

The Pool

While there are a number of amenities on the property (including, of course, the casino), the one that stands out is the pool The Sky Suites has a private pool and it never runs out of lounge chairs (We never saw it more than about half-full.). There were too many attendants to count, and they’ll happily do anything from set up an umbrella to bring you treats throughout the day. You can order poolside meals there throughout the day, although the menu is somewhat limited. The water is warm and swimming is comfortable. One note: There are no designated non-smoking areas (Remember, Las Vegas is a smoker-friendly city.).

The Service

Overall, virtually flawless. We’re talking Disney-level good. We needed everything from restaurant reservations to a 2 am trip to the ER (Don’t worry, Mom, everyone’s fine.) and they delivered each with high efficiency. Employees couldn’t do enough to make us happy and they were well-trained in the art of body language. They seemed to know exactly when we needed help, versus those times that we wanted to be on our own. I couldn’t say enough good things about the spectacular staff. Heck even the wireless network was good.

One additional note: The service is outstanding and consistent with the price you are paying. But if you are paying for the room, you won’t receive the same levels as those who are there because of their gambling levels. Sorry, no bathtubs full of champagne, unless you want to pay for it.

The Casino

Naturally, it is almost impossible to totally avoid the casino. Like every gaming floor, the layout is a labyrinth and, of course, there are no signs for the exit. If you get lost in there, it may be days before you get out. Still, you can find everything from penny slots to five-figure blackjack tables so, if either of those is your thing, go nuts. But low-rollers, get psyched. There’s a bank of penny “The Simpsons” slot machines, although I’m told that they may be on their way out.

Aria is, of course, a member of the MGM M life program.

Eating At Aria

Given the number of restaurants that there are in Las Vegas, we did most of our eating outside of the hotel. We did order room service for breakfast, which was fantastic. Among the restaurants that we sampled:

• We felt that Blossom was above average, but probably not something that we’d come home raving about.
• Although I had spoken with Anthony Curtis several times on the phone, I had never met him in person until we, Anthony and LVA’s inimitable tech maven (without whom we wouldn’t be here) Tanya had the express lunch at Julian Serrano Tapas. The food was decent and the restaurant did exactly what it was supposed to do: We had a three-course meal in under 45 minutes. I’d recommend it for a business lunch.
• Our dinner at Lemongrass was the best of the three sit-down meals that we had. Be careful, though, since the food comes spicy!

One meal that’s always worth discussing is the buffet. My wife and I have a rule that we never pay out of pockets for them, since the quality doesn’t usually match the quantity, but we stumbled across a few passes for Aria, so we decided to check it out. And the Buffet at Aria was actually pretty good.

We went for lunch but, from what I could see, the menu didn’t vary much from dinner. What I noticed most was the incredible variety. It was the first buffet I’d been to that had a decent Tandoori section, on top of more traditional ones such as a carving station, Asian and Italian. There was also a strong charcuterie section. You won’t be surprised that the pizza and desserts were both disappointing, although there was decent gelato available.

Beginner Hint: The desserts at the buffet are never worth the calories. That may be the single-most valuable hint that I can ever give you.

For those who want to eat healthy, well, you wouldn’t be at the buffet anyway, but Aria’s had the best salad and fruit bar that I have ever seen at a Las Vegas buffet. There’s also a large Mediterranean offering.

The Sky Suites’ Value – Las Vegas Luxury

For what you get, this property is a ridiculously good value. Remember, your 1,000+ square foot suite is being subsidized by the gamblers, so the casino will give you a great rate just to get you in the door (As the saying goes, “ghosts don’t gamble.”). I’ve found midweek prices for this Las Vegas Luxury as low as $500 per night, and the standard rate seems to be in the $600 range. That’s not much more than what you would pay for a traditional Marriott or Hilton in many cities. Here are a couple of ways to make the deal even sweeter:

• Go midweek. That’s not exactly a surprise to anyone who goes to Las Vegas, but the hotels are cheaper, the airfare is cheaper and the crowds are fewer.
• Even when we splurge, we like to be frugal. If your flight gets in late at night and you are going right to sleep anyway, you might as well stay at an inexpensive hotel by the airport and get your pick-up there. It can work on the other end of the trip, as well. If you have an early-morning flight and won’t get to take advantage of the hotel, have their car take you to a hotel by the airport instead of the airport itself.
• Book through a travel agent. Agents who are part of luxury networks such as Virtuoso can get you added benefits, such as complimentary breakfast or a spa credit (or both). The price should be the same, but I have seen instances where the Virtuoso rate was higher, so be sure to compare. If you don’t have an agent you like, we can recommend one.
• Use the Citibank Prestige Card. The annual fee is a whopper and the benefits aren’t quite as good as they once were, but the card gives you a “Buy three nights, get one free” deal that you can use at almost any hotel, including the Sky Suites, twice per year. If you use it even once during the year, you could end up making a profit, since the card also comes with a $250 annual travel credit.

And I wasn’t totally honest when I said that we wouldn’t earn points. MGM, Aria’s owner, has a partnership with Hyatt that gives you five points Hyatt for every dollar that you spend. You can also double-dip with MGM’s own program. It’s not great, but dollars spent at the hotel count toward your tier status.

The End

Sadly, all good things, including Las Vegas Luxury, have to come to an end, so we made our way back to the airport (The limo takes you back, as well.). Nothing like going from the Sky Suites to being herded onto a plane with 150 of my new closest friends, but I like to look on the bright side: I’ll be earning miles.

*Take the amenities, even if you don’t plan on using them. There’s probably a shelter in your area that would appreciate them.