Vdara Hotel & Spa
"How did it strike you on arrival?If you want to feel like you're checking into a destination spa, Vdara may be the hotel that comes closest in Las Vegas. The lobby has soaring ceilings and lots of natural light, and the whole hotel—although it's a glass high rise in ultra-modern CityCenter—is built to maximize the light and bring in natural materials. It's the only completely non-smoking AND non-gaming hotel in Las Vegas, so it feels and smells super-clean. What’s the crowd like?The travelers who stay here are looking to go to a casino on their own terms, rather than having to pass through a casino floor on the way to their rooms. These are the ones who bring their yoga mats on vacation, or are here strictly to do business and not bother with the chaos of most other hotels. The good stuff: Tell us about your room.Every room is a suite in Vdara, although there are a half-dozen suite categories. I've been in the City Corner Suite (a tough get!), which is just under 800 square feet and feels modern in black and white, with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the Strip or the mountains. (If you want a fountain view of Bellagio, you can call in advance and ask if it's possible to put you in one of the high floors, which have partial views of the waterworks.) One nice feature is that the rooms were designed to feel residential, so all of them have features like refrigerators (that you can put your own things in), dining tables and electric cooktops. The corner suite (which is the middle category) and up have full kitchens and a Keurig coffee machine. So if you were going to be staying in Las Vegas for a while, Vdara would be a comfortable place to dig in. We’re craving some deep, restorative sleep. They got us?The beds are nice and firm, with individual reading lights. The bedrooms are separate from the living areas—and have good views—so they feel quite civilized. How about the little things, like mini bar, or shower goodies. Any of that find its way into your suitcase?One of the nice amenities here is that rooms have access to a washer and dryer, so you don't have to pay a zillion dollars for laundry (that is, unless you want it done for you), and you can call housekeeping to provide things like detergent. The mini-bar is fairly standard, with items like sodas, nuts and candy, although the items are less expensive than most on the Strip. Please tell us the bathroom won’t let us down.Separate glassed-in showers and big soaking tubs, great plush robes and Aveda amenities make you feel like you're in a destination spa. But the real reason (besides the non-smoking policy in the hotel) that you'll want to come here is ESPA at Vdara, which is a beautiful, sleek spa that provides a really large range of services in its two-floor spa, all with incredible, pure ESPA-brand products. Maybe the most important topic of all: Wi-Fi. What’s the word?The Wi-Fi is standard (probably about 10MB) and included in the daily $51 resort fee. Room service: Worth it?Restaurant options are limited to the Market Cafe and Vice Versa Patio & Lounge (for serious dining, most people walk over to Aria, which has some of the best restaurants in town). So you might want to order room service at some point, although it is not a long trek to the other hotels in CityCenter. It's standard Vegas in-room fare, but with some nice healthy options and suggested wine pairings on the dinner menu. Staff: If you could award one a trophy, who gets it, and why?The housekeeping staff is pretty amazing. You can call them for a whole host of things: extra K-cups for your coffee machine, detergent for the laundry and for dishwashers. Anything stand out about other services and features? Whether it’s childcare, gyms, spas, even parking—whatever stuck with you.The spa is one of the nicest in Las Vegas, and is never as crowded as, say, Qua in Caesars or one of the other spas in large casino resorts. There's a meditation lounge, waterfall, wooden floors—definitely a go-to spot while you're here. What was most memorable—or heartbreaking—about your stay?The most memorable thing about Vdara is the scent (or lack thereof) of cleanliness. It's a relatively new hotel and has never allowed smoking. So it feels very spa-like. Bottom line: worth it, and why?This hotel, while it has slightly higher room rates than some comparably sized hotel rooms, is worth a little extra money for all the extras you get: Even basic studios have little kitchen areas. So you're not always going in search of food. And if you're staying for a while, there's no reason to avoid laundry service: You have access to machines." - Andrea Bennett
