Vicki S.
Yelp
(Visit was several years ago)
My Mother-in-Law is dying of liver cancer and had never been to Vegas, so decided to start crossing things off her bucket list. So here we are at the Mirage on the Strip, mostly first-timers, myself the only true Vegas "veteran".
I told the men they couldn't visit Las Vegas without hitting up one truly decadent pool party. The original plan was for the Sunday party at Rehab (at the Hard Rock) but evidently it is no longer what it once was, so we decided to stay a little closer to home and check out Bare, a separate tops-optional ("European") pool area from the main pool at the Mirage, accessed by a plant lined walkway. We contacted the dedicated concierge for Bare and reserved a VIP daybed (c. $500 to reserve gives you access to one additional pool area, a personal waitress and attendant, and the cost is applied to your bill).
There was a slight issue getting in (LOTS of things prohibited at the private pool parties in Vegas. Check with the concierge BEFORE you arrive to avoid either throwing out the offending items or having to check them. Luckily for us we were staying on the property so I could run back to the room to drop them off.)
After that things went very well--for a while. The daybed was comfortable, complete with multiple pillows, an umbrella for shade, and a personal fridge. Our server was attentive, as was our bus boy Tony (who at one point very willingly ran to the sundries shop in the Casino to buy me Chapstick when mine disappeared). The menu offerings are much better than those found at the main pool area, as are the drinks, which for $30+ come in a souvenir cup, if that's your thing. The drinks are delicious, and strong. Be warned.
We enjoyed the sunshine, the views, the company, and then, while I was in the bathroom fixing my makeup, everything changed.
I came back to our daybed to find my husband being walked out by security. Evidently he had made a slightly off-color joke to our server about the availability of illicit substances as compared to the availability of illicit sexual partners (e.g. it's so easy to find a hooker, who does one talk to for pot?). FULL STOP. Exit stage left.
The guests at the neighboring beds had no idea what had happened, the head of security who wouldn't tell me a thing because he "didn't have permission to tell me anything".
Eventually the head of security (Henry, very nice guy) did come back and tell me a little bit about what had happened, after my husband had told him it was OK. I guess the same surname and the rings on both our fingers wasn't enough to prove we were married. Evidently they had a terrible sting a few weeks prior where an undercover cop had asked for cocaine, and gotten it, asked for a prostitute, and gotten one, and then asked for heroin, and gotten that, too. From the business perspective I appreciate their sensitivity. I really do.
However, from the perspective of a guest who has spent $1000s at their establishment over the course of several days, I am completely appalled. It was very obviously a joke, as both the server, the head of security, and my husband all agree. Was it in poor taste and--unbeknownst to my husband--in poor timing? Absolutely. What I fail to understand is how other guests (witnessed by my husband and myself) were able to very earnestly solicit both prostitution and cocaine without the bat of an eyelash. Our same server was very friendly and forthcoming with recommendations to another guest about which strip clubs to go to for oral sex (if not full-on intercourse), in fact. The same server who went to management about my husband's bad joke.
What made it worse is that when I returned to find my husband being escorted off the property, besides no one willing to tell me what the hell had happened, the server in question completely avoided me. I was "allowed to stay as long as I liked, just open a new tab." Ok, then show me the tab my husband paid. Did we meet our minimum? Did he tip appropriately?
I was assured that it was taken care of, the "minimum was waived" since everyone agreed the whole situation was BS but it was policy and a sensitive topic given recent events, and all was well. Even when I asked again to see the bill I was told it was fine, and was never given a copy.
At that point I was certainly not inclined to lounge by the pool without my husband, but the food we'd ordered had just arrived. I asked for it to go, and take out boxes were thrown on the bed. I had to box it up myself. I wasn't worried about our server since there was a 20% auto-grat and she had ignored me since she had the husband kicked out, but I did slip a few $20s to our attendant who, again, was amazing.
When I finally saw a copy of the bill hours later, we had been charged for several things we hadn't ordered or consumed to meet that minimum that had supposedly been waived. WTF?
This incident aside, Bare was a great experience. Just take our experience as a lesson, and be careful what you ask for!