Review: The Delano Las Vegas

By far my favorite hotel in Vegas. Great review. However, I got the stomach flu last time I was in Vegas and was in bed the entire time vs in the amazing Mandalay Pool (I blame the AA flights!!! - I now wipe down my arm rest, tray table, etc.)

It's not clear from your review which room you booked and which room they upgraded you to, or if there was any upgrade.

Thanks for the review, good as always. Breakfast looks great. For the price you paid it is amazing value.

I love Vegas and the truly awesome Mandarin Oriental Hotel. I would never consider staying anywhere else. Lucky, have you stayed at the Mandarin and if so did you review it?

I'm now longing to go back. How I love my typical Vegas routine: spending an afternoon at the Mandarin Spa; getting all gussied-up for drinks at the beautiful Mandarin Bar and dinner at Twist; running off to a show (Absinthe!); making the rounds of the casinos, playing craps till 3AM; sleeping for a couple of hours before getting up again to go skydiving over the desert.

Just too much fun!

I stayed there this past Sunday ($113 via FHR). In fact, I stopped you at the end of FTU to ask if you had any dining recommendations there. I also stayed at SLS on Friday night. Don't be tempted. First, you have a blog post from last year saying that the resort fee @SLS includes airport shuttle transportation. It doesn't. Everyone I spoke to said it never has (yours wasn't the only blog with a post mentioning the feature, though I can't find anyone who claims to have ever used it, so I think they were honest in claiming that it didn't exist). The rooms were small and very, very awkwardly designed. There was a mirror directly above the bed if you're into that. In fact, there were a lot of mirrors. And very little space. The bed was in the center of the room. It was just weird. I've had two stays with Delano with FHR and I'd definitely stay there again. I wouldn't stay at SLS again - despite the casino and restaurants looking quite nice. One bonus - there was a dedicated check on line for SPG Gold & Platinum guests. I'm perplexed that Delano is the only MGM property I've noticed that does not have a dedicated line for Gold and Platinum members of Mlife. Bellagio, Mirage, Luxor, and Excalibur have dedicated check in lines for Gold, Platinum, and Noir. Odd that Delano doesn't. They did give me a courtesy check in inside the VIP lounge when I asked the concierge if there was a separate line (there was a long line Sunday evening as well), but they made it clear that it was done as a courtesy and that I should deal with the front desk with any other questions or issues.

Finally, the reason I asked you about dining recommendations is because I ate at Rivea on my previous stay and was incredibly disappointed for a multitude of reasons. The manager did graciously give me his card and invite me to come back so he could make sure I had a better experience, but I wasn't interested in a repeat disappointment at their prices. I ended up at Fleur as Aureole was closed on Sunday. It was fine. One dish was excellent. I'd eaten there years ago and enjoyed it just fine as well.

Moving forward, though, I think I'd use the dining credit for lunch at Della's as you did. The dining options included in the FHR credit don't excite me enough to take them up on them again. I think in-room breakfast and lunch at Della's are the way to go. Btw, I can also vouch for the in-room service attendant being creepily friendly and telling me that he enjoyed getting to know me. Weird angle. Funny - I assumed it was just that he was weird, not that he had been trained to be weird. 🙂

One other note: I've been upgraded both times to a "panoramic" suite. Your view appeared to be one, but the living room couch in the suites I've had has a chaise at the end of it in place of the leather chair. I also had a king bed each time.

Anyway, just my $0.02. Thanks for the review. I totally agree with Delano being my new go to place in Vegas. The location is kind of crappy, but with Uber and Lyft being fast and convenient, it doesn't bother me much.

As a Hyatt Diamond and therefore Mlife Platinum you should be able to checkin at the VIP reception.

My go to Vegas hotel is the Cosmopolitan. You cannot beat their collection of bars and restaurants and they take care of their casino players quite nicely. The rooms are big, fun, and the views from the terraces are amazing.

You should try SLS. I like there collection of restaurants. Although, many of their restaurants have closed. They have a great staff with great service despite being priced mid-tier. The rooms are nice and fun although they would fit in the bathroom of a Delano room.

SLS did have an airport shuttle. They stopped the shuttle in the beginning of April. I booked SLS under the assumption that I wouldn't need airport transportation. I wonder if there's any compensation available. SLS is a good hotel, but I wouldn't stay there again because the location is horrible.

the best FHR used to be the MGM Grand where rooms were almost always under $100 on the weekdays + the FHR benefits... I want to check out the Delano next time in town since its the next best in terms of pricing. Of course a 1 night stay is in order to maximize the benefits 😉

"... To try and win money..." isn't good English. If you are going to try something, it should be followed by the infinitive, like this "....to try to win money...".

Think if it this way: You're only doing one activity-trying to win. You're not doing two activities-trying and winning.

My favorite part of Las Vegas is to not go there. 🙂 I've been there twice and it is more than enough to me. The place screams artificial. BTW, it is the only place where lines to get a taxi and to check-in at hotels was longer than TSA lines. No tks!!!!

If you comment on grammar, you should make sure your comments are spell checked Sam

"Think OF it this way..."

I usually check Delano with FHR benefits, Aria/Vdara/Cosmopolitan/Delano/SignatureMGM with Virtuoso benefits, and mLife (I'm platinum through HGP Diamond match) rates at Aria/Vdara/Delano and do the math to see what the best combo of rate + benefits + property/location is.

I like Aria (that's where we hold most of our events).

Mandarin is excellent for vacation. Lobby bar is not to be missed.

Both have good gyms.

Bazaar restaurant at SLS is great.

I like walking the strip a little, so Delano is a little too far removed for my tastes.

I'm not a huge fan of MGM Grand or Bellaggio, but have stayed there a few times.

I also like the Palazzo.

I was there at the same time. Great deal, but we booked it with a package that included a 60 dollar breakfast credit. We got 160 dollar credit for a 150 dollar room. It's a great deal. The buffet is also good, not as good as the one in the Caesar's Palace, but it has a very reasonable price.

@VirtuosoEric, when did Vdara become a Virtuoso property? I don't recall them ever being a Virtuoso property..

Not a fan of MGM Signature but the rates there can get super cheap (under $100 a night). F&B credit can be used at one of the Robuchon restaurants which is nice.

These days, I'm pretty much at Mandarin Oriental, Aria, Vdara or Cosmopolitan (all right around each other, I know). The Mandarin Bar is probably my favorite place in Las Vegas. Before that, I would spend my time at Wynn/Encore. Before that, when I was more frugal, it was MGM and "TheHotel" at Mandalay Bay (what the Delano was before it was renovated). I have not been to the Delano and really appreciate this review.

Can someone explain why the Amex FHR collection is any better than the Chase LHR collection?

I just looked up Delano on Chase LHR and it has the exact same benefits as the ones listed in the post. Are the prices lower oh FHR? It seems like FHR is one of the benefits people use to justify paying for a plat card, but I can't figure out the value there since I can get basically the same thing with a CSP.

I've also enjoyed my stays at the Delano and as you said it can be a good value. I usually price compare the Delano to Nobu (which is part of Total Rewards...SPG). I like Nobu due to it's more central Strip location inside Caesar's Palace complex and because it's so calm. One thing that I noticed in your post that would drive me insane (and I probably never noticed during my stays at the Delano since I usually just grab a muffin and coffee at their coffee shop) are the spots on the dishes. I would constantly think there was dirty on them!

Is there an easy way to see what the rate would be for a given set of dates through the Fine Hotels program (without being a member)?

I'm specifically looking at the week of Sept 19-23rd. Trying to do the math on whether the rate is really as low as $119/night for most dates, or if that's a case of just finding some low nights. And if it's that low for that period, then the annual fee pays itself off compared to current rates for the property.

One thing to point out regarding the room service is that Vegas is known for their "24 hour" schedule and late night room service is sort of a right of passage in that city. The menu you posted, as noted on the top, is only valid until 10pm - as this food is delivered directly via the restaurant on-site. After that all of the food comes from Mandalay Bay's "room service" department, which was gutted in late 2014. Rather than a full menu its simply a few pre-made sandwiches and salads delivered to your room in plastic bags and styrofoam containers. It's, frankly, embarrassing.

Hi Lucky,

I did what you suggested and got a cheap Fine Hotels & Resort stay here. It's been about a week and still haven't gotten the Hyatt stay credit. Thinking about doing it again next month, but worries I wont get the stay credit (gave them Hyatt number at check in like you said). How long does it usually take?

Thanks!

I stayed at The Delano with the FHR benefits 15-17 July 2016. Upon checkout, it is virtually impossible to see how the credits were applied unless you ask for additional info. Even then, I was handed separate pieces of paper showing the credits. Confusing at best.

We were told we could use the $30 per person "breakfast" credit on the day we checked in. So a two night stay meant 3 "breakfasts." I'm using quotes there because there's no restriction on time of day to use the in-room dining credit. (Della's closes at 2:00 pm, so to use your credit there on check-in day you'd have to check in early.)

The extra "breakfast" on check-in day was not properly credited on our final bill. We could only tell that by requesting to see exactly how the credits were applied. The time it took to do this was worth the $ we spent on in-room dining after 10:00 pm. The burger was atrocious-- worse than a fast food burger.

No room upgrade was available. We were on the 34th floor with a view to the west (= view of low buildings, freeway and mountains).

Check in was quick on Friday afternoon (2:30). The line on Sunday afternoon was horrendous from 11:00 am - 3:30 pm. Late check out at 4:00 pm is a definite benefit.

Overall, the FHR package is a good value, but hotel staff seem to have varying degrees of awareness about the benefits. And the accounting system should be crystal clear. It's not.

Staying here now and the $100 credit has been changed a lot from the post. It no longer includes starbucks or the buffet. They don't list the restaurants anymore and just say "restaurants" so many of them may still work, but it is hard to tell from the paperwork.

Hey Lucky! Just a heads up, if you are ever visiting LV again, AMEX FHR no longer has the 100 F&B (now limited to spa), but Chase LHRC does! Just a quick FYI. Just booked it and you were so helpful with your review that I figured I throw in my 2 cents.

This was my favorite FHR hotel in Vegas but they not follow suit with most other hotels and only offer the $100 credit toward spa, which has no value to me. Until they switch back, I go to Bellagio, which still offers the credit toward food and beverages.

I Just checked in using Chase Luxury Hotels and Resorts reservation (about $175 per night). We were able to check in early around 10AM (normal time is 3:00pm) and stared LHR early checkin time is 12 noon. After checked with front desk, The $100 food can be used at Bellagio buffet if put in room charge. The LHR benefits letter stated that $100 can be used at over 120 MGM Resorts restaurants, bars, and lounges.

I used to stay at MGM Signature but Delano is cheaper this time. Mandalay Bay is even cheaper ($140). The room at Delano is better and got a strip view as upgrade.