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The NYT Finally Checks into the Encore

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 3131 Las Vegas Blvd S [map], Las Vegas, NV, United States, 89109-1967
November 16, 2009 at 1:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

HotelChatter's video from Encore Las Vegas, taken in January 2009.

It’s always fun to read someone else’s first take of a place that you’ve covered, well, quite intimately. Like the Encore in Vegas, Steve Wynn’s almost one-year-old 2,034-room luxe tower, which this past weekend (finally!) got the official New York Times treatment.

“If Steve Wynn’s last two Sin City resorts — Wynn Las Vegas in 2005 and the Bellagio in 1998 — were about bringing a whiff of Park Avenue to the Strip, the Encore is about the hotelier’s loosening his pearls and swinging a little,” writes the Times’ Brooks Barnes. And though the Times says the hotel is intended for the “younger and hipper” crowd, our own observations last January was of a clientele, um, “older than dirt.”

Highlights: To be honest, we’re not sure which side of this coin the décor falls on, based on the NYT’s description: “Chaotic but calming.” (Then again, perhaps that's an apt appraisal of Vegas?) The flat-screen TV in the bathroom was a “nice” touch. Plus, there’s plenty of solid perks, from a fax machine (meh) and iPod alarm clock to champagne in the minibar. Plus, of course, plenty of dining options, with eight bars and five restaurants.

Lowlights: The Times-er liked the “fancy control panel next to the bed” (a very seventies touch, if you ask us). Room service could stand for a refresher course in manners: An attendant told them there was “zero chance” of getting a newspaper delivered with breakfast. Well OK!

Bottom line: “Until the economy improves, the opulent hotel will come across a bit like a boom-times relic,” the NYT concludes. But! The Encore offers quality “in spades.” Weekday rooms from $179.

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