We arrived at the Valet parking entrance on the north side of the Encore at 2:30pm. Had a bellman take the luggage and the rent car was whisked away. Checkin was pretty crowded - all clerks had 3 or 4 guests in line except the one I picked. The one young woman ahead of me was trying to add 3 more nights to her 3 comped night reservation. She claimed she had gotten a snailmail letter offering her a $129 rate for Fridays & Saturdays too. Of course she didn't have any such letter with her and the clerk and TWO supervisors had to explain that they couldn't honor such a last minute addition to her 3 free nights without the letter. The lady kept arguing about it demanding to see higher supervisors.....then she had the gall to ask for a free upgrade to a "panoramic" suite (the Encore has no such room - it's built differently than the Wynn. Anyway, that sordid scene took 30 minutes before my turn. Of course the clerk was very apologetic to me for the wait. I did tell her she should have asked the dolt ahead of me why she didn't inquire about her reservation addition ahead of time on the phone (I know, I know - they can't get catty back at a guest, but at least they didn't give into her absurd "request"). The clerk gave us a nice 36th floor SOUTH view (that's the good view - from the golf course on the left, the entire Wynn tower, Caesars, Mirage, TI, the Fashion Show Mall, over to the Trump Tower). It took her just 5 minutes to check us in. The room suite looks just like the photos, very trendy/plush, spacious & comfortable. It was clean when we arrived (as opposed to our suite at TheHotel a couple of years ago). Called down for the luggage to be sent up - it arrived in 10 minutes. The view was awesome at night & the room was comfortable - can't add anything but more nice things about it. During our stay we ate dinner at the Society Cafe (their "coffee shop" restaurant) for dinner - good food, good service, although a bit pricey (my filet steak was $40 - wife had "shrimp" skewers which she didn't care for). Had breakfast one morning at the Lobby Bar - Coffe, Latte, & a shared croissant egg, cheese & bacon sandwich for $17. Had drinks at the Eastside Bar overlooking the pool - her $14 margarita was so-so, my $6 lemonade was good, the bar chips great. If you valet park a rent car, I'd advise you to call the valet to have it brought around before you go down to the pick up area. We had to wait 10 minutes one morning (about 10am it was really busy), so we called ahead the rest of the stay. Room turndown service just like the Wynn - I always leave a $2 bill on the bed for that, and a $5 bill for the maid who makes up the room in the mornings. We don't play table games but the wife loves those multiline penny slots, and the Encore has plenty. The casino is divided into several sections, all with a red color theme. I had $150 free play....cashed out @ $101 on a dollar slot. The walkway to the Wynn is lined with high dollar shops but only takes a couple of minutes. The business center charged me $15 for 15 minutes to use a computer to get online. Two free 16oz bottles of water are provided in the room each day. We didn't use the minibar. We did the Express checkout and dropped the card in the lobby box. All in all, a very nice visit and we would like to do it again, but I would not pay big bucks to do so. Somebody heard that Encore's walls are thin....One evening we did hear the people next door talking rather loudly (although not so loud in our room) about 11:30 the second night. Never heard a word before or after that. Overall it was pretty quiet....and the beds & pillows very comfy. The toilets give a turbocharged flush that is quite loud. When you are in the bathroom you can hear the neighbors flushing. Oh yes, you get a complimentary local paper and the NYT hung in a sack on the door each morning. The checkin clerk will ask if you want that. The Encore & Wynn were VERY busy, what with the place being "sold out" while we were there....but other properties such as Palazzo, MGM, & NYNY had relatively small crowds. Automobile traffic was lighter than normal except in construction areas and the sidewalk foot traffic wasn't particularly crowded. In the Palazzo Wednesday evening around 8pm, mabe a dozen of the 100 table games were occupied. That afternoon at the Bellagio only about 20 tables were going, if that many. In the Dollar section at the Rent car facility there were lots of cars sitting there. Vegas is visibly hurting.
How would you rate the pool scene at the Encore, as opposed to say, Mandalay Bay or Ceasars? By pool scene, I mean for a couple in their early 40's, who like to lay around the pool (and look good doing it!) and watch others doing the same.
