Tradewinds Club Lounge at the Aruba Marriott Resort Review

The Tradewinds Club Lounge is the exclusive lounge at the Aruba Marriott Resort reserved only for Tradewinds Guests aged 18 and older. It’s a fantastic lounge that helps to make your stay at the Aruba Marriott Resort feel almost like an all-inclusive stay with its open bar hours and different food and beverages available throughout the day. Here’s a review of my experience with the lounge.

Update: the lounge has been relocated — contact the hotel for the latest details.

Tradewinds Club Lounge Hours

The Tradewinds Club Lounge is open from 7am to 9pm.

Aruba Marriott Resort Tradewinds Lounge — The Tradewinds Club Lounge entrance.

The lounge is located directly in front of the elevator on the 8th floor. Your room key is all you need to access the lounge, assuming that your key card has been properly coded. As soon as you enter the lounge there’s a help desk where you an agent will happily assist you with different matters related to your stay. Throughout our time at the Tradewinds Club, the staff members up there were exceptionally professional and helped us with whatever we needed. This was also the case for the staff members preparing the food.

The lounge offers several different periods of food and beverage offerings throughout the day. They are as follows:

Full American breakfast buffet: 7:00am-10:00am; Weekends 7:00am-11:00am
Light lunch: 12:00pm-2:00pm
Teatime: 3:00pm-5:00pm
Discovery hour hors d’oevres: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Premium open bar: 6:00pm-9:00pm
Cheese and pastries: 8:00pm-9:00pm
Non-alcoholic beverages and coffees available all day

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The lounge

The lounge isn’t the most visually striking lounge I’ve been to in terms of design and it’s a bit smaller than I expected but it’s still a great lounge for what it has to offer guests. The main area has several tables for 2 and 4 spread out, with some directly next to the windows so you can enjoy a nice view of the ocean.

There’s a small semi-private area too with a TV and several books.

There are two balconies with comfortable outdoor furniture to seat a hand full of individuals. While these balconies do not directly face the ocean they still have good views of the ocean and surrounding area. The large yellow hotel pictured below is the neighboring Ritz-Carlton.

Breakfast

The breakfast offered at the lounge is for the most part a standard American breakfast (minus pancakes or waffles). A typical offering will consist of: egg dishes, sausage/bacon, hash browns/potatoes, and options for fruit, pastries, cereals, and yogurts. Here’s what was offered the to us on our first morning at the louge.

The egg burritos/wraps were excellent as were the hash browns and bacon. I also really enjoyed some of the pastries seen below. This is definitely the type of breakfast you want to have at a hotel when you’ve got a long day of activities like diving ahead of you. We arrived both mornings at around 7am and there were virtually no other guests dining with us although I’m sure it picks up shortly after that time.

The fruit was very fresh and delicious, especially the cantaloupe and pineapple.

Tea time

Tea-time is offered from 3pm to 5pm and is like a very light lunch. They had different types of sandwiches and wraps, chips and dip, and a number of delicious sweets to offer. During this time, there was very little traffic in the the Tradewinds Lounge.

They alternate the sandwiches and wraps so you’ll get to choose between options like BLT and turkey. I enjoyed the sandwiches and nice appetizers to hold me over for whatever was next, but you could definitely use a couple of sandwiches and a wrap to replace an entire meal, especially if you went with some chips and dip.

Lunch

Lunch is offered from noon to 2pm. We were able to catch lunch on one of the days there and arrived right at noon. There was only one other person in the lounge at the same time we were there, although by the time we finished up a couple of others showed up. (Generally, I don’t think that crowds will be an issue in the lounge so long as you show up within the first few minutes of opening.)

The lunch offered was beyond my expectations. I expected something like sandwiches with cold-cuts but they had some extremely tasty beef dish with asparagus and rice. It was a very fulfilling meal.

They also had salads set up as well. I heard someone order a soup from the kitchen so I think that you can always inquire about items that might not be set out and they might be able to accommodate you.

With each meal they offer small dessert dishes. These are very tasty, especially all of their chocolate desserts.

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Discovery Hour

The Discovery Hour allows you to sample dished from the local chefs. At first, I imagined this to be a true sampling where you’re given small bites stuck on a toothpick but this is essentially the same type of buffet as breakfast, lunch, or tea time.

We had some amazing chicken, sea bass, and some type of couscous dish. It was great to have a tasty, healthy serving of foods that were actually filling. I’d recommend trying to be modest with your servings since this is technically not a full-out dinner, but between the meats, salads, sushi, and other small dishes offered, I don’t think it’s hard to get full off of the dishes offered if you wanted to.

Aruba Marriott Resort Tradewinds Lounge Discovery Hour.

Something to keep in mind is that the Discovery Hour opens up the same time that the open bar opens at 6pm. This means that more people make it up to the lounge at that time and dishes can go quicker and tables can fill up faster. If you want to guarantee that you’ll be able to try all of the dishes and you want to lock down a particular table or balcony, I recommend you getting there right at 6pm to secure a spot.

Open bar

No matter what time the lounge is open, you can always get into the refrigerator and crab a beverage and this includes beer. They keep a constant supply of Corona, Corona Light, and a beer brewed in Aruba called Balashi (which I enjoyed), and Chill. They also have plenty of water bottles, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and an array of juices and other drinks. It wasn’t uncommon to see people taking water bottles and other beverages from the lounge to their rooms so I don’t think it’s frowned upon, but just do so within reason.

The actual open bar begins at 6pm and they’ve got a little bit of everything as you can see from the photo below. Absolute, Crown Royal, Malibu, Bombay, Bailey’s, Jack, Jim Bean, and plenty of others, so you shouldn’t have a hard time being able to put together a cocktail that you like.

Tradewinds benefits

The benefits of the Tradewinds Club also extend to other areas of your stay. For example, you also get complimentary beach palapas on a reserved portion of the beach (subject to availability) and other things like complimentary floats. You also get upgraded room amenities, complimentary pressing services, packing and unpacking services (upon request), reserved parking spaces, and a few other benefits. You can find out more here.

Aruba Marriott Resort Tradewinds Lounge Beach.

Final word

I loved having access to the Tradewinds Club. It really does add an all-inclusive type feel to your stay and it’s extremely convenient to to have the lounge available throughout the day so just about anytime you need a bite or drink you can just stop by the lounge. If you use the lounge for a couple of your meals a day and take advantage of the open bar, it’s not hard to come out on top in terms of value received. You’ll need to book a Tradewinds Club level room for access or pay $200 a night (inquire about a $50 discount for elite members).

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.

Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino Junior Suite Review

The Junior Suite at the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino is one of my favorite rooms that I’ve stayed in while visiting the Caribbean. The suites are extremely spacious corner rooms with brilliant floor to ceiling windows and come with a wrap-a-round balcony that overlooks the bright turquoise Caribbean waters and resort pool. Here’s a review of my recent stay in a Junior Suite at the Aruba Marriott Resort (full hotel review to follow).

Entrance

As soon as you enter the suite, there’s a hallway that leads to into the room.

Entrance to the Junior Suite at the Aruba Marriott Resort.

Directly to your left is a good-sized closet with plenty of room for your luggage and where you’ll find robes and slippers. Further down you’ll see the mini-fridge and coffee maker. The mini-fridge is quite small but has enough room to store a hand full or two of beverages.

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The bathroom

The bathroom has two separate semi-vessel sinks and vanity mirror areas with a magnifying mirror as well. Several different switches control the lighting in the bathroom so you can set the bathroom to different levels of brightness.

The shampoos, soaps, and other amenities are issued by Thann, which is common in Marriott properties in the US and Asia. We brought our own amenities, but I’ve used Thann before and thought they were of good quality so you should be covered if you don’t have your own.

The toilet and shower walls are made up of privacy glass and come with two swinging doors that swing both in and out.

The toilet area is very big.

And the shower area is pretty spacious as well. I had no issues whatsoever with water pressure or hot water as can sometimes happen in the Caribbean, even at large resorts and hotels. I’d recommend pointing the shower head toward the wall though because there’s no raised flooring to keep the water from spreading onto the bathroom floor.

The Junior Suite

The room is labeled as a “Junior Suite” but it is designed more like an extra large corner room, since junior suites often come with partitions. Yet, it still feels much like a junior suite due to all of the space and the views that the wrap-a-round balcony offers. With the curtains closed, the room is pretty simple but still elegant, with hard floors and again tons of room.

The king bed was a little firm but still very comfortable. The room stayed a little warm at first but by closing the curtains and turning down the temperature, you should be able to keep the room very cold if that is your preference. On each side of the bed, there are reading lamps and larger lamps, along with power outlets.

There’s a nice work station near the windows with some tropical artwork hanging on the wall. I noticed some input jacks there that might allow you to hook up electronics, but I didn’t try them out so I’m not sure exactly what their function was.

The office chair is comfortable and if you ever need a quick cool down from being outside, roll the chair out to in front of the bed, and the AC’s cool stream will hit you square in the forehead and give you a break from the heat.

There’a also a 42-inch LCD TV which sits up on top of a dresser. We didn’t try out the TV while there but it does come with popular networks, such as HBO, ESPN, and CNN.

The furniture in the room is pretty simple but it’s nice to have an area to relax when ordering room service and the set-up was perfect for that.

The view

And now for the best part of the room: the view.

The Junior Suite transforms when you when you pull the curtains back and the floor to ceiling windows reveal a brilliant view of the turquoise ocean and lush palm trees.

During the early afternoon, the sun hits the water and creates vibrant blue and green colors in the ocean that make this the corner suite ideal for views. You get to look out and watch palm trees sway in the wind as kite surfers and parasailers soar in the distance. I’ve stayed in some rooms with great Caribbean views, but I’ve rarely been able to look out a corner room through floor to ceiling windows at such a mesmerizing view. And that’s what makes these suites special.

The floor to ceiling windows also let in a ton of natural light into the room, making the room feel much more wide open and relaxing.

There’s a single swinging door pictured below (on the left) that gives you access to the balcony, so if your curtains are closed up, you can still easily get out.

The long wrap-a-round balcony adds a whole new dimension to the room and adds 200 square feet. It’s a great way to soak in the views of Palm Beach. A lot of activities like jet-skiing, parasailing, paddle-boating, and other activities take place right in front of the hotel so even if you’re not joining in on the fun, it’s still fun just to watch from your balcony.

Here are some photos from our view from the fourth floor.

Aruba Marriott Resort Junior Suite view.

The balcony gives you views of both the ocean and the resort’s main pool area.

On the side facing the ocean, you have a table with two chairs to relax on. For every level below the top level, you’ve got extra shade from the balcony above you. Also, Aruba is known for its windy conditions, which often create a blissful temperature out on a shaded balcony even on a hot and humid summer day.

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On the balcony side facing the resort, there are two lounge chairs which are perfect for relaxing in the shade.

In the evening, it felt even better to be outside as the breezes blew in from the ocean. During the Caribbean summer you often have to sweat it out at night, but due to the wind you could actually feel great while outside.

Another huge plus for this hotel and these rooms is that they all face west so that the sun sets right in front of you. This is an ideal time to be out on your balcony and watch the Sun dip below the horizon. If you’re in search of something romantic, this is perfect.

Our first night there, we caught a magnificent sunset.

The resort’s pool lights also add their own ambient touch to the scenery at night. Although you can’t see it in the photo below, they continuously change colors throughout the night.

The views of the beach and evening sunsets from the 4th floor were fantastic. But the views are from the top floor are even more dramatic.

Here are some shots of the view from a junior suite on the 8th floor at the Aruba Marriott Resort. They are absolutely incredible, and I heard that they look even better at different times of the year as the water changes color.

From up there, you can really see everything that’s going on down on the ocean like the kite surfers and paddle boaters seen below (on the right).

The only drawback to the very top floor is that there’s no shade above you, so it can get hotter. That can be great if you want to do a lot of sun tanning but could be an issue if you wanted a cooler experience while out on the balcony.

Booking

The Junior Suites start off around $488 for Marriott member rates during the off season but can also be redeemed for 45,000 Marriott points. During peak season (the winter), the prices climb towards $930 per night. I made my initial booking through Bonwi.com and earned over 15,000 points for about $150 back on a two night booking.

Final word

I love hotel rooms that offer something unique. Sometimes that’s the design of the room, sometimes it’s the furniture, and other times it’s the view. In this case, both the design (with floor to ceiling windows) combined with the magnificent view set this hotel room apart from many others that I’ve stayed at. It’s both gorgeous and romantic and can serve as the perfect room for a couple’s getaway to paradise in Aruba.

Daniel Gillaspia

Review: Hyatt Ziva, Rose Hall (Jamaica) Ocean Front Butler Suite

Next to the Presidential Suite, the One Bedroom Ocean Front Butler Suite is the top suite offered at the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara. It’s a bright and spacious suite with 1,083 square feet and some great views of the ocean. Here’s a review of the Butler Suite and I’ll have a more in-depth review of the hotel itself later.

The bedroom

The bedroom is very spacious and comes with a king size mattress that’s remarkably comfy — the type of bed that’s hard to get out of in the morning. The bedroom has a separate AC unit from the rest of the suite so it’s easy to monitor the room temperature. During our stay, the AC worked great so we were able to keep our room comfortably cool, despite the tropical heat outside. If the heat does become an issue, drawing the window shades closed should solve that problem.

Hyatt Ziva Butler Suite Rose Hall Jamaica — Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall — Butler Suite bed.

In front of the bed is a large ottoman, which comes in handy when getting doing things like getting ready since the bed sits pretty high from the floor. One of the night stands beside the bed has an alarm clock with multiple USB ports on it making it easy to keep your devices charged.

On the other side of the bed is an interesting lamp which is held up by an ornate pineapple. This probably intrigued me more that it should’ve but I always appreciate unique and fitting decor in hotel rooms.

Other than the pineapple, there’s not a whole lot of decor in the bedroom. You’ll notice some art work on the wall and then a chase lounge chair that comes with another lamp and small stand — perfect for reading.

There’s also a decent-sized TV that sits on top of a dresser in the bedroom, which we actually never even turned on so I’m not sure about its entertainment options.

Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall — Butler Suite bedroom TV.

There’s a walkway with a mirror and table that connects the bedroom to the bathroom, which is also where you’ll find the closet.

It’s a huge closet that houses an iron, iron board, pillow, and two umbrellas along with some shelves. If you need an additional blanket you’ll need to ring the front desk, since we didn’t spot one in there. There’s also another smaller closet in the living room suite area, so you should have plenty of room to store your clothes and luggage.

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The bedroom balcony

The highlight of the bedroom is the balcony. From our room, it looked out over the bright green lawns and the pool area of the Ziva. On the balcony, there are two chairs with a table between them. The view from our building gave us a great view of the sunset and it was also fun to do a little bit of people watching.

You can also see a clear view of the pools for the swim-up rooms below you. One reason why I wasn’t big on the swim-up rooms is the lack of privacy, as it’s kind of odd that so many people can watch you from above, not to mention from either side. Then again I guess if you wanted to be seen they would be perfect.

The bathroom

The bathroom of the Butler Suite is decorated with marble all along the walls and floors and is also a pretty good size.

The standup shower could be bigger but it’s big enough for two adults to fit into at once — it just might be a bit of a tighter fit than you’d like. The shampoo and conditioners offered by the hotel are high quality and I didn’t regret not bringing our mini-bottles as we typically do. We did bring our own body wash, though, so I didn’t try out the soap supplied by Hyatt.

The toilet has its own door.

There are two sinks with a marble counter top area and a magnifying mirror on the right side of the countertop.

I was hoping for a whirlpool in the Butler Suite, but it was just a standard tub.

This hotel received a lot of complaints a couple of years ago about plumbing issues, but everything thankfully worked like a charm for us.

Overall, it’s a nice bathroom. Not too luxurious or unique but big enough and nice enough that you appreciate having that space to freshen up.

The bedroom connects to the main hallway/entry way of the suite through two swinging doors, which have glass panels in them. Six interesting sculptures are set on the wall and they each cast a shadow that looked like a bunch of airplanes to me.

If you’ve ever been to the Dubai Mall, these sculptures probably remind of you of the giant sculptures on the waterfall, at least they did for me. They’re a bit odd, but there something to look at least. Just make sure you don’t bump into them when turning the corner to leave because they protrude pretty far from the wall.

The second bathroom

The suite has a second bathroom, which while smaller than the master bathroom, is still very nice.

The mini-bar

Right at the entrance to the main suite area, you’ll find the prized mini-bar. Since this is an all-inlcusive resort, all of these in-room beverages are complimentary. The standard offering for spirits were: Jamaican Appleton rum, Old Tom Gin, and Skyy Vodka. They also offered some wines, which we never touched.

Inside the fridge you’ll find Red Stripe, Miller Lite, juices to mix up your own cocktails, and sodas, such as Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, and the Jamaican soda, Ting. They also supply you with at least six bottles of water at a time, but you can always request more.

You’ll also have a supply of snacks, which include Doritos, Nature Valley bars, and Banana chips. And finally, there’s a stash of coffee (including decaf) and tea. Overall, the liquors aren’t the most premium options available, but if you’re just trying to mix you up a cocktail to relax in your room, they will certainly do the trick.

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The living room

When I first entered the suite’s living room area, I found a welcome letter addressed to me which is always nice touch.

In addition to that there was a plate of fresh fruit, which sadly went mostly uneaten.

Now for the living room. It’s a wide open room, with two large windows that allow in a lot of natural light, which is when I think that the room looks its best.

There’s a chair and a sofa, the latter of which folds out to a bed if you need it.

There’s a TV and then a table with two chairs which sit next to the window. This is where your room service will drop off your dishes so try to keep it cleared. Speaking of room service, it’s pretty awesome to watch them bring in your trays while perfectly balancing the trays on top of their heads (more on the service later).

Like the bedroom, the decor overall was pretty standard and simple.

Overall, the living room is pretty simple but it’s always a luxury to be able to look out a window and have a view of the ocean, which brings me to the balcony.

The balcony

What really makes this suite special is the view. The living room opens up to the fantastic view of he ocean and surrounding beach area.

When the sun is sitting at the right height and surf isn’t too strong, the ocean has this amazing sparkling blue and turquoise color to it. It’s kind of mesmerizing, especially with the sound of the ocean washing up on shore. It was really hard to leave that balcony come check out time….

It’s a big balcony, so there’s plenty of room to bask in the open air. We were given room 2344 that has a palm tree which acts as a wall to the balcony, allowing for maximum privacy. The tree didn’t have any coconuts on it, and I wondered if that was intentional to keep ~~drunk idiots~~ excited guests from falling from the balcony while trying to snatch up coconuts.

The ocean front balconies offer some great views for sunsets, too, even though the action is not directly in front of you.

At the right hour, the sun shoots straight into the balcony and illuminates the walls. I think whether or not an ocean front room is worth it or not just depends on the person. If you love the possibility of sitting up on your balcony while reading a book or working away on your laptop while listening to the waves break on the rocks below, you’ll get a lot of out of these rooms. If that doesn’t excite you much then save your money and go for a room with pool view.

And finally, once the sun sets, the stars come out in a big way. There’s limited light pollution out there and as long as an event isn’t taking place on the beach below and limited cloud coverage, you’ll be able to see thousands of stars out over the ocean. In late May, we enjoyed cool nights up on our balconies with light breezes blowing through.

Butler service

With this room you also get butler service. Basically, you get a dedicated line to call whenever you need anything and they’ll help you plan things out or take you to the front of the line at dinner etc. I’ve got to be honest, we didn’t use this service because we just never needed to. We always arrived at the restaurants right when they opened way before any lines formed and otherwise just called in a couple of room service requests. Thus, I can’t comment on the value of this service but if that’s the kind of thing you’re into, maybe you’ll get more out of it.

Final word

This can be a pretty expensive room, so it’s not for everyone. If you catch it at the 50% discount, then it still can be $500+ a night and if you book it during peak season, this room can cost up to $1,500+ a night. Still, if you love ocean views and having a lot of space to roam around, you’ll probably love it if you can catch it at the right price. For others who simply want a view of the ocean, a standard king room with ocean front view would probably suffice.

Daniel Gillaspia

Las Vegas Cosmopolitan Wrap Around Terrace Suites Review

The wrap around terrace suites are special rooms at the Cosmopolitan that offer some of the most premier views of the Las Vegas Strip and The Fountains of Bellagio. They are big suites with plenty of room but they can come with a pretty high price tag, especially on weekends. So here’s a review of my experience with the suites and whether or not I think they are worth it.

Before jumping into the review, if you’re looking to cut down on your cost of travel, consider getting a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. It offers an early spend bonus worth $500 in travel after meeting the minimum spend and is great to cancel out all sorts of travel expenses.

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The entrance

The entry way to the room is lit with a mini chandelier that bounces light off the many mirrors along the hallway. Behind the two mirrored doors, there is closet storage space and the white door on the right shown below connects the room to an adjoining suite.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 24 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite entrance.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 23 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite entrance.

As you enter the suite, the first thing you’ll notice is the guest bathroom on the left. It’s a very spacious bathroom that not only comes with a toilet but also it’s own roomy stand-up shower.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 21 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite guest bathroom.

The bathroom is so big that you could easily mistake it for a primary bathroom at any other hotel.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 22 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite guest bathroom.

Next, you’ll come into the main suite area where you’ll find the mini kitchen and bar area.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 10 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bar and kitchen area.

It’s a pretty good sized kitchen area with microwave, oven, sink, refrigerator, freezer, and plenty of cabinets. The only thing is that there’s no cooking supplies (pots, pans, etc.) so if you wanted to put this to use, you’d have to find a way to come up with your own cooking supplies.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 11 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bar and kitchen area.

The fridge is stocked with plenty of beverages, but I didn’t even entertain using any of them given the Vegas prices that I’m sure we would’ve been hit with. However, if you needed a quick jolt from a Red Bull or something it’s nice to have them right there.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 12 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite refrigerator.

Beyond the kitchen area the suite opens up nicely to the dining room area, which consists of a small circular table with four chairs and an overhanging chandelier.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 9 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite dining area.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 7 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite dining area.

In the corner of the room is the TV and a nice desk. The desk area had several ports for HDMI, VGA, USB for charging, Video/Audio, and iPhone/iPad. It looks like it may have been possible to hook any of those up and play music through the TV sound’s system but we never tried it out. I’d inquire with the hotel if you’re interested in doing that.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 8 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite TV and desk.

Finally, there’s a comfy lounge chair next to one of the sliding doors. Looking out from the chair, we had a an awesome view of Paris and The Strip.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 3 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite lounge chair.

Since I had some work to do for a little while, I found this chair to be the perfect working station for my laptop. It was also nice to leave the sliding door cracked during the evening and listen to the crashing water sounds produced by the Bellagio fountain show. Since it was mid-April, the weather was absolutely perfect during our entire stay in Las Vegas.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 55 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite lounge chair.

The suite decor isn’t over the top swanky like you might find at a W hotel, but I think it’s pretty beautiful. I’d heard reports that some of the rooms at the Cosmopolitan are showing signs of wear and tear but I didn’t feel like that was the case in our room.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 1 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 28 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 56 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 27 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

There’s also a pretty comfortable couch that wraps around one of the corners. In front of it is a coffee table and two chairs. Given all of the seating options in this suite, this suite is perfect for entertaining a medium to large sized crowd. You could easily have 15-20+ people up in your suite and between the seats inside and on the terrace, everyone would have a place to sit and relax.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 26 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 49 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite.

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The wrap around terrace/balcony

While the suite itself is spacious, what really makes this room so special and what makes it one of the best rooms in Vegas, is the balcony or terrace. There aren’t a lot of hotels that offer superb fountain views on an outdoor terrace, but the Cosmo executes this perfectly.

We were set on the 39th floor in the Boulevard Tower. I’d hoped to get higher but considering we upgraded this room last minute on a holiday weekend, we were lucky to get on that high of a floor (or to even get the room period). We were also fortunate to get the “premier view,” which provides you with views of the Bellagio Fountains and The Strip.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 48 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

It’s definitely one of the better views I’ve had from any hotel room and it was very easy to spend a lot of time on it just watching and listening to the busy scene below you that is Las Vegas.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 2 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 31 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

It’s a long balcony but on each corner of the balcony you’ll find a different piece of outdoor furniture for you to relax on. The balconies are extremely private although there is a small slit at the edge of the dividers where you can see through to the next balcony (you might be able to see it in the photo below). This was not a problem for us but just something that I noticed.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 30 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

It really is a great feeling to have so much space to yourself on your own terrace.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 32 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 33 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

The balcony is a terrific location to watch the city lights slowly light up The Strip as the the sun sets. With the premier view, you have a perfect a view of some of the most picturesque Vegas buildings like the Eiffel Tower, Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, and so on.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 36 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony view.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 37 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony view.

Looking the other direction we had great views of the MGM Grand and surrounding hotels. Unfortunately, you can’t really see New York, New York, from the premier view.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 39 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

The view gets even better as blue hour sets in and the dark blue sky contrasts with the golden lights of the skyline.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 38 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony.

Brad made this awesome time lapse at Vegas came to life at night from the view from our balcony.

The Bellagio fountain show

In addition to the view of the skyline, the other major attraction of this room is being able to watch and listen to the Bellagio fountain show, which was once the largest fountain in the world before being beat out by Duabi in 2010.

The show runs at the following times:

Monday – Friday 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM show every 1/2 hour 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM show every 15 minutes
Saturdays & Holidays 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM show every 1/2 hour 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM show every 15 minutes
Sundays 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM show every 1/2 hour 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM show every 15 minutes

Since we stayed on a Saturday and Sunday, we got to experience this show many, many times. From the 39th floor you could faintly hear the soundtracks that play along with the show but you could hear the crashing sounds of the fountains loud and clear, which sound like ice bergs calving into the ocean. There are a hand full of different shows that play so you should see something different if you watch them back to back.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 53 — Bellagio fountain view hotel room.

I honestly think that it would be kind of a waste to get the wrap around terrace suite and not get the Bellagio fountain view. It’s usually not that much more than the normal view and being able to catch the show from such a high perspective is really a special experience and it will enhance your stay.

I think even if had the option to upgrade for free to a wrap around suite without a Bellagio view I would rather take a lower tier room that had a terrace view of the fountains — that’s how much that view adds to the room.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 40 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite balcony view of the Bellagio fountain show.

The bedroom

And finally, there’s the bedroom.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 46 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

Our room came with a king sized bed that was incredibly comfortable. Soft blankets, sheets, and pillows and a very soft mattress allowed me to catch some fantastic sleep, which is much needed in a place like Vegas.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 4 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

The bedroom is spacious and there’s a TV in the corner. There are also controls throughout the suite that will allow you to universally turn off or on every light in the suite in case you ever confused with all of the different lighting options. Blackout curtains allow you to keep the room as dark as you’d like at any time.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 35 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

From the bed, you have a direct view of The Strip — my room looked directly out towards Planet Hollywood. With the sliding doors open you’ll hear all of the music pumping from the pool area parties so don’t expect it be quiet.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 20 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

There’s a small dresser by the door as well.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 41 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

Over the bed and in-between the bedroom and bathroom there’s an opening in the wall with thin curtains, which is a nice touch although don’t expect them to offer you with privacy to the shower since you can see right through them.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 5 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bedroom.

The bathroom is very big. It comes with a tub that can easily fit a couple, a large shower, and two sink areas.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 15 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

The toilet is in a small room by itself.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 16 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 17 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 18 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 51 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 19 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

One nice feature about the bathroom is that you can dim the lights to your desired setting. So you can definitely “set the mood” if that’s your thing.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas Wrap Around Suite 6 — Cosmopolitan Las Vegas wrap around terrace suite bathroom.

Final word

I loved this suite and truly believe that it’s one of the best hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Unless you’re hitting the casinos hard or have thousands to drop on a suite each night, I think this room can provide you with one of the most luxurious experiences in Vegas. The view is unbelievable and there’s more space both inside and outside than you’ll know how to deal with.

Booking.com

Daniel Gillaspia

The Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas Review

The Chandelier Bar, located in the Boulevard Tower at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, is one of the most famous bars in the world. It’s considered by some to be the largest chandelier in the world and was even considered an architectural and engineering marvel when it was built. Even if you’re not staying at the Cosmopolitan, it’s definitely worth it to stop and by and check out this bar and try at least try out one of its unique cocktails discussed below.

Cosmopolitan Hotel Chandelier Bar Las Vegas — Chandelier Bar Las Vegas.

The Chandelier Bar actually consists of three separate floors and they each have different hours of operation:

Level : 24 Hours
Level 1.5: 6PM – 4AM
Level 2: 11AM – 11PM

In addition, each level to the bar serves their own distinct cocktails, which I’ll talk more about below. You can expect to pay around $16 for most signature cocktails, although other more standard drinks will be cheaper and might be closer to $12.

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Level 1

Level 1 recently underwent million-dollar renovations and it’s simply stunning. There are two bars on level one (the main bar and the side bar). The bars on level one have video poker machines and also have a drink voucher system. When you put $20 into the video poker machine, you get a free drink and you’ll earn another free drink voucher when you play at least $1 a hand for every 20 minutes that you play after that. I personally don’t play video poker, so I wasn’t able to try it out but I saw a number of people there playing into the wee hours of the morning.

Despite the ultra-swanky appearance of the bar, it doesn’t require a dress code. Since level 1 is also on the casino level, it has a pretty informal feel to it. That’s not to say that folks don’t dress up at all, it’s just that you probably won’t stand out even if you’re dressed more casually since it gets a good amount of casino traffic.

Level 1.5

Level 1.5 is more of a lounge scene since it opens up from 6PM – 4AM. You can access it by taking the immaculate staircase when the bar opens up.

Once you arrive, to level 1.5 year, you’ll be blown away by how beautiful the scene is.

Even if you don’t drink, you should wander around and check it out.

One great thing about the Chandelier Bar is that the bar tenders are exceptional. All of the ours were extremely attentive, personable, effecient, etc. Basically, they were the perfect bartenders.

You’ve got to make it to this level so that you can try the Fire Breathing Dragon cocktail. The drink starts off with covering the rim with pink peppercorns and Thai chili syrup.

The bartender then adds Bacardi DragonBerry and raspberry puree along with red bull and a few other ingredients.

Then, there’s the highlight. Raspberries are dunked into liquid nitrogen and then dropped into the glass, setting off a smoky reaction.

You’ll be given a shot glass full of raspberries to munch on and all it takes is two or three of them to have you breathing smoke out of your nose and mouth. It’s pretty wild. Here’s a video of my experience with the Fire Breathing Dragon.

Level 2

Level 2 can be accessed via the escalator from Level 1 or through the stair case.

The views from Level 2 are exceptional.

There’s also lots of lounge type seating around the bar.

There’a also a side bar located on Level 2.

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The “flower drink” at the Cosmo

If you’ve done any research on this bar or had a friend who has stayed at the Cosmo, you’ve probably heard about the famous “flower drink.” It’s actually called the “Verbena” and although it’s considered somewhat of a “secret drink,” it’s actually been served more than 100,000 times a year at this bar to guests.

The drink itself is something similar to a citrusy tequila-based margarita. But it’s the accessory that comes along with this drink that makes it so special and unique.

You’ll first be instructed to take a few sips of your drink. And then, you’ll be given an edible flower known as a Szechuan button or buzz button, which you’ll eat (and swallow). Within a few seconds, the properties of the flower take effect, which are said to speed up your salivary glands. This creates an intense tingling sensation within your mouth that alters the taste of the drink.

It’s a bit like the sensation you get from pop rocks but even more intense and lasting. When I took a few gulps of my glass of still water, it felt like I was drinking a glass of extremely fizzy sparkling water. Try to avoid brushing your teeth just prior to eating the flower, or it might be overly intense for you due to the interaction with the minty toothpaste (yes, we learned this the hard way).

After you try your Verbena, hang around the bar for a little while and you’ll almost surely be able to watch others try it our for the first time.

Here’s a video of my reaction when trying out the drink:

And here’s Brad:

According to the Cosmo, two other signature cocktails to look into are:

The Forbidden Fruit: A complex apple-forward cocktail that we’d trade our place in the Garden of Eden for. The name celebrates the symbolism of the iconic apple in religious, mythological, folkloric and artistic traditions throughout the centuries.
The Infinite Playlist: A updated variation of the classic Old Fashioned, this cocktail has as its base a 12-year rum aged in bourbon barrels, marrying the toffee and oak with vanilla undertones. It’s sleek, modern luxury in a glass.

Final word

The Chandelier is definitely a bar worth checking out even if you’re not staying at the Cosmo. The visuals are stunning and the unique drink concoctions make it an even more memorable experience.

Booking.com

Daniel Gillaspia

W Las Vegas Hotel Review

The W Las Vegas is one of the newest Vegas properties, as Starwood did a makeover on the SLS’s Lux Tower and renovated it into a new W property just last year. It’s very much a “hotel within a hotel” but you’ll definitely feel like you’re at the W when you arrive to your tower. Here’s a look at my recent stay at the W Las Vegas and my take on the property.

Location

The Las Vegas W hotel is located on the north side of The Strip near the iconic Stratosphere so it’s a little further removed from places like the Bellagio, New York, New York, and others but it’s also located right at the SLS Station for the Las Vegas Monorail so you can easily make your way to wherever you’re trying to go. While this is a smaller resort, it still has plenty to offer in terms of dining, drinks, and great customer service, as I’ll show below.

The Las Vegas Monorail map. Image via www.lvmonorail.com.

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Check-in

If you’re driving in, when you arrive you’ll pull into the entrance for the SLS but once you enter the drive way look out for the W signs and they’ll lead you to where you need to park for the hotel. It’s a little hidden but just locate the signs and you’ll be alright.

The entrance to the hotel is of course a little flashy and decked out with W signs that capture the casino themes in various ways.

W Las Vegas entrance. — Las Vegas W entrance.

Once inside, you’ll see the bar and lounge area straight ahead and the check-in desks will be on your left. You’ll notice that this is a smaller hotel compared to the large Vegas resorts, which can actually be a great thing. When we stayed on a busy holiday weekend, the hotel traffic remained pretty minimal so we were able to avoid the hustle and bustle that we later found at the Cosmopolitan. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the crowds, especially at a place like Las Vegas.

The check-in area is a bit small too with only three to four desks operating at a time.

Upon checking in, the staff was exceptionally friendly and professional just as I’ve come to expect from W hotels. They notified me that as an SPG Platinum Member, I’d been upgraded from a Spectacular Room to the Marvelous Suite, which was great since this was my first stay in 2017 as an SPG Platinum member.

I was given the choice of 500 SPG points or a breakfast voucher for $15 each for me and Brad. Since I value 500 SPG points at about $12, I chose the breakfast voucher worth $30. In addition, we were given two $15 drink coupons, which we used to to try two signature cocktails (see below).

So that was a total of $60 worth of perks in addition to the upgrade just for being Platinum.

And finally, we were given a couple of tokens for the fortune teller machine located near the bathrooms on the first floor. I guess it was broken because it told us we were in for some big winnings that night….

From there we were off to our room on the 25th floor.

The dim hallways are a bit trippy and have an almost eerie feel to them with their design.

The room

The Marvelous Studio Suite is extremely spacious. If you like having big, wide-open rooms you’ll love this suite.

The king bed is in front of a decorated curtain that stretches across 3/4 of the wall. The curtains, which hang from small hooks at the top of the walls, are interesting and I don’t think I’ve seen that type of decor in any other hotel.

The bed was cozy and I never had any issues with room temperature, noise, or anything like that so it was an all-around great stay from a comfort standpoint.

One of my favorite features of the suite was the overhanging ceiling mirror. I don’t think I’ve ever had a mirror over a bed in a hotel, but I thought it was a pretty intriguing feature.

The light fixtures in the room are interesting, too, and they come with these weird moldings that look like globs of melted wax.

I also liked the chandelier having over the chase lounge chair.

There’s also a gigantic mirror on one of the walls. Suffice it to say, if you’re in need/want of mirrors from all angles you’ll find them in this hotel.

From the bed you face the wall with a large TV and a desk under it. Like the wall behind the bed, this wall is also decorated with a long curtain that stretches wall to wall.

And as usual, the room comes stocked with various snacks and alcoholic drinks. The water bottles with the W label on them are complimentary and you should be able to request additional bottles at any time.

We had the oppurtunity to try out a cheese plate and some champagne from the W and the cheeses were delicious.

I got to relax on one of their ultra-comfy robes for a while (which are extra soft) and have a glass or two of champagne. Brad took this photo with me sitting on the chase lounge and the couch made me look like a little hobbit enjoying a luxurious hotel.

The bathroom

The bathroom was definitely a highlight of the room, too. The sinks were a bit shallow and the faucets were small, making it a challenge to do certain things like filling up a (filtered) water bottle, but I still enjoyed the look.

This room definitely had one of my favorite showers out of any hotel I’ve ever stayed at. It’s huge and comes with two shower heads, one a rainfall shower head and the other one a standard shower head. In addition to all of the space, another unique feature is the window and blinds.

Depending on what you’re trying to see (or not see), you can adjust these blinds from outside the shower and inside your suite.

W Las Vegas Bar

The W Las Vegas bar and lounge, known as “The Living Room” is full of swanky lighting, decor, and seating. It’s not huge but it’s big enough. You can come here for drinks or even coffee or tea.

In my experience, W hotels have superb mixologists and bar tenders and so of course this W in Las Vegas had to continue that trend. Our drink coupons that we received due to our SPG Platinum status covered both drinks (which were listed at $15), so this was a great way to save some additional cash.

The back of the bar has more swank to it and looks like there might be areas that you could reserve for a group if you wanted.

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W Las Vegas Pool

The W Las Vegas has a nice pool area that stays open from 9am to sunset. In the middle of the day there was a decent amount of guests enjoying the pool as you can tell from this photo.

In the middle of the pool is a bar area.

And of course this is Vegas so you can rent cabanas for the right price.

There’s a long pool area that I wasn’t sure if it was heated or not, but it’s very narrow.

And at the entrance of the pool area, there’s a giant “rubber ducky” that’s slightly creepy to me.

The gym

I’d read that the W shared a gym with the SLS but that was not correct because the gym is definitely branded for the W. When I tried it during the middle of the day, there weren’t any other guests in the gym.

It’s a top-notch gym with all of the state of the art equipment that any gym rat would need.

There’s even an area with a punching bag (and speed bag) and you can even pick up a pair of boxing gloves for your work out.

You’ll also find a lot of different retro-body builder life-size photos plastered around the gym, with a place for you to put your face and admire what you’d look like with the perfect physique –assuming that’s your definition of “perfect.” 😉

There’s a nice locker room next to the gym with a steam room and showers, too. I’m not sure why you’d want to shower here when you have a perfectly private shower in your room but nevertheless it’s an option.

I heard great things about the Away Spa but I didn’t get the chance to try it out.

Restaurants

The W shares the restaurants, casino, and other bars with the SLS. When you venture out of the W’s bar area, you’ll come into the area where you can find the different restaurants and bars. Some of the restaurants are found within the casino.

To use your breakfast voucher, you’ll head to the Northside Cafe and Chinese Kitchen (full menu here). It’s open 24 hours a day and serves up comfort food with a separate menu featuring Chinese cuisine (a little odd I know).

I woke up with plans to eat a healthy breakfast that morning but my sweet tooth got the best of me and I found myself ordering their famous hazelnut-chocolate french toast, while Brad went for something more hearty: the steak and eggs.

For a late lunch we tried out 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria.

We went with a pepperoni and garlic pizza that was very tasty.

There are plenty of other places to try like the Bazaar Meat by José Andrés steakhouse, Katsuya sushi, and other places that serve up everything from burgers to Mediterranean dishes. You can find out more about those places here.

Overall, from what we tried, we were pretty pleased with the quality of the food so I doubt you can go wrong eating at the restaurant.

Final word

This was a great stay at the W Las Vegas. The hotel is on the smaller side when compared to more iconic Vegas resorts but that can work to its advantage since you can avoid the crowds. The rooms have unique decor and I loved the wide open suite and shower set-up. With plenty of dining and drinking options to choose from and great location at the SLS Station, I think the W Las Vegas has a lot going for it and I certainly enjoyed my stay.

Daniel Gillaspia

Review of The W Dubai Al Habtoor City (V Hotel Hilton Curio)

The W Dubai Al Habtoor City is a hotel chock-full of personality and flare. It’s the type of hotel you come to in order to depart from the norm of having “just another” hotel experience and to experience something energetic, fun, and innovative.

I recently spent a few nights at this trendy hotel, which is home to futuristic Star-Trek like rooms and an ultra-swanky bar and lounge. After my stay, I came away with very positive impressions of the hotel and the staff, despite the fact that it’s still in its “soft opening” stage. So here is my review of the W Dubai Al Habtoor City (which is now known as the V Hotel and part of the Hilton Curio Collection).

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Check-in

The W experience begins as when you arrive at its brilliantly flashy entrance.

The entrance to the W Dubai Al Habtoor City.

The illuminated stripes extending from the exterior welcome you to an even flashier lobby on the inside.

W Dubai Al Habtoor City lobby — The lobby.

The jazzy effects found running across the interior walls and ceiling are showy reminders that this hotel is far from ordinary. It’s an almost trippy feeling the first time you lay your eyes on the lobby but you will get used to it as you go in and out, so if it’s a bit overwhelming to your eyes at first, just give it a little bit of time and it will hopefully grow on you.

You’ll be pleasantly greeted by staff members as you enter through the doors and approach the welcome desk. But this isn’t where you check-in. Instead, you’ll be guided up to the 30th floor, where the check-in desks are located. Your baggage will be taken from you and delivered to your room as soon as you’re settled in.

On the 30th floor, you’ll find multiple check-in desks, resembling bubbles, situated in front of the elevators. The staff will offer you a refreshing drink and you get to relax and take in the views from the 30th floor as they process your arrival.

Once you’re checked-in, it’s back down to your room level, where you’ll be guided to your room.

A wild pattern of inter-weaving silver and white lines run down the corridor floors of each level. This design drew inspiration from the many driving lanes of the main highway in Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road and is perhaps representative of the energetic pulse found throughout the hotel.

The signage in the hallway not only points you in the direction of your room, but provides a peak into the futuristic design style that your room will showcase, as you begin to take note of the space craft vibes of the hallways and rooms.

Much like the entrance to the hotel itself, the entrance to our hotel room was bright and reflective, consisting of multiple panels of mirrors which spanned from the floor to the ceiling.

Once you make your way past the mini hallway of mirrors, you’re presented with the first glimpse of your room.

It’s hard not to immediately conjure up thoughts of Star Trek when you first set foot into your room at the W Dubai. The lighting, wall decor, and sleek furniture all resemble what you’d expect to find living in a luxurious space craft. Buttons on the left and right control the lighting and the automatic curtains on the windows. Also, white (fully flexible) rods on either side of the bed offer you additional reading light.

W Dubai Al Habtoor City room — The Marvelous room

The Marvelous room (which we were upgraded to) is set up with an open layout, so your bathtub is not enclosed in a private area, although it is situated in a small enclave next to a radiant piece of artwork.

The sink area is directly across from the bathtub and forms a separate pathway to the front door from the mirrored walls.

In that same area, behind blacked out swinging doors is the toilet and the shower. The shower comes with a high waterfall shower head along with a secondary flexible shower head.

And along with the toilet, you’ve got two bidets.

If you’re in the mood for sweets or snacks, you’ll find containers full of an assortment of them, such as M&Ms, Pringles, cookies, etc. The hotel also provides you with complimentary water bottles upon arrival and upon request, so you should never go dehydrated no matter how hot it gets outside.

We were shown around one of their amazing suites, as well. Since it’s still a soft-opening not all of the suites were completed but they will be offering several different types of them. This one had the same type of open lay out as the Marvelous room but with even grander portions and a beautiful circular bed setting.

W Dubai Al Habtoor City suite — Stunning suite.

The suites have a celebrity penthouse feel and look to them that is very impressive and the lounge-like seating areas in them seem to be a great place to gather in before getting ready for a long night out in Dubai.

The service

The service at the W was all-around phenomenal. All of the staff members greeted us by name each time we entered and exited the hotel and were nothing short of professional and cheerful. They helped us find our way around the hotel, arrange taxis, communicate with our local tour guides, and check-in and check-out were a breeze.

The room service for in-room dining is quick and the food is tasty. For breakfast we went with the pancakes and the Belgium waffles and both were very satisfying served with fresh fruit slices (I’d go with the pancakes as you seem to get more bang for your buck).

One other thing I loved about the W Duabi was the “W Insider.” There’s a staff member, Vince, who is responsible for assisting guests with all of the inside information on places to go and things to do. His approach to the job goes beyond your typical concierge service and can help you find everything from the perfect lounge to visit based on your particular taste to where to find some of the top local fashion spots in Dubai.

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The bar and lounge

Back up on the 30th floor where check-in is, there’s also a bar and lounge area that occupies most of the floor.

Neon purple lights surrounding the bar create a nice vibe, especially at night.

Around the bar area, you’ll find super-swanky seating options up there and at night a live DJ playing. This lounge area is designed more for a “pre-game” night experience but it can also be a nice spot to hit up for a couple of drinks with no intention on getting out to any other place due to its unique offering of drinks.

Some of the seating areas, like the ones pictured below can be reserved for parties and social gatherings.

We tried some of the cocktails at the bar and loved them, especially the Nitro-Tini Art Deco, a sweet gin drink with white chocolate and lemon juice. There are many different types of drinks to choose from and some of these cocktails created by world-class mixologists are exclusive, so you won’t find them at other place.

There’s a club still being built and we weren’t able to scope it out but judging from the appearance of everything else in the hotel, I’m sure it will be beyond impressive and probably become a hot spot for Dubai night life.

Dining

The hotel has two restaurants. The restaurant “Level 7 Dubai” is located on the 7th floor while “Namu Dubai,” serving Asian, Korean, and Pan Asian food is found on the 31st floor. Level 7 serves up all meals throughout the day and even has snacks and drinks available 24 hours a day but Namu Dubai is more of a dinner spot, open from 6pm to 12am.

I didn’t have the chance to dine at these restaurants but during my walk through I got a peak at some of the dishes and they looked extremely appetizing. In addition to the dishes, the dining environment at these restaurants was something to marvel at as well.

The pool facilities

The W Dubai Al Habtoor City’s pool area is known as the “Wet Deck” and you can access it on the 7th floor. The Wet Deck consists of a bar area with plenty of seating and a number of shallow pools that are spread throughout the area and lined with various forms of decorative seating. It’d be a perfect place to lounge around and have a few drinks and take in the sun.

W Dubai Al Habtoor City pool wet deck — The Wet Deck.

Due to the heat and humidity, I took my photos at night but night or day I could tell that this would be great place to unwind and take a dip and maybe enjoy a drink or two.

The Gym

Also on the 7th floor is the gym. The gym area is very big, bright and modernly designed. It’s still undergoing a bit of development so the hotel may have even more machines when you arrive, but when I visited it had everything you’d need to have a great workout including benched, free weights, presses, bikes, treadmills, mats, and everything else you’d probably expect. All of the equipment appeared to be fresh and top-notch, just like the type of equipment you’d find at a top gym in your local area.

A small door opening in the wall of mirrors (pictured below) leads to a locker room area where you can store your belongings and I believe even take a shower.

There are even a number of shelves holding towels and water bottles for your convenience.

One cool plus about the gym is that you can schedule appointments with a personal trainer that’s on staff who can assist you with your workouts. In addition, the spa treatment is available at the St. Regis next door if you are interested in relaxing after a workout.

The only thing lacking at the hotel for the moment is that the surrounding area is still under development. It’s still less than a 15 minute taxi ride to the Duabi Mall and downtown area so it’s not terribly inconvenient by any means. In another year or so, when more surrounding development is finished for Al Habtoor City, there will be more going on in the area. Because the area is still new I advise you to get a business card from the front desk to show your taxi drivers so they’ll know where to go. If all else fails, tell them it’s near the St. Regis and hopefully they’ll know that hotel as it’s been there a little bit longer (2015).

Final word

Overall, I fully recommend the W Dubai Al Habtoor City for any traveler looking for a hotel with a lot of personality, superb service, and an altogether different kind of hotel experience. It’s flashy, chic, and offers everything you’d expect from a W hotel but on the level and scale that Dubai is known for. Although it’s still functioning on a soft-opening, its futuristic rooms and suites are a sight to behold and will be worth it for any guest not wanting to settle for “just another hotel room experience.”

Daniel Gillaspia

Review of The Oxford Hotel in Oxford, England

Location: B

Here’s the thing, if you’re wanting to be within walking distance of City Centre in Oxford this is not the hotel for you. It will take about 10 minutes to drive into the City Centre from the hotel depending on the traffic. The Oxford Hotel is very close to one of the park and ride busses, however. And if it’s your first time coming to Oxford, I highly recommend the park and ride because parking is ridiculous to find in the city! One good thing about the hotel is that parking is free and there were plenty of open spaces for all of the cars while we were there.

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Service: A+

The front desk was excellent and we were treated very well. Also, at the bar and restaurant the staff was very courteous as well. Some of the servers seemed to not have a very good grasp on English but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be overcome with a little bit of gesturing.

Some of the rooms require navigating an unusual number of turning hallways to get to your room.

Cleanliness: A-

The room, bathroom, sheets, etc. were clean but not in great condition. There were some small but noticeable cracks along the counter where the sink connected and so while the room was clean, it didn’t feel quite as pristine because of that condition. Other than that everything was just fine.

Rooms: A-

The double room was a bit small but for UK standards it was definitely acceptable. There was no refrigerator or microwave in the room which was a bit of a bummer but there was a desk and a small tv in there. The window shades did a great job of blacking out the sun, which was nice and there was also a heater which came in handy. The bed was a bit firm but still pretty comfortable and as stated the sheets and blankets were clean.

Internet: C

The free internet was very slow and there was pretty much no point in even attempting to use it because I couldn’t get anything done on it. We luckily were upgraded to the faster internet for free but even that internet connection was pretty bad. So if you’re in need of a good wifi connection, make sure you upgrade and hopefully your connection will be a little better than ours was.

Bang for buck: A-

2 nights: $280

Overall, the room didn’t blow me away but for the price it was a good deal. I enjoyed the drinks at the bar and the food at the cafe wasn’t bad either. My only real complaint would be the internet speed – hopefully that was just a one time thing. Other than that, I can’t complain too much and for about $140/night I think we got pretty good worth for the money we spent.

Daniel Gillaspia

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