Vdara Hotel & Spa at ARIA Las Vegas

Fabulous room, view, & amenities, but not easy to access nearby casinos of Bellagio or Aria. Stayed 1 night & got so tired of aimless walking just to get to a casino & get something to eat that I bailed & went back to my luxurious room instead?!

A nice hotel

Generally, the Vdara is a nice hotel. It offers a smoke free environment, which really was one of the main reasons why I picked it for our three nights couple retreat. The place is in neat condition. What kind of irked me a bit however, especially considering the high weekend price we paid, was that the pool area closed at 5pm, rather unexpectedly. Even a staff member that we talked to in the elevator on the way to the pool told us it would be open until at least 6pm. At the pool itself, staff referred to “winter schedule” and announced closure at 5pm. Plenty of people were quite pi**ed when the pool was shut down at 5pm and very quickly emptied out. One other thing: It’s odd to have a kitchenette in your room but absolutely no cookware. Apparently you can order it up to your room but in the end you end up not using these facilities at all. Also, there is no coffee maker or even kettle to make hot water for tea. I have read that’s a Vegas-wide problem though. Next time we may consider going to Walmart and buying a $15 water heater and a French press. Given the Starbucks prices in the lobby, you can make good on that equipment very quickly. The other disadvantage is that the Vdara itself only offers valet parking at a rate of $30 per day. Apparently there is self parking at the Aria or the Bellagio for less but then you have to a) find it first and b) walk to your hotel when it is late and you are tired coming home from a long day in the desert sun.

Room was clean, bed was very creaky, and it took forever for the cleaning ladies to come clean our room, but overall a good experience.

Everything was great, but only one thing disappointed me....no where to park.... except valet parking.