For our fourth trip to Las Vegas we stayed at the Mirage. While it definitely wasn’t as nice or as conveniently located as some of the past hotels we’ve stayed at, it still offers a decent enough location. The onsite club, 1OAK, wasn’t exactly our taste, but it was fun to get dressed up and give it a try. Hotel guests can walk in (no waiting on a massive line, and no need to bother with a guest list) – just show your room key. Another onsite bar, Rhumbar, however, was a blast! Located just outside the hotel, on a gorgeous patio overlooking the strip, Rhumbar offers unique cocktails, a hooka bar, lively music, and a totally fun and comfortable setting.
The Mirage isn’t as well themed as some of its neighbors. I mean you have the Luxor, with its fun pyramid shape, and New York New York, with all its big apple replicas. It’s not as glamourous as the Four Seasons, located on the top floors of Mandalay Bay, or as beautiful as the Cosmopolitan, which has the most stunning massive chandelier in the lobby.
Nevertheless, the Mirage succeeds in making guests feel as though they are in the middle of an oasis. There’s a large aquarium behind the front desk, and a palmed-tree waterfall atrium just off the lobby.
Our room was a bit of a let down. It didn’t have a great view, nor was it equipped with anything spectacular. We asked to be placed far away from their smoking rooms, and were put on a floor directly below the entire smoking floor. Oy.
On a positive note, the bed was extremely comfortable. It actually made my list of top five best hotel beds ever. Or maybe we were just that tired, who knows.
This hotel was semi-recently updated, but the room felt like it needed another reno, or maybe just a really good cleaning. I don’t know about you, but I think all hotel rooms should feature a rain head shower, or just a clean lamp shade. Yuck.
The Mirage is said to have one of the best pools on the strip. I have to disagree. While it is very large, it’s mostly overrun by the obnoxiously drunk college crowd (I get it, you’re in Vegas, but STILL).
Guests looking to hang out with the non-frat party can purchase a spot at the very small oasis pool for $50 per lounge chair. I hate when hotels make you pay to utilize a pool. I get and agree with the additional cost for cabanas, and maybe for exclusive access to a spa pool, but for a standard pool? Especially one that’s small? No way! Especially if said hotel already has an insanely unreasonable resort fee.
If you don’t want to spend for a pool chair, you can hunt for a lounger by the main pool. However, be prepared to sit on top of strangers, and about 5 chairs deep with no pool view. I guess you don’t come to Vegas to relax by the pool though.
Near the pool is a totally unique dolphin habitat. Very cool, but also very expensive, even just to walk in. It’s most definitely cheaper to swim with dolphins in the Caribbean than to go here. Nevertheless Mirage guests can actually sneak a peek at these awesome mammals through the tree’s behind the pool.
Free for all is the Mirage’s volcano show, which erupts nightly starting at 8pm, and continues every half hour starting at 9pm.
Like I said, most don’t go to Las Vegas to relax, so please take my above pool criticism only so far. As long as you’re staying somewhere decent (the Mirage is), you’re probably there to gamble, catch a show, and explore the strip. It’s what we typically do here.
However, this time around, we focused on the things we haven’t yet done here.
We didn’t catch any shows this time around, and like I said, aside from a quick stroll of the strip, we focused on doing new things.
Here’s what we did:
1. Visit The Welcome To Las Vegas Sign. It took us four trips to get here, but we finally did.
2. Visit The Hoover Dam. I have to admit, I thought it was very underwhelming. You can read more about our trip to the Hoover dam here.
3. Head to Arizona and visit the Grand Canyon. It’s a long drive, but worth it. You can read more about it here. We chose to visit the West Rim (the one with the Skywalk), and plan on doing the South Rim next time.
4. Eat At New Restaurants! Next trip, I’m determined to try Cirque, but this time around we finally made it to Tao. It was amazing, and just as good as everyone says.
5. Fremont Street. Another place we had yet to visit. I’m glad we went, it’s fun (but super weird!). I’m not sure I’d make a point to go back next time. It’s a long way from the strip, and I actually made out better at the strip casinos than I did here!
6. Go Out On The Town. To go to Vegas and not party… is a thing we’ve done 3 other times. This time, we were determined to have a few drinks and explore some of the clubs and bars.
Til next time, Vegas!
Leave a Reply