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| - I went to Vegas for the election, and though the trip was terrible, I have no beef with the Aria, where I stayed with a couple of friends. It was a lovely hotel with a great casino, and I hope to return sometime under better circumstances.
We checked in on a Sunday afternoon, and this was the only annoying part of the hotel experience. The line was long as fuck, like at least second-tier Disneyland ride long. Aria must have a population size larger than many towns that voted Trump. Service was great. We were checked in by a nice young woman who'd just gotten her citizenship, who was still an undecided voter (she asked why we were in town, and we told her, but without saying which way we leaned). I hope she didn't vote for her own deportation.
The hotel was pretty in the Vegas way, every decor element over the top but somehow tasteful because of the ridiculous size of the hotel. Like insane light fixtures and velvet and leather walls (I touched all of those walls). The room was comfortable and nicely appointed, with a beautiful view. Beds were plush, and the bathroom clean with a good shower. I also enjoyed the control panel that let us open curtains and turn on lights. Mildly confusing, but very cool in an "open sesame" kind of way.
We spent a good amount of time in the casino, playing black jack and poker and pai gow (though let us not speak of the pai gow). We also ate at the pizza place and I think there was some kind of horrible election night party in the Aria, too, but honestly I was sad and a little sauced so I don't remember that in great detail (though there might have been a buffet that was only snack nuts). The parking situation was good, an easy garage with in and out privileges.
I'd recommend the Aria if you're looking for a hotel with a lot of modern luxury and only medium levels of Vegas cheese. The price point wasn't terrible (I won at the tables and covered my expenses easily), and I might come back for a real getaway one of these weekends.
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