Smoke and mirrors. I had high expectations for my stay at the new ARIA; however, having been transferred to it one week before check-in via lack of inventory at Vdara even though the Vdara reservations had been confirmed more than a month in advance, I also had a sense of foreboding which rang true nearly every moment I was there. I was sending myself and three colleagues to two conferences for the week, and I do not appreciate anticipating nor paying for inconveniences.
ARIA does indeed have potential to be a 5-star hotel and I really wanted to love it; I especially value the green, eco-friendly mission it was built upon. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived it was evident that design was chosen over function in EVERY aspect of the resort, including the rooms, casino, dining areas and the spa. For example, the hotel and casino offer high ceilings and natural light that create an open and spacious feeling during the day, but a dark and confusing maze at night. Signs are nearly non-existent. The railings in the elevators were falling off, long vertical rods that decorated some of the walkways had fallen down, the room key worked every 5th try and the room door wouldn't close completely. The issues and problems I encountered are several pages long -- too long to detail in a review here on Yelp.
I plan to list additional specifics in upcoming reviews of individual sections of the hotel, but as far as this review of the hotel and hotel room itself: ARIA is very nice in a sleek, modern business/technology way with the most comfortable bed in Vegas, but lacking in charisma and warmth, and the feeling that you are in Vegas to have fun. Check-in at 11:00 am wasted an hour of time. My request to have my team all in the same area was not noted, nor was my request for a room facing away from the Strip. I repeatedly told the front desk check-in staff that Vdara had agreed to and promised this or that due to the last-minute change and, in fact, everyone on my team did get rooms facing away from the Strip (although on various floors from 14 to 54) -- except for me, the business owner, who was given a room on the lowest floor overlooking the Veer Towers and the porte cochère, which had construction crews on it and the requisite construction noise waking me up before 7:00 am every morning. ("This is a great city view and costs more than your reservation was for, and I know you will be pleased with it. I've not had any complaints about it," said the front desk person. Well, good thing I took photos as evidence.) When I was checking out and mentioned the construction noise, I was told they had no idea construction was "still" going on and they comped me 50% of the first night's stay.
ARIA is the perfect example of an establishment forced to open too soon. Experienced staff were handling the pressure pretty well, but the majority of them were not experienced enough and this showed in their attitude and treatment of the customers. I was reminded of our experience at Cavallo Point, where hubby was most affected. Here at ARIA, I was the one incredibly frustrated with everything and everyone, from the extremely loud bathroom ventilation that could not be turned off to the spa that could not have been designed by anyone who understands what the spa experience should be. And to echo Hamilton C.'s comment about the pass-through door between two connecting rooms, yes, indeed, one of my colleagues listened to someone vomiting violently for hours into the wee hours of the morning. Too bad the bathroom ventilation wasn't loud enough to drown that out.
Despite all the negatives, there were a couple shining stars here that will be written up shortly; the rest of the resort should take notes from them. A lot of bugs need to be worked out throughout the resort, and they had better be worked out soon. You cannot call yourself a 5-star hotel and charge 5-star prices, and not have your act together.
One final note: the windows are not reflective! If you stand in front of them in the nude, everyone can see you. Thankfully, this didn't happen to yours truly, but those construction guys having worked for awhile in Vegas probably have seen better anyhow.