Hotel Reviews
Travel Tuesday: Mirage Resort King Room Hotel Review
Earlier this month, I had the chance to check out the 2022 CES convention… so you know what that means: it’s time for another installment of my Las Vegas Content Bonanza™. Today’s entry is actually a tad different as the situation is rather unique. See, rather than checking out a hotel because they have something new, this time I’m writing about a hotel that is more or less going away. But, before that happens, my wife and I got to spend two nights at The Mirage.
So, let’s jump into my thoughts on our stay — as well as explain why the property is in for some major changes.
Mirage Resort King Room Review
Booking and checking in
For this stay, I booked directly with MGM. Thanks to my M life Rewards (soon to be MGM Rewards) Gold status, I was offered one complimentary night while I paid a base rate of $31 for the second night. However, there was a $39 resort fee that was charged for both nights. Yes, this means that I spent more on the resort fee than the room rate — welcome to Vegas!
While I’m a big fan of MGM’s mobile check-in options, I don’t recommend trying to use their mobile key option as it can be difficult to utilize for resort elevators and is hit or miss on the rooms themselves in my experience. Thus, I always prefer to create physical keys. Luckily, the Mirage had a clearly marked area for mobile check-in guests like myself, making it easy for me to make keys without having to wait in a line. With keys in hand, we were ready to head up to the room.
Elevators
Our room was located on the second floor of the hotel — which meant I was going to spend two days feeling silly about taking an elevator up just one floor. However, I was pleased to discover that Mirage’s elevator banks were not only also conveniently located near each other but were also fairly plentiful. In our case, six elevators serviced floors 2 through 8, which seemed like a pretty good ratio to me. Indeed, we didn’t wait more than a few moments for an elevator during our stay.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the key to a good hotel room is a good elevator. You might not realize how important this is until you encounter the opposite (see: our Luxor stay). Thus, the Mirage started things off on the right foot for me.
The room – pros and cons
Before we jump into the room itself, I do want to give a shout-out to the unique door designs at Mirage. While it looks like a slated door, rest assured that it is indeed solid and not see-through. However, the loud chirp from the key readers can be heard fairly well through the doors, which occasionally led me to momentarily believe someone was entering our room. That funny yet nearly frightening fact aside, I do love the look of these doors.
When we first entered our room, the layout actually reminded us a bit of the Bellagio room we stayed at last year. Both properties are owned by MGM and were originally developed by Steve Wynn many moons ago, so it’s not a completely baseless comparison, but I wouldn’t say they’re really that similar overall. On that note, while I thought the decor was nice, my wife did think it was a bit dated. Still, I enjoyed the artwork and wood behind the bed, the comfy love seat, and the large all-in-one piece of furniture that housed the TV, minibar, a desk, and more.
Heading to the bathroom, I found it to be passable but unremarkable. Personally, I prefer a standing shower, so the tub combo was a bit of a letdown. But, I can’t complain about the good water pressure and temperature, so it got the job done.
One major con I discovered soon after settling into the room is that there is a distinct lack of plugs near the bed. While my wife did manage to find one on her side, I was left without. In fact, while I thought I could perhaps unplug the lamp and repurpose its outlet for my own needs, I found that the cord led behind the bed, making it inaccessible to me. Granted, there was a nice power hub over near the desk, but I really would have appreciated some easier access on the nightstands.
Another con that I have to believe was specific to our room was that, well, it was a bit slanted. There wasn’t a steep slope but, walking from the desk side to the bed side made the slant evident. It was also noticeable while lying in bed on our first night. Luckily, we did adjust — and, as I stated, I figure that had to be something to do with our room alone — but it was strange nonetheless.
Overall, despite a couple of oddities, we enjoyed our room at the Mirage. My wife even stated that it was “better than she expected.” To me, it definitely felt like a step up from the Luxor Pyramid room or even the Tower Room while not costing that much more. Thus, I’d say it was a win (no pun intended).
Location
For whatever reason, my wife and I tend to gravitate toward the South Strip on our stays. And while I wouldn’t call The Mirage the North Strip by any means (I’d say it caps what I consider to be the center), it was fairly far north for us. This ended up being a nice change of pace for us as it made for a short stroll up to the new Resorts World and to my favorite cheap-eats destination, Fashion Show Mall. Plus, you’re right across from the Venetian and next to the Forum Shop at Caesars Palace — all of which have plenty of dining and entertainment options. Because of this, I think it’s a strong location and is even easier to recommend than our South Strip haunts.
Dining (and a MyVegas coupon)
Speaking of dining, The Mirage is also home to a number of eateries. Personally, the one I’ve been most interested in is Otoro, although we didn’t have the chance to dine there this time (sadly, we had reservations for what was to be a previous trip that was canceled by the pandemic). Elsewhere, Heritage Steak is another popular albeit pricey pick. Moving down to my side of the price scale, the Mirage has a Diablo’s Cantina location, which is a spot we tried and enjoyed at Luxor. Then, near the sportsbook, there’s also a California Pizza Kitchen if you’re looking for something simple and familiar — or just want to catch a game while you eat.
As for counter service, I wanted to mention a place called Snacks. That’s because I was able to redeem my second ever MyVegas reward. If you’re not familiar, MyVegas is a set of apps where you can play free slot games and earn points that can be redeemed for real-world prizes. In this case, I was able to score 2-for-1 sandwiches, amounting to a savings of $16. For more info on MyVegas, you can check out my full review but, needless to say, it paid off this time.
Entertainment
On this trip, we didn’t have a chance to take in any of the entertainment options the Mirage has available, but I did want to shout out two of their offerings. First, the long-running Cirque du Soleil show Love — featuring the music of The Beatles — is still performing. Even if you don’t see the show, I’d recommend checking out the gift shop if you’re a Fab Four fan.
The other show of note is Shin Lim, a magician you may know from his appearances on America’s Got Talent or Penn & Teller: Fool Us. I first saw him perform on the latter show and found him to be absolutely incredible. Not to keep harping on this trip that never was, but I was also set to see Shin Lim before the pandemic spoiled that plan. Still, I feel confident recommending it regardless.
The volcano
Remember when several of the Strip’s casinos had entertainment out front? Excalibur had a dragon, Treasure Island had a pirate battle, etc. These days, while the Bellagio fountains are still very much a thing, the practice has more or less died out. However, the Mirage’s volcano is still going (for now).
So what is this volcano? Basically, after dark, there’s an hourly eruption of fire, water, and music that happens out front of the Mirage. Is it silly? Sure — but it’s fun. Also, while we’re on the topic, I find this area to be absolutely beautiful during the day. In fact, it may be one of my favorite parts of the Strip now that I think about it. Therefore, I’ll be sad to see it go and I’m glad I got to see it at least once more before it departs.
The future
As I alluded to, the Mirage is set for some major changes in the coming years. Late last year, MGM Resorts announced that it was selling the property to Hard Rock. In turn, after a period where MGM will lease the Mirage moniker to Hard Rock for free, the latter company intends to rebrand to Hard Rock Hotel. What’s more, they apparently plan to build a guitar-shaped hotel. I personally have no idea how that’s all going to work or how long it will take — but, in any case, the Mirage we know now doesn’t seem long for this world.
Once I heard about Hard Rock buying the Mirage, I knew I wanted to try to stay there sooner rather than later. Thankfully, the stars aligned and I was able to spend a couple of nights there for a reasonable price. Given the “inside baseball” I was aware of, I was a bit worried that MGM might have let the property go downhill. Yet, I don’t think that’s really the case. Although there were some minor flaws in our room that a refurbishment might fix, I still thought it was in solid shape overall. Plus, I happen to like the subtle but present theme found throughout the hotel. So, while my first Mirage stay may also be my last, it’s certainly not because I didn’t enjoy it.
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