Whoneedssunscreen and her Hub experienced mild trepidation prior to our weekend visit to Encore after viewing some of the reviews on TA. However, being the sunworshipping Vegas scene fools that we be, and having stayed at Wynn on prior occasions, we could not resist the discount E-mail offering for their sister property.
We loved the decor and atmosphere upon our arrival, although some might find it too garish. Encore seems more intimate than Wynn and the other Strip hotels, excepting Four Seasons. More importantly, we LOVED our room! We asked for the highest room we could get, and found that on the 50th floor on the north side, street noise and XS club noise remained far below. The room was just beautiful with tasteful mirrors and a division between the bedroom and the living area. There was a very cool, large manly flatscreen television which rotated to face either room. The bathroom was large and comfortable and well appointed.
The people at the front desk and within the hotel bars treated us very well, and we had no problems, even when we pointed out that the minibar double-billed us for an eight dollar bag of potato chips. The moment we pointed out that our remote control for the drapes and lights was not working, it was replaced. We were forced to step over a 20-something boy all dressed up and passed out on the hallway floor on our way to the pool at 9:15 a.m. Should you call security? Why get the boy in trouble? He was breathing and looked very happy.
We felt intermittently pampered at the "European" pool, depending on the crowd size, but sincerely felt for the poor souls who arrived after 11:00 a.m. who could not find a lounge chair (let alone two next to each other.) What was truly annoying were the towel game players who left towels and other accoutrements on chairs and then returned two to three hours later. (Towel game people should be fed to crocodiles). The staff worked hard to alleviate this situation. The chairs were actually quite comfortable, although on top of each other. The casino/pool area bar had misters, which also were quite comfortable in the 100 degree heat. The pool temperature was actually cold, which felt great later in the day. One tip. If you lay out on the area with the astroturf, bring sandals as the turf gets incredibly hot and feels like hot coals. The pina coladas were delicious.
The wife and about 5% of the rest of the women went topless and only about 3% including the wife went topless in the pool. This might have been partially caused by the fact that the "main" pool is rather small, and perhaps people who might not have chosen to be there had no other choice. In any event, we did enjoy the pool very much and found it rather relaxing for Las Vegas.
Unfortunately, there was a convention, which meant that almost every restaurant was "committed" until 10:00 p.m. by the time we stumbled up from the pool with pleasant, self-inflicted cases of heatstroke. After many telephone calls, Hub was able to get us into Sinatra's on the patio at 8:30 p.m. We had drinks at the Eastside Lounge beforehand. The wife loved her white cosmopolitan.
The service at Sinatra's was outstanding and the food was quite good, but one can't help thinking often when in Las Vegas that whatever you are doing or consuming is just not worth the price. Sinatra's is indeed overpriced. Heck, the wife and I would not spend the usual price for an Encore room either.
The wife and I wanted to try out XS, but the line filled with 20-something kids whose self-esteem depend upon whether they get in, was way too long even at 1:30 a.m. Seriously, we are talking hundreds of kids wearing short skirts and silly smirks drunk texting through the wee small hours of the morning.
Overall, the experience was a cut above Wynn but be sure to get to the pool and reserve restaurant time early!
