Las Vegas is making its way back in 2021, and this includes opening new resorts and hotels. Surprisingly, Hilton has been the hotel brand associated with all of the openings so far. One of the great things for points travelers about these new properties being part of the Hilton portfolio, is that you have the opportunity to use and leverage status which can be very beneficial. As a reminder, you get top-tier Hilton status (Diamond) with the American Express Hilton Aspire Card.
In March, I attended the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opening, which is a Curio Collection by Hilton. You can read that full review here as well as my discussion with Miles to Memories on their YouTube channel.
The next property to open is Resorts World which includes three different Hilton brands: a Hilton, a Conrad, and a Crockfords. The property opened Thursday night, June 24th for the casino and Friday, June 25th to hotel guests.
I'm always interested in checking out new properties in Las Vegas, so when I heard about the opening I booked a visit. I stayed June 27th-29th. Unfortunately, things started off a bit rough. People with Crockfords reservations found out they were out of luck, as the rooms were not ready and they got bumped over to the Conrad. I booked one night at Conrad and one night at Hilton, so I didn't experience the frustrations that lots of folks did.
History
Resorts World is on the former grounds of Stardust Casino, which was demolished by Boyd Gaming in 2007. The property was supposed to house Echelon Project. Eventually they had to sell and did so to Genting Group in 2013. The process was marred by lawsuits from Wynn and several building issues along the way. You can imagine how the excitement about having something on this property built up over the last fourteen years. This history shaped the property in a few unique ways. The resort was already partially built when Genting Group purchased it. This explains some of the possible room critiques you may hear as far as size of rooms or not enough suites. Second, the resort originally called for a Panda exhibit, a waterpark, and a replica of the Great Wall of China. Those extravagant plans were eventually scaled back. Finally, Resorts World is an Asian-themed resort. You will still see many Asian touches, designs, and customs throughout the property. You can read all about the history here.
Booking
I booked using Hilton Honors points. As an American Express Hilton Aspire cardholder, I also have Diamond status. I booked my first night at Conrad and the second at the Hilton. My final bookings, after cancelling and rebooking when prices dropped, were 55,000 Hilton Honors points for Conrad and 53,000 for Hilton. As a discloser, they did refund me some Hilton Honors points for the cleaning issue, which I did not ask for.
Conrad
Conrad was Hilton's original luxury flagship brand. The Resorts World Conrad has almost 1,500 rooms, which makes it the largest Conrad hotel in the world.
Check in
I arrived around 7PM having already done the mobile check-in, but the digital key would not work. I also arrived with Mark from Miles to Memories, who was told his room was not ready. The customer service agents were friendly and said they could get us both checked-in and upgraded me to a strip view room on the 25th floor. The front desk clerk acknowledged me as a Diamond member and they gave me two waters. I had to ask about the food and beverage credit given to elite members (more on that credit later) and the front desk staff had to ask a manager about it. I also was given a late checkout of 2pm. The front desk staff escorted many of us to the end of lobby to direct us towards the elevators.
Room
This room is 550 sq. feet and boasted views of the Las Vegas Strip. It felt spacious and wide. A couple things stood out to me. First was the mini bar area which featured an actual refrigerator compartment for you to use. Second was the multiple outlet options as seen in the above picture.
I will disclose that I had one minor cleaning issue and more larger one. The first thing I observed on the left side of the bed was a water bottle cap on the floor at my night stand. This was minor and I did not become upset. However, then when I went to plug in my items and put them on my nightstand, I discovered a pill or vitamin of some kind. It appeared that things were not cleaned properly. The water bottle cap was a minor oversight, but blatantly obvious to anyone that would have walked in the room.
You can view my Conrad room video here. The video also includes some pool pictures.
Bathroom
The bathroom was large with double sinks and perhaps one of the largest walk in showers I have seen. It also included a large bench area at the rear of the shower area. It featured an adjustable shower head as well as a rain head shower above. One thing that seems to always be a debate among travelers is the bulk dispensers. I think having bulk dispensers isn't appropriate here, since this is a Conrad which is thought to be more of a luxury brand for Hilton.
The double sinks are always a favorite feature of mine, even if traveling solo. The room was stocked with plenty of towels. This seems to be lacking in travel these days.
The room had robes in the closet as well as a cloth laundry bag if you needed cleaning services. I was told some rooms had slippers as well, but my room did not have any in the closet. The in-room safe was located in one of the drawers and I found it easier to use than standard hotel safes.
Conrad Final Thoughts
Overall, the room, while nice, fell short of my expectations of a Conrad. Additionally, I travel to Las Vegas frequently and have seen and stayed in many rooms and this was lacking the “wow factor” I thought it would have. Resorts World is on the north end of the strip with not much around. I need a reason to come here, and the rooms at the Conrad will not be it.
Hilton
For my second night I booked the Hilton which has 1,774 rooms. Again, check in was friendly. I was acknowledged as a Diamond member and given two waters. I forgot to request a strip view so I ended up on the other side of resort. The hallway colors were a colorful and bright blue. You can view my Hilton room video here.
The rooms here are smaller at about 450 sq. feet. Many of the lamps and tables looked to be the same as the ones in my room in the Conrad.
The bathroom had a similar shower as the Conrad, but with gold colored fixtures instead of silver. There was only one sink and the toilet was in the same room as opposed to having a separate area.
The rest of the room was also similar to the room in the Conrad, with the same safe in the drawer. It also has the same mini bar with the free space in the refrigerator. This is a good standard room for the price points. I will be interested to see how points prices trend. While Las Vegas is not typically a points town, I have found some ways to use them recently.
Crockfords
While it was closed due to rooms not being completed on time, we did spend some time in the lobby which is beautiful. There is also a bar area which we also visited. Overall the Conrad and Crockfords lobbies both had bars and were well designed.
Status Benefits
Since Resorts World is a Hilton property, this means that your elite benefits apply. Hilton recently changed the way they handle the breakfast benefit. Rather than simply giving you a free breakfast, you now receive a food and beverage credit. This is based on brand and available for up to two guests.
For my Conrad stay, I was able to use the credit to erase $50 off our drinks at the pool bar. For my Hilton night, I was able to use $48 total. Keep in mind, even if you are traveling solo, always book for two guests to maximize this benefit. While this new benefit has received some debate, I like the flexibility of it in this case. One issue we encountered is that these credits were not taken off for all of our group, and we heard reports of this happening as well for many others. This meant you had to address it at check out.
Another benefit of Hilton elite status, is that if you book on points you do not pay resort fees. This item was also not automatically removed from my bill and was yet one more thing that I had to address at check out.
Pool
There are seven pools at Resorts World. For now, you can walk pretty much throughout the area and look at them all. From what I gather the one pictured above will be only for those who book a cabana or bungalow at that specific pool. I have seen the title of VIP pool used for it. Two of the seven have the ability to be blocked off so perhaps something for Crockfords guests as well. I included some pool pictures after my Conrad room video.
Resort & Casino
This is the part that truly exceeded my expectations. It was bright and spacious and full of energy. Each hotel has a nice hallway leading to it which created a nice separation of the casino area and the hotel area. Because of this separation, there was no need to cut through a casino with luggage. The walkways were well distinguished and off to the side.
There is also a large mall area of the resort which has dining and shopping. I enjoyed walking through this area full of restaurants and shopping options including an upstairs. Many stores and some food options are not open yet, but they should be opening in the weeks to come. The dining/shopping area is highlighted by the giant globe or sphere which creates a nice photo opportunity.
Dining
Dining at Resorts World as difficult. The restaurants we tried to visit were all closed when we went looking for food at 11PM the first night, despite a packed resort and casino. Furthermore, I was disappointed the food court was closed too, which had been given a lot of publicity for the many options available there. Some reported that there were some glitches with the food court kiosk system. People were getting charged for meals they did not order and getting notifications for food the next day. One restaurant even told us they ran out of food and had to close. They stated we could only get a cheese board.
Some of my friends and travel companions ate at the Kitchen which is the 24 hour café. The reviews I heard were not good. The staffing crunch is an issue even at a new resort. Unfortunately, the Kitchen had lots of tables but could only seat 15 at a time. For breakfast I ate at another breakfast option, Suns Out Buns Out. Yes, that really is the name. They featured breakfast sandwiches, doughnuts, and coffee. It was good, but certainly not to the level of Egg Slut at Cosmopolitan. However it is a quick, easy, and affordable by Vegas standards at just $10 for a sandwich.
Food Tip: There is a fantastic taco place across the street from Resorts world, called El Gordo Taco. Also, the famous Peppermill is a short walk as well. The proximity of Resorts World should help all these businesses. And I can vouch that El Gordo taco was packed but worth the wait.
Final Thoughts
I was underwhelmed by the rooms but blown away by the resort, lobby, and casino. I liked the pool area and certainly could find myself relaxing there another time when the temperature is not in the triple digits. The staff was beyond friendly and helpful even with the shortcomings on training which is not their fault. Do you have any plans to visit Resorts World? Are you a Vegas fan? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know your thoughts.
