Battle of the Vegas Mega Suites: The Mirage Hospitality Suite

Hyatt, Las Vegas, MGM Resorts
Battle of the Vegas Mega Suites: The Mirage Hospitality Suite
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Helping to organize two different Las Vegas bachelor parties in a six week period requires a certain level of stamina and pacing. Much as I love Las Vegas, a prior trip for a conference meant I’d visit Sin City three times in less than 100 days, which is considered overexposure by most medical professionals.

Nonetheless, friends only get married once, and I hopped into the fray for two reasons.

First, my Mlife Platinum status – matched from my Hyatt Diamond status – and my track record of visits to Las Vegas meant I could unlock some serious discounts on the sort of large suites appropriate to host large groups.

Second, this represented quite a points-earning opportunity! Not only would arranging the stays help me earn additional tier credits and reward credits with MGM Resorts, it was also an opportunity to double-dip, earning 5 Hyatt points per dollar, followed by a 30% bonus thanks to my Hyatt Diamond status.

With the opportunity to make the trip truly special for friends and to earn a boatload of points to help cover future adventures elsewhere, I set to work.

Choosing The Mirage

I determined that the Hospitality Suite at The Mirage would be best suited for the early-June party, given there would be six of us total. While many large suites can be found up and down the strip, very few of them within the average person’s range of affordability offer three beds outright, rather than just one bed and a connecting room, or tow beds at most. Mirage’s Hospitality Suite was perfect for this reason, offering two queen and one king beds in its two bedrooms, each offering separate baths, in addition to a half-bath located near the front of the room.

The Mirage has aged a bit over the years, but is still remarkable as Steve Wynn’s first true resort destination on the Las Vegas Strip. The Mirage set the standard for what all future destinations on the Strip would become, with a focus on resort amenities like restaurants, dining, theming, shows, and capacious pools being equally split with gambling, rather than serving as afterthoughts meant to keep wives and families busy while men worked the table games. Though many remember Caesar’s Palace as the casino to redefine Las Vegas from dusty gambling town to major destination, The Mirage helped the town take the next leap toward serving as an entertainment center for all ages and interests; even those with no gambling interest at all.

The suite wasn’t quite ready for us when I went to check in at 3PM, though my Mlife Platinum status helped me skip past a line at least a dozen deep of others waiting for their rooms, lessening the blow. Though smaller suites were available immediately, only the Hospitality Suite offered the three beds we needed in one large suite, so we waited an extra hour or so until the room had been cleaned. We were actually given keys when we first attempted to check-in, so we only needed to wait for a phone call to confirm our room number before heading to the hotel tower.

Once we’d arrived at the right floor, I was at first confused, seeing signs pointing to every room number except our own. Turns out, the double doors directly off the elevator were where our suite awaited, hiding in plain sight.

While the entrance to the Hospitality Suite wasn’t as grand as the foyer for the Media Suite at Mandalay Bay, that meant more usable space and less space dedicated to impressing those making their first entrance. Past a half-bathroom, next to the front door, the wide open living space was flanked by the two bedrooms. On the left was a large sectional with a chaise lounge, facing a large HDTV, under which a desk area was available.

To the right was a massive wet bar, including both a mini-bar and guest-accessible refrigerator, in addition to a variety of snacks available for purchase.

Between the bar and couch was a massive dining table, capable of seating 8 and perfect for snacks, drinks, games, and catching up with old friends.

The master bedroom offered a king-size bed, along with a TV that could rise and retract into a stand at its feet.

The master bathroom was gigantic, with a huge bathtub and separate shower space, as well as a closed-off water closet and dual-vanities

The second bedroom offered the two queen beds that made it perfect for our group of six, and a layout essentially in line with standard queen rooms found elsewhere in the resort.

Overall, the Hospitality Suite was perfect for our group of six. While it would’ve been too small to reasonably host a party as large as the one in April, I preferred the Hospitality Suite in many respects. For one, the amenities offered by the Mirage were nicer, including full-sized bath gel and shampoo bottles that were replenished daily, as opposed to the lackluster standard fare offered at Mandalay Bay. Most critically, however, is simply Mirage’s better location, as evidenced by our view out the master bedroom:

While Mandalay’s beachfront and sprawling pools are impressive, Mirage’s pool area is no slouch, either, and we enjoyed a great day baking in 100+ degree heat at a cabana of our own, secluded off in a shady spot still just steps away from the pool. Pantry, Mirage’s 24 hour restaurant, also served as an excellent breakfast stop each morning, not quite outpacing Della’s at Delano, but coming awfully close with their chicken and waffles served in cast iron:

So, which would I choose in the future? Either of them. Both the Media Suite at Mandalay and the Hospitality Suite at Mirage presented fantastic value in a way that only Las Vegas can. Rooms of this size and scope in any other destination could easily cost thousands of dollars per night, while my Mlife Platinum membership brought our cost down to $270 per night each night except Saturday, when the rate popped up to $543 for the Mirage. Compared to three standard rooms, each housing two of us, this was still a tremendous value. There’s a reason Las Vegas is such a popular travel destination for reunions, bachelor parties, and business events: there’s nowhere else in the US that offers quite the same value, or range of options, that are possible in America’s playground.

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Casey Ayers is a consultant and entrepreneur with a passion for travel. After amassing enough miles and points to travel anywhere in the world for almost free in less than six months, he developed PointsAway as a way to help others make travel dreams big and small come true.
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