Category: Travel (Page 1 of 5)

The Signature suites at the MGM hotel is one of the best places for families to stay in Las Vegas.  The suites are large and fairly well maintained, they have full kitchens, comfortable and stylish furniture and great bathrooms.  We have stayed there twice already, in August 2012 and 2014, and my kids want to go back already.

The Signature is a condo-hotel. That means that most of the units and individually owned, mostly by investors but there are some people who actually live in their units.  Unit owners can chose to rent out their units through the MGM management, through another company or on their own.  The first time we went, we reserved our unit through VRBO, though the second one my husband’s company travel agent made reservations directly with the hotel.  Both have their advantages/disadvantages, which I’ll discuss below.

Most rooms come with standard decorations and they include a king size bed with incredibly comfortable and high quality mattresses, pillow and bedding.  There is a sofa which turns into a queen size bed, which is not too uncomfortable either.  There is a table/desk with a couple of chairs and a full kitchen area.  If you reserve through the hotel, you will need to ask for any plates/pans/utensils you may need for cooking – though private units may come fully equipped.  There is a closet with a dresser, another small bar area, and the bathroom.  The bathroom is my kids’ favorite place. It’s large, it has a huge jet tub, a separate shower and a small TV which you can watch from the bathtub.   Some rooms come with balconies, which I would fully recommend as you can use them to dry out your swimwear.

Like most hotels in Vegas, the Signature charges a resort fee, which includes fast internet. There are also plenty of outlets in the unit.

The hotel itself doesn’t have much in the way of frills.  Each building (there are three) has a swimming pool. These are large, rectangle, kept at a nice temperature (neither too hot nor cold), appropriate for swimming, and not very busy.  One of the pools is designated for adult use only, which I appreciate as a parent.  Each pool has an attached hot tub, also very nice and relaxing.  The pool bars are not too ridiculously expensive, and the whole pool atmosphere is just relaxing.

One of the building has a small restaurant, which serves pizzas, soups and sandwiches.  The food is excellent and reasonably priced.  Unfortunately, they don’t take phone orders, but it’s not too inconvenient to go and get the food.  There is a bar and a Starbucks at another of the buildings also serving excellent food and drinks.

The Signature is located in the back of the MGM casino & resort.  It’s a 10 to 15 minute walk, depending on how much of a hurry you are in.  There are people movers, but it can still be challenging to get there for those who have mobility problems.  While the walkways to the MGM are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs, the MGM itself is very crowded and I don’t think too comfortable for wheelchair users.

When you stay at the Signature, you can take advantage of the MGM pools.  There are pretty amazing, but they get very busy during the weekend – so it’s really good to be able to use the private Signature pools as well.

There are a couple of cons about staying at the Signature.  The main one is that it’s really far away from the strip.  It’s a long walk getting there, and at the end, you have to go through the casino – which means exposing yourself/your children to cigarette smoke and crowded areas.  We usually just took taxis, even to hotels a couple of blocks away (but this was August and we were there with my 80-yo dad).

If you do drive, there is no self-parking.  That means having to tip a couple of dollars every time you get your car – but also having to wait for your car.  This makes it harder to go in and out of the hotel.   Ultimately, I think these inconveniences are what keeps the suite prices so low.  You can usually get a suite here for the same price than what a regular room would cost you on the strip.

If you do stay here, there are both advantages and disadvantages about booking directly with the owner or a representative.  The advantage of going with an owner is that you will probably know exactly which unit you will be getting – that means, you’ll know in which building it is, how high up and what sort of view.  So if you want to make sure that you have a high-up room, with a balcony, a fully stocked kitchen and a view of the strip, a private booking may be the way to go.  We did that during our first stay, and we really got a great room.  Privately booked rooms can also be cheaper – though don’t count on it.  These rooms usually don’t include daily maid service, and during our first stay we noticed that we really missed it – in particular, the changes of towels.

The big advantage of booking through the hotel is that if there any problems, the management is there to help you.  When we checked in during our second visit, their computer system was down so they couldn’t actually check us in and take us to our room.  Instead, they comped us $75 for food/beverages at the The Lounge, and made sure we were comfortable while we waited.  I don’t think they’d had done the same if we had booked privately

The Signature at MGM Grand
145 E Harmon
Las Vegas, NV 89109
http://www.signaturemgmgrand.com/

Marga’s Hotel Reviews

For the last four years, the kids and I have joined Mike in Vegas for the annual Defcon conference.  He goes to the conference, we hang out.  That means that I want to stay at a comfortable hotel, with plenty of room and amenities, that is also centrally located.  Though it’s off the street, the Palm Place is a pretty good alternative.

The Palms Place is a condo hotel, built before the Las Vegas real estate market collapsed in 2008.  Many of the units are privately  owned, though they are available to rent as hotel rooms through the hotel management.  They are identically decorated.  It follows closely the model of the MGM Signature Suites, where I’ve stayed twice, but the Palms Place has a cheaper look.  Still, it’s a very comfortable place to stay with a family.

The studio room features a king size bed, an L-shaped Italian sofa that converts into a queen size bed, a comfy chair, a large desk/counter area and two wall mounted TVs, one facing the bed and the other the sofa.  Only one of the TVs worked during our stay.  There is a kitchen area by the door, which comes with all the basics for keeping/cooking your food.  It had a desk, but it was somewhat uncomfortable to use.

The bathroom featured a beautiful, large and deep jet bathtub in its own enclosure, next to a floor shower. The walls are translucent so anyone in the room can see you bathe.  The tub is very noisy, so it’s not the best place to relax, and it’s literally impossible to hear the TV from the tub, but it’s still a very fun tub.

The room was all in all very relaxing and comfortable. It felt utilitarian rather than luxurious, but it was large and stylish enough.  One big minus, however, is that you cannot open the windows or go into the balcony (if your room has one).

The hotel didn’t have too many amenities itself, but it was also comfortable.  The hotel pool is on the 6th floor, along one side of the hotel. This high up, it can get pretty windy and this may be the one spot in Las Vegas where you can actually feel chilly outside in the middle of an August day.  It usually doesn’t get too crowded, and the kids and I had fun playing there.   Bear in mind that the pool hugs Simon, one of the restaurants, so you cannot really swim in privacy.

Palms Place gives you access to the facilities at the Palms next door – which you can access via a covered walkway.  Unfortunately, we never found the swimming pool at the Palms’, so I can’t report on how it was.  We did take advantage of the cheap but top-quality buffet restaurant and the movie theater – which is conveniently located near the walkway to the Palms Place.   We also went to the Palms to take the free shuttle to Caesar’s Palace.

All in all, the Palms Place provides and affordable and relaxing alternative to the strip.