Resorts World in Las Vegas, Nevada: My 3-Day Experience at the Conrad
This is the view of the Las Vegas Strip from our room.
Resorts World
Resorts World consists of three hotels, five pools, a nightclub, two Starbucks, a spa, a gym, a concert venue, an insane amount of casino opportunities, and too many bars, restaurants, and stores for me to bother counting.
In the center of it all is a giant ball that performs light shows. I got to explore for three days here and this is what I've found!
Arrival and Check-In
We were put up in the Conrad at Resorts World on the 29th floor. The resort is located at the very end of the strip next to Circus Circus and across the street from the best damn tacos I have ever had from Tacos El Pastor. When we walked into the Conrad lobby, I could just smell the newness of the resort where the Riviera once stood.
We checked in and the customer service was incredible. As mentioned, we were there on my husband’s business trip so I don’t know what the nightly rate was for our single king-size room with a strip view. But I do know that we had to put $800 down as collateral for “incidentals and damages” that would be returned to us upon check out. My eyebrows certainly rose at this, but it made me all the giddier to see our room.
We were shown to our elevators after we were all checked in as there are so many floors that there are different sets of elevators for how high up your room is. It was an interesting sign when our guide told us that there were QR codes throughout the resort and on our door keys that link to a map of the resort in case we get lost.
Upon entering our room, I was blown away. It was beautiful with massive windows overlooking the strip. We had an excellent view of the pools including a sneak peek into what I think were some of the Crockfords palace private pools. Below are some pictures of our room and the view.
Perks of the Room
Some highlights of the room were the full-sized bath products available in the bathroom. The bottles were affixed to the wall by a disguised lock that required some sort of key, obviously to deter hotel product kleptos such as myself. About the products, they smell unisex, kind of musky. They also made my skin extremely itchy over the three days of use. On a different note, there were bathrobes and slippers provided! Yeehaw! They were very comfortable.
The Minibar Scandal of 2021
My husband was elsewhere and whilst unsupervised I was exploring this awesome room and found…the minibar. It was very pricy, as minibars are. I picked up the “Intimacy Kit” out of curiosity, read the contents, and put it back. After fiddling around with some of the other snacks and stuff and putting them all back, I found the sign pictured below.
If any of the items were removed from their pressure sensors for more than 30 seconds, the room would be charged. Where was I? It was a big deal because the packs of M&M's were $12, and that intimacy kit I mentioned was almost $40.
I had moved them all around. I had to fess up to my husband. We laughed it off and guessed that I had probably not been holding each item for 30 seconds each. When we checked out, it turns out that it sure had taken me more than 30 seconds to read the contents of the kit. My husband explained that I’m a nosy nuisance and the gal checking us out took it off of our account. Whoops.
The Pools
Resorts World has three pools for all guests, a cabana pool that requires special access, a VIP infinity pool, a family pool that's only opened on the weekends, and suites & palaces that have their own private pools. There are two bars in the pool area and one snacky joint called Bites.
We went into the bimini pool and had it all to ourselves while the main pool remained crowded. You could buy mixed drinks by the 32oz at the bar! The pool area is beautiful, full of places to lounge, swim, lounge while swimming, and has some beautiful sculptures.
Zouk Nightclub
As we settled in on Sunday night, we couldn’t help but be lulled to sleep by a techno bass beat. The Resorts World Zouk Nightclub was only open on the weekends at the time but we could sure hear the festivities until around 11:00 PM on Sunday night.
Wally's Wine & Spirits
The next morning I decided to get all dolled up and treat myself to a fancy breakfast. I eventually found my way down to the district and Wally's Wine & Spirits. I was greeted by the very friendly but very bored-looking hostess (Monday morning) and she sat me at one of the inside bars, the best table for one. I would not recommend this restaurant for kids to attend as there was explicit music playing in the restaurant.
I was greeted by a very tired-looking bartender that wouldn't make eye contact and showed very little personality. The music wasn't that loud but it was hard to understand him because he was mumbling. I asked for a Moscow mule which he served me in a small glass tumbler. Total bummer. The bar was extremely clean and had a great concept. There were ceiling-high shelves of wine and spirits throughout the bar that were absolutely beautiful to look at. While beautiful, my poor bartender had to climb a rickety ladder to replace a bottle of spirits that made me pretty nervous, and as anyone who has met me can tell you, I am not Mrs. Safety Helmet.
While observing my surroundings, I noticed someone who looked like a restaurant manager at the twin to my bar doing some paper/computer work. She was chatting merrily with an employee while another employee waited in line for their attention. It was kinda weird for such a fancy place.
Wally's was pricey, as everything is in Vegas. I had the truffle eggs for breakfast to the tune of $28.00 and oh man was it worth every damn penny. The truffle eggs were three sunny-side-up eggs sauced with black truffle Albufera, topped with shaved burgundy truffle and a little baguette slice. Every bite was incredible, I'd never had truffle or anything before but it seemed to be everywhere in Vegas!
Overall my experience at Wally's was delicious but it took a while for my bartender to warm up I guess.
Awana Spa
My first day of exploring happened to be Awana Spa's opening day. Finding the spa was a unique experience on its own and was so fun! I was excited to have a massage on vacation, maybe get a facial, and just relax on my own. When I walked into the gorgeous lobby, I knew that I was in for a treat. They didn't have any formal menus yet so I was greeted and handed their one and only xerox copy of the menu.
The menu was extensive, there were facials, massages, couples massages, and other spa treatments, the priciest being a couples massage for $1,300. There was just one problem—I've been wanting this paper tablet called the remarkable 2, and once I had all the bells and whistles, it's around a $600 dollar piece of technology. While I was willing to go big in Vegas, the most affordable spa treatment that I could find was a $250 facial. I'm sure it would have been out of this world but after tip, I would have been halfway to a remarkable 2! So I left the spa determined to try a different tactic to get in there.
I went back to my room and called up the operator (who I dialed multiple times during the trip and they were very helpful every time) and tried to pull the author card. After making a friendly rapport with the gal, I said, "My name is Catie Berry and I'm an author trying to get into experience reviews. Is there any way I could get a backstage tour of the resort? I'm free anytime tomorrow. I also would really like to get inside your spa and add it as a feature to my review of resorts world. I haven't found anything on the menu that I can quite afford. Do you have any coupons, deals, or any way to get me into that spa? Also, is there anything that you'd like me to specifically mention or highlight, or any rules you'd like me to follow in my article?"
Operator: "Ok Miss Berry, let me see if I can do that for you, please hold."
At this point, I was on hold for a couple of minutes. I am still wondering if they googled me or something and realized that I was in fact, not a very influential author.
Operator: "Hi Miss Berry, thank you for holding, I just spoke with my supervisor and we're not scheduling any tours at this time. We also don't do any deals or coupons or complimentary services for the spa. If you give me your email, I'd be happy to send you any copyright rules we would like you to follow."
Strikeout. Well, I gave them my email, never heard from them, never got into the spa, but I did witness what seemed to be many private tours during my stay. I fully admit to calling and asking for a handout. However, if I was Resorts World, I would have given that author vouchers, gambling credit, gift cards, tickets, or whatever to get them to experience as much as possible while they stayed with me and ensure a great review. That's totally ok that they didn't, but a bummer nonetheless.
Awana Spa entry hall—I didn't get to go much further than this.
Famous Foods
After my failed attempts to gain entry to the spa, I decided to go eat my feelings instead. I headed to Famous Foods, a cafeteria that is unlike any cafeteria I've been in. Cobblestone floors loop and stretch around eighteen different "street food stalls". There's everything from fried chicken to sushi to middle eastern delights. There's a bar in the center of it all, thank god.
What's cool about Famous Foods is that there are touch screen menus all over the strip of stalls and you can order anything from anywhere at any touch screen. Very convenient.
I ate at Ah Chun Shandong Dumpling twice during our stay and it was delicious. I ordered the sheng jian bao dumplings and the chicken guo tie. This definitely satisfied my craving for street food. The dumplings were $10 and the chicken was $9 with a $5 service charge plus tax and tip.
I headed to the Nori Bar next, excited to try some sushi out. This was also delicious. I tried what's called the "four of a kind" consisting of four hand rolls, one each of salmon, yellowtail, bay scallop, and spicy tuna. I was served one roll at a time in the order listed, I got to watch each one be made with love and care by the sushi chef. I am a wimp when it comes to spicy things so take this as you may, that spicy tuna was very spicy. Tasty, but spicy. My four of a kind was $22 and I was charged a $5 service charge plus tax and tip.
I had help from Enilyn navigating the menu at the Nori bar and she took very good care of me. I'm not sure what the service charges were for; if they were supposed to be the tips, I made a ton of servers very happy throughout my stay.
Sheng jian bao dumplings and chicken guo tie from Ah Chun Shandong Dumpling.
Miss Behave Beauty Bar
The next day I finally got to treat myself to a brow wax at Miss Behave Beauty Bar in The District.
This beauty salon has a full bar in it! Woo Hoo! I had my brows waxed for $35 and a mixed drink for $25 (yikes!), it did have flower petals in it though! But I walked out feeling beautiful and buzzed.
The salon was empty but it was gorgeous. Everyone was very friendly and shocked at the spa prices when I told them about the experience.
Nectar Bath Treats
This was one of the best parts of the trip. Holy smokes. I make hand-crafted artisan soap from home and hope to have my own soap business someday so I wrote off all of the money I spent at Nectar as research and development.
They have everything! Soap, bath bombs, milkshake bath soaks, bubble bars, a custom face mask station, and a custom fragrance station. The best part was that I was able to buy as much as I wanted because they offered $10 shipping so I didn't have to try to fly home with pounds of bath products!
I bought four milkshake bath soaks to the tune of $35 apiece, three bubble scoops, and three whipped soaps. After the deals and shipping, I paid $131.99 plus tax and had everything sent to my house in Montana. Booya grandma!
I was helped by Chelsea. She knew the products inside and out. She let me test quite a few products. Chelsea was friendly and capable, she was able to help multiple guests at one time and I didn't feel like I had to wait for her ever. It was really great.
My two-year-old and I have been testing the products. The whipped soap is incredibly luxurious, my daughter loves the milkshakes and I love that they leave her skin silky soft. The bubble scoops are sadly…not very bubbly. I would skip those in the future. I would also skip the milkshake bath soaks. They're essentially a bath bomb that's not formed into a ball. Go for the bath bombs instead!
The Brezza
We were treated to dinner at the Brezza in The District by a vendor of my husband's. This was a beautiful Italian restaurant that had wonderful food, drinks, and even better service.
We were seated in the mall area at a big round table for the six of us. The Brezza carries an extensive wine list, we tried two and they were both delicious. Couldn't tell you what they were, I was a couple of long islands deep at the time, those were good too.
For an appetizer, we had the charcuterie board. The cheese selections were bite-sized, so for the six of us, it was a little awkward. We also tried the calamari, which was really good. The fry on the calamari was absolutely perfect.
For my main course, I had the ricotta corzetti which from their menu reads "crispy artichokes, basil, tomato butter". Being an uncultured twit, I unashamedly asked our server what the closest thing on the menu was to fettucini alfredo, he recommended the ricotta corzetti. I thanked him and asked that he and the chef laugh at my question after I leave as the kitchen and dining room were designed with an open concept. Our server was a good sport.
My friend Amy had the balsamic glazed quail, "pickled mustard seed, charred onion beet vinaigrette" it looked gorgeous and she said it was very good.
I also had the mascarpone mashed potatoes, "poached egg, guanciale, pickled peppers". I have to apologize to anyone who has ever made me mashed potatoes because hot damn these mashed potatoes were an experience. Oh and that poached egg, the menu fails to mention the poaching occurs in the mashed potatoes. It's so cool, the servers bring it out to the table and stir it in some fancy way and talk all Italian at you. It was a luxurious experience.
For dessert, I made the superb life choice of ordering the mint ice cream. I insisted on the ice cream being passed around the table as I had never tasted anything like it in my life. I can only describe it as mint ice cream, only the mint is fresh off the vine (does mint grow on a vine?) and you would expect to see freaking leaves in your ice cream, but it really is smooth delicious ice cream. It was the best mint ice cream I've ever experienced.
Like I said, I had been drinkin'. So it took me a while to figure out why all of my food kept sliding into my lap for the majority of the meal. Well, it turns out, the table was one of those hybrid tables that can have the round bits collapsed and turned into a square table.
Somehow the round bit on my curve of the table hadn't been put together all the way so my dinner was served at approximately a 20-degree angle. I told our server about it for the next guests. I did think that I was just being a klutz at first and had had too much to drink.
Sun's Out Bun's Out
By far the most popular place for breakfast was Sun's Out Bun's Out. This food joint was so fun to go to and the food was delicious. They had two ordering stations, one for the breakfast meal items and another for donuts. The coffee was slammin' too. There were cute egg-themed chairs to sit in as well as high tops.
I started off with the Bottoms Up described on their menu as, "coddled egg, cheesy grits, truffle, microgreens, fleur de sel, crispy baguette" this item was served in a small glass jar! Which I kept. These were the best grits I've ever had and I couldn't even explain what was in them. I definitely recognized the truffle flavor though and I am without a doubt, a huge fan!