Editor’s Note: The following review is of Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection [as utilized at The Park MGM]. This post is not a complete review of The Park MGM.
Review: Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection – Park MGM (Las Vegas, NV)
I’ve had amazing stays utilizing both Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (LHRC) and American Express’ Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) program with stays at ARIA, Bellagio, Delano, and Mandalay Bay.
In my prior posts, I checked out the LHRC program at the MGM Grand Las Vegas and The Signature at the MGM Grand. In this post, I’ll pay a visit to the newest MGM property on the strip, the Park MGM.
How did the Park MGM handle the LHRC program?
First, A Bit About The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection:
How To Use It
To use the LHRC program, you’ll need a premium Chase credit card that grants you access. Cards known to work include the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Business Ink Cash, and United Mileage Plus Explorer cards.
(Other Chase cards like the Ritz-Carlton or the British Airways cards may work as well – to know for sure, check their eligibility by using the card to sign-in on the LHRC website).
The Benefits Of The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection is a little-used benefit, but sometimes it can provide tremendous value. The perks of the program include the following 5 benefits:
- Daily breakfast for two
- A special benefit unique to each property
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- A room upgrade, if available
- Early check-in and late check-out, if available
The Benefits Vary By Property – Although Not The Most Lucrative Las Vegas Has To Offer, The Park MGM’s Benefits Are Still Among LHRC’s Best:
The Park MGM’s “special benefit unique to each property” is a $50 Food and Beverage Credit and a $30 per person daily breakfast credit. So for two people, this benefit is worth $110 at minimum!
The Check-in: The Invited Guest Line
Much has been made of the re-branding of the Monte Carlo to the Park MGM for the express purpose of appealing to Millenials. Nowhere is this more prominently on display than at the check-in.
Guests arriving for check-in will be surprised to find a legion of digital kiosks – and a seemingly absent front desk. Rest assured, there is still a front desk (albeit small, unmarked, and “hidden” off to the side).
Although the Park MGM staff did their best to quickly usher me to a kiosk, my past experience with the LHRC program has taught me one simple rule – always use the front desk when using LHRC.
Sure enough, this was a wise decision at the Park MGM for check-in (and check-out).
There it is…the unmarked and inconspicuous front desk
As you can see below, there is no “invited guest line” at the Park MGM. 
Rating: 0 out of 5 points for lack of an Invited Guest Check-in line at the Park MGM and very small front desk (which tends to get very crowded at check-in times).
The Check-in: The Welcome Letter And The $110 Food And Beverage Credits
The food and beverage benefit of $110 in credits was the single biggest reason for me booking through the LHRC program.
At check-in, the front desk attendant was very nice and quick with the check-in. As she handed my room key, I notified her that I was using the LHRC program and asked for a copy of the welcome letter.
She told me they did’t have such a letter. I assured her they did have a welcome letter for the LHRC program, and invited her to call her manager if she didn’t believe me, which she did.
After getting off the phone with her manager, she promptly apologized to me and told me he’d be right down with the letter. After about 5 minutes of waiting, the manager produced the following letter:
Typos and cutoff sentences abound
After my previous stay at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the first thing to catch my eye was the breakfast benefit. I was relived to see this credit could be used at the Primrose restaurant (in the lobby, across from the front desk).
Like the MGM Grand Las Vegas’ welcome letter, the fine print of the Park MGM’s letter specified the restaurants the $50 credit could be used, in this case Primrose and Moneyline.
Rating: 3 out of 5 points for The Park MGM’s detailed LHRC welcome letter (including where the food credits could be used), with “-2 points” for the staff initially not knowing of the welcome letter and the cutoff sentences in the official letter (come on guys).
The Check-in: The Room Upgrade
There can be a huge difference between regular rooms upgraded rooms in Las Vegas, thus this benefit has the potential to make a big difference in a stay.
After receiving my welcome letter, I was told my M Life Gold status made me eligible for an upgrade on the upgrade.
I made my way to my room to find I’d been upgraded from a Park MGM King to a Stay Well Park MGM King. Interesting.
The many features of the Stay Well Park MGM King
Rating: 5 out of 5 points for Park MGM’s recognition of my M Life status and upgrade upon check-in to a Stay Well Park MGM King.
The Stay Well Hallway
The jury is still out on the hallway artwork
Wait, so you are telling me there are 3 faces!?
The Stay Well Park MGM King Bedroom
The first thing you’ll notice is the absolutely jarring red paint, a strange choice to say the least.
Stay Well feature: the mattress
Stay Well feature: The “play” light setting of the Circardian lighting control
The jury is still out on the Topanga Canyon-inspired hipster decor
Stay Well feature: Aroma therapy machine
Stay Well feature: Circadian light machine (on the right)
The Living Area (Opposite From The Bed)
The jury is in on the red paint – no. Just no. It’s anything but relaxing or “zen”.
Stay Well feature: The [very strong] air purifier
The View From The Stay Well Park MGM King
Wow. That’s some Vegas sunset!
The Bathroom
Stay Well feature: The energizing light (button on bottom right corner of mirror)
This sink design is horrible; the water barely drains due to the flatness of the sink
More of that jarring red color.
Stay Well feature: Shower infuser
The Closet
All this is hiding behind the sliding shower door
Using The $50 Food And Beverage Credit
We decided to invite some friends over for breakfast at Primrose. As such, we combined the $50 food and beverage credit with the 2 $30 breakfast credits [below].
Rating: 5 out of 5 points for usage of the $50 food credits at Primrose.
Using The $30 Per Person Breakfast Credit
Breakfast and coffee was served at the wonderful Primrose restaurant.
Image courtesy of MGM Resorts
Eggs Benedict
The handle-less cup of a Cafe Latte
Primrose was great, I’d rank it among the best breakfast spots M Life has to offer, right up there with ARIA and Della’s Kitchen at Delano.
Rating: 5 out of 5 points for The Primrose breakfast option.
The Check-out: Guaranteed 2:00 pm Checkout
We used it. Worked like a charm.
Rating: 5 out of 5 for the 2:00 pm check-out benefit.
The Check-out: The Final Folio Invoice
As is unfortunately par for the course at some M Life hotels when using the LHRC program, the final invoice was initially incorrect.
The front desk staff apologized for the mistake and very quickly added in the missing credits.
I also had to verify my M Life number added on my reservation, which it was not. Again, the front desk staff was very professional and quickly corrected the issue.
The final total price for the room was $146.46 (that included the room rate of $75.42, the resort fee of $37, taxes of $10.09+4.95, tips of $19.00). Considering that I received in $110 in food and beverage credits, it effectively cost me just $36.46 for the entire stay!
This is why you should definitely use the LHRC program!
The Bottom Line Review: Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection – The Signature At MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV)
As a Generation-Xer, I am 100% qualified to make fun both Millennials and corporate attempts to cater to Millenials. As much as I wanted to hate it, I ended up really liking the Park MGM – a whole lot. Sandwiched between the ARIA City Center complex, New York New York, and the T-Mobile Arena, the location is a prime; right smack in the middle of the Las Vegas strip.
Let’s talk about the Stay Well Park MGM King. Aside from the virtually non-draining sink, old-school flimsy chains on the window shades, and the crazy-as-hell blood-red color in the rooms (which, I should note is not in all the rooms), the room was actually kind of likable. I dare say even “home-y”.
I expected to find the Stay Well features corny and gimmicky, but some were down right great – great enough to wonder why these features were not in all rooms at the Park MGM. Specifically, the Stay Well mattress (think Tempur-Pedic) and the Stay Well air purifier really made a noticeable difference. The Stay Well Circadian light control was cool, as was the Stay Well shower infuser. The food at Primrose was truly a delight.
Looking back on the effective cost for my entire stay ($36.46), the Park MGM is an amazing sweet spot in the LHRC program for budget travelers – if they can deal with that red paint.
Final rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Highly recommended!
Cheers!
1 comment
Awesome review! Staying at Park for the 1st time this summer on a comp and need an extra night beforehand. Since I can’t stack MLife offers, looking to use this program (previously used it at Mandalay Bay with little issue). Just hoping for an upgrade to be available this time (was denied at MB…none were available during a busy weekend) and for my reservations to be combined so we stay in the stay in the same room. Fingers crossed.
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