Review: Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection – The Signature At MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV)

Editor’s Note: The following review is of Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection [as utilized at The Signature At MGM Grand]. This post is not a complete review of The Signature At MGM Grand. 

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 post, I checked out the LHRC program at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. In this post, I’ll pay a visit to the second of two MGM properties on this trip, The Signature At MGM Grand.

How did The Signature At MGM Grand 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 Signature At MGM Grand’s Benefits Are Still Among LHRC’s Best:

The Signature At MGM Grand’s “special benefit unique to each property” is a $100 Food and Beverage Credit and a $20 per person daily breakfast credit. So for two people, this benefit is worth $140 at minimum!

For reference on the LHRC’s The Signature At MGM Grand’s benefits, I have provided the official email excerpt below:

The Check-in: The Invited Guest Line

The first thing to note is The Signature is mostly a timeshare property, as such, there is no parking garage – only complimentary valet parking – once you get past the security checkpoint.

I found the front desk at The Signature At MGM Grand relatively small with virtually no customers waiting in line; nevertheless, there was a clearly marked Invited Guest Check-in line on the far right of the desk.

Rating: 5 out of 5 points for The Signature At MGM Grand’s Invited Guest Check-in line.

The Check-in: The Welcome Letter And The $140 Food And Beverage Credits

The food and beverage benefit of $140 in credits was the single biggest reason for me booking through the LHRC program.

At check-in, the front desk attendant was [initially] very nice and quick with the check-in. As she handed my my room key, I had to notify her that I was using the LHRC program and asked for a copy of my welcome letter.

Strangely, she seemed to be very annoyed that I asked for this. She then let out a loud sigh as she turned to rummage through some drawers to find it. Find it she did, and she handed me the following welcome letter:

After my previous night’s 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 great little Delights Cafe (in the lobby, across from the elevator hallway).

Like the MGM Grand Las Vegas’ welcome letter, The Signature’s letter specified the specific restaurants the $100 credit could be used, and in fact, it seemed even more restrictive than the MGM Grand’s. For instance, Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grille was not listed as an option.

However, there was an unexpected silver lining: Show tickets and spa treatments were eligible for this credit.

Rating: 3 out of 5 points for The Signature At MGM Grand’s detailed LHRC welcome letter of where to use the food credits, with “-2 points” for the attitude of the front desk attendant when I asked for this letter.

The Check-in: The Room Upgrade

There is a huge difference between rooms with views and those without views in Las Vegas, thus this benefit has the potential to make a big difference in your stay.

After receiving my welcome letter, I made my way to my room only to find that my room keys didn’t work. I had to march all the way back down the hallway, down the elevator, and through the lobby to inform the front desk attendant that my key cards were not properly activated.

She actually rolled her eyes and asked me if I “was sure”. “Yes, quite sure”, I responded. She handed me the newly activated cards and I headed back to my room.

As I checked out the room, I took a look at the welcome letter. Right there in black and white it stated “COMPLIMENTARY upgrade to a  One Bedroom Balcony Suite upon arrival, based on availability”. Apparently, I had not been upgraded to a balcony room upon arrival.

I called back down to the front desk and asked if they had any One Bedroom Balcony Suites available. I got a male voice on the phone and he said, “yes sir, we have those rooms available, just come down to the front desk and they’ll be happy to upgrade you”.

For the third time in 10 minutes, I had to trek back to the front desk. I politely informed the first attendant that she didn’t give me a room with a balcony as per the welcome letter, and that I verified those rooms were indeed available. She gave me a look as if I was the most annoying customer in the world, rolled her eyes yet again, then gave me keys and said, “there, your room with a balcony”.

As a rule, I firmly believe you should never apologize for asking to receive what you paid for. As a loyal MLife customer, I was surprised to encounter a staff member who was so unprofessional and give me such a bad attitude.

Rating: 1 out of 5 points for The Signature At MGM Grand’s unprofessional front desk staff member who didn’t provide me with the LHRC-specified upgrade upon check-in, even though the room was available.

The One Bedroom Balcony Suite:

The Hallway

The Bedroom

The bedrooms were nice – nicer than the MGM Grand for sure. Being that these units doubled as time-share properties, there was a lot packed into a little space.

The Living Area

The Kitchenette

Loaded, but not fully. Items such as glassware and silverware were nowhere to be found

The View And Balcony Upgrade

Getting what ya paid for…

The Bathroom

There was no space for the toiletries, except for this super-tiny ledge

Around The Room

You read that right, $9 bottles of water!

The non-balcony room had the old-school and outdated version, the iHome for G1 iPhones…

…but the Balcony upgrade had the newer version with wireless charging

Using The $100 Food And Beverage Credit

As I noted, The Signature’s surprise usage for the $100 benefit was show tickets.

As we were still stuffed from lunch, we decided to use the credit on tickets to Cirque Du Soleil’s “KA”. I called down to the concierge and purchased tickets using my MLife discount and had them billed to the room.

Image courtesy of MGM Resorts

It had been about 15 years since I last saw KA, but it was better than I had remembered. I believe they’ve made some positive tweaks to the show over the years, but whatever the case, and we had a great time.

There is a long hallway that connects The Signature to the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

The hallway to the MGM Grand Las Veags

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Rating: 5 out of 5 points for being able to use the $100 food credit on show tickets to KA.

Using The $20 Per Person Breakfast Credit

Breakfast and coffee was served at the hidden gem that is Delights Cafe.

Image courtesy of MGM Resorts

Unlike the MGM Grand, you were not limited to a bogus breakfast at The Signature.

Delights Cafe had an awesome selection with reasonable menu prices. In fact, we weren’t even able to use up the whole $40 credit.

Breakfast was full of tasty goodness!

Rating: 5 out of 5 points for The Signature’s Delights Cafe 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 MLife hotels, the final invoice was initially incorrect. They decided to charge me for the KA tickets. I whipped out my welcome letter and pointed out where it specified show tickets were eligible for the credit.

The front desk staff was very nice this time, she apologized for the mistake and quickly added in the $100 credit. I asked for a folio, to which she replied, “the printer is broken, can we email you a copy”? Not wanting to stand there and argue, I agreed even through I knew better.

It should be noted, the emailed folio never arrived. I, of course, had to jump through some hoops to get a copy of this, including a broken website request page, and several unhelpful help desks. In the end, I obtained this by contacting memberservices@mgmresorts.com, which was thankfully listed on Hyatt’s website.

The final total price for the room was $265.48 (that included the room rate of $131.25, the resort fee of $37, taxes of $17.56+4.95, tips of $9.70, and the overage for KA tickets of $65.42). Considering that I received in $140 in food and beverage credits, it effectively cost me just $125.48 for the entire stay – and that included KA tickets for 2 and breakfast!

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)

Besides the insanely unprofessional desk attendant at Check-in and the [expected] annoying folio debacle, I very much enjoyed my stay at The MGM Signature.

Being able to use the $100 credit on show tickets to KA was an unexpectedly cool benefit that really added to the experience. The room was comfortable and cozy, as was the location – close to MGM Grand Las Vegas, but not too close. And breakfast at Delights Cafe was great; I’ve been told they have great room service food as well.

Using the LHRC program at The Signature at MGM Grand instead of the MGM Grand Las Vegas is a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. Definitely more bang for your buck even with $10 less of a breakfast credit.

Overall, I’d rank the my experience using LHRC program at The Signature close to the experience at Mandalay Bay and in about the same price range. I’d go back for sure.

Final rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Recommended!

Cheers!