Review: Luxury Hotel And Resorts Collection – NoMad Las Vegas – Classic Queen Edition (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Editor’s Note: The following review is of Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection [as utilized at NoMad Las Vegas]. This post is not a complete review of the NoMad Las Vegas.
Review: Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection – NoMad Las Vegas (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, The Signature at the MGM Grand, and The Park MGM.
In this post, I’ll pay a visit to the newest MGM property on the strip, NoMad Las Vegas.
How did the NoMad Las Vegas 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
About NoMad Las Vegas
NoMad Las Vegas is one of the newest hotels in Las Vegas. Sitting on the top 4 floors of the Park MGM, NoMad is a re-branding of the former “Hotel32”.
Part of the NoMad family of hotels, which include properties in New York and Los Angeles, the NoMad Las Vegas aims to bring that same style and sophistication and the “refinement of a European home” to the Park MGM and the Las Vegas strip.
The Benefits Vary By Property – But NoMad’s Are The Most Lucrative Las Vegas Has To Offer (Or Are They?):
Image courtesy of MLife
The NoMad Las Vegas’ “special benefit unique to each property” is stated as a $100 Food and Beverage Credit at NoMad Las Vegas and Park MGM Hotel, and a max $35 per person, per day, daily breakfast credit at the NoMad Restaurant.
So for two people, this benefit is worth $170 at minimum!
The NoMad LHRC benefits email confirmation
The Check-In: The Invited Guest Line
Simply put, there was no Invited Guest Line at the NoMad Las Vegas.
Front Desk at NoMad Las Vegas
Truthfully, a VIP/Invited Guest Line/MLife Status Line probably isn’t needed here as the NoMad literally takes up the top 4 floors of the Park MGM hotel; as such, it has far fewer guests.
Rating: N/A. Strangely enough, unlike every other MLife Hotel in Las Vegas that participates in the LHRC program, I didn’t see the Invited Guest Line as a perk in the fine print of the NoMad offer. Go figure. I won’t ding anybody for that.
The Check-In: Early Check-In
The NoMad has a stated check-in time of 3:00 pm. To test the early check-in benefit, I arrived at 10:00 am fully expecting to hear it was “too early” but that they could hold my luggage for me.
Instead, the front desk attendant informed me that, “although you are early, I think I have a room ready for you”. This was great – but I’m not 100% sure this was because I was using the LHRC program, but rather because of my MLife Gold status.
Rating: 5 out of 5. Whatever the case, they checked me in a couple hours early.
The Check-In: The Welcome Letter And The $170 Food And Beverage Credits
The combined food and beverage benefits of $170 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 LHRC Welcome Letter.
Thus began the latest chapter in an epic saga of a long line of debacles with MLife Las Vegas and the LHRC program, which I’ve [sadly] come to expect.
The “Stated Credit” Debacle
Almost identical to my Park MGM experience, she told me they didn’t have such a letter. I assured her they did and asked her to call her manager, which she did. This time, the manager informed me they did not have a LHRC letter and that I wouldn’t be getting a copy of it.
I responded by showing them a copy of my LHRC email confirmation and retorted with, “without the letter, how am I to know the terms of where to use my $170 in LHRC credits”? To which they responded, “Sir, we aren’t responsible for third-party bookings; our computer shows a $50 food and beverage credit to be used anywhere in Park MGM or NoMad, and a $30 per person, per day, breakfast credit at Primrose. Your booking won’t be honored“.
At this point, I cut my losses, grabbed the key, headed straight to my room and called LHRC at the number on the bottom of the email confirmation (1-866-973-2911).
The velvet card holder was a nice touch – if only NoMad paid such attention to LHRC guests
The Phone Call To Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resorts Collection
I was able to get a LHRC representative on the line rather quickly, I had him confirm my pre-paid benefits at the NoMad ($170 in credits), which he did. He then asked to place me on a brief hold while he tried to contact the front desk at the NoMad. After about 10 minutes, he came back on the line and said, “sir, it appears NoMad Las Vegas will not honor the $170 in credits, but will instead give you $110 in credits ($50 for food and beverage and $30+$30 for breakfast)”.
The Work-Around Solution To The Debacle
I explained to him this was unacceptable as I expressly booked through the LHRC for the $170 in credits for which I already pre-paid and had an email confirmation for. He responded very kindly, apologized for the inconvenience, and assured me that LHRC would reimburse me for the $60 difference as the mistake was either NoMad’s or LHRC’s.
I suspect it was NoMad’s as the defined credit was too specific for LHRC to just “make up”. Either way, I was satisfied at this outcome, and resolved to continue my stay. I again asked for a copy of the “Welcome Letter” to which he responded that he had asked for this too, but that they told him I “would not be getting one”. I suspect NoMad didn’t have one ready, but who the hell knows at this point.
Rating: 0 out of 5 points for NoMad Las Vegas’ non-honoring of the LHRC $170 in credits and non-offering of the detailed LHRC Welcome Letter (including where the food credits could be used). At least LHRC confirmed the mistake and offered to reimburse me for what I paid for.
The Check-In: The Room Upgrade
Because I made my way to my room in a rush (and a huff) I didn’t pay attention to if I had been upgraded or not. Turns out, I had, albeit a minor one.
I got a larger room on the top floor (with a view of the mountain, not the strip).
Rating: 3 out of 5 – At least I got something of an upgrade.
The Elevators
Hummingbird Artwork
Why do I like this decor so much? What does this say about me?
The Hallway
Blam! Now that’s a hallway
Close-up of the hallway lights
The Classic Queen Room [Upgrade]
The Classic Queen room was larger than the similarly-priced Classic King room in almost every way.
The bed and beddings (with firm down-pillows) were the most comfortable I’ve slept in this year (and I hate down-pillows).
NoMad is definitely more snazzy than the Park MGM
Moroccan velvet couches paired with turn-of-the-century lights? I like it
That clock doubles as a bluetooth speaker
The mini-bar, stacked to the brim with hipster goodies
The “hidden” power center
The closet essentials
Art (?)
This is art
FYI – They’re talking about the NoMad Bar in NYC
The View From The Room
This is called the “city view”
View of the pool
The Bathroom
Like the bedroom, the bathroom of the Classic Queen room was far larger than the Classic King room.
Even the toiletry bottles and soap bars were larger.
This sink (and the bathroom) is a larger upgrade over the Classic King room
This shower is also larger and deeper
Bathroom decor
The Argan bottles come in the larger size…
Even the bar of Argan soap is larger than the version in the Classic King room
Using The $50 Food And Beverage Credit
Because our $100 credit was magically devalued and turned into a $50 credit, we decided to head over to the popular new Italian Food Market “Eataly” where we could stretch the credit.
The entrance from the Park MGM
Wow, what a great spot Eataly is. And boy is it popular.
Basically, there are a whole bunch of Italian restaurants crammed into one giant marketplace (think L.A.’s Grand Central Market).
Here, you’ll find several wine bars, meat and cheese spots, pizza joints, seafood restaurants, and pasta tratorrias. For a split-second I felt like I was in Europe.
We went with the meat and cheese platter and some red wine. It was delicious, a quality offering for sure (although one of the soft cheeses was very, uhh, strong).
Rating: 5 out of 5 points for usage of the $50 food credits at Eataly.
Using The $30 Per Person Breakfast Credit
As with Park MGM, breakfast and coffee was served at the wonderful Primrose restaurant.
Image courtesy of MGM Resorts
Salmon with a bagel and egg. Heavenly.
The Primrose classic: a handle-less cup of a Cafe Latte
My oh-so-artsy shot of the Primrose menu
Primrose was great, easily ranking among the best breakfast spots M Life has to offer, right up there with ARIA Cafe and Della’s Kitchen at Delano.
Rating: 5 out of 5 points for The Primrose breakfast option (although it should have been the NoMad Restaurant – but I digress).
The Check-out: Guaranteed 2:00 pm Checkout
I called down to confirm late check-out. The front desk staff member told me I didn’t have it. I told him that I booked through the LHRC program. He said he wasn’t familiar with that. I told him to ask his manager. He came back to the phone and confirmed late check-out was at 2:00 pm.
Rating: 1 out of 5 for the front desk staff not knowing about the LHRC’s 2:00 pm late check-out benefit, and me having to pull the “please check with your manager” card.
The Check-out: The Final Folio Invoice
Of course NoMad messed up my folio invoice. I hate to say it like that, but this is par for the course for MLife Hotels. You almost always have to go over your folio invoice with a fine-toothed comb. And then do it again.
NoMad applied the $30+$30 in breakfast credits, but left off the $50 food and beverage credit. There was also a “phantom” $10 charge which they couldn’t explain.
Anyhow, the final total price for the room was $237.22 (that included the room rate of $159.00, a resort fee of $37.00, taxes of $21.27+4.95, and tips of $15.00). Considering that I received in $110 in food and beverage credits, it effectively cost me just $127.22 for the entire stay.
When you factor in the $60.00 LHRC owes me for the whole “benefits and credits not being honored by NoMad” debacle, the total for the entire stay was $67.22 – and that’s with dinner at Eataly and breakfast at Primrose!
This is why you should definitely use the LHRC program (even if it means dealing with almost criminal ineptitude from MLife and/or LHRC).
The Bottom Line Review: Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection – The Signature At MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV)
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been soured by NoMad’s incompetence on this one. Enough to almost make me swear off using the LHRC program altogether. Almost.
I get that NoMad is a new hotel that just opened. I get that they just started appearing as an option on the LHRC website. I get that they may not have everything 100% ready to go in terms of the LHRC program.
What I don’t get is how they won’t honor what is booked in writing with an email confirmation. What I don’t get is how their IT is so disconnected with LHRC’s in terms of applicable credits appearing in the account. What I don’t get is how almost the entire front desk staff knew nothing of the LHRC program (even though they are literally connected to the Park MGM and have the same staff working at both front desks).
What I don’t get is how NoMad won’t give you a LHRC welcome letter that tells you – in writing – where you are supposed to use your credits – instead, forcing you to “just rely on” their verbally inconstant instructions of what credits they will honor and where they will be honored. Even at the time of publishing this post, the $170 in credits still shows on LHRC’s website.
I said at the top, “this was not a review of the NoMad Las Vegas” (which, the hotel itself, I actually loved), but a review of the LHRC program as implemented by NoMad Las Vegas, and I’m sticking to that.
NoMad is completely inept at administering the LHRC program at this point, and that’s a damn shame, because NoMad has the potential to be great Las Vegas hotel.
Final rating: A generous 2 out of 5 – And that’s only because the NoMad hotel and its restaurants (and bars of course) are great, and LHRC saved the day by honoring credits that NoMad would not.
I’m not “cheers-ing” on this one.
