Encore Las Vegas

Rather than blogging about our experience at the Encore in Las Vegas, I'm just posting the email I sent in response to their "Hope you enjoyed your stay!" email.

I have to say that I was extremely disappointed during our whole stay at Encore. We are repeat guests at the Wynn Towers and have received outstanding customer service there. Encore was the total opposite. When we checked in on Friday, they made no mention of the pool being closed--we had to find out when we tried to go to the pool and were turned away. When we tried to go to the European pool we were told we should have been given a pool pass at the front desk and had to go wait another 45 minutes to get it. Then at the pool, even though the regular pool was closed, thereby making the European pool much more crowded, the pool staff refused to let guests use the "reserved" seating, even though it was ALL empty.

The hotel manager had promised to upgrade our room for the inconvenience but he didn't; when I called the hotel manager to ask why they were having to turn guests away from the European pool because there wasn't enough seating even though all the "reserved" seating was empty, she just connected me to the pool manager, who was unapologetic.

The whole stay underscored the fact that Encore is just a cheap Wynn look-alike that's all show and not at all about treating guests with respect or providing quality customer service. The reason we have been repeat guests at the Wynn is because they genuinely care about guests and if there is a problem, they quickly resolve it. Encore staff obviously have not been trained in providing quality customer service and it is grimly apparent that they have no idea how guests at a supposed 5-star hotel expect to be treated.

I'm sorry to say that we will not be returning to either the Wynn or Encore on future visits--which is a shame because up until now the Wynn was our favorite hotel.

I would also suggest that you make your staff aware that, given the ease with which people can share their stories about travel and their experiences with different hotel staff via social media, they give a bit more thought to the way they treat guests. Bad customer service is a lot more of a liability when one guest can now share a bad experience with millions of people via Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

Aside from the experience curing me forever of my obsession with the Wynn, we did have a great time with our friends and a fun time in general. The only problem is that, while I think I got slots out of my system for good, I was introduced to my new favorite experience: the European pool. European=topless. Now I never want to wear a top while sunbathing again. Think that would help or hurt our chances of getting into the pool we're on the waiting list for?

Ain't nothing going on but the rent here these days. I hate winter. Cassie just called and left me a message (I swear I will call you back today!) telling me how crazy cold it is in Chicago--I'm going to visit her in two weeks. You know that's some sisterly love because I hate being cold more than almost anything in the world. Maybe more than anything--the other things being traffic, crowds and REALLY hot, humid weather. She said I better plan on bringing layers and layers and layers and a face mask. Great. But I'm still looking forward to going, mostly to see her but also because I get to be executive wife and stay in the suite that Patrick gets because he's BMOC now. Sadly I think he's getting the suite without a jacuzzi. Oh well, a free hotel suite is a free hotel suite I guess.

Speaking of free hotel suites, because The Wynn screwed up so many things when we stayed there for our wedding in August the GM has graciously given us two free nights in a Salon Suite . The room in that picture is the room we got married in, actually--in front of that little white half-moon table behind the sofa on the left. The suite has that huge room, a dining table, a wet bar, a powder room, a bedroom and the biggest, fanciest bathroom you've ever seen. Oh--and a massage room. It usually costs $750 a night but we get to stay there for two nights for free because of my flair for complaining.

Why I'm not getting paid to be a professional complainer I don't know because as non-confrontational as I am in regular life, for whatever reason I am very aggressive--er, I mean, assertive--when it comes to service related issues. I've gotten discounts, room upgrades, free food, free champagne, free flowers--once even a box of Godiva chocolates delivered by courier from Lord & Taylor when some sales clerk looked at me wrong back when I was in my postpartum crazy period. I can't for the life of me remember what I had complained about but I honestly think I remember it being because the sales person got my name wrong or some other retrospectively innocuous thing. I do, however, remember the couriered Godiva.

Before this Wynn suite score, which I think trumps anything up to this point, my finest moment was when I got me and Cassie free massages at the Canyon Ranch spa in the Venetian in Las Vegas. All because I complained that I could hear a toilet flush during my massage--that and some construction noise. I'm telling you, ask and you shall receive should always be your motto when you are wronged in any way by a service provider of any sort.

Anyway, in the meantime until we start suite-hopping, we'll probably be either sitting around the house or going to movies. I think we're going to see No Country for Old Men tonight. I have suggested that we also have a black vs. white dance movie dance-off this weekend: Step Up versus Stomp the Yard. Which one do you think will win?