Review: SLS Las Vegas, a Tribute Portfolio Resort

We arrived in Las Vegas around 21:00 and made it to the hotel around 21:45 from the airport by taking an uber, which cost ~$16. Since we were in First Class, we decided to skip the lounge upon arrival and just head directly to the hotel and then explore Las Vegas at night.

We were in Las Vegas for just one night and therefore I wanted to book the SLS Las Vegas, a Tribute Portfolio Resort. Starwood has been constantly advertising this hotel and sending millions of promotions for staying here and I figured that I would try it out… and the rates were super cheap in the middle of the week at just $40 + tax per night… that’s awesome! I was also targeted for an elite promotion and therefore I earned about 7k Starpoints from this one night stay that cost under $90!!

The SLS Las Vegas is located at the top of the strip and isn’t located directly in the centre of the strip – so some walking is required. It took us about fifteen minutes to make it into the heart of the strip – so not too bad.

Once you enter the SLS, you’re immediately presented with a casino (not surprisingly) and you kind of have to find your way to the front desk.. which wasn’t the easiest. So naturally they want you to spend your money even before you check-in. Anyway, to get to the front desk, head right immediately after the “disco floor” and keep going straight and soon enough you will pass the pool entrance and reach the front desk… which has a special line for SPG elite members.

We were quickly checked in by a very friendly agent who thanked me about twenty times for being loyal to Starwood. He also informed me we were upgraded to an enhanced room in the future W Las Vegas tower on a top floor. That’s awesome. So essentially a part of the SLS will be transformed into the W Las Vegas and we were upgraded to a room in the “future” W hotel. He also asked if I would like late check out and I agreed, so he was happy to grant me a check out at 16:00. I love Starwood!

There is an SPG lounge of some sort located next to the front desk.. I assume that’s where the concierge is…? It was a nice place to relax and chat with people while waiting for some friends. The casino is huge and located right by the main entrance; we spent absolutely zero time in the casino except for all of two seconds when my friend decided to play and lost $10 immediately…

Our room… was very… umm… “sex-y”… What more can I say other than the fact that you could watch someone showering? There were also mirrors on just about every wall in the room for “enhanced views”. Thankfully I was able to request a double bed room, so it all worked out in the end… oh and there was no door to the bathroom… I mean how much more sexual can you get with a room design?!

We both kind of just stood there for some time and didn’t really know what to say other than “well… I think it’s nice… let’s go explore the city now”. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the design and service.. but then again, this is Vegas. We ended up laughing about the whole situation later. Not surprisingly, the beds were super comfortable and we actually didn’t hear any “sounds” from other rooms at all..

Complimentary SPG water was of course included and the minibar contained some other things than just snacks and drinks… The pricing was ridiculous, though, for virtually everything.

The only thing ancient about the room was the phone on the desk, everything else was super modern, new, and clean. The desk contained some awesome stationery – which we might have taken with us.

The nightstand included a more modern phone, radio, and a notepad.

The room was all virtually covered in “cloth” and the lack of a door to the bathroom was a bit puzzling.. then again, it is an interesting hotel.. in Vegas. Bathrobes and slippers were included, along with too many towels.

The shower featured both types of “options” – the regular and the rainforest shower, which I love.

I was a bit happy and surprised that the bathroom contained full-sized amenities (such as lotion, shampoo, body wash, etc). That’s awesome and I assume it saves the hassle of having to replace them everyday. All of the amenities were excellent and we decided to keep some of them. The slippers were super comfortable and the bathrobes were soft.

The hotel’s main pool is located near the front desk and lobby of the hotel. The pool is next to the Foxtail nightclub and has a pool bar, serving some very expensive items. Sadly the weather wasn’t the best so we spent all of five minutes in the pool swimming and the rest of the time relaxing under the clouds. The whole pool concept and surrounding areas looked very nice and everything was overall very clean.

The water wasn’t the warmest in the pool and therefore I don’t think anyone was swimming for longer than five minutes. Also, there were virtually no guests since it was the middle of the week. Private cabanas are available for rent at a very expensive rate. A mini-pool is located near the back of the main pool area and we weren’t sure what purpose it served… we initially thought it was some form of a hot tub.

All in all, we enjoyed our quick (and super cheap) stay at the SLS Las Vegas. The hotel is a three-star hotel, but certainly felt like more due to the high quality service, modern rooms, and very friendly staff. We did stay in the future W Las Vegas tower, and therefore our room felt very much like a W hotel room.

I do love the fact that I’m 20 and yet I have no problems booking and staying at hotels in America where apparently you have to be 21.. yet my ID is always checked and I’ve never had an issue. It is just kind of funny since everyone always says that IDs are checked everywhere…

Anyway, we had fun in Las Vegas and I’m happy to have experienced one of the newer hotels in the Starwood portfolio. At such cheap rates during the week, it was definitely worth it. The hotel is very sex-y, and perhaps that’s what gives it the special touch since everyone there is always high (on love).