The sequel and next door neighbor to the highly successful Wynn Las Vegas is more than just a carbon copy or extension of the original, even though physically the two are connected and integrated in ways that few other sibling hotels are. You can access Encore from Wynn by a short walk down a shopping esplanade past the theaters, or you can go directly to Encore – it has its own entrances from The Strip, its own check-in desks, and its own parking garage.

The exterior of the buildings are virtually identical, but get inside and things change dramatically. Where Wynn feels large and traditional, Encore feels more intimate and completely unlike any other Vegas hotel and casino.

The overall design scheme of Encore is not easily summed up in a word or two. Instead what you have is an eclectic mix of springtime cues (butterflies are a recurring theme), Greek mythology in the statuary and other art, and even some Moroccan touches in some of the lamps and furnishings. It’s a tribute to the designers that it all works together so well because it probably shouldn’t.

Enter from The Strip and you are deposited into a soaring atrium with glass ceilings, trees, and flowers. The natural light from this area spills into the main casino from one side while more light from the pool area comes in from the other side, which transforms the gaming space into a bright, livable space.

It’s actually good that they did it this way, because the casino itself is not very large and the layout, with lots of plantation shutter style dividers and draperies creating even smaller “rooms,” could have been claustrophobic. Instead, the bright red and white color scheme enhances the natural light and what you have is a warm, richly luxurious, and wholly original gambling experience.

There are slots of all denomination here, although it’s worth noting that there are fewer traditional reel machines and even fewer still that don’t have multiple pay lines requiring a higher maximum bet. I didn’t take a full survey but I think there were maybe a couple of dozen two- or three-coin, single pay line dollar slots in the entire place. The rest were video slots or multi-line monsters that require $9 or more per spin if you want to get the full bang for your gambling bucks.

This seems to be a trend – I noticed the same thing at Palazzo, the most recent major casino to open on The Strip before this one. Can’t say as I like it very much.

They also have some video poker and all of the major table games including blackjack, roulette, craps, three-card poker, let it ride, pai-gow, baccarat, and more. If you’re a sports bettor you need to take the short walk over to Wynn.

There is a high-limit area, whimsically designed to appear as if located under a Moroccan tent. Big bucks gamers have their own slots, table games, bar, and private gambling salons if they so choose.

Ringing the casino are several restaurants including: Sinatra, a tribute to the singer with some memorabilia inside; Wazuzu, Pan-Asian cuisine; Society, an upscale diner style restaurant; Botero, a steak and seafood restaurant run by Victor Drai; and a French influenced steakhouse/bistro called Switch that could become an attraction on its own – the exterior walls facing the casino and interior walls switch every twenty minutes or so to give the entire place a different feel. Cool.

The giant pool area dominates the resort, seeming to push into the casino and wrapping around to create an outdoor extension to the massive XS nightclub. The second floor spa is one of the biggest on The Strip and is nothing short of gorgeous in its appointments.

The rooms are stunning, both in terms of design and comfort. The black and tan color palette is subtle and rich, with splashes of color here and there that make a bold statement.

King bed rooms feature a sleeping chamber separated by a partial wall from a sitting room, while queen bed rooms have the sitting area integrated into one big room. Both feature very fine furnishings, a mini-bar, flat panel televisions, a desk, high-speed Internet, electronic remote control drapes and lighting, iron and board, safe, and much more.

A big marble lined bathroom features a dual vanity, separate tub and shower, hair dryer, very fine bath amenities, and robes and slippers.

Regarding the latter, part of the turn-down service involves putting the slippers on the floor next to the bed. It’s a nice touch. Oh, and of course there’s chocolate.

There are bigger and more luxuriously appointed suites available if your budget is up for it.

One minor complaint: rooms on the south side of the tower will offer you terrific views of The Strip but even on the 39th floor I was able to hear the thumping bass from the sound system at the XS nightclub down below, which stays open very late. If you are sensitive to noise and don’t mind giving up the view, you may want to consider requesting a room on the north side of the tower.

As long as we’re on the topic, let’s talk about cost. In different times the rooms at this hotel would easily be going for over $400 a night but the realities of the economy in early 2009 have forced prices down everywhere in Las Vegas, even at luxury hotels like this. I have seen rooms as low as $169 during the week and $269 on the weekends, although around $200 and $300 respectively are not uncommon. About a year ago, hotels that weren’t half as nice as this one were charging those kinds of rates so even though it’s not cheap, it feels like it by comparison.

Obviously if the economy goes on the uptick again, the room rates here will as well so be careful what you wish for.

And it’s important to note that room rates are not the only thing to watch for in terms of how expensive things are. Restaurants, the spa, even items in the sundry store are very costly at Encore so hold on to your wallet tightly.

Making the overall experience even more special is a staff of very professional, very friendly, and very efficient people. From the valet to the front desk to housekeeping to the dealers in the casino and beyond, everyone I dealt with greeted me with a smile and was more than eager to go out of their way to help me. An example: I only drink non-caffeinated sodas and had gone through all of them in the mini-bar. I made a call and had a fresh stock in my 39th floor room in under 10 minutes. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t see that kind of reaction in most Las Vegas hotels.

I was going to try to come up with some sort of pithy pun to say how much I like this hotel – you know, something about taking a bow or successful second acts – but instead I’ll just say this: Encore is one of the best hotels in Las Vegas.

Encore Las Vegas
3121 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
North Las Vegas, NV 89101 888-320-7125
website

Sinatra is named for Frank, of course. Those who have memories that reach back a couple of decades may remember that he did a series of commercials for Steve Wynn’s Golden Nugget in Atlantic City and Wynn remains friendly with the family so he was able to score some key memorabilia for the restaurant. On display is an Academy Award, a Grammy, some personal letters and more. Executive Chef Theo Schoenegger has created an upscale Italian menu full of very fine pasta, fish, and meat dishes including shrimp rigatoni, hand rolled spaghetti with wild mushroom sauté, Maine lobster risotto, and braised veal ossobuco to name a few. Prices are $16-30 for appetizers, high $20s for pastas, and $40-55 for main courses.

Switch is notable for a couple of reasons, the most obvious of which are the walls of the restaurant that literally “switch” every 20 minutes or so to create a totally new ambience. The exterior walls move up and down, interior design elements rotate, the lighting changes, and even the music becomes different, adding a little show with your dinner. But Switch is more than just a gimmick. Under the guidance of Executive Chef Marc Poidevin, diners can expect a French influenced steak and seafood menu although the French part is very subtle so don’t let that scare you away. Organic Cornish game hen, braised beef short ribs, several different cuts of beef, and some fish dishes are just a few examples of what you can expect and the preparation and quality is close to perfect. Prices are $14-22 for appetizers, low $20s for pastas, $30-50 for main courses.

Botero was co-created by Victor Drai, most well known for the gourmet Drai’s at the former Barbary Coast. Named for the famed Columbian artist Fernando Botero and featuring many of his works, the restaurant is gorgeous space with a curved wall of windows looking out on the pool area. Chef Mark LoRusso has put his spin on a classic steakhouse menu with lots of steak and seafood offerings plus some gourmet touches like frog legs, braised rack of lamb, and more. Prices are $13-24 for appetizers and $39-52 for most main courses.

Wazuzu is a Pan-Asian bistro offering dishes from Chef Jet Tila inspired by Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Singaporean, and Thai cuisines. The space itself is even cross-cultural with design cues from many Asian countries, dominated by a giant crystal dragon on the wall. Sushi and sashimi gets you going, dishes like Thai beef salad or satay skewers fill up the appetizers section, Dim Sum offers a bunch of choices, rice and noodle dishes include things like Pad Thai and Cantonese fried rice, and main courses cover the gamut from Thai stir fry to Korean short ribs. Prices are $9-12 for most two-piece sushi and $11-16 for three-piece sashimi, $20-30 for most sushi specials, $8-14 for appetizers, $6-9 for Dim Sum, $18-23 for rice and noodles, and $17-25 for most main course specialties except for some of the seafood specialties.

Society is sort of like an upscale 24-hour café only it’s really only open about 20 hours a day. A variety of breakfasts are available for most of the day, the lunch menu is filled with salads, sandwiches, burgers, and flatbread pizzas, and dinner adds everything from lobster pot pie to weiner schnitzel along with some steaks and seafood. Prices are $7-15 for breakfast, $10-20 at lunch, and $14-40 at dinner.

There are several casino bars scattered around the property but the primary establishment for drinking and dancing is XS Nightclub, appropriately named for how huge it is – one of the biggest on The Strip. Also co-created by Victor Drai, XS has a similar layout to Tryst at Wynn, with several curving rows of booths and tables overlooking a dance floor open to the giant outdoor pool/patio area. The room is gorgeously appointed in rich fabrics of gold, pink, and black and the lighting and sound system are top of the line. Prices are expensive of course – expect a $20-30 cover and quite a line to get in.

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A Las Vegas casino is all about illusion. You rarely get to see daylight, there are no clocks, and most importantly you never get to see the mechanics of the whole thing – the 24 hour a day behind the scenes operation that keeps it all running.

They call it the “back of house" but at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore it would be more accurately described as “under house.” As you walk through the casino, restaurants, showroom, and the rest of the hotel there’s an entire world of activity right under your feet.

Employees of the hotel have to eat of course and they get one free meal in the dining room each shift. The idea of an employee dining room brings to mind linoleum floors and industrial beige walls but not at Wynn. A buffet style setup for employees is bigger than some public Las Vegas buffets and serves up anywhere from 7,500 to 10,000 meals every single day. The wood lined, carpeted, and softly lit main dining area is better appointed than some sit down restaurants that you’ve eaten at in Sin City.

Beyond that is a virtual city with hallways that seemingly stretch forever in every direction. Everything from housekeeping to laundry to horticulture is located down there and it all buzzes with action constantly.

The horticulture department is responsible for all of the plants, flowers, and trees around the property both big and small. That vase of flowers on a credenza in the hallway of the convention area? Someone designed that, acquired the flowers, made it, and placed it and did the same thing dozens or even hundreds of times over around the hotel. They import freshly cut flowers from around the world every day, keeping them fresh in a giant walk-in freezer.

They have one entire kitchen devoted solely to baking bread for all the restaurants on the property, with a staff of more than 40 bakers working 24 hours a day doing 24-25,000 pieces every single day. Dinner rolls, cheese bread, fruit filled breads, and more – if you have a bread based item at Wynn it’s made here.

The catering warehouse is where they store all the things that allow the banquets, meetings, and conventions to run smoothly with more than 3,000 tables, thousands of chairs, linens, and more all stacked on racks more than 40 feet deep.

The main warehouse is 66,000 square feet and there’s another 133,000 square feet offsite and that’s just for Wynn Las Vegas – Encore has its own. Everything that comes into the hotel comes through here from bathroom amenities to toilet paper to food. Regarding the latter they have a Quality Assurance Chef on duty at all times to inspect edibles as they come in and if they aren’t up to Wynn’s standards, they go back immediately.

There are special rooms around the warehouse for different types of storage including dairy, meat, and even a tank room for the live lobster, crabs, and other seafood served in the restaurant. More than 4,000 lobsters pass through the room every month.

Other unbelievable numbers… more than 47,000 bottles of Grey Goose vodka, over 3,500 wine labels, and over 815,000 rolls of toilet paper every year.

And you thought running your own house was hard.

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