Two weeks ago I stayed at SLS Las Vegas, Tribute Portfolio Resort of Starwood Hotels. This same hotel originally signed on as Hilton Curio Collection, then rebranded in November 2015 to Starwood. Apparently the massive 1,600+ rooms hotel has lost loads of money since it opened.
It is not only the gamblers that lose their shirts in Vegas. Blackstone, parent of Hilton Worldwide, purchased The Cosmopolitan in 2014, Marriott’s high profile Autograph Collection property on the Strip. That property is undergoing $100 million in renovations. It seems like only five short years ago I was at The Cosmopolitan for its press media grand opening.
SLS Las Vegas
SLS Las Vegas has three towers, Story, World and Lux. My room was in the World Tower. The Lux Tower will become a W Hotel in mid-2016.
Link: SLS Las Vegas room types
Hotel chains like to use a phrase kind of like: “This is not your parents’ hotel brand.â€
My parents entered the SLS Las Vegas room with me and my mother immediately commented on how the style was not the kind of place she would like to stay. We stayed in the Venetian the following week and that was her style.
My dad commented on the strange haircuts seen on the people in the window shade photo.
The woods and grasses theme is kind of ironic imagery when you are situated in the middle of the mostly barren desert of Nevada.
The desk area had an interesting map of Las Vegas.
 
The bathroom décor really turned my mom off.
I doubt my mom has ever been inside a W Hotel or Andaz or one of the designer style properties seen in brands like Kimpton Hotels.
The room décor looked fine to me. My only complaint is the desk chair did not seem like a piece of furniture I would want to sit on for hours working.
Hard wooden desk chair did not seem conducive to comfortable desk work.
Large mirrors on opposite walls of the room created an interesting visual effect.
The view from my 31st floor room was limited to other tall buildings.
SLS Las Vegas Elevators
The elevators offered one of the first glimpses of the casual design of the hotel.
  
In a real rarity for a Las Vegas casino hotel, there are ice machines on the guest room floors.
SLS Las Vegas public spaces
The first thing I did at the hotel was go out for dinner. This was the incident where I was shocked to find Shark Fin Soup on the Northside Café menu.
Loyalty Traveler – SLS Las Vegas serving shark fin soup for Chinese New Year Menu.
SLS Pool Area
There was only the one main pool open and a second pool was closed off.
SLS Las Vegas three towers seen from pool area.
  
SLS Las Vegas is in kind of a dead zone of Las Vegas, away from most of the walkable casinos along the Strip and still quite a ways from the Fremont Street casino area. One convenience is the hotel is on the Las Vegas monorail line.
The resort fee of $29 + 12% tax includes complimentary airport transportation to and from the hotel with shuttle service to the Miracle Mile Shops too. These are the shops near The Cosmopolitan for central Strip location.
Complimentary shuttle for hotel guests between SLS Las Vegas and McCarran Airport from 6:00am to 7:00pm is part of the resort fee benefits. The shuttle stops at the Miracle Mile Shops at the Planet Hollywood Resort(between Paris and MGM Grand) on the Strip.
SLS Las Vegas Hotel Stay Cost:
I booked SLS Las Vegas on an $87 room rate. After 12% room tax and $32.48 resort fee, total room rate was $129.92. I immediately filed a Starwood Hotels Best Rate Guarantee claim against a $71.37 rate on Vegas.com. My claim was approved in about two hours for the reduced rate plus an additional 2,000 Starpoints.
Loyalty Traveler – Vegas.com for Starwood best rate guarantee at SLS Las Vegas, plus In the Cards bonus offer (Feb 8, 2016).
There is a bonus promotion for SLS Las Vegas called In the Cards. I could not get the promotion page to work until after I checked out of the hotel. I earned an additional 1,000 points from the In the Cards bonus. Another 250 bonus points for the current SPG Take Two promotion and 166 points for my base points for the stay.
All in all, 3,416 Starpoints on a $112 hotel stay in Las Vegas was a good value bonus offer for one night before heading out to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam – Las Vegas trip report segments I will write over the next week.
1. Allegiant Airlines low cost nonstop flights between Monterey and Las Vegas.
2. SLS Las Vegas, Starwood Hotels Tribute Portfolio
3. American Airlines LAS-PHL in First Class
4. PHL lounge reviews British Airways First and American Admirals Club
5. American Airlines Philadelphia – Amsterdam Business Class and Economy Class Seats Comparison
6. Amsterdam Radisson Blu Hotel – Room 1 – The Cave
7. Amsterdam Radisson Blu Hotel – Room 2 – The City
8. Amsterdam Radisson Blu Hotel – Room 3 – The Birds
9. InterContinental Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam – The Views
10. Hulp! Albert Heijn only accepts Maestro cards. How do I get one?
11. 75th Anniversary of the Amsterdam Strike against Nazi persecution of Jews.
12. Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam
13. Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam
15. American Airlines Flagship Lounge London Heathrow
16. American Airlines London LHR – Chicago ORD business class
17. The Venetian, InterContinental Alliance Resort
I only posted two small pieces from Amsterdam last week during my trip.
Second most famous dead woman of Amsterdam – Saskia Rembrandt’s gravestone in Oude Kerk Amsterdam.
W Amsterdam – After drinking up at W Amsterdam rooftop bar, go downstairs for toilets.
Update: Dec 21, 2017Â
Came across this post again. There was an ambitious posting plan for my Amsterdam trip following the SLS Las Vegas stay.
Here are the actual posts I completed.
Monterey to Amsterdam February 2016 trip report 2
InterContinental Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam
1. Allegiant Airlines low cost nonstop flights between Monterey and Las Vegas.
2. SLS Las Vegas, Starwood Hotels Tribute Portfolio
3. American Airlines LAS-PHL in First Class
4. PHL lounge reviews British Airways First and American Admirals Club
5. American Airlines Philadelphia – Amsterdam Business Class and Economy Class Seats Comparison
6. Radisson Blu Amsterdam location is perfect for poke and toke
7. Hotel Review – Amsterdam Radisson Blu Hotel
8. InterContinental Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam
9.  Cost of food in Amsterdam at Albert Heijn and Marqt
10. 75th Anniversary of the Amsterdam Strike 1941 against Nazi persecution of Jews.
11. Dutch Resistance Museum, Amsterdam
12. W Amsterdam Hotel – After drinking up at W Amsterdam rooftop bar, go downstairs for toilets
13. Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam
14. Oude Kerk Amsterdam – Second most famous dead woman of Amsterdam – Saskia Rembrandt’s gravestone in Oude Kerk Amsterdam.
15. American Airlines Flagship Lounge London Heathrow
16. American Airlines London LHR – Chicago ORD business class
17. The Venetian, InterContinental Alliance Resort
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