Four Seasons Hotel, Las Vegas

This has got to be the best hotel I've ever stayed in. We went here in July 2005, which was a reward trip paid for by my company.

The Four Seasons Las Vegas is situated on the top four floors (35th to 39th) of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and is at the south end of the strip, just 3 miles from the airport. However, the Four Seasons has it's own secluded entrance separate to that of the Mandalay Bay: the drive sweeps in past the main entrance, and then doubles back on itself, thus creating a one-exit roundabout. The centrepice of this is a small garden which is beautifully maintained, and has a small fountain and seating area.

The entrance is set under a large porch area, reminiscent of a great Southern house, and is always well staffed by bell boys willing to help with luggage or open car doors for you. Once inside, the hotel is air-conditioned throughout and has a large lobby, with a reception desk to the back right. Staff are friendly, helpful and very accomodating.

We had a fantastic room. It's only downfall is that it overlooked the airport, which while it allowed us to watch the planes landing and taking off from a vantage point you don't normally get, it did mean that in the morning I woke up earlier than usual to the sound of planes taking off! Mind you, this did mean that I was up in time for breakfast every morning rather than sleeping through it. One of my friends had a room with a view of the strip though and I'm told that this was absolutely fantastic.

The room itself had a large bathroom which was entered by double doors, and was all decked out in marble, with a large separate shower cubicle as well as a bath. There were plenty of toiletries, and double sinks in the room. The toilet itself, while contained in the bathroom, was in it's own room. There was a telephone in the toilet too, which, while I never used, I could see the benefits!

Opposite the bathroom doors was a wardrobe and the mini bar. The wardrobe contained a light, so that when one of the doors was opened it came on and showed off the contents nicely. It made it much easier to find things in there too.

The bed was described as a double but was actually king size, and incredibly comfortable. The television was located on the wall opposite the foot of the bed, within it's own cabinet. TV channels were plentiful, but to be honest the weather was so brilliant that I didn't spend much time watching it. By the window, which had voile curtains as well as heavy dark curtains (I never used these, as didn't want to sleep the day away completely, so this may have shut out the noise from the airport) there was a small table and a couple of chairs. By the way, one thing I should mention about the window was that it was floor to ceiling glass, and spanned the whole of that wall of the room. It was fantastic even with a view of the airport, and can only imagine what a view of the strip would have been like!

The hotel's own facilities were excellent. It contained a fitness centre, and a spa, which I never tried. There were also a couple of boutiques which looked fantastic from the outside but I never had the courage to venture into them, for fear of being shocked by the price tags.

The swimming pool was wonderful, and this is where I spent a majority of my time. It could be accessed by residents of the Four Seasons hotel only. As you entered the pool area you could request a towel and it would be brought over to you and laid out on your sunbed for you. These sunbeds surrounded the main pool, but were also laid out on a patio area which had a small pool for young children, and there was shade cover around the edge of this patio for those who didn't want to overdo it in the sun. Attendants regularly came round with slices of cucumber and evian spritzes to cool you down, which we thought was brilliant. There was also a small bar at the pool, which sold drinks and light meals, so you didn't want for anything.

The hotel also had a verandah restaurant, called the Charlie Palmer Steak House. It served a good variety of food, and we had a good meal here. The wine, even though we were so close to California, was expensive: the cheapest bottle we could find on the menu was $45, which is much more than you'd pay for a bottle of house wine in the UK. From my experience though I think that this reflects the price of wine generally in restaurants in the US, and was not increased further because of the type of hotel we were in.

Our other meals in the hotel were included by my employer, and all were very good. There was a good range of food for breakfast, including continental breakfast as well as cooked breakfast, but I can't say if this is a standard inclusion for the room rate as I didn't pay for it. However, it was of an excellent standard and service was second to none.

In addition to these facilities, residents of the Four Seasons hotel could also enjoy the facilities of the Mandalay Bay resort at no additional charge. This is important to note, because the Four Seasons is the only hotel on the strip not to have it's own casino: guests are however free to use that of the Mandalay Bay. (If you've ever seen Sky One's show, Las Vegas, this is the casino that's featured on the show most). We used this casino every night: and from what we saw of other casinos this was pretty standard. It was enormous, and had plenty of slot machines at varying cost ranging from 5 cent slots up, and many blackjack, craps and other tables.

The Mandalay Bay Resort also has it's own swimming pool complex which Four Seasons guests are welcome to use. I didn't use this but other friends did and they thoroughly enjoyed it. It's much larger and busier than the Four Seasons own pool.

All in all, this was a wonderful hotel and probably the best I've ever stayed in. If you want the best of both worlds for a Vegas holiday then this has it, as it offers peace and seclusion but also the convenience of the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. The airport could be a downside, but to be honest, it's a background noise that's easily forgotten. However, to get this seclusion doesn't come cheap: we were very lucky, but if I mention that while we were there Meg Ryan, George Clooney, Sandra Bullock and some of the cast from CSI were also staying at the hotel, you'll understand how exclusive it can be!

Would I stay there again? Definitely: and I'd be prepared to pay for it too.