Review: Wynn Las Vegas & Encore

How did it strike you on arrival?
With its sunlit atriums, indoor koi pond, and fountains and waterfalls in multiple locations throughout the resort, you’ll recognize immediately why Wynn is the largest Five-Star resort in the world. When you walk into Wynn's main entrance, it's a totally otherworldly fantasy where retail boutiques have their own backyards and an entire, lush par-70 championship-length golf course hides behind the resort—the only golf course on the Strip. You walk across floral mosaic tiles into a naturally lit lobby full of moving floral sculptures—like a flowery carousel surrounded by trees and giant floral bouquets hanging from the ceiling. There's a reason this is one of the city's most Instagrammed spots. You feel you've walked in off the Strip into an alternate universe. It manages to pull this off and feel magical—not cheesy.

What’s the crowd like?
It changes depending on who's having a business off-site or a convention at Wynn and Encore. But in general, guests are fashion- and status-conscious. They're here for the amazing retail (there are two Chanel stores), the restaurants, and the nightlife. There's no distinct demographic, but they're s more sophisticated and international crowd than in most other resorts on the Strip.

The good stuff: Tell us about your room.
The hotel is constantly upgrading, and Wynn recently unveiled a $200 million renovation of 2,700 guestrooms in Wynn and Wynn Tower Suites with whose custom-designed furniture, wood accent walls, and commissioned Cubist-style artwork are just the start. Gorgeously lit baths with custom-designed etageres, faux bois wallpaper, and alabaster pendant lights feel like a residential sanctuary. (You, too can live like this: Wynn at Home, which you can find downstairs, sells many of the objects and furnishings, and they do a brisk business.) The floor-to-ceiling windows had a great view toward the Strip and west toward the mountains, and features include lights you can customize depending on your mood,and a bedside iPad that controls everything from the TV to the drapes, lighting, and in-room dining. a. The rooms are all quite large—generally starting at around 650 square feet.

We’re craving some deep, restorative sleep. They got us?
Years ago, Steve Wynn actually procured sheets from the top hotels in the world and made sure that his thread counts were higher. So you'll find sky-high beds with linens that are 507-thread count (putting them just above the highest-ever thread counts). For those of us who like to work in bed, there are huge, over-stuffed Euro shams, which are nice when you're trying to get comfortably propped up.

How about the little things, like mini bar, or shower goodies. Any of that find its way into your suitcase?
These rooms are definitely designed to solve every traveler frustration. Wynn's own amenities are really nice: Three years ago, they had Molton Brown design a custom Wynn set of products, scented with cocoa and tonka bean,so you smell vaguely like vanilla. They also provide a basket that goes beyond the normal little amenities, including shoe polish and a buffing cloth.

Please tell us the bathroom won’t let us down.
All of Wynn's bathrooms are great, with a priority on big, deep bathtubs. The bathrooms are designed with a nice, Euro sensibility (which puts the toilet in a separate little room). The towels are the best on the Strip—really big, white and fluffy. Robes are big and plush. These are the first items we’d steal in a lawless world (we’re not advocating it—just buy them at the home store).

Maybe the most important topic of all: Wi-Fi. What’s the word?
All rooms get a free basic Wi-Fi package with a speed of 7MB (which is not really free—it's included in the $45 daily resort fee, from which you can't opt out). You can upgrade to faster Wi-Fi if you want to stream, but it'll cost around $15 per day.

Food and Drink  Delilah, a reconceptualization of The h.wood Group’s celebrity-filled West Hollywood restaurant, opened in 2021 and has since been on a consistent hot streak as the toughest table to get in town. The supper club is reminiscent of the city’s midcentury golden era. Think Cubist paintings, malachite-inlaid tables, dual staircases that open into a dining room that surrounds solid brass palms (think LA’s Cocoanut Grove or the nightclubs in Havana in their heyday). No detail was overlooked here—even the lounge’s upholstery is vintage Hermes.

Room service: Worth it?
I could not possibly love in-room dining for breakfast more at Wynn. However, you'll pay for it. On a recent trip, I ordered a "fitness breakfast" (egg white omelet with vegetables, toast and fruit), plus a green juice and tea, and paid $69 once the service charge and taxes were levied. There are tons of options on the menu though, including traditional Asian breakfasts and vegan options. The new resort-wide “Living Well” menu extends to IRD, with options like gazpacho and a roast vegetable bowl. And if you’re a green juice devotee (raises hand), the Vibrant Vert here is hands down the best green juice ever.

Staff: If you could award one a trophy, who gets it, and why?
Every staff member at Wynn is trained within an inch of their lives to make your life easier. It's impossible to single out just one overachiever here.

Anything stand out about other services and features? Whether it’s childcare, gyms, spas, even parking—whatever stuck with you.
Between Wynn and Encore, there are multiple, gorgeous pools, Jacuzzis, and lots of ways to get to them. They're rarely crowded like the pool party scene at other resorts. The restaurants are all incredible—and one of the most pleasant and transporting scenes is sitting out at Jardin and watching the pool scene at Encore.

What was most memorable—or heartbreaking—about your stay?
There are three things you should definitely do when you’re at Wynn: Have a romantic meal in one of the restaurants that sit over water (such as SW, Lakeside, or at the floating pagoda table at Mizumi); splurge on something really special on the esplanades at Wynn; and take in the wildly imaginative, reconceptualized evening show at Lake of Dreams. One of the most transporting experiences: having an evening cocktail at Aft, which you’ll swear puts you on the back of a superyacht on the Med, and is between SW and Lakeside on the show lake. You’ll find everything in the retail scene here from the only Gucci Garden in the US to a two-level temple to Hermes, to six- and higher-figure watches, to Wynn-exclusive shoes made by designers only for one season.

Bottom line: worth it, and why?
Wynn is more expensive than other hotels in Las Vegas, and with good reason. Many people don’t come to Las Vegas, they come to Wynn—and never leave during their stay. Overall, because of the high number of hotel rooms in Las Vegas, it pays to get the one in the resort that you think you'll be spending the most time in.