I dragged my husband there for his first Vegas trip. He was profoundly anti-Vegas yet after five nights at this place I could not get him to leave.
The whole place is just dripping in crystals and silver and gold and silk. Everywhere you look is weird and interesting and fabulous. I thought the red butterflies were flocked with red glitter; upon closer inspection I found they were encrusted with thousands of crystals. Tacky? Nope. Authentically, unapologetically VEGAS? Yep that's it.... maybe some traditionalists or uber-modern types might want to hate it because it's all so gorgeously over-the-top; so if you can't stand whimsical, "I've-never-seen-this-before" opulence then go somewhere else.
The Encore is not trying to be ancient Rome, or Venice, or New York, or anything but Las Vegas done right. You see millionaires and billionaires around the casino yet you don't ever feel excluded if you aren't one of them. Although this place is expensive, you get a true resort 5-star experience for less money than most other true 5-star resorts in the world. Food can be expensive but there are a lot of options (Lobby Bar, Cafe Society, Poolside service) that do great food and drinks for milder prices. However, if you are in town to blow a little cash I can think of no place more worthy than Wynn-Encore; we ate like hipster-kings at Bottega, Stratta, and Lakeside Grill. The food was world-class and unique.
I remember reading almost every single review on Tripadvisor to plan my stay and it really helped me. I'll reiterate the biggest tips: arrive on a Wednesday or Thursday to avoid check-in / check-out lines. Bring earplugs if you want a lower-floor strip view to avoid the night club noise or face away from the strip. Get to the pool early if you want an umbrella seat. Hit wallgreens or the ABC store across the street in the mall for water purchases. Don't get caught up in the mini-bar (although it's not as outrageous as every other 5-star resort out there).
Do buy Day-Passes for those incredible spa pools. You don't have to get a massage (although i did and it was incredible) but you must just check that spa facility out. Go to the gym there (it's great for trying to spot celebrities and Cirque acrobats!) then take a long, leisurely steam / sauna and shower in the spa pools / rooms at least once.
CLUBS: OK let me indulge myself a bit and make a comparison between two similar "epic, club-themed" hotels in the US - the Fontainbleu Hotel in Miami and the Enocre: last year I went to the Fontainbleu in Miami which boasts one of the world's best nightclubs called "LIV". I felt like getting into that club at the Fountainbleu was the most miserable, dehumanizing experience and the bouncers treated people like complete garbage. The lines getting into that hole were 200 people deep screaming to get in the door. As an older gentleman pleaded with the LIV bouncer to get him and his wife in as it was her birthday, the bouncer yelled at him that he had to be patient and that both he and his wife weren't really the type of people they would care to let in anyway. All in all a horrible-yet-extremely-expensive experience.
Guess who also boasts some of the world's best nightclubs with "XS", "Tryst", and "Surrender"? Yep it's Encore-Wynn. My husband and I were feeling a little bit dressed-up and we walked by Tryst (although I was still gun-shy about ever getting let into any place like that); the CLUB MANAGER asked us if we would like to go in and then escorted us right to a beautiful banquette where we ordered champagne, listened to the house music, and felt like a million bucks. It was so fun!! What a difference! I don't think they could know how much I appreciated their efforts to envelop us into the Encore experience.
So at the risk of sounding evangelical, I would highly suggest you check this place out. This Wynn dude really knows how to throw his money around, and we loved being at his party.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
