Vegas 32
April 13-17, 2021
Overall: NoMad is a great place to stay! A little luxury on the top two floors of Park MGM with a bright and airy casino, a decent pool, excellent location, and recently, the only smoke-free property on the Vegas strip.
This was the 2nd time we’ve stayed at NoMad. We were originally supposed to stay at Aria but after doing a bit of research we learned that the pools were packed and that lines had become the norm to get into the pool for the day and that the best bet was to rent a cabana. The cost of the cabanas at ParkMGM were for more affordable and you can only rent cabanas in the resort in which you stay. So, we switched our reservation to NoMad and were are really happy we did. ParkMGM is now smoke-free and they have made such significant improvements to the rooms, restaurants and casino that the once Monte Carlo has been completely transformed and is one of the best values on the strip.
The Room: The top two floors of ParkMGM are dedicated to the boutique hotel, NoMad, which has its own entrance, high stakes casino, exclusive pool, and staff. While the rooms are small, they are incredibly clean, comfortable, with new hardwood floors and antique looking furniture. We like the room a lot and only wish the bed was a bit more comfortable and there was more closet and drawer space.
The Pool and Cabanas: For this trip, we planned to keep things as COVID safe as possible by spending our days at the pool and fancy dinners at night. Park MGM has three pools and NoMad has its own dedicated pool. We never made it to the NoMad Pool as it didn’t open until Friday and by then we were so accustomed to the Park MGM Pool and its cabanas. If they can be budgeted, I can’t recommend cabanas enough especially if you plan to spend an entire day poolside. We simply couldn’t pay $400- $600 a day for cabanas at Aria. While Aria pools and cabanas are nicer, we can’t justify that for just two people when the amenities are basically the same at less than half the cost at the neighboring resort. The Park MGM pool isn’t fancy or elaborate. You won’t find a lazy river, waterfalls or swim-up black jack but you will find three fairly spacious pools with one (East Pool) traditionally for adults only. Each day, I would check in at 9am and our Cabana Host, Taryn would set up our cabana, turn on our TV and make sure we had everything we needed throughout the day. Service is so important when you’re spending a significant amount of time and money trying to relax and reset. For a few days, we like to escape the daily minutia and completely decompress and treat ourselves. Taryn’s excellent service made up for the mediocre food. We tried a number of dishes including the Avocado Toast, Impossible Burger, Chicken Wrap, and Guacamole and Chips. Skip the food at the pool. Nothing wrong with the drinks though! We enjoyed a variety of drinks from Rum Runners,, Basil Smashes (vodka/seltzer), wine and more. In hindsight, I wish we had taken a few breaks from the pool to enjoy lunch at one of the many restaurants in the resort including Primrose or took a walk down to Eataly.
The Casino: Bright and airy, the casino is pretty standard. I haven’t had much luck there. I can’t put my finger on it but the casino doesn’t have a great vibe.
Restaurants: We didn’t sample any this time. However, we’ve had Primrose in the past and the fact that Eataly is adjacent is a HUGE plus. ParkMGM has a nice collection of restaurants including Best Friend, NOMAD Bar, and Bavettes.
Recommendation: ABSOLUTELY. Whether you stay at NOMAD or ParkMGM, the location is prime with easy access to Aria/Bellagion via tram, The Park, NYNY, T-Mobile Arena and ParkMGM Theater being only steps away. As of right now, this is the BEST value on the strip. Just to be fair. What the property lacks is the Vegas flair. Aria, Bellagio, Caesars, Venetian, and Wynn have much more “Vegas” appeal as they have far more glitz and attraction. I would still STRONGLY recommend ParkMGM/NOMAD to anyone looking for a great place to stay at a great value.
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