As part of my job, I organize my company’s presence at trade shows.
We just returned from a show in Las Vegas, where we booked a suite in a nice hotel to host client meetings.
When I say nice, I mean a one-night stay in this suite costs more than I spend in a year in rent, literally.
When I say suite, I mean a collection of rooms that, put together, is bigger than the house I live in.
Each of the multiple bathrooms is bigger than my main floor.
Now, since the suite was for meetings, and every bedroom was a designated meeting room, no one actually stayed in the suite, unless you count long days of meetings as “staying there.” On the last night, when it came to light that I was the only person who had to be there the next morning to organize shipping and check out, I decided hey – I’m totally staying here tonight.
So as our team went out to celebrate a great trade show by hitting the town, I came back to the suite to get some rest and be ready for a day of logistics.
And you know what?
I was so excited.
I thought it was going to be so fancy and so luxurious having the place all to myself. When on earth would I ever again be spending a night in a hotel room that costs five-figures a night? Might as well make the most of it.
I walked through the gorgeous lobby, took the luxurious elevator to our beautifully decorated hallway, pulled out my key card and walked in.
And… nothing.
I mean, literally nothing.
It was eerily quiet, which hadn’t been my experience all week, while the suite was jam-packed full of meetings and coworkers and excitement in the air. It was so jam-packed we set up our staff lounge in one of the bathrooms, for crying out loud.
(Just picture three or four guys on laptops, takeout containers and water bottles everywhere to complete the picture.)
Again, did I mention this bathroom is bigger than my main floor?
A little unnerved by the quiet, I got my stuff from the staff-lounge bathroom and made my way to the other, pristine, football-field-sized bathroom. Ever since seeing the gigantic bathtubs, I thought that taking a bath in that unbelievable bathroom, while overlooking a panoramic view of the Las Vegas strip, would be the height of luxury, and that I would love it.
Which leads us to the first thing I learned.
Lesson #1: If You Don’t Like Something, You Probably Won’t Like the Expensive Version More
It turns out, if baths bore you in regular life, no amount of fancy bathrooms will make you enjoy baths. Even if the tub is basically the size of a small swimming pool.
I was in the tub for all of ten minutes – ten dreary, albeit jacuzzi-ing, minutes – before I couldn’t just lie there anymore doing nothing. So I got out, still weirded out by the quiet, and went to bed.
I had so expected that this fancy-pants version of a thing – baths – that I typically don’t like or spend time on would be amazing, simply by virtue of being expensive.
Which, when I say it out loud, sounds ridiculous, right?
But even as a frugal-to-the-core person, I fell right into the trap of assuming that because something was out-of-this-world expensive, that I’d like it more than the everyday, regular-priced option.
Realizing this assumption – and thoroughly disproving it through a boring ten minutes in an objectively gorgeous bathtub – made me question all of the other times this type of thinking can come up in a day.
“Maybe if I had more expensive clothes I’d like choosing my outfits more.”
“Maybe if I bought a membership at the expensive gym I’d like working out more.”
“Maybe if I buy the more expensive phone I won’t mind living in my inbox.”
Maybe you’ll hate the expensive version just as much as you hate the version you have now. It’s something to think about.
Lesson #2: Diminishing Returns are Really, Really Real
Even after I got out of the bath, all I could think about was how weird it was to be staying there. This was the room where, earlier that day, I had pitched a big client with one of our executives. This was the room where people had been meeting, almost non-stop, for an entire week.
And now I was just going to crawl into bed in my PJs?
Weird.
So weird, in fact, that I was sorely tempted to call it quits on the whole idea, get straight into a taxi and go back to the regular, un-fancy hotel the whole team had been staying in all week. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but after almost a week I was comfortable there, the beds were comfy and I even had oatmeal and milk to microwave for breakfast in the little kitchenette.
Which sounds crazy, right?
Here I was, in a hotel suite bigger than my house, living in the lap of luxury, and all I wanted to do was go back to the run of the mill hotel room I’d been in all week.
But everything people have ever said about diminishing returns is true of hotel rooms, too.
The year before, we stayed at a budget hotel, befitting our company’s startup status, and the beds were truly awful. “Anywhere but there,” was the best feedback I could give when we chose a hotel this year.
So this year, we chose a slightly more expensive hotel that was still within the realm of reasonable, and that slight improvement made a world of difference. The beds were better, there was a little kitchen to use for breakfast, and the pillows were downright amazing.
That was money well spent.
But how much better can a hotel room really get when you’re travelling for business?
You’re never really in the room, other than to sleep, and you don’t have any of your loved ones there with you. Beyond a decent bed, additional amenities start to matter less and less – no matter what you’re paying for them.
I had lost sight of this when I assumed that staying in the five-figure suite would be amazing. I forgot that beyond a certain point, you can pay as much as you want, but you’re really not moving the needle on the things that matter – or if you are, there’s only so much more you can improve the experience.
For every additional $1000 a night (gulp) you can only add so much to an experience that at its core, is a bed to sleep in away from your friends and family.
Lesson #3: People, Not Price Tags, Will Make or Break Your Experience
For all the wonder and glamour of the suite – which did its job nicely, giving us all the space we needed to accomplish our goals at the trade show – there were two things I raved about throughout the week, and one thing I missed.
And none of those things had anything to do with the price tag of the suite. At least, not directly.
The first thing I raved about was how well our team did, and the awesome times we had working together to make sure the trade show went off without a hitch.
The second thing I raved about was the unbelievably awesome employees at the hotel.
I will say, in this regard, we more than got what we paid for. I’ve never experienced such amazing, consistently great customer service from literally every person who works on a team. I could not stop raving about it to both them and our team.
I’m still raving about it, and it’s been days since I got home. I mean, they were just superb, from the door staff to the convention manager to the people who brought our coffee order up every morning. To a person, they went above and beyond and were unfailingly cheerful.
And the only thing I missed, that would have made the experience ten times more fun? The people I left at home – or more accurately, the person and the dog who held down the fort while I was out of town.
That’s what really stood out when I walked into the big, empty, luxurious suite all by myself.
“This would be way more fun if The Boyfriend and The Dog were here.”
At the end of the day, no matter what the price tag is, it’s the people you’re with who will make or break an experience.
Have you ever had the chance to experience something totally luxurious and expensive that didn’t live up to the hype? Or the opposite – a time when the extra expense made your experience amazing? I’d love to hear stories from either side!
I have never stayed in a $10,000 hotel room, but I think the experience you describe sounds eerie! And yes, that level of luxury creeps me out. I like a certain level of comfort, but beyond that I start to get fidgety. I want companionship much more than I want gold toilet seats or whatever.
Totally! All I could think was “this is a really great lesson not to be that person who sacrifices everything for a career and then stays alone on every trip ever.” It was super eerie (especially as someone who can’t even watch a moderately thrilling movie or TV show when I’m in my own home alone!)
Good to learn this lesson now, I suppose, instead of after you spend years of your life saving up to be able to afford $10,000 a night hotel rooms! 😉 I’ve had several flukes over the years where I’ve ended up in crazy big hotel rooms, like once, when I got upgraded to a big suite that adjoined the presidential suite of a major hotel… and it just so happened that they left the door between my room and that suite unlocked. So I had like a 10-room penthouse all to myself, complete with grand piano. It was super eerie and weird, and after a little look-see, I promptly locked myself into the smallest space I could! 🙂 But I’ve also stayed in plenty of gross, sketchy, uncomfortable hotels for work (you know, where you don’t want to take your shoes off or touch anything), and I believe there’s an optimal point somewhere between sketchy and crazy luxurious, so the key is finding your own sweet spot. I’m with you on the little conveniences, and I almost always choose a room with a kitchen or kitchenette now instead of a more luxurious place, even when work or a client is paying!
YES! Oh my gosh I totally did the locking myself in the smallest room available thing, haha. Best strategy to combat the overwhelming amounts of “personal space.”
I’m also really happy to have had this experience early in life, as you pointed out – better than to spend the money later in life expecting it to be something it’s not! Now I know that it’s only worth it if you’re a) obscenely wealthy AND b) there with friends or family. In the meantime I’m all about that sweet spot too, and omg the kitchens. The ability to make a simple breakfast before a big day of work, as opposed to trying to find the nearest Starbucks or chance it on a sad muffin at some random corner store is invaluable and makes the day so much better! (Or, like the introvert I am, eat in peace at the end of a day of meetings, haha.)
We just stayed at Aria. This trip was my fourth trip to Vegas (It’s kind of become my Disney World. So sue me.), and Aria is hand downs the nicest and most expensive hotel we’ve stayed at on the Strip. And it was a wonderful room with a great view and a gorgeous bathroom. The curtains open and music plays with the push of a button when you walk in the door. But it just didn’t feel like Vegas. There was no kitsch. Not even a little bit. They definitely cater to a different clientele.
We’re looking at the Aria or the Cosmopolitan for next year for our schmancy suite! So I totally know what you mean about a different clientele, haha. Even just walking through the Encore (which is where we were this year) was a totally rarified version of Vegas with none of the typical, “This is so Vegas” aspects of the experience.
Although bonus, we saw SO MANY famous people. Michael Phelps! Other sports guys who were apparently famous that I’d never heard of!
What other athletes??? Dish out the deets!
Great article on something I didn’t know existed! $10k a night?? Oh my….
Hahaha only during CES! Usually it’s a much more reasonable few-thousand-dollars a night (eye roll.)
We saw Tony Romo (Spelling? The guys had to explain who he was) and a few basketball players, including Shaquille O’Neal, who I had heard of! The others not so much, haha.
Really good article – there comes a point where you think who needs it?
I particularly agree with your point 3, that it`s the people who you share them with make the experience and not the standard and lavishness of the experience itself. I had fab nights with great people in cheap restaurants with poor food, and I had disappointing nights in posh places because we maybe argued all night, or I was feeling fat.
The reception table in the bathroom looks weird btw. What made them chose a posh hotel suite for their event? Anyway, you can now say you`ve seen it. I`ve once been in an expensive hotel room – not mine, it was someone who wanted to impress at a get together – and I thought to myself WTF, just like my own, it`ll be mainly used for sleeping in.
Thanks Bianca – I’ve totally had those great nights where it was all about the people and not about what we were doing too! They’re the best.
And the bathroom table was the weirdest, lol, I totally agree – it was where we let our employees work between meetings, since they couldn’t just sit around anywhere else when meetings were happening! It was always intended to be a “behind the scenes” type of arrangement. As for the suite itself, the company chose it to accommodate the multiple meetings we had to run simultaneously – it was one of the only ones that had three distinct meeting spaces!
Oh my goodness, yes! I got to experience the Presedential suite once on a business trip. I thought “wow! Eloise at the Plaza!”
There were even 2 Snickers bars for me.
I did love the bath but there was not a tablet on which to watch shows.
No one to share it with.
At the time, I was living in a tiny 500sq ft studio lovingly called ” the boat”.
I was bored within 20 minutes.
As Suze Orman says, “People first”
Yep.
Oh man, so much yes to the “people first” thing! Although I mean, Snickers bars would be up there too, haha.
Even with how weird the stay was, I am really glad I had the experience – if nothing else it’s a fun novelty and a great story about “That one time…”
I’ll be honest, I had a contrary response (to Lesson #1) based on my brush with luxury over the holidays.
A friend of mine invited me to their office Christmas party at an upscale steakhouse in Quebec. Given the extravagant social budget was only to be split among a few individuals, we were welcomed to splurge. In this instance, I was inclined to try food I hadn’t before, expecting that “expensive restaurant = good food.”
Despite my general resistance to seafood, I did enjoy a sampling of oysters and lobster (a thought that would send a cringe-worthy response to 10-year-old me). The oysters were unexpectedly delicious and lobster was good, but I challenge anyone to find me a butter/garlic combination that offers an opposing response.
All and all I learned that although nice, the price tag didn’t match the taste, although the experience WITH PEOPLE (#Lesson3) made all the difference, this was my major takeaway. I certainly won’t be footing a bill containing lobsters anytime soon, but given the right circumstances, I’m willing to slap the lap of luxury once more.
Man, you have baller friends (or at least, friends with baller jobs)! And to be totally honest when it comes to food, I’ve had that experience too, although no matter how expensive the oysters are or how old I’ve been when eating them, they still kind of squick me out.
But lobster is unfailingly amazing – have you had it anywhere else, or do you just lump it in with “seafood is gross”? I’m genuinely curious, especially since I only had my first lobster a year or two ago and was hesitant at best about it! (But it was awesome. Butter and garlic FTW!)
Oysters will certainly be making their way to my plate faster than lobster will! When I wasn’t as open to expanding my palette, lobster (along with its crawling brethren), crabs, shrimp, squid, sea cucumbers and anything else I couldn’t see without putting swim trunks on was off limits.
Above all, food texture is my biggest food fault. Lobster meat was dense but somehow not chewy. It was enjoyable, but the price definitely didn’t justify the flavour for me.
Oh I am a texture person too! That’s why things like rice pudding will never, ever be my jam. Ugh. Textures.
What a bizarre experience! I still remember walking into a four-star hotel room on my very first work trip and being blown away by how fancy everything was. (Prior to that, I would have defined a “nice” hotel as one without ants on the floor or hairs in the bathtub.) It’s funny how quickly the awe disappeared after spending dozens (and later, hundreds) of nights in hotels for work. I realized pretty quickly that none of it made me any happier.
In fact, at some point, the size and fanciness actually start to make me uncomfortable. The St. Regis includes butler service, and there’s a menu on the bathtub for champagne, caviar, and rose petals. If you call, the butler will run the bath water for you. Who the hell would want that???
I once got upgraded to a Presidential Suite in which the shower alone was bigger than my bedroom at home. The funny part of that supposed “luxury” is that the room was absolutely freezing — I would have much preferred a normal shower!
Oh my god yes the roomy showers are freezing! I feel like that must be some kind of universal theme. The shower room is just too big to get hot during the length of a normal shower. You’d think they would have solved that with their piles of money by now, haha.
And I’m pretty sure I threw off a few servers by not letting them put my napkin on my lap for me, but it was way too weird! It definitely fell into the “let me run your bath for you” level of service, which I’m sure some people like, but I was super uncomfortable with it too!
Whoa – so crazy! My fiancé and I just had this type of experience this past weekend. For Christmas we didn’t do presents, we decided we wanted a weekend together alone for the experience (something common in the pf blogsphere)! We picked a dollar amount & amazingly we scored a groupon deal for the only 5 star hotel in Portland for less than 1/3rd of the cost per night! (This definitely wasn’t a $10,000 a night room by any means). When we got inside the hotel, I was overwhelmed by the forced art & stuffiness of the clientele. When we got in the room – I felt like the mix of marble countertops, modern fixtures, crystal lampshades, patterned wallpaper was trying to portray luxury, but fell short of making the room feel inviting. It just felt like nothing should be touched. When I thought about it though, hotel rooms often are just a transition moment of sleep before the next adventure on a trip! I think that’s why I’m more apt to schedule stays with friends, air bnbs/vrbo, rather than hotels. I like the feeling of home away from home! (Unless I’m on a more epic international adventure – which I have yet to discover). Great post, Des!
I feel the exact same way about booking Airbnbs! Especially since for the longest time I thought I was a “bad traveller” because I much prefer to settle in one place and explore from there at a slow pace, as opposed to cramming in as many cities and tours as I possibly can. Airbnbs are so much easier to settle into, especially because you usually have all the same facilities you’d have at home! (And I got over my fear of being a bad traveller after reading a few travel blogs that were written by people who also like this kind of travel, haha. They’re the experts, after all.)
I definitely haven’t had *that* nice a hotel room, but I’ve definitely noticed diminishing returns in hotels.
I’ve done mystery shops in nicer places, and of course FinCon hotels aren’t half bad. But compared to Holiday Inn, some Super 8 hotels, etc., there’s just not that much difference. Basically, you get a few more amenities and maybe better customer service. But otherwise it’s the quality of the linens, TV and tub/shower. That’s what you’re paying for.
It’s why I don’t splurge for rooms in general. It’s just not worthwhile. And the mid-range places are more likely to have free continental breakfasts, anyway. Which is just another way to cut down on travel expenses.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who sees the diminishing returns on hotels! Mid-range is my sweet spot too – comfortable and clean is about all I’m looking for 🙂 And free food is always my jam!
Such valuable lessons here! I have to say though, I love me a good bath lol!
Thanks Melanie! Honestly, if you like baths it probably would have been the best thing ever – objectively speaking it was a good bath! But to me, that’s kind of like saying it was a good tractor. Like, congrats, but I probably can’t appreciate it, haha.
I would not have expected that conclusion until I stayed at a St. Regis overseas and felt distinctly over and underwhelmed at the same time.
The service was a bit too much for me, I like the relative anonymity of being in a hotel where I can get good service if I want it but not where the service is almost falling over itself to be present. We had an amazing mini apartment but the bathroom that was the size of our bedroom (or bigger) was more of a novelty than anything. If I could have a tv built into our bathroom mirror at home where I spend most of my 22 free minutes a day, sure, maybe? But probably not.
Ultimately it felt like: hey if I could schlep the awesome sheets and comforters and pillows and robes home, I’d love them but I’m pretty comfortable in your basic Residence Inn / Holiday Inn / 2.5-3 star hotel stay so long as it’s clean, dry, and I have great internet 🙂 And you’re not likely to have the midrange amenities like a microwave and minifridge in a high-end place which becomes pretty critical when you’re traveling with a mini-person.
Now I’m hoping that I don’t have the same revelation about flying first class, that’s the luxury travel experience I think would be worth the upgrade (in miles, at least!)
Yes! I think you summed it up perfectly – there’s good service, and then there’s service that’s a little too omnipresent. I draw the line at someone putting my napkin on my lap for me, and not because I don’t appreciate it and know they’re doing their best to make the experience amazing, but it just feels way too far. It’s a napkin! Are there really people in the world who expect their napkins to be handled for them? (Sigh. There are. I know.)
And I am so with you on the flying-first-class thing. That is one experience I think would be amazing, even just once, on miles. Did you see the article from the guy who booked a $23,000 flight on points? While I’d probably never pay $23,000 for it, it definitely looks like a bit of an upgrade from coach, especially on a long flight like that! (Although given how few travel hacking credit cards we have up here in Canada it might take me a while to save up the miles, haha.)
Whoa, Des, this is so interesting! I truly was not aware that a hotel room could cost that much (????). I also think your point about the likelihood of liking the more expensive version of something you don’t already like is very wise. I’m reminded of when I went with my friend to her SUPER FANCY gym a couple of months ago because she had a free guest pass, and actually came *thisclose* to joining, just because the gym was so beautiful. But then I remembered that I had a free membership to my university’s gym, and I wasn’t really going there with any regularity. So I decided to hold off — but it really was a close one! (As another friend said to me, “Sarah, you have a blog about SAVING MONEY; you cannot join an expensive gym” — good point.) 🙂
PS: I too dislike baths. I don’t think I’ve taken one since I was a kid.
Right?! I had no idea either.
I’ve had my fair share of expensive-gym-visits thanks to a stint at lululemon where we could go take classes at almost any gym and have it covered by the company. I totally get being swayed by the gorgeous facilities – one of them LITERALLY had a parrot that lived at the gym – but now that I’m out of the habit of going, I know better than to drop over $100 a month on a membership, haha. That said, if it was super important to me and I went every day, I’d probably feel differently or prioritize it more (so if it does end up being important to you – you can still get one and keep blogging! I promise!)
Totally understand what you mean by diminishing returns! In my first year of university, I had the cheapest sheets you could buy. Like, 50 thread count. Never had such an uncomfortable year of sleep, and never have proper sheets felt better. But then, after getting used to my reasonably priced, extremely comfortable sheets… I stayed somewhere that had the luxurious, 500+ thread count sheets aaaand… couldn’t tell a difference.
The best money I spent – possibly in my entire degree – was a $100 memory foam for my dorm room in first year. I don’t think $100 has ever improved my quality of life more, haha, so I totally understand! The small upgrades make a huge difference when you’re starting from the bottom on the sleep scale. And I totally agree – beyond a certain point, I feel like the only reason to have a ridiculously high thread count is to tell people about it? But I mean, no one cares about anyone else’s sheets, so. I’m perfectly happy with my midrange, comfy sheets too 🙂
I used to work in the real estate industry so there was a lot of fancy perks that came with the job – suites at sporting events, nice lunches and dinners out, riding in fancy cars. I realized very quickly that stuff like that didn’t impress me and I stuck out like a sore thumb when people were talking about all their expensive toys I had. It kept me humble in an industry that’s all about showing your wealth.
As long as where I’m staying at is comfortable and safe, I’m not too concerned about much else when I’m traveling.
Nice post as always Des!
Oh man Vic you should have seen me when the men I was travelling with started talking about their fancy cars. It was such a jumble of numbers and letters and me just sitting back like “Yeah, my used Toyota Yaris is pretty sweet, thanks for asking.” It really is interesting when you get to peek in on discussions where people really care about showing their wealth!
Sorry for not seeing this earlier!
To me, the biggest diminishing returns come with houses. I always scratch my head at the people who want the largest house they can buy, other factors be damned! Those extra square feet aren’t worth it if you spend all weekend taking care of them, or you have an hour-long commute, or you end up with rooms that go mostly unoccupied.
It’s not just about space… it’s where you live, how you live and who’s around you. I’d rather have a good apartment in the heart of the city than a sprawling mansion isolated from my friends.
Hahaha don’t apologize! Thank you for reading it! (I’m flattered, seriously – you’re such a great writer!)
I totally agree about housing – my thing with big houses is “Who’s going to clean all that space?” I have no interest in spending my time vacuuming and mopping a giant house (although I will say “someone” has told me point-blank we can’t get another dog until we live in a bigger house… so…)
And I have definitely found that – as a suburb dweller myself – the people close to you quickly become really important. I know that’ll be a consideration if and when we move in the future! (If it wasn’t for the dog and my desire for him to have a yard – I know – we’d be looking more central too!)
I’ve found just a handful of things about the hotel experience make a difference for me and when you get to a certain class of hotels, it pretty much checks off all the boxes and I’m satisfied. When you get to the high end suites and whatnot, I just don’t get the utility others might with the larger space (in your case, it was for an event) but I can see the appeal. Like many things in life, it’s about maximizing your own personal enjoyment and that doesn’t always mean paying more.
Totally! Honestly, I see the appeal if only for the customer service side of things. If I could like… isolate that and add it to a midrange hotel, *and* had buckets of money? I’d totally pay a premium for it, because the staff there truly were amazing. But from a real-life optimization perspective? I’m totally happy with normal hotels and a travel buddy, haha.
Good lessons all around. I guess you were in Vegas for CES? It’s nice to stay in nice hotels for business but you’re right, you’re mostly just in there to sleep and probably don’t spend so much time in the hotel room. It’s a diminishing return.
I was there for CES! Tis the season, haha. That’s why we booked the suite actually – we don’t have a presence on the show floor because we don’t sell consumer electronics, but we do sell to people who make them, so it helps to have space to meet while we’re there! And if anything, shows like that multiply the “only there to sleep” aspect of a hotel room, haha. Long days like nothing else!
You gotta love Vegas! 🙂 What a strange world we live in where some people can and will spend $10,000 for a night in a lavish hotel suite while, more than likely, other people are sleeping on the sidewalk under cardboard within a block of the same hotel.
Like you, I think I wouldn’t have enjoyed too much staying in that suite alone. Would have felt a bit eery, I think. On the other hand, my three best buddies and me, that’s a different story. (Have you seen The Hangover?) 🙂
I totally agree – if it had been a group of great friends there, this suite would have been THE PERFECT place for a Hangover type adventure! But yeah, alone, eery is the right word for it! I ended up locking myself in one of the bedrooms and just trying to pretend the rest of the suite wasn’t there, haha.
Excellent article showing commonsense and maturity and real values.
Thank you so much!
We are actually trying to decide where we want to take a ski trip this year and have two drastically different options for free lodging:
1)at my brother in law’s parents house in Colorado as they are going to be gone for Feb and March (they are very private people and we have never been there so we are not terribly comfortable with this choice).
2)slope-side in Utah at a family members multi-million dollar house that sleeps 22 in beds. We have been there before and it’s an absolutely amazing home but the thought of having the entire house to ourselves for the better part of the week before family shows up for a couple of possible overlap days just sounds lonely.
Although we still haven’t decided we are leaning towards Utah but are hoping we can get some friends to join us to make it more comfortable and less empty.
If you can fill the house it sounds like an amazing experience! But I totally agree – it was 100% lonely having so much space and no one to share it with! That said, this summer we’re renting a fairly large (14 person) ski chalet for a family wedding, and I’m so excited to be there and have it filled with family. What a great experience to share with people you love – I hope your friends end up seeing that and joining you in a fancy ski adventure!
This is somewhat opposite of the experience I had a few months ago. I had gone to Peru and was backpacking with a couple friends for 2 weeks, and my flight back to Toronto got cancelled and they put us at the Sheraton hotel. I met a girl at the airport while we were waiting for them to figure what they were gonna do with a couple hundred people at 3am and we decided to stay in the same hotel room- she had been backpacking for the past 7 months! Let me tell you, after staying in $15/night hostels (and for my new friend, a tent on occasion!), the Sheraton felt like the Four Seasons (not that I’ve been, but anyway).
I actually feel almost the complete opposite of the author on this subject. I’ve had the pleasure of staying in many huge suites in Vegas and elsewhere. One of the reasons I do so is because I like the fact it separates me from others. I want peace, quiet, and time to relax. My favorite hotel is a hotel within a hotel. You need a keycard to get on the floor, the staff are alerted the moment you step on the floor so they can address you by name (and as a secondary security point), and there are cameras lining the halls. Plus the suites are all very sound isolated. When I travel with friends or family I book the suite I want at the hotel I want, and even if it is 2 Bedrooms everyone else stays where they want, just not with me. I like the ability to be alone. That being said we use my place as the hangout place during the day oftentimes.
As someone who regularly stays in $1000 a night suites I can say they are worth it to me, based on my lifestyle, my wife’s and my income, and what I want to get out of my/our vacation. The hotel is the highlight of the trip for me.
I do agree with the first point though, if you don’t like something, a more expensive version won’t make you like it anymore.
Just so you know the Encore Duplex Apartment you stayed at isn’t even the best suite in the hotel. There is an Apartment Villa at Wynn that makes the suite you stayed in look cheap by comparison. Most people who get it bring $3,000,000+ to the casino to gamble with. It cannot be rented by the public, only by VVIP’s who play in the casino. That is my dream, having the wealth to stay there.