MGM in Vegas: Grand disappointment for the business traveler

In my many business and fun trips to Vegas I’ve had the pleasure of staying at nearly everything the strip has to offer, once even booking a stay at Excalibur on a two day notice.

I have to say that MGM Grand, one of the finest hotels on the strip, is also the worst one for the business traveler. If you can, avoid this hotel at all cost. Not only do they only have a single Internet feed, virtually guaranteeing saturation, but their customer service is the worst one I have experienced in Vegas. I have already been misinformed, lied to, and basically told to sit on my hands while they have absolutely refused to address an issue of their Internet access being down. They seemed quite content to shift the blame on Cox Hospitality and even CES, but acknowledged on the third call that nobody was actually working on the problem! The first complaint was answered by “We’re going room by room to help customers that don’t have access”, the second with “It’s a city-wide issue with Cox Hospitality” and final was just an acknowledgement that while they understand there is a problem, nobody is actually working on it.

I suppose it’s normal to not work 24/7, after all, not like any major trade show is in town (oh, except CES, the largest one in the world) and I suppose that you wouldn’t even consider opening the business center 24/7 if you knew your entire hotel was without Internet access and you were inconveniencing guests from all over the world.

My cost of staying at MGM just quadrupled as in the morning I will be out to get a 3G card, but in the grand scheme of things money is not that relevant because it can always be made and spent – horrible guest service and unwillingness to do anything about the problem leave a lasting mark of an organization not to deal with. In this case, MGM Grand and MGM/Mirage will be on my permanent avoid list.