The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Advertiser disclosure
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Inside the hidden 51-room luxury hotel at the top of the MGM Grand
Summer Hull has been covering (and using) travel tips, rewards credit cards and loyalty programs for over a decade. She has flown close to a million miles, often on points and miles and with her family in tow.
September 17, 2019 • 8 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Related stories
Quick summary
Skylofts at MGM Grand offers a boutique, luxury hotel experience atop one of Las Vegas' largest resorts, featuring 51 exclusive two-story lofts.
Guests enjoy private check-in, dedicated butler service and access to unique amenities like a sleep butler and a pillow menu.
The smallest lofts are spacious at 1,400 square feet, with high-end features such as steam showers and infinity tubs, though the decor has changed little over the years.
Staying at Skylofts grants access to dine at the Mansion, an ultra-exclusive area typically reserved for VIP guests.
What to consider
Rates for Skylofts start around $600 per night on off-peak dates and can increase significantly depending on timing.
Booking through select luxury hotel programs can provide perks like early check-in, late checkout, daily breakfast and a stay credit.
Some amenities, such as butler-drawn baths, incur additional charges.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed look at the personalized services, dining exclusives and booking strategies that set Skylofts apart from standard Las Vegas accommodations.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
When the massive, emerald-hued MGM Grand hotel and casino opened in Las Vegas in 1993 (with a Wizard of Oz theme back then), it was the largest hotel in the world. With almost 7,000 rooms, it is still one of the largest on earth. Obviously, it's hard to deliver high-end or personalized service at a hotel with thousands of rooms, but MGM found a way. Its solution: Open a 51-room, high-end boutique hotel within a hotel.
The Skylofts, my absolute favorite hotel in all of Las Vegas, has sat atop the MGM Grand since 2005. The hotel may share a physical address with the MGM Grand but when the private elevators open on the 29th floor, you've entered a whole new world of butlers, two-story lofts and personalized luxury.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
The Skylofts served as our honeymoon destination after a Las Vegas wedding at Mandalay Bay 11 years ago. Now, fresh off an anniversary stay at this Forbes five-star and AAA five-diamond property, I wanted to share a few highlights of this gem hidden high above the Las Vegas Strip.
The Skylofts lobby. (Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
No normal lines for you
The check-in area for the MGM Grand is predictably massive and busy but that's not your problem when staying at the Skylofts. The busy elevator banks? Those aren't your problem either. To get to the Skylofts, you enter the MGM VIP lounge, located just behind the main check-in area.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy)
You can grab a beverage or snack on your way to a private bank of elevators. If you forgot to make a dining or show reservation, you can text your butler and they will get it squared away. All you need to do is book your hotel stay and let someone else manage the rest. (If you don't stay at the Skylofts, here are some other ways to skip lines in Las Vegas.)
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
The smallest loft is 1,400 square feet
There are no bad rooms in the Skylofts. Both of our stays have been in the base-level, one-bedroom lofts, but even those are on another level at 1,400 square feet spread across two floors.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
On the first floor there is a six-person dining table, coffee station, small fridge and snack area (the nonalcoholic drinks used to be included but no more) and a living room.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
There's also a small office space hidden under the stairs.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
Up the sleek stairs is the bedroom, with a clear view down to the living space -- or out toward McCarran Airport.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
There's also a steam immersion shower, massive infinity tub and a closet about the size of my first Brooklyn apartment.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
If I have to nitpick, and I do, I'll say that other than the flooring pattern in some rooms, the loft's décor hasn't noticeably changed in the 11 years since our first stay. Perhaps it was way ahead of its time a decade ago as it still doesn't feel old in most respects, but I was surprised it looked so familiar.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
There's a butler ... and a sleep butler
At the Skylofts you don't just get a butler, there's even a sleep butler who can create personalized baths, help you choose from a pillow menu and make sure some relaxing tea is ready when you get back from a night out in Vegas. Nothing is really free in Vegas anymore, so expect to pay $25 for a butler-drawn bath, but the fact that it's even an option sorta blows my mind.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
You must dine in the Mansion
You might skip the $25 butler-drawn bath, but if you pony up the cash to stay in the Skylofts, don't skip a special perk that isn't available to most of the guests staying at the MGM Grand: a meal at the Mansion. Believe it or not, the Skylofts is not the most exclusive place to stay at MGM. That award goes to the Mansion, comprised of 29 Tuscan-inspired "villas" that you can't book without being on the MGM VIP list. This is where many of the special guests (aka big-time gamblers) of MGM stay. The smallest villa in the Mansion is 2,400 square feet.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
While a regular Joe can't just buy a night at the Mansion (or even see them), you can buy a meal -- if you stay in the Skylofts. We asked to have breakfast at the Mansion and our butler was able to secure the booking, though she had to escort us through the special Mansion VIP lounge and gaming area and into the bright atrium.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)Mansion VIP bar area (Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
Breakfast prices were reasonable, considering the ambience, at $10 for a yogurt parfait, $17 for French toast and $26 for smoked salmon with garnishes. It's fair to say this was the prettiest yogurt parfait I've ever seen. Don't miss a meal in the Mansion if you stay at the Skylofts -- it is as if you are no longer in a massive Vegas casino, but are instead somewhere in Italy.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
Book wisely for extra perks
When we honeymooned in the Skylofts over a decade ago, Vegas was more affordable across the board and the same was true of the Skylofts. Now the cheapest night you will find at the Skylofts is about $600 for the one-bedroom suites on off-peak dates and rates go up (and up) from there.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
You can save a little at times booking via M life, but you'll get more perks booking via a program such as American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts or Chase Luxury Hotels & Resorts. Booking via either program gets you a noon check-in, 4 p.m. late checkout, daily breakfast for two and a $100 stay credit. This credit comes in the form of a spa credit with Amex FHR and dining credit with Chase LHR. You can also earn 5 points per dollar on your Platinum Card® from American Express if you prepay your stay that was booked via FHR.
Bar in the Mansions (Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy)
Should you want to use points, you can find the Skylofts in the Chase booking site, so your points from the Chase Sapphire Reserve can get you 1.5 cents in value each toward a night of Vegas luxury.
Bottom line
There are all sorts of ways to experience Las Vegas on almost any budget. You can spend about $35 per night and book a room at the world's only Hooters hotel (at least until it rebrands), or you can shoot for the top, and enjoy your own butler somewhere like the Skylofts, a high-end hotel somewhat hidden in plain sight.
(Photo by Summer Hull/The Points Guy.)
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
