We made our first and last visit to Vdara (10/19 - 10/27), We booked 8 nights in the Penthouse Suite and arrived Sunday, October 19 at approximately 11 a.m. When we arrived at the hotel we were directed to go to the front desk to pre-register, and were not invited to go to a priority check-in, which meant we had to wait in a very long line as people were checking out at this time as well. This seemed odd for a penthouse booking as we expected to be given a priority in check-in at the very least and we have seen other reviewers who had the two-bedroom Penthouse and they were offered priority check in, upgraded rooms with views of Bellagio lake, etc. We were offered none of that even though we had requested it months in advance. When we finally got up to the desk to pre-register we were told that the room was not ready, but that we could go ahead and check in and they would call us as soon as the room was ready which they expected to be within about two hours.\nSo we went to find a place for lunch. By the time we finished lunch it was about 2:00 and we had expected to hear something by then, but we did not, so we called to see if the room was ready. We could not get an answer as to whether or not the room was ready and all that they could tell us is that someone from housekeeping would be tracked down and we would receive a call back as soon as they could get a status. Over 30 minutes passed, so now it was 2:30, and we still had not gotten even a call back to update us as to the status of the room. We called twice between 2:30 and 3:00 from the lobby and were told the same thing, that no one from housekeeping could be reached and that the room was still not ready. We sat in the lobby watching other people check in, go to their rooms and come back down and leave, all the while we sat waiting with no answers and no one trying to resolve the problem. No remedies were offered at all...we were just left in limbo sitting in the lobby.\nFinally, at 3:15 out of desperation we got back in the check-in line, waited for another 15 minutes in line, and then when we finally got up to the desk and stated that we had been waiting and that it was now past check-in time, the lady got on the phone trying to get someone from housekeeping to get a status. She told us no one was answering and then she left the counter and said she'd be right back. We have no idea where she went, but she was gone for a long period of time, and finally at somewhere between 3:30 and 3:45 while we were still standing at the counter waiting for her to come back and tell us what was happening, our phone rang and it was housekeeping saying that the room was finally ready, at which point the lady at the desk reappeared. All this time nothing was offered to us, like some complimentary coffee at Starbucks, a couple of drinks in the Vdara bar while we waited, Nothing! This was a completely unacceptable course of events.\nThe people working the front desk have a very snobbish attitude and really don't seem to care about guests. Most of them don't appear to be experienced enough to work in a luxury hotel.\nWhy weren't we ever upgraded to a strip view especially when we were not even put in our room until well past check in time? Why didn't anyone take control of the situation and try to resolve it? Why not have us sit and wait in the Vdara Bar having cocktails and snacks to make it an enjoyable experience?\nBy the time we got to the room and had our luggage brought up, it was well past 4:00. When we finally got to the room it did not have a view of the strip as we had requested. Basically we were looking at and hearing the highway. We could not believe it as we paid for an eight night stay at a Premium 5-Star Hotel Penthouse Suite and spent a significant amount of money to stay in this Penthouse Suite. We have received better accommodations and service at much lower priced hotels in Las Vegas, such as The Signature where we actually had a strip view and a balcony, and were also accommodated on an early check-in with no problems within a reasonable amount of time of arriving. We had to call three days in a row asking for coffee and water, as we were only provided the bare minimum of water and decaffeinated coffee instead of regular coffee. The first time we asked for coffee we were told that there were only three regular caffeinated Keurig coffees left, so we were given the last three. Wow, running out of regular coffee?\nThey also will bring you an arrival gift - Ours was a bowl with four tiny pieces of rotten fruit versus the Signature, where our gift was a large basket of fruit and a bottle of champagne.\nWe observed housekeeping cleaning rooms as late as 5:00 pm, when the turn-down service was shortly after that...just didn't make sense. There were days we left by 9:00 am and turned on the housekeeping light so they could come in and clean, and we would come back late in the afternoon (3 - 5 p.m.) and things still were not done.  This was a $5,000 mistake!