Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009

sew109

The Volcano @ Mirage

highfivenot wrote: »

We saw Steve Wyrick at Planet Hollywood last June, we really both enjoyed it and it is a tiny theartre so you are really close. We got cheap tix on the day at Tix4tonight and we were in the fourth row. The only thing I would say is that it is a bit cheesy at times but if anything it sort of adds to it and is something to laugh at after.

Have Fun!

Another vote for steve wyrick brilliant and top nice fella to boot

leew914

We are getting closer and closer to our 10th wedding anniversary Vegas trip :beer: so I thought that I should start to make a couple of plans!!

We are leaving on 15th May and staying for 5 nights. We booked way back in August when the flights and hotel rooms were first released (we were a little giddy about going!!) Both flight and hotel booked seperatly through Virgin. Although we wont have the best prices, it gave us plenty of time to pay for the trip!!

We are staying at the Wynn and this is our second visit, we were last there 2 years ago and absolutely LOVED it.

As for this post, I was hoping for a little advice on 2 things:
1. Car hire. We have just decided that we will hire a car and see some off strip sights. Initially looked at a 1 day hire but then realised that a taxi to and from airport, taxi to and from downtown and a taxi to and from the Gun Store would pay for a full 5 day rental(kind of). I have never rented a car abroad and when looking at the US car sites I am a little confused regarding the insurance situation!!
We want a convertable and have seen on the Virgin website that we can get one for
£170 inc all insurances. This is through Dollar who want £220 for the same car. Does anyone have any experience with Virgin car hiring? Is this a good price?

2.Restaurants. Our anniversary is a couple of days into the stay so we are looking for somewhere "nice" lol to eat. Myself and the wife have quite different tastes so I think we are hoping to find an "upmarket" steakhouse style restauant. Somewhere i can get a nice piece of plain steak and she will have a decent choice of alternatives. Price not really an issue as it is a special night!

Sorry for the ramble but any advice will be very much appreciated.

Lee N Claire

funkyfin2000

The Bellagio Fountains

Is anyone staying on the P:layer Club reward from MGM Grnad (Gran Tower Room) I still can't log in and get the reservation? Anyone checked with the hotel its valid?

Rich

photome

The Bellagio Fountains

leew914 wrote: »

We are getting closer and closer to our 10th wedding anniversary Vegas trip :beer: so I thought that I should start to make a couple of plans!!

We are leaving on 15th May and staying for 5 nights. We booked way back in August when the flights and hotel rooms were first released (we were a little giddy about going!!) Both flight and hotel booked seperatly through Virgin. Although we wont have the best prices, it gave us plenty of time to pay for the trip!!

We are staying at the Wynn and this is our second visit, we were last there 2 years ago and absolutely LOVED it.

As for this post, I was hoping for a little advice on 2 things:
1. Car hire. We have just decided that we will hire a car and see some off strip sights. Initially looked at a 1 day hire but then realised that a taxi to and from airport, taxi to and from downtown and a taxi to and from the Gun Store would pay for a full 5 day rental(kind of). I have never rented a car abroad and when looking at the US car sites I am a little confused regarding the insurance situation!!
We want a convertable and have seen on the Virgin website that we can get one for
£170 inc all insurances. This is through Dollar who want £220 for the same car. Does anyone have any experience with Virgin car hiring? Is this a good price?

2.Restaurants. Our anniversary is a couple of days into the stay so we are looking for somewhere "nice" lol to eat. Myself and the wife have quite different tastes so I think we are hoping to find an "upmarket" steakhouse style restauant. Somewhere i can get a nice piece of plain steak and she will have a decent choice of alternatives. Price not really an issue as it is a special night!

Sorry for the ramble but any advice will be very much appreciated.

Lee N Claire

If that is all inc, including tank of fuel and extra driver and 6 days hire, it is a good price. Netflights for 6 days want £216.

Have you read page 1 of this thread there are lots of tips and links on there.

I think if you search for car hire on this thread it will prob bring up all the answers you need

davidmcg2u

The Secret Garden

luci wrote: »

Great trip report David, I really enjoyed reading that.

How much was the flight in Premium with TC and did you get 20kgs baggage with that? We have to get from north of Aberdeen to Manchesteror wherever first and that really adds to the price.

luci,

The total cost for our flight was £1060 for us all in but please bear in mind I booked it way in advance as it a surprise b'day. TC don't discount their flights until way nearer the time of departure.

We got 30kgs each way which was great but we are now getting used to the art of using what you take so we didn't get near the 30kg & we bought new lightweight suitcases too which obviously helped.

Also, I realised in Feb that I could've flown from Glasgow with Continental (think it was through Expedia), had a 2 hour stop over in U.S. then went to Vegas from there. The way their hotel prices were working we would've saved £300-£400 so I be checking this out too next time as I would've done this if I'd know it was an option beforehand.

One thing I forgot to mention on my report is that I wasn;t charged the $5.99 nightly resort fee at PH - not sure if this was down to the $20 tip or not though.

davidmcg2u

The Secret Garden

Steff wrote: »

... all read!
The Rio itself is an enjoyable hotel to stay at once you have found your way around - did you go outside to take a look at the pool area with the waterfalls and sand etc?

Ditto about the BBQ @ Ellis Island - I am a big fan of that!!

I think if you enjoy Vegas then you will ALWAYS want to go back - I know I do!!

Just a tip for your next visit - you said you enjoyed the Wynn and had planned on going back to see the Waterfall show. Well, its not that great really (but worth seeing if you are there I admit). My tip though would be to go to their cafe called "Sugar & Ice" - take your coffee/tea/icecream/cake etc outside onto the patio area - you are literally sat in front of the waterfalls!! Its gorgeous there - really nice. Granted we usually go in June/July when its scorching and the umberellas and the spray from the waterfalls keeps you cool. Its one of the most relaxing places that I have found in vegas! Definately worth a visit.

Hope your vegas blues go away soon - it always helps having another holiday booked though doesnt it?!

Thanks again!
Steff;)

Steff,

We didn't check out the pool as it was our last full day - we almost made the mistake of trying to walk over & after using the bus from the Paris we decided we'd to fools to walk it. It was really nice though & well worth the visit.

In terms of the blues, I think we have just caught up on sleep so they will kick in when the alarm goes at 5:10am Monday morning!

I think we were in the Cafe too at the Wynn - was that the 1 upstairs & the bar is underneath on the ground floor?

We're actually heading to Costa Adeje in Tenerife fo a week AI in 8 weeks so that will be a chill out holiday - a holiday is required to recover from Vegas although the thought of flying again isn't appealing :rotfl:

stoneman

The Bellagio Fountains

davidmcg2u wrote: »

I think we were in the Cafe too at the Wynn - was that the 1 upstairs & the bar is underneath on the ground floor?

We're actually heading to Costa Adeje in Tenerife fo a week AI in 8 weeks so that will be a chill out holiday - a holiday is required to recover from Vegas although the thought of flying again isn't appealing :rotfl:

No, Sugar and Ice is on the ground floor right by the entrance to the shops at the front.
BTW we just came back from the Costa Adeje (Bahia Princess) it was 33 degrees every day, lovely!!

davidmcg2u

The Secret Garden

stoneman wrote: »

BTW we just came back from the Costa Adeje (Bahia Princess) it was 33 degrees every day, lovely!!

Stoneman,

That's the hotel we're going to - how was it? The pics look lovely & I have been told good things about it so any tips/need to knows?

David

leew914

photome wrote: »

If that is all inc, including tank of fuel and extra driver and 6 days hire, it is a good price. Netflights for 6 days want £216.

Have you read page 1 of this thread there are lots of tips and links on there.

I think if you search for car hire on this thread it will prob bring up all the answers you need

Thanks for the reply. The quote is for 5 days (fri-weds) so had a look at Netflights and can save money there! :T

Virgin quote didnt include platinum (full tank and extra driver) but not sure if I need it. The wife wont be driving and its an extra £36 but this will get us the full tank. Will it be cheaper to wait and pay for fuel on arrival?

Lee

ferf1223

The Bellagio Fountains

leew914 wrote: »

Virgin quote didnt include platinum (full tank and extra driver) but not sure if I need it. The wife wont be driving and its an extra £36 but this will get us the full tank. Will it be cheaper to wait and pay for fuel on arrival?

Cars are rented with full tank - if you have a tank of gas included, it usually means you can return it empty...if not, you just need to fill it up before you return it (and as a precaution keep the receipt in case they ask for it)...if you don't fill it up before you return it then they will sting you for an extortionate rate per gallon.

You can get an idea of gas prices here:

http://www.vegasgasprices.com/

To decide if it would be better to pay for the tank of gas or not...but one thing to consider is how much you will be driving it - we normally stay 8 nights, do a lot of driving to off-strip locations but normally little long-haul, and rarely use more than 1/2 a tank.