Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009

ferf1223

The Bellagio Fountains

Congrats dawnylou - and love the photos!

nvh

The Bellagio Fountains

hi all! apologies for the delay posting this - finished being written up on 21st but not had chance to do anything with it i'm afraid

first off, fantastic trip reports ferf and luci also, glad you managed to use the Tacone voucher luci

now cos i'm a bit late putting this on, thought i'd better post links back to the other bits:

Part 1: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=20760929&postcount=3473

Photos: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=20763439&postcount=3479

Monday 14th April

Had a bit of a lie in and then got up to a lovely sunny hot day. Returned the car, and once the car was sorted we headed out of Mandalay Bay on the tram and got off at Excalibur, we then headed across to M&M's World and had our picture taken outside with the yellow M&M – this compliments the picture we have outside with the green M&M from our first trip --- how many more trips till we have pictures with them all?!?

We then went to the Tix for Tonight place and got cheap tickets for the Titanic Exhibition in the Luxor ($20 each I think) – missus had decided she wanted to see this after seeing it advertised on TV. Had to wait in the sun outside the giant coke bottle for around 30minutes to get these tickets and was burning my !!! off so hoped it was worth it! Good saving though admittedly…

After we'd done all this and bought a few presents we went across the road to Diablo's which is a Mexican place. We had a massive cocktail to share which was lovely! Then to eat the missus had a tostada chicken salad and I had Diablo's Spicy chicken salad and we had a side order of onion rings, it was all lovely!

After lunch we headed into New YorkNew York and had a little gamble, then on the way out the missus got a big frozen cocktail from Coyote Ugly in a souvenir glass!

We then walked back through Excalibur and into the Luxor where we played on the Goldfish machine – missus loves that one! After we had finished having a gamble we went back to MandalayBay and got into our swimming things and headed to the beach! I had already been down in the morning to look in it was really really really really busy so was glad we had left it until later in the day, although it was still quite busy. There is an artificial beach with a big pool in front of it that has a wave machine so its like the sea. We went in there first and it was quite good, then we headed to the Lazy River which is a big circular route with twists and turns and the current takes you round, this was really good but a little scary when people on tubes were coming straight for you!

Before pool closing time (6pm) we nipped into a hot tub but then it was time to close so we headed up to the room and got in our own hot tub! We got ready then headed through MandalayBay to the Minus 5 bar. The bar is a constant minus 5 inside and everything is made of ice, even the drinks glasses! We got given big coats and gloves and the missus got furry boots, then we got took through and it was cold! We got a cocktail from the bar included in our entry fee ($35 each!) . It was really cool inside and there were all ice sculptures (Elvis, penguins etc) everywhere, even the seats and tables were made of ice (but had fur so you could sit on them).

You weren't allowed to take photos in there but a photographer came round and took some pictures and we bought one when we came out. We managed to stay in about half an hour but then we got too cold! After we had done this we went to the Luxor and went into the Titanic Exhibition, this was really good and had lots of things recovered from the ship and also stories of the passengers, there was even a massive bit of the side of the ship that had been ‘recovered’ which was really interesting to see. You are given a random manifest on the way in, and you get to see if your ‘person’ survived the tragedy when you get to the end…

After this we went to T&T's (Taco's and Tequila) which is a Mexican in the Luxor. To drink the missus had a cocktail called Nutty Chihuahua which sounded nice on the menu but the tequila was too strong so she didn't really like it! I’d played safe with the mojito. To eat she had falafel tacos which came with Mexican rice and black beans, I had a shredded beef burrito, both were lovely! We were a bit stuffed after this so we headed back to MandalayBay and had a little gamble then headed to bed!

Tuesday 15th April

Had a lie in and then got up and got ready, headed across to the Luxor and had a quick McDonalds for lunch! Then it was time for the missus to head to the spa in MandalayBay and for me to amuse himself for the afternoon.

MB Spa:
I got to the spa and was shown around and then I got ready for my massage. I had a great full body aromatherapy massage that lasted for 50 minutes and then after that I had a Hydralesscence facial, which was really nice even though she did pick my face to death! After both my treatments I was able to use the spa for the rest of the day so I went in the hot tubs and the sauna and steam room, I spent a good 3 hours using the facilities then I had a shower and got myself sorted and went of back to the room to meet Mr.NVH

Nvh time
I decided to just see what gambling for the day – starting at NYNY so I could watch the Chelsea v. Liverpool game. Had heard about ESPN Sportzone but unfortunately it seemed like somewhere I had to spend money, so just sat outside there and watched it on the tv’s in the sportsbook (think that’s what it’s called). Some proper crazy English people there who didn’t seem to understand football but were pretending they did I think (one told me that Liverpool were losing the tie 9-3 haha)! Anyways, I just thought I’d see how things went, and slowly worked my way back to Mandalay Bay… winning a bit, losing a bit (etc etc) – won my first ever Hot Shot progressive which was fun (and very much needed!), also had my first ever serious table play on blackjack in Excalibur (as it was quite quiet in there and only $5 minimum) – had a lovely chat with some mental old woman from California and her husband whilst sipping the free corona’s and subsequently (after an hour or so) losing all of my designated BlackJack money I normally avoid table games as you get snooty people there who think they know best, but everyone was just having a laugh and it was all good fun!

Hours later, I eventually end up back at Mandalay Bay – meet up with the missus so we played on a few machines together and had a few drinks, then we went up to the room to get ready to go out. We went to House of Blues for tea, missus had a pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and I had the Elwood Burger… ABSOLUTELY GORGOUS! We also had lovely cocktails which the waiter made from his own recipe! Then we had the most lovely pudding which was a peanut butter brownie with ice cream! (the wife wrote this – I was stuffed and could hardly eat but she managed to give it a home!)
At 9pm a live ‘jukebox’ (covers) band came on who took requests, we ended up staying and watching them till the end because they were really good. The idea was you put a few dollars in the bucket on the stage, along with writing down what song you want them to play (from a rather large list) – they played for 3 hours and didn’t stop once!!!

I requested Oasis “Champagne Supanova”… (hey if you’re gonna request a song, may as well make them work for it… 7mins long I think that song is )

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/bands/acoustic-soul/

http://www.myspace.com/lvacousticsoul

They were really good and we really enjoyed it! (plus the violin / bassist was rather cute haha )

After they had finished we went out into the casino and just played on the machines and had lots of free drinks! At about 3am we decided to head up to bed, it was sad because it was our last night – fortunately I was confident we could get late check out! It was also the night I actually managed my biggest ever win ($90+) – doesn’t sound much but we only do 1c / 20lines max usually (except for my earlier journey into hotshot ‘max betting’ to try and yield the progressive win!! (yes ferf, I know how you feel)) so this was a big ‘one-off’ win (and was good as was next to the same machine I’d hit for $30 earlier).


Wednesday 16th April

Late checkout my !!!!! What an idiot! Phoned at 7am and we had to be out by 11! – hadn’t even done anything to prepare so had all the packing to do!!... disaster! Tired and hungover! Sorted ourselves and had our bags stored by the hotel as our flight wasn’t until later in the afternoon. We caught the tram and headed over to MGM where we went to the Rainforest Caf! for lunch. We had volcano nachos to start and then missus had a BBQ chicken wrap with chips and I had the volcano salad, we were both stuffed after this! We had a little look at the lions in MGM and then headed back towards MandalayBay to get our bags and get a taxi to the airport. We got to the airport and checked in fine, we had a bit of time to wait for the flight so we had a look in the shops and bought a few last minute things (sweets etc!). Our flight was all on time and we arrived in LA on time where we then had to check in with Air France for our flight to Paris. The flight was on time and we boarded with no problems, once we had got up in the air we had champagne and pretzels which was nice! Then we got our tea, I had chicken fricassee with rice and peas and Andy had beef with potatoes and vegetables, we both had a pasta salad, grapes and a cranberry and orange cake, missus had wine and I had a beer to hopefully help me sleep! After tea they turn the lights down and you’re supposed to try and sleep! Missus watched a couple of films and had a bit of a sleep but kept waking up, she just wanted to get home! We got breakfast, even though it was nearly tea time where we were about to land! I couldn’t really eat anything but it was a continental with meat and cheese and bread, also a croissant and a yogurt and some fruit. We finally got to Paris and didn’t have long to wait till our flight to Heathrow which was all on time, we boarded fine and arrived back at Heathrow at 6.15pm on Thursday 17th April.

Some more flight details are here – ties in with what ferf says about Virgin overbooking as well by the sound of it:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=20853655&highlight=#post20853655

Flights
Return flights worried me somewhat – close connections, and ‘dodgy’ aircraft – not scared worried, just ‘concerned’ perhaps.

Vegas-> LA
US Airways Airbus A320 – think this was same day as ferf was going to Vegas… (15th April – evening (17:30)) – no delays but we were told that it would be bumpy! Thank goodness it was only an hour in the air! Wasn’t bad at all to be honest either! – this was the exact carrier and plane that the geese flew into and grounded in the Hudson River! Fortunately no geese on landing or take off

LA -> Paris
Air France Boeing 777/200 – despite my worries (concerns over safety etc) after recent stuff in the news (crashing basically due to frozen fuel lines cutting the engine off)

Plane was ok – despite 3-3-3 seat configuration (I think there were 3 in the middle?) anyways – had really small kids behind so when the idiot in front slammed their seat backwards (whilst I was eating!), I managed to get some space by putting my seat back. Was worried with the kids behind and the IFE being touch screen but it was ok!

Had a nice chat to the American from Utah that was blocking us in the row of 3, so that was good as I don't think we annoyed him going to the toilets etc. He said he had to fly 4 hours from Utah to LA to get the flight to Paris, and then showed me where his house was on the map as we flew back over it (4 hours later) to get to France! We thought we had it bad! He was going on to climb Mont Blanc anyways... hope he enjoyed it!

Paris -> Heathrow
Air France Airbus A320 - fine – no probs, and just happy to nearly be home! J
First time on this trip, I got the window seat! Watched the luggage go on and was horrified to see my bottle of Jack Daniels appeared to have leaked in the suitcase... fortunately it was just dirt!

Parking
Can’t remember if I said, but used purpleparking “Chauffeur” service - £90 and no problems whatsoever – plus made the whole thing easier as didn’t have to lug our cases onto a bus etc

Sure I’ve forgotten something but no doubt I’ll remember at some point!

We had a great time and I want to go back again very soon!

Sorry for rambling

dan28

New York New York from $48.99/ night
promo name: Mobile Promotion
description: Double Rooms from $48.99/ night - Two night minimum stay required
Valid: April 27, 2009 - December 31, 2009
Expires: December 28, 2009
http://www.vegas-hotels-online.com/2009/04/27/new-york-new-york-mobile-promotion/

MGM Grand from $49/ night
promo name: Exclusive Offer!
description: Deluxe Rooms from $49/ night - Daily access to the Grand Buffet for 2 people - 2 VIP Passes to Studio 54 or Tabu - 2 complimentary MGM Grand poolside cocktails - 25% off Grand Spa or Christoph Salon - $20 Free Slot Play - $25 upgrade per night to Bungalow Suite - $30 upgrade per night to Celebrity Spa Suite
Valid: April 22, 2009 - January 31, 2010
Expires: April 30, 2009
http://www.vegas-hotels-online.com/2009/04/22/mgm-grand-exclusive-offer-6/

tingtong

OK, here goes for part 1 (more to follow tomorrow)

Flight Out
Got to Manchester 3 hours before our flight time, so we could make the most of our ‘complimentary’ BMI Diamond Lounge access. We got this simply by joining the BMI Diamond Club, which was free. Must say, it made such a difference to the start of our trip. Very relaxing, plenty of magazines and papers to read, TV with the Grand Prix on (in the Business Lounge) and complimentary food and drink (inc. booze if you like a drink at 7am). Worth signing up if anyone is flying with BMI. Anyway, flight left on time and seemed to go pretty quickly, landing ½ hour ahead of schedule. Hardly any queue in LAS immigration, bags took a further 20 mins to come through though.

Car Hire
Booked our car hire through Virgin Atlantic, £115 for the most basic car with Dollar. Also (thanks to Ferf), signed up for Dollar Express (free), which made a massive difference upon arrival. Big queue at the Dollar desk (prob at least ½ hour) but as an Express member, you just go down the escalator to the Dollar booth. Obviously, they didn’t have a small car available, so I had a choice – PT Cruiser (no thanks) or a Chrysler Pacifica Touring (yes please) as shown here http://www.autospectator.com/cars/files/images/2008-Chrysler-Pacifica-Touring.jpg
Now I knew this was going to be a gas guzzler but as we weren’t doing a big roadtrip I snapped their hands off – turns out this was a ‘Premium’ car category. Still managed to use over $40 of fuel in a week with a couple of days out but was well worth if for a nice comfy car.

Hotel (7 nights)
Paris Hotel, Red Room Luxury. Bit of a queue at check-in but plenty of clerks so only about a 5 min wait. Tried the old $20 trick ($30 actually), asking for a strip view. She did say they could do a strip view room but it would be one of the older rooms (not the new Red Rooms). Decided to keep my $30 and stick with our original room, got one on the 29th floor and it was really nice with a very big, comfy bed. They also gave us a 1pm check-out, which we didn’t need in the end. Very pleased with the hotel in general, perfect location and would definitely stay there again.

Shows / Entertainment
Rio Hotel – Masquerade Show in the Sky – pretty good for a free show
Imperial Palace – Automobiles Collection – also quite good, got 2-4-1 tickets so only cost $9 for us both
Cirque du Soleil ‘O’ – wife really wanted to see this, I was not too bothered but so glad we went. Thanks to someone on this forum, got 25% off our tickets, which were on the first row of the balcony so had a great view. The show was simply breathtaking, have not seen a Cirque show before so can’t compare it to others but if they are anywhere near this one they will be fantastic.
Shooting Safaris (https://www.shootingsafaris.com) – Anyone looking to use some guns while in Vegas should check this out. I chose the ‘Shooting Through History’ package, and spent about 3.5 hours shooting nearly 20 different guns (including a 44 Magnum). Tom Koch was a great guy and he talked through every gun in detail, even allowing my wife to have a go. I paid $140, which was incredible value and would recommend it as the best thing I’ve ever done in Vegas. If you go on a Tues/Weds, the range is closed to the public – I had the whole range to myself. It’s about 30 mins by car from Vegas and you get to shoot on an outdoor, rather than indoor range.

c_l_a_i_r_e

The Bellagio Fountains

Yay, i love trip reports:j

Thanks luci, ferf, nvh and ting tong for taking the time to write them. It really helps when you're counting down the weeks until you go.

mookybargirl

The Bellagio Fountains

I'm working backwards again - thanks nvh for the rest of the trip report and to luci for part 1. I'll read backwards tomorrow for the others. I LOVE trip reports :j

pebblesmax

The Bellagio Fountains

mookybargirl wrote: »

I LOVE trip reports :j

Me too. (or should that be three since Claire expressed a love for them too.)

Just another question. Tony's grandson will be with us for a few days. Have any of you had to pay extra for a third person, or have you got away with with good tipping of the maids etc? Just wondered. We have already booked 2 queens for the days we thought he might be there. I'm hoping we can get away with it. Any other experiences will be most welcome.

Cage

The Bellagio Fountains

ferf1223 wrote: »

Just put in your address as best you can and either part of your UK postcode or a random US zipcode (Vegas is 81909).

When do the gift certificates expire ? If I bought some just now, could I use them when i goto Vegas at the end of Aug, Beginning of Sept ?

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

HERE is Day 3, Sunday 26.04.09.

I know it's a bit long and boring, but I like to read it all again when I'm preparing for my next trip.

Really enjoyed your TR ferf. Thanks for the info on the massage at the Hawaiian Marketplace. Is it the place where the Chinese people do reflexology? That's all there was prices for on their board and no mention of a back massage so I'm not sure it's the right place.

luci

The Bellagio Fountains

Cage wrote: »

When do the gift certificates expire ? If I bought some just now, could I use them when i goto Vegas at the end of Aug, Beginning of Sept ?

They are good for a year from when you buy them. I bought some last August at 90% off for this trip.