Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009

Triker

The Bellagio Fountains

Stew68 wrote: »

Keep the trip reports coming Luci and everbody else, love all the details, helps with the planning of the next trip.

Funkyfin, Have a good trip, we expect a report from you when you get back as well!!

Stew

PS Anybody seen this before, I came accross it by accident last month, its a shrine right on the strip at the front of Ceasars, it looked incredible maybe because I wasn't expecting to come accross it, never heard anybody mention it before.

Yes we stumbled across it on our last day. It was another bizarre experience to add to the many that Vegas has to offer.

tingtong

Right folks, I've got a load of spare vouchers left over from our trip (inc 2x $25 restaurant.com vouchers, Cheesecake Factory, Jubilee 2-4-1 & free VooDoo entry) so I would like to help a few people out here.

Now, as some expire mid May, what I'm proposing, is that anyone travelling to Vegas in the next week or so, please PM me (by Friday) and I will do a draw and post them all to the winner.

Then, if that person could kindly take the ones they are likely to use and pass the rest on to others, and so forth. That way, a few people will benefit rather than some vouchers going to waste.

Natty*1981*

The Lion Habitat

dawnylou wrote: »

Yeah the chapel is truly delightful. If we were to do it all over again we would opt for the same place!!
We only booked a few months beforehand but I doubt you really need to even book that far ahead if you are flexible it's just we wanted a very specific date (our 10 year anniversary!)
The staff make everything so easy for you!

We are finally over the jet lag though thank goodness!! lol

Btw I think someone asked for pics?

Click on watch live or past events and change date to 09th April

Congrats Dawnylou!! :T

Steff - Just wanted to agree with everything that Dawnylou has said about Little Chapel of the Flowers - I got married there 3 years ago in Septemeber & I would do it all again exactly the same!!

We opted for a gazebo night time wedding and it was wonderful & would recommend it to anyone thinking of getting married in Vegas - it was a lovely Chapel & the staff from booking it online to actually on the day were 100% helpful!

Sorry - just couldn't help interrupting to recommend this place!

pebblesmax

The Bellagio Fountains

Cage wrote: »

Thanks Luci, would be be able to tell me exactly how they work ?

i.e. If I buy 4 for say ben and jerry's as they are $25 off, would that mean I would get $100 off my total bill ?

Read the info because each voucher is different. Ben and Jerry's is 50% off.

For Casa Di Amore, the conditions for $25 cert are:-

Valid with a minimum purchase of 2 dinner entrees/$35. 18% gratuity added before discount. 1 per party, per table.

Often there is a time limit between each use too.

I hope that helps a little.

tingtong

pebblesmax wrote: »

Read the info because each voucher is different. Ben and Jerry's is 50% off.

For Casa Di Amore, the conditions for $25 cert are:-

Valid with a minimum purchase of 2 dinner entrees/$35. 18% gratuity added before discount. 1 per party, per table.

Just a quick note regarding Casa Di Amore, they did not add on the 18% gratuity last week on our bill, not sure if this was a mistake though.

ferf1223

The Bellagio Fountains

Cage wrote: »

Thanks Luci, would be be able to tell me exactly how they work ?

i.e. If I buy 4 for say ben and jerry's as they are $25 off, would that mean I would get $100 off my total bill ?

As pebbles said you have to check the terms of each but in general you can only use one per party as she said, and usually only one per month per restaurant - so no, you could not use 4 at once and probably could not use 4 for Ben & Jerry's within a month of each other.

We always get the Ben & Jerry's one - we love their stuff, but so overpriced - just about right with a 50% off.

funkyfin2000

The Bellagio Fountains

Thanks Luci about Voodoo! So I have the righ ttickets then! Will remember to go in trousers!!!!

Will do a trip report, but of course won't be just vegas!

Booked in online for BA flight tomorrow and have the best economy seats going! they are the pair of seats at the back with some extra room to the side so VERY pleased!!!!!

Leave tomorrow, will be posting whilst out there, looking forward to meeting tingtong, luci etc out there! Should be great!

Rich

lindsey_toffee_girl

The Bellagio Fountains

Hey all I am quiet new to this thread I have asked a couple of questions and got great repsonses, so thanks for that, I have loved reading the trip reports they make me so so so excited. I t will be my first time in Vegas and its been booked since feb 2008 so I cant wait for clock to countdown! I am reading my way through the thread though its taking me so long! x

tingtong

OK, as promised, here's the 2nd (final) part of our Trip Report:

Trips Out
Red Rock Canyon – Nice short ride out of Vegas, and you can drive round a 13-mile ‘one-way’ road. Nice scenery, worth a morning as a little break from the Strip.
Valley of Fire – Bit further out, probably an hour or so. Really nice place, bigger than I expected, with plenty of great photo opportunities. We drove right through (rather than double-back) so we ended up coming back via Lake Las Vegas (as recommended by Ferf), which was beautiful. Had a beer in the golf clubhouse there, overlooking a little beach on the lake. Was really impressed with Lake Las Vegas, you just can’t believe you’re in the middle of the desert.

Hotels / Casinos
Managed to get to some hotels we’d not been to before:
Orleans – Impressive place, I can see why people stay here as an alternative to the strip
Eastside Cannery – New hotel on the Boulder Highway, went there for a 2-4-1 lunch buffet on way back from shooting range but it was closed. Nice casino, much more of a ‘locals’ feel to it
Red Rock – Called on the way back from Red Rock Canyon (obvious really !), was really nice inside the casino
M Resort – Brand new hotel about 9 miles south of Mandalay Bay – This place was really plush, the casino is upstairs and the whole place felt really classy. Will be doing some research on the prices here, maybe for a weekend as a break from the Strip. Only about 400 rooms so quite small hotel in Vegas terms. The buffet prices are reasonable, you get a discount for joining the players club and you get beer and wine included (we did not eat here so cannot comment further)
South Point – About 5 miles down from Mandalay, much bigger hotel than M Resort but not quite as plush. Very nice though and the staff we came across were really friendly

Restaurants
Tacone Flavor Grill – Mexican fast-food style place inside Miracle Mile – big portions and food was quite tasty too. Made all the better by $10 voucher from restaurant.com
Spice Market Buffet – Went here 4 times in all (3 b/fast & 1 dinner) – pretty reliable with good choice of food. Got $10 off each buffet with vouchers from desinationcoupons.com
Toby Keith’s Bar – Went for a late lunch – big mistake ! Nothing wrong with the food but the portions were massive, which spoilt my evening meal. I like this place, maybe the denim hotpants on the waitresses has something to do with it !
Casa di Amore – Went here for the 2nd time (went last year) – very nice food although I ate too much in the daytime so did not enjoy it as much as I should have. Used $25 voucher from restaurant.com
Ali Baba – Think Ferf mentioned this was on restaurant.com so thought we’d give it a try. We actually had a really nice meal (shared a Kabob Combo) and the owner (think it was him) was really pleasant. Would come here again (especially with $25 voucher)
Mon Ami Gabi – Managed to get a perfect seat on the patio after an hour wait. Food was good and the view of the Bellagio fountains was even better.
Rosemary’s – No.2 on Tripadvisor and for a good reason. The food, presentation and service was superb. They even did us a dessert plate with 2nd anniversary written on in chocolate sauce – a real nice touch. Oh, forgot to mention, $25 voucher from restaurant.com
Cheesecake Factory – Can’t go wrong here, I’ve not heard a bad word about the place. Everyone going to Vegas should pay at least one visit here
Orleans Buffet – Good value lunch buffet, just over $10 for both of us (with 2-4-1 voucher). Plenty of choice but I was not hungry enough to make the most of it. Still, for $10 who cares ?
Augustus Caf! (Caesars) – Went here for breakfast – not exactly cheap but we went because we had a $20 credit voucher, just for signing up to Total Rewards. Wife really enjoyed her breakfast ere
Peppermill – Went for breakfast and was really impressed with place and with the food. Cost $40 for us so not cheap but worth it once in a week. Went back to the Fireside Lounge in the evening, which is pretty cool. Never been before but will definitely go back.
Ellis Island – Another new one for us, went for the BBQ with a voucher from ACG. You can’t beat this place for value and the food was decent too. Only slight thing I didn’t like was plastic cutlery, but that’s being picky ! Had some nice wheat beer and $20 win on roulette paid for our food and drink here !

Gambling
Well, we’re not big gamblers at all. I’ll put $20 in a machine and if I get over $30 I take the money and run !! Overall, I think we were about even, which is a result in my book – anything more is a bonus. Also signed up for about 10 players clubs so managed to get quite a bit of free slot play. This probably helped us to break even over the week.

Flight Back
Well, it turns out that our flight BD752 was indeed the last direct BMI flight from Vegas to Manchester – gutted ! They had banners out and were taking photos of the plane, I think some of the staff got a bit emotional (like some of the passengers). Just a 9 hour flight back, left about 20 mins late so still arrived ½ early, which was nice. Pretty comfortable as usual, will really miss these BMI flights.

Miscellaneous Stuff
Ferf has already mentioned this I know, but we were walking through Bally’s last Monday and I recognised her from a photo on this forum – how strange. I mean, Vegas is a pretty big place so the chances of this were quite slim. Another strange thing, on the way to the airport (way out), saw my wife’s old car, also going to the airport, which is about 50 miles from home !

Forgot to mention we went to the Secret Garden at Mirage. They’ve got a new baby leopard which is really cute.

Car Rental at Airport – although this may suit some, I think I’d prefer to collect at our hotel in future. I know this will cost us a $20 taxi fare but when I get to Vegas I just want to get straight to the hotel, no messing around. As I have no desire to drive on the first day, would prefer to sacrifice a day’s rental to offset the cost of the taxi.


If anyone wants more information on any points, just PM me and I’ll do my best to help. Sorry if it’s a big long-winded. I’ve probably missed some things out but I’ve done enough typing for one night !

yozzer2006

funkyfin2000 wrote: »

Thanks Luci about Voodoo! So I have the righ ttickets then! Will remember to go in trousers!!!!

Will do a trip report, but of course won't be just vegas!

Booked in online for BA flight tomorrow and have the best economy seats going! they are the pair of seats at the back with some extra room to the side so VERY pleased!!!!!

Leave tomorrow, will be posting whilst out there, looking forward to meeting tingtong, luci etc out there! Should be great!

Rich

Have a fantastic trip Rich.....:beer: