Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009 part 2

duchy

August

I think if I wanted to go that time of year (regardless of which year it is) I'd be tempted to fly Christmas day as the flights go from high season to low on that day.

luci

September

My 24/7 arrived the other day too and only took 9 days to get here. I was a bit disappointed with the Vegas Values as it's only valid from mid-August to mid-September. There was one coupon I was going to use, for Lance Burton I think, but it expired on 7 September.

Not a problem though as you can get the 24/7 in taxis and sometimes the VV too as well as them being handed out on the strip.

We have the cases looked out too and piles of clothes, but nothing sorted as to what's actually going. Hoping to pack over the weekend.

ferf1223

October , November

luci wrote: »

My 24/7 arrived the other day too and only took 9 days to get here. I was a bit disappointed with the Vegas Values as it's only valid from mid-August to mid-September. There was one coupon I was going to use, for Lance Burton I think, but it expired on 7 September.

They had that 25% off online for Lance Burton direct through the box office but think it expired about the same time - just checked and looks like he's dark now until the 21st, but maybe they'll put up another discount online shortly. We booked online in advance for our trip in April on that 25% off deal so it had been running for quite awhile.

kt21

September

Oh not long now... 4 sleeps

24/7 magazine and vegas values turned up this morning. Super excited now. I opted for the cheaper seats for the killers as i've seen them earlier in the year and am going more for the experience than actually being able to see them.

ferf1223

October , November

oh, and for anyone with an impending trip, don't forget to have a read through:

http://americancasinoguide.com/Promotions/VEGAS-VALUES.shtml

Just to see what promos are about...most you'll probably see advertised in casinos anyway, but in some cases there are good promos at a casino you might not go to.

ratkarth

first 4 days to begin with

4 of us on trip me, my girlfiend (gf), mother, (m) and sister (s). going primarily as i prommised i would take my sister for her twenty first.

prior to trip found out gf was pregnant which slightly put everyone under a lot more stress as we didnt want m or s finding out! as a result had to find good excuses why all the advdenture/rollercoaster rides we had planned woudn't be happening...also why gf was being sick all the time and not drinking...something hadn't planned on during my booking stage!!!

day 1 drove up to Gatwick did twilight check in with extral leg room seats (great idea) stayed at the lawn guest house, out of all the gatwick places to stay this is my fav would highly reccommend

day 2 . arrived at LGW and went through security with no problems. twilight check in is such a good idea, boarded plane. my understyanding was the extra leg room seats would be escape routes or bulkheads,, they are not they are just purple coloured normal seats with 3 extra inches. lots of confusion on the plane as a result of this...we werent the only ones....oh well. flight supprised me, everyone else saying how bad this was, with the extra leg room, well worth it at 3£ an hour it was a pleasant flight. very bumpy landing, had gf nearly throwing up and S crying as she a poor flyer. probably wsa the most bumpy landing ive ever done too
arrived MGm grand (had forgotten how different casino's all smelt different..such a wonderful memory on entering the lobby), gf said it smelt like a toilet and looked like a working mans club...oh dear....
MGM grand really suprsied me, we had grand tower rooms with strip view (not booked asked for or 20$ bribed...just luck i guess). This place often gets bad reviews on TA but i really couldnt fault it in anyway..only problem was the rooms were next to each other....which they did as a favour.
The package we had was for 6 buffets a day per room, innner tube rentals, slot credits, cocktails, nightclub passes etc... costing around 50$ a night.
we worked out they were practically paying us to stay there at that rate.
Sat down and had buffet that pm, was again another great supprise, awsome buffet. probably would have been a tight dissapointed if paid full price but very good none the less... (all the buffets i saw were doing the "eat all day for ..." deal, very good value if staying in same area)
walked up watched a couple of fountain shows and went to bed

day 3. woke up 6am so went for a run (thanks body clock!) had another fantastic breakfast buffet and s and i resumed our USA pancake eating compitition.. spent most of the day by pool, all i can say is WOW. what an awsome pool complex. first rate, only problem is slightly too many "frat" boys but amazing none the less.
the afternoon we went upto fashion show mall, this place was amazing, got loads of good bargains in maceys (70% off labor day sale) watched the TI SIren show...which was quite frankly weird even for vegas....however meant that every time I mentioned TI someone said "so you can watch the sirens eh"... holiday in joke. once more good buffet evening, early to bed. still not gambled!

day 4 - Breakfast/pool. did the bodies exherbition at the luxor with cheap tickets from Tix4 tonight. WORD OF WARNING, check the prices carefully, by the time they add on service charges etc they often work out cheaper to book direcet if you can find a coupon. bodies was good, made my mums day as I ended up being followed by a group of about 10 people as they were over hearing my explanations of things to m and s (am a dr, so was remembering my anatomy from years ago), i think some of them thought i was an offical tour..oh well made mums day.
the afternoon i went to the pool where mum told me "im sure gf is pregnant, she is tired, sleeping all the time, feeling sick, you should get her a test..." oh well dum de dum this casued gf more stress
some arguments between me/gf and me/s that afternoon.think everyone was tired from jet lag still but it really wasnt nice afternoon as a result..
decided next hotel we need to get rooms a bit appart so people get thier own space.
made up by the evening and me and gf had some just us time so we went to see KA in evening. good show, would be upset if i had paid full price, theatre half empty! (i reckon turn up at the box office at 9 and haggle could get you very cheap seats) wouldnt see again, as people say the stage is really the star of this show. but felt cheated at only 90 mins.
after that me s and gf went over to HOOTERS over the road for some "gritty vegas" did my first gambling of the trip on the craps and picked up free credit for joining players club)..we went to bed at 12 and my sis stayed up, she is turning into quite the slot jockey...

more to follow..............

Froggitt

December ( including Xmas and New Year )

I hope mother and sister dont read this forum m8........

ratkarth

day 5 at mgm grand, buffet then pool routine then exploored strip (mirage etc) with gf, did some gambling in the evening mid strip in bill's and saharah (Very low table odds at both, vegas is full of 5$ craps and 1c machines if you hunt for them at the moment). had a lot of lovely memories in sahrah as this is where i gambled the most when i was living out there, very frequent bar service and loose slots, plus thought betta show it to family as it will probably be next on the imploding list...
very impresed with wynn and encore and PH, however feel that the new buildings (city center, PH westage) are ruining the apperance of the strip, if I want to see glass skyscrapers i would go to any other city...) not sure what other peoples opinion of these are?
by now mgm pool getting busy for weekend full of drunk teenagers, shame as was enjoying.
carnival court wouldnt admit me without my passport:( its weird how some places accept uk driving lisence but others wont.
good tip is my sister got a wrist band from security in mgm which meant she didnt need to be id'd there, also wearing it meant she got id'd less when we went elsewhere too.only took a few mins and meant she didnt need to risk carrying around her passport..would advice everyone to do this

day 6 drove to LA
if no one has hired a car before in vegas suggest you try, its a little daunting at first but with sat nav it was no problem. had a few nights in LA to escape the labor day crowds did the touristy things and what was nice is we were driving against the traffic on both times so had a clear road! called into primm on the way there, didnt thnk much of outlet but others liked it

day 8 returned to vegas. checked in the palazzo...all i can say is WOW!
this place is amazing, used the 20$ trick on check in (has 98% sucsess according to online poll) and it worked a charm, got strip view bigger suite high up and family got a huge two bedded suite again fantastic views high up.
All i can say about this place is wow, it surpassed all my expectations, it was amazing, without a doubt best hotel ive ever stayed in... nothing was too much trouble from the staff everyone super friendly.
Then headed down town, Fremont street has really cleaned up a lot since when i was down there last, felt very safe down there and fantastic party atmosphere. had ok buffet at golden nugget did some gambling and watched a load of fremont st experience light shows. Deffinately the place to get your tacky gifts from... Loved it so much down here would probably add in a couple of nights downtown on my next trip...everyone else agreed so too
Headed back to palazzo...went to dueling piano bar.. quite frankly the best thing ive ever watched in my life, at one point they had a "i will survive/ the joker" sing off with whoever paid the highest tip got thier song played louder..amazing. i reckon they picked up at least 1000 in tips by the end of the night, it was incredible. wqithout a doubt this was my favourite day so far. ended the night with some gambling, nice casino and very frequent bar service, cant fault it!

Day 9. easy day with gf, explored mid strip then met my friends who live there for lunch off strip, nice to see some proper non touristy vegas. did a bit more shopping, faimily went to circus circus and enjoed. They were unimpressed with hilton and didnt like rivera either..i was impressed as they did it all by foot!. then chilled in venetian pool
big tip if staying at palazzo use the venetian pool, very comfortable loungers and the palazzo is a bit to much shade most of the time.
we went for dinner at SWITCH at encore based on recomendation by friend earlier that day, i wasnt overly impressed but the pre theatre menu 50$ was reasonable considering included wine and had scallops, lobster, oysters etc... then went and saw phantom. all i can say is OMG it was amazing. without a doubt the BEST show i have ever seen, i have seen phantom twice in the uk but this just blew it out of the water. the show is so much better for being shorter and the theatre was incredible..would highly recommend. went back to piano bar but different people on tongiht, wasnt as good but still a very good night.

ratkarth

day 10
left the palazzo, (cry cry) breakfast at pepermill which was awsome then headed to Mandalay bay, very unimpressed with it from the start. got shouted at the valet guy because i had got lost and had stopped to ask him for dirrections whistle- you cant park here.... "can you direct me to the car park "sir you cant park here please move...
that got me cross
then took an hour to check in, and our room wasnt ready. so left and did titanic expereince. was ok and worth the money, it was very dignified but a little short for my lking, could have been more interative
got back at 5pm, checked into room, was ok nothing special had a strip view (again 20$ checkin tip), went to MIX bar and then had thier pre theatre menu, again for the price (think it was 50$) including wine was very good value, amazing food and views, liked this a lot. then went to see the lion king, good show, very good cast but was to many people chatting in the audience, have noticed this american audiences like to chat and interact "hey look at that" "ha that was funny" "hey hun did you see that rhino" etc....
lost 10$ in the machine and poor drink service so went to bed

next day hit the mbay breakfast buffet, was ok but not the best ive had by a long way, went to the pool..this was probably the most stressful expereience of my life. 1 pool 12 life guards!!!!! it was 1 guard per 3 people!!!! in the end i gave up, Whistle, sir you cant go that deep, whisstle sir you cant go that shallow whistle sir you cant walk there you have to go into the water and come out whistle sir you cant sit there in the water whistle...etc etc...
seriously it was like being 6 again! in the end i couldnt stand it any longer and we left.. you cant relax whilst sunbathing with a whistle going off every few seconds!!. last night in vegas so we headed upto strip mid afternoon, girls did miracle mile, i wasnt that impressed. played in balleys and won 50$, again execelent cocktail service (for 5pm) so was quite merry by the time i had met them for dinner. Dinner at mon ami gabi..
this place is as amazing as everyone made out, absolutelyt loved it. very cheap compared to elsewhere amazing views brilliant service. couldnt fault it.
did some gambling at bills then watched a few more fountain shows then walked back.
got back to find room hasnt been made. decieded just to go to bed

last day woke up asked if we could late check out.. front desk said no, no supprises, this hotel has been nothing but problems since we got here. qued 30 mins for a lift, then an hour!!! to check out then qued again 20mins for luggage store!!!!! had lunch buffet.
was ok, nothing specaticular.
tried to get into the pool to chil before flight but they wouldnt let us in (despite front desk saying they would)
left it and went to airport. uneventfull flight back, food not upto much but i slept fro most of it. was planning on spending loose dllars at airpot but not many shops really
and now home after all the travelling...
cant sleep....

ratkarth

so in summary
the good: MGM grand, the buffet, the deal was amazing very unexpected how nice ths was for 50 a night including food!!, the palazzo again $129 a night including drink vouchers slot play and phantom tickets. purely amazing, driving in vegas, mon ami gabi, mix bar+ restaurant, phantom,
the bad: mandalay bay - never again!, ended the trip 30$ down due to gambling, the family in fights on the first few days (all resolved once we had split our rooms)
the ugly - the new city center on the strip....its out of keeping with the rest of vegas

on a different note, am very glad i took my suit in the end, wasnt sure to begin with but once in palazzo, mix bar, switch etc i was glad of it as a lot of other people dressing smartly
also prob not going to be able to head out there for a while again now which is gutting...oh well! got very tearful on my last day....
am expecting my sister to get a phone call from a host soon the amount of slots she playedd!!

any questions?? just ask