Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009 part 2

Cand

September

ratkarth wrote: »

see i love that
all the hotels smelling different
however walking into the mgm me going "mmm..brings back memmories" my misses just said "hm, smells like toilet cleaner"

Haha thats just how me and my hubby are... I love the smell of Signature and didnt mind MGM just hate the Venetian its just to strong. Your right though I have only been twice and walking back into them did bring back memories of our first trip!

stoneman

September

luci wrote: »

The renewal date doesn't start again from the date you amend it, it retains the original expiry date. I have updated ours 3 times and the expiry date remains the same.

Sorry should have said "reapply" not "update". We couldn't remember when I did Tracys' the first time or the reference number so just reapplied and it accepted it. So 2 years from that date.

adrienne1945

October , November

thanks Ferf1223 and Pebblesmax I looked on Google maps and your way looks straightforward. I'm getting excited now, but am definitely not looking forward to the weather they have there. I thought we might be lucky and have it warmer than here.

wadia860

October , November

Got back from Vegas Tuesday after 2 weeks there. Some positives there, and quite a few negatives since last time.

Negatives:

• I hated the centre strip, especially by City Centre. It is impossible to cross the road there and you have to go so far out of your way to get to the other side of the road. They desperately need a bridge by City Centre.
• The Deuce (301 !) would have been good if it wasn't for the length of time you spend on there (try over an hour and half from Mandalay Bay to the Strat...no exaggeration). It still saved my legs though so cannot complain too much. Again, most of the congestion (people & traffic) was centre strip. There'd be 50-odd people getting off the bus there, and 60-odd getting on!! Madness.
• I really wasn't impressed with the Virgin flight from Gatwick...I did expect slightly more from Virgin (although I have low expectations!!) Quite a rough old plane, really bad T.V's in the headrest and rude passengers (not Virgin's fault though). A bit different to last time when I went via Continental.

Positives:

• 99c Margaritas/$2 Corona/Bud/Coors etc from all Downtown casinos!
• Monte Carlo celebrity spa suite...wow!!! Loved it in there!
• The Todd Paul show at Hooters...very, very funny and only $7 or $8 entry with 1 free drink (be warned...additional drinks were $7!!! Coke etc were free refills though). Probably the best thing I did in Vegas. Go & see him.
• Went to a bar/restaurant called Chillis across the road from the Beltz. Some of the best food I''ve had in my life, the best Mexican I've ever had anyway! Really nice raspberry margaritas in there, try their jalapino quesadilla with extra jalapinos.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm:T
• Cigars...if you like cigars, you are spoiled in Vegas. Try the shop in downtown Vegas/Freemont though. Get off the bus/Deuce/301 on Freemont St, cross the road to the Harley Davidson shop and there is a fantastic cigar shop just 3 doors away. Really really nice bloke in there. I walked away the first night after looking in the window and being intimidated by his big walk-in humidor (i thought his cigars would be out of my price range). I went back a few nights later and was glad i did. Very friendly fella and very friendly prices. They also make their own cigars on site (robustos..$6.99!!!). Try him, you won't regret it.
• The cinema in the Palms...excellent! They do nacho's in there and you help yourself to jalapinos!!!

All in all, still a very good trip for me (I got married as well!!...feel free to ask about how i did it if ye like). I certainly seemed to enjoy it away from the strip this time (Freemont St, Palms Hotel etc). I also found the casino staff friendlier away from the strip (and much cheaper tables..El Cortez, $1 roulette).

Don't let my gripes put you off, just be wary of them though!

duchy

August

We have a bit of a tradition of going to the cinema at the Palms usually to the IMAX screen. Easy to get to from the Strip even without a car (free shuttle from Bill's to the Gold Coast and cross the road) Harry Potter in 3D & IMAX was fab

Got back from a quick trip from Vegas today. Missed my connection at LAX going out as we left Heathrow late. No more AA flights so they switched me onto United. Coming back my boarding card wouldn't print and I missed my LAS to JFK -airport was total zoo as all the cowboys were leaving after the rodeo -a little more serious as it was not all on the same booking but it all worked out and I caught a later flight from LAS (got upgraded too) and AA booked me on a flight leaving 45 mins after I got to the AA desk-biggest pain was having to hop the airtrain at JFK but no big deal. AA gave me an emergency row to myself.

Stayed at the Flamingo in a Go room-got the higher floor and killer view of the fountains again (no tip just given) but carpet and sofa were grubby which was a disappointment. O'Sheas are now on Total Rewards-not sure how long that has been going on for.

Oh and it was FREEZING !

pebblesmax

October , November

O'Shea's has been Total Rewards since last May at least. Don't know when it started though.

ferf1223

October , November

$15 coupon for Origin India good until end of Jan 2010.

http://www.tablebythewindow.com/ccremote/originindia/images/OriginIndiaBeourguestcard.jpg

You can get $25 restaurant.com vouchers but some people object to the automatic 20% gratuity they add if you use it and it does have a minimum spend...so this might be an option for some people

ferf1223

October , November

• went to a bar/restaurant called Chillis across the road from the Beltz. Some of the best food I''ve had in my life, the best Mexican I've ever had anyway! Really nice raspberry margaritas in there, try their jalapino quesadilla with extra jalapinos.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm:T

Chili's was my favorite chain restaurant when I lived in America - they had a few in the UK but they closed last summer (which made me very sad). They also have one at ORD Terminal 3, in case you're ever making a connction.

gamboller

March

wadia860 just wondering was the Virgin flight almost fully booked. Thanks for your positives and negatives. Always great to hear peoples opinions. May see Todd Paul as I'm across the rd in the Signature in early Feb

duchy

August

pebblesmax wrote: »

O'Shea's has been Total Rewards since last May at least. Don't know when it started though.

I thought that might be the case but as they were promoting it as "You can NOW get Total Rewards points at O'Sheas" I thought I'd mention it.

If you get fed up with waiting for the Wizard of Oz machines to free up at the Flamingo -they are usually free next door at O'Sheas btw