Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2010

duchy

March

I'd expect to pay it-but why not ring Thomas Cook and ASK ?

On domestic flights Delta are currently rolling out GoGo so you may get inflight internet IF you want to pay for it....... but before you do check the seat pocket for a free go on it as there still seem to be some trial vouchers around. (FWIW this week my ATL MEM flight had it but my MEM LAS & LAS MSP didn't but it's apparently not route specific.

Really liked the Paris buffet this trip but I think the Rio although still better than most isn't as good as it was.

marke87

hi all. im going out to vegas on the 20th sep for a week. ive booked the flights and paid the deposit on the hotel using the crazy 8's deal at the MGM. was wondering if there will be any hidden charges. seen people posting about resort fee etc. will this be included in the price of the hotel.

regards

mark

ferf1223

April

Gav86 wrote: »

I seem to remember reading that many thought Stripburger was going to close due to Cafe Ba Ba Reeba closing.
Is this still the case, does any one know? Or is Stripburger still going strong?

Sadly Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and Stripburger are closed. I'm not sure if the replacement is open yet but it's http://www.elsegundosol.com/

ferf1223

April

duchy wrote: »

Really liked the Paris buffet this trip but I think the Rio although still better than most isn't as good as it was.

Welcome back! Will there be a trip report?

nvh

anyone like eating at the posh MGM Grand restaurants and going before the end of May?... this may be of use:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/MGMGrandDining?ref=nf

ellys

I have just come back from vegas on fri , what a great place it was my second time there but for my partner it was his first and a surprise for his birthday if anyone gets the chance to go just book !!!! i am looking at trying to go next year as did not lose our shirts came back with money lol so saving it for next time . we did the copter trip over grand canon how great was that we stayed at luxor which is a lovely hotel at the end of strip but for $7 you can get a bus ticket for unlimted 24 hour trips dont do the open top bus tour its rubbish and takes to much time to get from one end to top end of strip and at $35 for 24 hours not worth it :T:j:rotfl:

duchy

March

As per Ferf's request a quick trippie-might be a little heavy on Osmonds as not only did we go see Donny and Marie but also their brothers who were in town this weekend.

This was a regular girlie weekend with my Osmond fan friends.
I used miles for this trip and discovered a bit of a glitch-If you book on the website the taxes are over £200-however if you hold it on the website it quotes the high taxes but then call Delta in Atlanta to make card payment-the taxes come out at £100-so well worth the call.Next trip i'll book an ordinary ticket that way and see if it works out the same lower cost. Air fares were running at around £450 with tax compared to £315 for Easter last year.

I had originally booked Friday to Monday at the Flamingo and got 2 nights at $90 and the Sunday night comped which was an OK rate for a Spring break weekend as Vegas is busy this time of year. When I decided to add a night and fly out Thursday instead the Flamingo wanted $160 for a deluxe room for that night which was more than I wanted to pay but Total Rewards showed the Rio as comped so I booked there instead.

I flew from Gatwick to Atlanta -flight was completely full.I had an emergency row seat -usually I go for the aisle but could only get a window and it was COLD. I ended up stuffing the gap with the plastic the blankets are wrapped in and it was fine. The routing was Gatwick Atlanta Memphis Vegas with a 2 hour stop in each-this was due to me changing my flights late on. It actually wasn't bad at all. I had a beer at the Heiniken bar at Atlanta (which for smokers info allows smoking) and at Memphis my friend came through security to meet me (he's a pilot based at Memphis so has an airside pass) and we ate at the BlueNote which also allowed smoking, had live Blues music and yummy food ribs, good burgers etc.

I got to Vegas about ten -was carry on only so straight out of the airport to a longish cab line-which moved very fast and was soon on my way. The cab driver offered me a choice of routs so I asked him why on earth I'd want to take the freeway to the Rio-he ummed and ahed and claimed there was an accident causing single lane traffic-Yeah riiiiiiight ! Unsurprisingly there was no sign of it when we took that route <eye roll>

Rio room was pretty nice-huge room clean and bright with a really comfy bed and coffee maker. I was very happy with it-and happier still that it was free. By this point I'd gone beyond tierdness so had a wander around the casino -the parade in the sky thing was going on -was really noisy and a bit lame-Fun to see if you're there anyway but IMO not worth a special trip .

I had planned to have breakfast in the Palms the next morning but couldn't be bothered walking over there so ate at the Rio buffet-which was fine but not as nice as I remember. You can't use the Rio shuttle to the Strip even with just a tiny suitcase so I jumped in a cab and got to the Flamingo about 2pm -To my surprise my room was ready (unusual for the Flamingo-often I've waited til 5pm in the past). I was in a deluxe room on the 25th floor right by the elevator (no noise from the lift) Room was clean bed was saggy and I missed the bathroom TV and the super shower the Go rooms have but it was fine.

duchy

March

Saw Donny and Marie that night-Had VIP seats -show is really good-you certainly don't need to be a fan to enjoy it -very high energy show . To be honest at 50 and 52 I really don't know how they do it. The second half of the show is heavy on dancing -Donny won Dancing with the Stars last year and Marie was third a couple of years ago. We did the meet and greet afterwards-usually it's both Donny and Marie but Marie's son died last month so she isn't doing anything with the public beyond the show at the moment (well that was the plan but this weekend proved to be an exception) so Donny did it solo. He's always charming and funny -after collecting photos after we went to the Flamingo burger place for shakes and food-the shakes were good -the food a bit uninspired,
The next morning I had arranged to meet a friend for breakfast but got down too early so stuck $20 into the Wizard of Oz and Glenda the good paid for breakfast and a bit of shopping wiith $170 win. We went to Paris for breakfast and I thought it was excellent -good selection, nice surroundings and good service. We then hit the Deuce up to the Riviera and I ended up buying a gorgeous dress in Ross Dress for Less (there's a new branch opening on the south strip soon -right by the Coke bottle) and then strolled to the Wynn and spent some time there. We walked back to the Flamingo from there popping into Harrahs and the IP on the way-with biggish wins in both-also popped into O'Sheas for a Subway.

duchy

March

Donny and Marie again tonight. Turned into a somewhat "different" show. The show started about 20 minutes late which is unusual and Marie commented they had technical problems. First part of the show went well with both of them performing together-Marie then did her solo set and for the first time since her son died put back in the part where she gets a guy from the audience up on stage to sing with her-which was very funny. Then time for Donny's solo set-half through his first song there was a pop-he stops and says "We have a problem-my voice just blew" and it had. He called Marie back on stage -and they basically dropped his solo set and moved on to the dancing segments with Marie doing the lion's share of the singing and Donny struggling with a lower than normal key that turned into a squeek every so often. Poor guy he definitely tried but was obviously really sick. They completed the show and we expected the meet and greet to be cancelled as Donny wasn't going to be able to talk but to our surprise Marie did it. We were asked not to mention her son as she'd likely cry and she was great . Really was a bonus as no-one expected her to do it. She was lovely and in good form

OK tiredness hit-final part is a few posts below after I get some sleep

photome

marke87 wrote: »

hi all. im going out to vegas on the 20th sep for a week. ive booked the flights and paid the deposit on the hotel using the crazy 8's deal at the MGM. was wondering if there will be any hidden charges. seen people posting about resort fee etc. will this be included in the price of the hotel.

regards

mark

There are no resort fees as yet at MGM