Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2010

ferf1223

April

totallybored wrote: »

I decided we’d head to the Peppermill for cocktails as I never been before. OMG, this is the pinkest tackiest place in the world and I loved it! Cocktails were so cheap and it’s just so pink!

Isn't it just so Vegassy? I love it too and so far our meals there have been very good.

Enjoying the report!

totallybored

September

ferf1223 wrote: »

Isn't it just so Vegassy? I love it too and so far our meals there have been very good.

Enjoying the report!

It is! I wish we'd gone on some of our other trips. Definately going again next trip.

totallybored

September

Thursday 9th September
Change of hotel day today so me and hubby planned to spend the morning at the pool. Stayed until about 11 and went and grabbed our stuff to check out and move over to the Mirage. Huge queues at the Mirage to check in but there is free wifi in the check in area so we were able to keep ourselves occupied in the queue. We were given rooms on the 5th floor for dad (with a view of a roof and the interstate) and we had the 6th floor strip view looking towards TI, Venetian etc (and a roof!) Not too bothered as the reason we moved to the Mirage was for the location. Dumped our stuff and decided to head to Aria (again!) and try the buffet. I don’t like seafood so I always find going to the Wynn buffet is a bit of a waste of money when I just get some turkey, mash and pizza so the Aria buffet for only $20 sounded perfect. It was really good, the meat section had roast lamb as well as the usual turkey and beef and there was excellent fresh naan bread with the curry. Desserts were excellent even if the selection was smaller than in the Wynn. Really couldn’t fault this at all and for $20 each it was excellent value.

Headed back to the Mirage for a couple of hours at the pool and met up with dad again (he doesn’t like sitting around the pool) about 8. Walked through Caesars and picked up the Matt Goss tickets and decided to walk down to Planet Hollywood. Played some slots and had several drinks and had a good time. I really like Plant Hollywood, not sure why, but we always seem to end up spending quite a bit of time there. Got a bit hungry about 10 so decided to go to PF Changs. Food was very good and also really cheap. Ordered 3 different dishes and some noodles and there was far too much. As we had no fridge there was no point in getting a box to take it with us through. Grabbed a taxi back to the Mirage, played a few more slots and probably went to bed about 1.

Friday 10th September.
Early morning for the pool! Dad had agreed to go and wait in the queue for it opening so we could get good seats. Went down around 7.30 to join him in the queue. I hate this about the Mirage, how to get a good seat you need to get up so early as too many people will leave their stuff on a seat and not come back for hours. Spent a few hours in the pool but wasn’t really interested in staying all day. I normally love the Mirage pool as we’ve stayed there several times and is one of my reasons for choosing the Mirage but it just felt a bit disappointing this time.

We decided to go over to the Fashion Show Mall and have lunch at Maggianos. Dad loved it there when we took him last year and as me and hubby had plans on Friday evening on our own I thought we’d do his choice. Dad had the biggest bowl of spaghetti and meatballs I have ever seen! Did a bit more shopping and back to the Mirage to get changed.

Me and hubby had tickets for the Scissor Sisters at the Palms Friday night. Went over there about 8pm as it started at 9. Never been to the Palms but it definitely had a younger feel. The concert was excellent and finished about midnight. There was a huge queue for taxis so we had another couple of beers. Got a taxi back to the Mirage about 1am and then spent several hours playing video poker and having a few drinks before grabbing a sandwich from the Carnegie deli and heading to bed a bit later than planned.

Saturday 11th September
Got up around lunch time and met dad. Went to Miracle Mile shops and then as we weren’t too hungry decided to go to Aria and have cake from Jean Phillippe for lunch. These cakes are amazing!! Still a bit tired so we went back to the Mirage for a few hours pool time.

Went over to First Food and Bar for dinner to have the most amazing BLT in the world. It has a chilli mayo in it and comes with eggs and it is excellent. Walk back to Caesars to get there early for Matt Goss! I loved Bros when I was younger so I was not missing out on the opportunity of seeing him. Hubby and dad weren’t quite as excited as me for some reason. We got excellent seats in the corner next to the piano. I thought the show was excellent and Matt was very good. Hubby liked the dancers a bit more than Matt though. Tickets only cost $50 and I’d definitely recommend it. I think it finished after midnight and we played a few slots and had some drinks and then we headed back to the Mirage for some more video poker and beers. Not sure what time we went to bed, I think it was quite late and I think we might have got some sandwiches from the Carnegie again.

Froggitt

photome wrote: »

Overrated by who?

I agree it needs a renovation and there is other places I would rather stay but for the money you pay..I just had a bungalow suite for $55 a night:j.

As for kettle and fridge. AFAIK there is NO hotels with a kettle in Vegas ( a few have coffee makers) unless you stay in a condo. And most hotels will provide a fridge if you ask, including the MGM

Does Signature count as a condo?

Boa21

January , February

ferf1223 wrote: »

Agreed - kettle usage in America is minimal...even in homes...I have never been in a hotel in the US with a kettle.

We had a kettle in the Carriage House (more an apartment than a hotel granted.) Mind you, it was an old fashioned job with a whistle that went on the hob:D

ferf1223

April

Froggitt wrote: »

Does Signature count as a condo?

Yes...I think it's officially a condo-hotel...to me if it has a kitchen or kitchenette, it's not a hotel room..at least not in the normal sense of the phrase.

totallybored

September

Sunday 12th September
We’d arranged to meet Dad at 12 but I was unable to drag myself out of bed so sent hubby to meet him for coffee and I followed a bit later. I was in need of junk food so we went to the In N Out on West Sahara which sorted me out and put me back into shopping mood so we went to the Premium Outlets again. Bought a few bits and went back to the Mirage for an hour by the pool.

We decided to go to Julian Serrano at Aria for dinner. Dad didn’t fancy it so said he’d grab something on his own. He ended up going to the Harley Davidson cafe for beer and ribs which he said he enjoyed. Julian Serrano was very good although I didn’t like the table location much which was next to the lobby rather than in the back of the restaurant. This is the only restaurant I’ve been in where I’ve seen Americans under order the amount of food they need! I don’t know if they just don’t understand how tapas works despite the waiters offering advice on how much to order to everyone or they just don’t want to spend any money. The table of 5 next to us ordered 2 tapas to share and then one 2 person sized paella to share between everyone and the couple on our other side shared 3 tapas. We had 4 tapas, a paella and then shared churros (which were excellent!). We certainly didn’t over order and didn’t feel the amount of food was too much compared to every other meal we’d eaten previously. All the food was very good although the paella did take a lot longer than the 30 minutes stated on the menu.
We then played some more slots and had quite a few drinks. I think I might have won something on a goldfish machine which became a new fave. We stayed until about 3am and took a taxi back.
Monday 13th September
I think we got up around lunch time again and as this was the last day with the car we headed to Town Square and then the other outlets. Got a few things but I don’t really like this outlet much. Went back to the Fashion Show Mall to pick up a few bits and got lunch in the food court. Arranged to meet dad later and spent a few more hours at the pool.
We met around 8.30 and took a taxi downtown. Saw the end of the Doors and I got a huge blue slushie thing which turned by tongue blue and dad and hubby got football beers! Went in a few casinos, dad watched the 10pm Queen show which he said was good while we stayed in the Fremont (I think) and took advantage of some $2 Coronas. I think we probably stayed until nearly midnight when we took a taxi back to the Mirage. I couldn’t resist the video poker again so another couple of drinks before bed.

Tuesday 14th September
Last day! Made hubby get up at 9 to drop the car keys back at the dollar desk. Got up around lunch time and meet dad and we walk over to Sephora for a few bits and then into the Venetian. Start to feel hungry so I decide we’ll go to Dos Caminos in the Palazzo for lunch. Dad isn’t keen on Mexican at all but I tell him there is a burger option so he’ll be fine. Food was ok, I had tacos and hubby a burrito but I’ve had better here at home (Chilango for example is much better). We walk back to the Mirage for a bit more pool time and arrange to meet about 8 again. I wanted to go to Aria again as I prefer the slots there so that’s where we go. Dad manages to put 1 $5 into a penny slot (although the minimum is 40c a go) and stay on the same machine for nearly 2 hours!! I on the other hand fed money into many machines with nothing in return. Hubby went off in search of the Andy Warhol but I told him to take some pics for me (there is an app you can download for the art around city centre too but there is no free wifi when you get there!!). We got a bit hungry so decided to go to Cafe Vetro for something to eat. There was hardly anyone in here. The waiter was really friendly though and we left more than 20% tip. Took a taxi back to the Mirage and had an early night around 12.

Wednesday 15th September
Our flight wasn’t until 1 so we checked out around 10am and took a taxi to the airport with what seemed like a luggage mountain. I’d checked in online the day before and hubby had printed out the boarding cards yet the unpleasant bag at the desk told us we couldn’t just drop our bags we had to use the self check in machine. Not sure what the point of having online check in was in that case!! Btw, the app works to check in but you can't use a mobile boarding card as that was unavailable). The flight back was via Dallas and this was a short flight. We had around 2.5 hours in Dallas so got a McDonalds despite just having had junk at Vegas airport as the flight to Heathrow would be about 9 hours and I wasn’t having plane food. The flight was full so unfortunately no spare seats but I did manage to sleep for a few hours.

Overall, we had an excellent time. I loved the Encore this time (had an issue there last time but this time it was fine). It’s such a shame that it’s so far from everything else. I felt it was a huge trek to even get to the Palazzo and that’s the reason we decided to only stay there 3 nights. I used to love the Mirage but I don’t think we’ll stay there again. The location is excellent and the pool is amazing but I feel I want something a little more up market and quieter next time. I think I would have preferred Aria but I was unsure about the pool and we got an excellent rate at the Mirage. I’m also thinking that maybe next time we should try the Mandarin if we go on our own. I’d like to fit in a sneaky xmas visit again but I don’t think it will be possible this year unfortunately.

I’ve now got no holidays planned and it’s quite depressing:(

BaileyB

Hi guys looking for some help off people who been before, we going in 8 days

What are your Top 3 things to do in Vegas? (food, shows, attractions etc), with a hugh amount of things to do just making a list of things we cannot miss out on.

Thanks

pennylane99

June

photome wrote: »

As for kettle and fridge. AFAIK there is NO hotels with a kettle in Vegas ( a few have coffee makers) unless you stay in a condo. And most hotels will provide a fridge if you ask, including the MGM

Mandarin Oriental has a kettle in the rooms, and a selection of complimentary teas

twinmumagain

Can anyone please give me some advice??

I have been lucky enough to wangle a week childfree for my 30th birthday next October(2011) and I have been wanting to go to Vegas for years!!
Hubby more than happy to tag along and kids happy at amount of presents we shall bring back

When is the best time to book?
What is the best hotel for a Vegas virgin?(it is mine and the Mr's first holiday together EVER so would like it to be special and would like to be on strip).
Can anyone give me a guide on money? How much to take? We would like to eat out a lot, shop a little, have the odd flutter and maybe a show or 2.

Thanks in advance