Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2010

Buzz78

Saturday 2nd
Ate brunch at Blizz in the Mirage – we had a huge crepe each, very nice, but couldn’t finish them.
Struggled to find two empty sun loungers by the pool, ended up having to ask the pool boy to help us, which he gladly did (yet another tip to dish out!). It soon started thundering, lifeguards’ whistles started going so everyone had to leave the pool area.
Shared a Tuna melt from the Carnegie Deli in the Mirage – took it back to room, and despite it being very nice, it was too big to finish even when sharing! The Carnegie Deli is a nice place to grab a casual bite in a Manhattan style deli environment.
Went back to the room for a lay down before getting ready to go out.
Set down at Carnegie’s for a ‘light’ dinner as neither of us were hungry. I couldn’t even finish the chicken salad (mounds of potato and coleslaw salad with it!).
Took the tram to TI to meet Rob and Abi. Got a taxi to Fremont street as there were 4 of us sharing.
Watched the Fremont Street Experience Queen show, had a walk around, bought some souvenirs (a lot cheaper than those on the strip), popped into a couple of bars for a sit down and a drink (again, drinks a lot cheaper). Me, Jacki and Rob had a brief game of blackjack, but after going on a rapid losing streak we decided to call it quits after about 20 minutes. Besides, Abi was looking a little bored already as she wasn’t playing.
Tip – if you’re intending to buy typical Las Vegas souvenirs, we found these (unsurprisingly) to be a lot cheaper in downtown shops than those found on the strip or in strip hotels.

Sunday 3rd
Checked out of Mirage and left bags there before having brunch again at Blizz.
Paid $15 each to go to the dolphin/lion enclosure at the Mirage. Well worth the money to see a range of dolphins, lions, tigers, leopards etc at such close quarters.
Picked our bags and got a taxi to Encore – we didn’t fancy the walk with our cases.
As I planned to pop the question and ask Jacki to marry me that evening, I left her looking after the bags before trying to ‘sweeten up’ the lady at check-in with a $40 trick in order to try and get an upgrade. Unfortunately she said there was only so much she could do (i.e. couldn’t upgrade us to a suite), but could give us a strip view room on 22nd floor. After this she asked if I wanted any change back from my $40. Of course by this stage I realised that in all likelihood I could have got the strip view room using just $20, but as I didn’t want to look like a cheapskate, I casually (through gritted teeth!) said that she could keep it. It also dawned on me later that she’d either forgotten or had chose to wave the $20 per night resort fee so that was an added bonus, especially as we were there for 4 nights.
Once we reached the room, even though it was a ‘standard room’ it was still amazing – huge, all the bells and whistles including automatic curtains and lights. Easily the best room of the stay and any other rooms I’ve seen.
Unpacked and got ready to go out. Headed to Mon Ami Gabi and put our name down to eat outside. We were told the waiting time was an hour, but it only took 15 minutes for our buzzer to go off and be seated. Note: Paris was the only hotel I’ve been in that wouldn’t accept our UK drivers licence as an acceptable form of ID in the bar when we tried to get a drink during our wait. However, neither the casino cocktail waitress nor the restaurant asked us for ID which seemed a strange policy.
Had a very nice meal (shared some mussels and then I had steak with fries and Jacki had chicken) whilst looking out over the strip and the Bellagio fountains. During the meal guy randomly approached us and offered us a glass of red wine each (which we gladly accepted) as apparently we looked like a nice couple (whatever that meant)! It turns out it cost $100 a bottle!
Walked across to watch the fountains where I planned to pop the question provided the next performance was to a suitable song. Thankfully it was Faith Hill, This Kiss (rather than My Heart will Go On or God Bless the USA!), so I popped down on one knee and asked Jacki to marry me, and thankfully she said yes! :jWe spent some more time by the fountains being all soppy and romantic before heading back to Encore.

Monday 4th
Rob and Abi came over to meet us at Encore before we picked up the hire car we’d reserved with Hertz at midday. Got a slight upgrade to a Mustang convertible (as opposed to the non-convertible we’d booked for £50), which thankfully had sat nav.
Headed off on the highway towards the Hoover Dam. Unfortunately there was a huge tail-back due to mud slides following some torrential downpours, so had to re-plot our root on the ‘B’ roads which meant we ended up driving through Lake Mead national park which made the drive a bit more scenic, so this actually worked out quite well, although the drive ended up taking 3 hours.
Got to the dam and following a brief torrential downpour we headed out to have a walk around. The dam was pretty much as expected, although Jacki said she was disappointed. The fact that I pointed out that this was one of the greatest engineering achievements of 20th century didn’t seem to sway her opinion!
Headed back toward Vegas late afternoon and stopped at a Taco Bell on the way back (expected more from my first Taco Bell). Turned off the highway and drove up the full length of the strip in the dark with the roof down which was cool. It was amazing how quickly you can drive up the strip when you’re not on the Deuce.
Dropped the car off in the car park and headed out with Rob and Abi for a walk around, watched the fountains and had a couple of drinks at the outside bar by Caesars (very expensive!).

Tuesday 5th
As we had the car until midday, we drove up to the pawn shop past the Stratosphere which features in the show ‘Pawn Stars’ which is shown on the History channel over here (well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it). Despite a 10 minute queue to get in (obviously we weren’t the only ones there due to the shop featuring on TV), the shop wasn’t as portrayed in the programme, i.e. lots of people in there wandering around, and none of the staff that appear on the show (Chumlee was nowhere to be seen). It was clear that what you see on TV is very staged!
Headed back to Encore and dropped the car off at Hertz. Had lunch at the ‘Pizza Place’ at the Wynn - very nice Pizza and salad and not too pricey. Also, a very nice spot to sit outside by the waterfall at the Wynn.
Went over to Fashion Show Mall and spent a lot of time (and money) in Abercrombie. Still, it’s a bargain compared to the prices over here. Jacki also grabbed a couple of bargains in Forever 21 (kind of like a Top Shop, but at Primark prices from what I could gather) and we also managed to buy Jacki an engagement ring (as I’d popped the question minus a ring!).
Tip – If you plan to go shopping in Macey’s, don’t forget to ask for you 10% out of town visitors discount. Also, when shopping, don’t forget to add on the (approximate) 8% shopping tax when considering the cost as this is only calculated once you get to the check-out.
Went back to Encore and got ready before heading out with Rob and Abi on their last night. We went back to Mon Ami Gabi, and again only had to wait 20 minutes for a table.
Tip - from our two experiences at Mon Ami Gabi I get the impression that they significantly over-quote the waiting time for an outside table, so don’t be out off if they say an hour, just be prepared that in all likelihood you’ll need to wait at least some time.
I ended up having a different steak with their fancy crispy fries (total cost of $23) which was equally as nice, although sadly no one offered us any free wine this time.
Again went across to watch the fountains before saying goodbye to Rob and Abi. We then went to the Mirage to use the last of our slot credits, and ended up actually cashing some out (a whopping $10 if I’m not mistaken!).

Wednesday 6th
Had a lie in before spending our last day by the pool. By this stage of the trip (last 4 or 5 days) the temperature had cooled significantly to around the mid 70’s. Ideally it would have been nice if the two extremes had averaged out over the 10 days.
Got ready back in the room and headed out fairly early on our last night. Went over to the Cheesecake Factory at Caesars. We waited for around 15 minutes for a seat and found it extremely chilly in there – and I usually embrace the cold air conditioning!
The food was ok, and although we’d read that the portions were massive (which they were), as we wanted different things we both ordered separate starters and mains. The food was perfectly nice, but our waiter was a little hap-hazard and tried to be a bit ‘too cool for school’, e.g. when we ordered a slice of cheesecake to share, he ended up handing it over from the raised railings by the till to the side of our table, as if you were handing something down to someone when you’re perched on a set of ladders! I also thought the ‘amazing’ cheesecake I’d heard so much about was a little overrated, I could take or leave it to be honest (I thought there was far too much cream), and probably preferred the cheesecakes I’ve had back home.
Stopped to watch the bizarre show by the pond/statues in Caesars, although I wish we hadn’t bothered. Then went on, yet again, for the final time to watch the fountains at the Bellagio. I honestly think I could sit there for hours on end just watching the world go by whilst waiting for the next show (provided Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On doesn’t get played back-to-back too often which was a little weird!)
Went back to Encore for a drink and ended up playing on the slots. Too bad that Jacki only found her favourite machine on the last night – boy did she love the ‘feature’ that kept coming into play with coupling music that sounded like it was the theme to Strictly Come Dancing! It’s safe to say though that we play slots mainly to get some cheaper drinks and to soak up a bit of the casino atmosphere rather than the hope of actually winning anything.

Thursday 7th
Up at 6:30am to check out and get our flight. I got excited when I found out there was Wi-Fi available on the Vegas-Chicago flight so paid the $7 for the sake of sending some emails from my iPhone simply saying “Wow, I’m sending this from 30,000 feet in the air!” Thankfully the flights and the connections went smoothly and we got back to Manchester early on Friday morning.
Managed to get some sleep before Jacki started planning out Vegas wedding for next year!

georgecostanza_2

October , November

I then see that all the convertibles listed are PT cruisers !? I hope that this is because all the decent looking cars i.e. mustangs have been allocated, and not because this is a change to their fleet. Anyone picked up a soft top from Dollar recently and can help calm my nerves ?[/QUOTE]

Update time ! I emailed carhire300 to change the pickup to the airport as I thought it would give me a better choice of cars. they emailed back to say £ 13 extra , I accepted and they emailed back to say they would update the voucher. And guess what ? They did not change a thing, they now deny knowledge of any reply from me, and there are no convertibales left at airport from Dollar.

Have now cancelled and now gone for Hertz instead !

Ruth_honey

October , November

Wow! Congratulations! Loved reading your trip report. Very interesting and have noted the tips. This time in 3 weeks, we'll be on our way to San Francisco for a few days, then VEGAS!!! :j

TangoBunny

September

TangoBunny wrote: »

I have a large collection of coupons and vouchers for money off if anyone wants them pm me your address and I'll post them to you

Thanks for the interest these have now found a home

scottish_lass

Really enjoying reading all the posts on this site. Planning on Vegas/San Francisco visit next year for Silver Wedding.
Looking for advice- travelling Aug (flexible but want to be in Vegas 9th Aug) looked at flights which are not cheap. Is there any pattern to airline flight sales or would I be better looking for a cheap package deal for this time of year. Flexible on amount of days etc and could easily add in another stopover. Looking for any advice. Thanks

Buzz78

Well as we're planning on getting married in Vegas next September, we're already starting to look at flight schedules, even though we've just got home from Vegas. We'll no doubt book flights first so we've got a definite arrival/departure date, and then worry about hotel arrangements further down the line when the better deals bexome available.

I'm sure a lot of other contributors are more in the know than I am, but from my experience over the last 3 years of travellling to Vegas and the west coast it certainly pays to do your research to see what the going rates are and then monitor them over the next couple of months to see how they fluctuate.

Kayak is a really good site for this as you can receive daily emails showing the cheapest flight available (and I never found a site that quoted a cheaper rate). However, it seems to me that flights to Vegas are now between £50-£100 more than they were last spring before the ash cloud fiasco, which I believe resulted in added premiums to all air fares. I'm hoping that the prices may dip slightly, but as a rule of thumb I think £500 return to Vegas/West coast USA is considered a very good rate these days.

I guess the problem you'll face next August is that it's during the school holidays so you're bound to pay inflated prices. But wait to see how prices change when the airlines have sales in the new year. Personally, I'm not looking to book our flights now, I'm willing to bide my time.

In addition to all that, I would suggest that if you do your homework you'll be able to disect any package deals to see if you're really getting a good offer, i.e. I fail to see how any Virgin packages can ever be considered as good value for money.

Anyway, I hope that's been of some use to you, and good luck with the planning.

scottish_lass wrote: »

Really enjoying reading all the posts on this site. Planning on Vegas/San Francisco visit next year for Silver Wedding.
Looking for advice- travelling Aug (flexible but want to be in Vegas 9th Aug) looked at flights which are not cheap. Is there any pattern to airline flight sales or would I be better looking for a cheap package deal for this time of year. Flexible on amount of days etc and could easily add in another stopover. Looking for any advice. Thanks

pennylane99

June

Travelzoo has discounted tickets for Rod Stewart at Colosseum

http://www.travelzoo.com/entertainment/las-vegas/906622/

ymgirl

WHAT WOULD YOU DO!?

I am in the final preparation stage for our first trip to Vegas next week. I have spent months studying this informative forum and my partner is wondering what I will do with my time when I get back and I have no more planning to do!

On the weekend I purchased my dollars from Debenhams. I double checked on the way out and found I had been given $60 too much.We were running late for an appointmnet so had to go there but when finished I had to go back to hand in my ill gotten gains!

The chap was surprised, thrilled and very relieved I had returned - I was almost hoping he wouldl say lets split the difference!!

My partner and I have been pondering - who would have gone back and who would have put the extra $60 on black?

Ruth_honey

October , November

ymgirl wrote: »

WHAT WOULD YOU DO!?

I am in the final preparation stage for our first trip to Vegas next week. I have spent months studying this informative forum and my partner is wondering what I will do with my time when I get back and I have no more planning to do!

On the weekend I purchased my dollars from Debenhams. I double checked on the way out and found I had been given $60 too much.We were running late for an appointmnet so had to go there but when finished I had to go back to hand in my ill gotten gains!

The chap was surprised, thrilled and very relieved I had returned - I was almost hoping he wouldl say lets split the difference!!

My partner and I have been pondering - who would have gone back and who would have put the extra $60 on black?

"my partner is wondering what I will do with my time when I get back and I have no more planning to do!" Start planning your next visit???

Given that we lost £1111 with Crown Currency, I'd think my luck was finally changing and keep the money for a nice meal in Vegas.
If it was over £50, then I might have given it back, but I doubt Debenhams would miss it that much to be honest. Well done on being so honest. Good karma! :T

trets77

Buzz78 wrote: »

Well as we're planning on getting married in Vegas next September, we're already starting to look at flight schedules, even though we've just got home from Vegas. We'll no doubt book flights first so we've got a definite arrival/departure date, and then worry about hotel arrangements further down the line when the better deals bexome available.

I'm sure a lot of other contributors are more in the know than I am, but from my experience over the last 3 years of travellling to Vegas and the west coast it certainly pays to do your research to see what the going rates are and then monitor them over the next couple of months to see how they fluctuate.

Kayak is a really good site for this as you can receive daily emails showing the cheapest flight available (and I never found a site that quoted a cheaper rate). However, it seems to me that flights to Vegas are now between £50-£100 more than they were last spring before the ash cloud fiasco, which I believe resulted in added premiums to all air fares. I'm hoping that the prices may dip slightly, but as a rule of thumb I think £500 return to Vegas/West coast USA is considered a very good rate these days.

I guess the problem you'll face next August is that it's during the school holidays so you're bound to pay inflated prices. But wait to see how prices change when the airlines have sales in the new year. Personally, I'm not looking to book our flights now, I'm willing to bide my time.

In addition to all that, I would suggest that if you do your homework you'll be able to disect any package deals to see if you're really getting a good offer, i.e. I fail to see how any Virgin packages can ever be considered as good value for money.

Anyway, I hope that's been of some use to you, and good luck with the planning.

what he said ^^^

no there is not a magic pearl of wisdom of when the prices will come down or a sale will start .

best bet lots and lots of regular searching . i remember when flew with BMI back in the day . for months the prices were £500 each direct or more , then one day ...boom £292 ( never going to see that sort price again in this lifetime ) .i was straight on the phone to Mrs Trets and had booked by phone within the half hour . price lasted 3 days and then shot back up to £500 .

keep a careful eye out before Xmas time . lots of people start thinking about holidays after Xmas . see anything good for sub £500 my advice is book it

i would also type my dates in to as many carrier sites direct as well .