Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

wdyw

ferf1223 wrote: »

Don't be silly - if you took out all my wafflewafflewaffle you would have about 10 sentences - really enjoyed reading about your trip...hubby squealed with glee when I told him about your comment about F1 and Riviera - that's a great bit of info which he plans to explore at a later date.

Was it your report that listed the planes taking off from Nellis? Why were there so many non USAF planes there? An air show?

kellyt1981

April

Just been having a look round at various Vegas sites and came across this on Smartervegas.com. Thought it might be of some use to someone......

50% Off Masquerade and Carioca Suites at the Rio Las Vegas - From: $100/nt
Code: 50SUITE
Offer Expires: May 31, 2011

Great offer but unfortunatley i need a place with two beds.

ferf1223

March

wdyw wrote: »

Was it your report that listed the planes taking off from Nellis? Why were there so many non USAF planes there? An air show?

Hubby says global training exercise...he'd read about it in the LVRJ before we left (he reads Norm's column regularly) but didn't actually expect to see anything, just happened we were in the right place at the right time. He was most excited about the stealth bombers. He says he has video clips he could upload to youtube if you want.

ferf1223

March

adamg wrote: »

great trip report ferf!
saw you went into excalibur what did you think, as I am staying there in august,

Hi - I don't have an issue with Excalibur...we stayed there our first few trips 8, 9, 10 years ago...it was always fine. We only noticed loads of kids when we were there during school holidays, otherwise it was OK in this respect we thought. The room we had was basic but a good size - no bath which is an issue for some, but not for us. I know that at least some of the rooms have been renovated in the last few years.

As for the property itself, again, it doesn't bother us...it's not an upscale place, but sometimes we don't want upscale...would we stay there now? Probably not as we get some really great offers from places we prefer. But we don't think it's an awful place, it is what it is - if price is an issue, we would likely choose it over some of the other options like Circus Circus, Imperial Palace (sorry, we just don't like the place), Stratosphere, etc...are there better places for not a lot more money? Yes, probably...but sometimes people prefer to save on the room and spend more elsewhere. We prefer being mid-strip now, others don't see that as an issue.

I know some will disagree completely, but that's the nice thing about Vegas, there's something for everyone and everyone has an opinion.

photome

August

secretmachines wrote: »

photome and dodger1... thanks

i've played the blackjack tables in Sweden (they have at least one in every licenced place it seems)... great to know that you can tell the croupier you're a novice, that should help... I remember walking through the Bellagio last time and there being plenty of empty tables, will pick one and a croupier with a friendly face ;-)

I appreciate the croupiers are there to do their job, but do they chat much? What are the lowest stakes, generally, for blackjack and roulette?

I think there was a channel on the room TV which had lessons/info too.

As for the slots... I think youtube might be my friend!

Roullette generally $10 minimum with $1 chips but more and more $25 I found last time. As Luci says Casino Royale has lower limits.

Blackjack I dont play, but I do play various types of poker and can usually find a $5 table with a bit of hunting but even then it will be $15/$20 minimum per hand

jadamcp

(Our 6th visit to Las Vegas) Very similar to last couple of trips !

Saturday 5th

Early morning flight from Glasgow – Heathrow with BMI – easy flight with it only being 25% full.

A couple of hour wait at Heathrow, then onto a United Airlines 777 to LA with a configuration of 2 -5 –2, thankfully by booking early we got 2 seats by the window around row 36. Flight was almost full. IFE was a small 4-5 inch screen with several movies running in a loop every couple of hours. Service, food and drinks were good and the 10.5 hours passed in about 10 hours.

Off at LA, 35 minutes to go through Immigration and then outside for a nicotine fix for Mrs McP, back through security then onto a small United Jet (Canadian 600 I think) configuration was 1-2 and held about 60 people, 55 minutes later was landed at McCarran in LV arriving around 4:30 PM (Vegas time or 00:30 UK time)

An hour or so later arrive at Bills, first off the Shuttle bus and into Bills, given room with a good view on the third floor (tip clerk on the strength of this and arrive at room 314 - overlooking the Bellagio fountains and Ballys so we were well pleased.
Head down for a couple of drinks at Bills, walk as far as the Mirage to soak up the Saturday night atmosphere, head into Casino Royalle for a $1 Michelob then back to Bills for a nightcap in the room watching the fountains and sleeping before midnight.

Sunday

Up at 05:00, out for about 8:00 and have our first visit to Ellis Island on this trip, 20 minute wait for Breakfast which was excellent, service and coffee refills was great too.

Fashion Show Mall was visited in the afternoon, spent about $150 in Macys, OH was also looking for a wedding outfit for our daughters wedding, no luck on this occasion either a Macys or Dillards. We also went to the Abercrombie store at FSM, no real deals on anything (same as last visit) so we left empty handed.

For dinner we went to Hash House a Go Go in the Imperial Palace, made good use of our Rest.com voucher and accepted without any problems. We heard the portions were large and decided on a main course each with a beer and Glass of Chardonnay.
I had Andy’s Crispy Hand Hammered Pork Tenderloin, OH had Pan Seared Chicken with fried polenta. Both were very good, but next time we’ll share a starter then main course, as it was just too much food.

Home to Bills for a refreshment in the room and watch the Bellagio fountains

jadamcp

Monday

We go shopping – First we visit Ross down near MGM, spending at Town Square – mostly in Abercombie & Fitch and get a few good priced deals. Then down to Las Vegas Outlet Centre where I manage to get a couple of pairs of denims.

In the afternoon we shop at Ross up beside Riviera and spend another couple of hours in here spending $170, in Ross you can get a lot for your dollar

40 - 50 mile per hour winds in Vegas in the evening where we ate at Ellis Island Barbecue – wait was 2 hours but a we like to sit at the bar, it was only a 75 minute wait as we asked to be seated outside, pretty breezy and smoky out there but as there was a Full Rack of ribs we could quite easily put up with this.

Tuesday

We go shopping again, Ross down near the Riviera, good value but you have to be patient and we shop in the morning when we are freshest.

More shopping in the afternoon, this time at FSM at Macys, several wedding outfits looked at in Macys again, then on to Stripburger for Burgers and Strawberry shakes

At night we go to The Lion King at Mandalay Bay - we had a couple of drinks at the bar outside the theatre area $14 for a cocktail and a bud lite which I thought wasn’t too bad. At The Lion King we had front row seats courtesy of a travelzoo deal $80 each – it was a fantastic show and well worth the money.

photome

August

kellyt1981 wrote: »

Just been having a look round at various Vegas sites and came across this on Smartervegas.com. Thought it might be of some use to someone......

50% Off Masquerade and Carioca Suites at the Rio Las Vegas - From: $100/nt
Code: 50SUITE
Offer Expires: May 31, 2011

Great offer but unfortunatley i need a place with two beds.

On the subject of Smartervegas has anyone else thought that the site isnt getting updated as regularly as it used to be, and I dont seem to be getting as many emails from them either

jadamcp

Wednesday

Mrs McP’s birthday, go shopping to Town Square again for another Abercrombie & Fitch fix ($120), much better value than Fitch store at FSM. Then for lunch we go to a lovely Italian Restaurant (Brio Tuscan Grill) We manage to get a seat outside in the sunshine. We both Caesars Salad, I have Clam and Shrimp Risotto which was lovely and spicy, OH has the best Lasagne she has tasted. Both inside and outside the restaurant were almost full and this was at 12:30 in the afternoon. Recommended!

As a wee Birthday treat (not including the Radley handbag or Carvela shoes) we go Downtown for a night in the Golden Nugget, really lovely hotel, booked a Carson Tower room on Expedia for £29 and it was fantastic, the room was immaculate and very large with a view over the Plaza and hills beyond.

We sunbathed for 1.5 hours in the very hot pool area drinking 2 beers/margaritas in the process, and then it’s out for a wander to find beer and Champagne for the room.
Overall we were really impressed with the Nugget and we’ll maybe spend a couple of days there on our next trip.

We eat at Magnolias at night in the 4 Queens, get seated on the veranda overlooking the Black Jack tables which was fun to watch, we both had soup/salad, prime rib and then shared a Cheesecake – really good food and service. Spent a couple of hours wandering around downtown, watched a stage show (including my first ever pole dance) and two light shows then it was time for bed

Thursday

Golden Nugget for Breakfast Buffet, great selection rounded off with desserts. ($11 with ACG 2 for 1 voucher) As we were downtown we went over to Premium outlets, but surprisingly never bought anything in the Coach Shop.

In the afternoon we took some time out, chilled on the strip enjoying the sunshine for most of the afternoon in front of Ballys people watching.

In the evening we went to Ellis Island for drinks and food – Asian night – so much food – 2 small starters, huge main courses and desert and a Mai Tai cocktail, all for $11. Waddle back to Bills intending to drink some more but head to room and we’re sleeping within an hour

jadamcp

Friday

We go shopping again, Ross down near the Riviera and use up almost all our dollars, where we got some really nice clothes and another two possible wedding outfits!!

Lunch at Cosmopolitan Buffet ($21 each) Again very good quality food, close to the Wynn buffet. As said previously on the forum, all small portions which really suit us, highlight was the mushroom polenta, plus toffee apples or chocolate strawberries.

At night after a few beers/wines watching Big Elvis’s last show we go up the Eiffel Tower using one of the 2 for 1 tickets out of ACG – had a wait of 20 minutes to go up, it seemed much longer to go down and as I was still full of beer and desperate for the loo. Then over to Ellis Island for a few more shandies, had a couple of Pizza slices sitting at the bar, then watched a bit of Karaoke then home to Bills

Saturday

Try the Victorian Suite in Bills but it’s a 75 minute wait, so over to Ellis Island for Breakfast. Finished packing, just got the cases shut and checked out around 11,

Flights from LV to Glasgow were the same as the way out and on Sunday we arrive in the UK. Onto BMI flight BD6, which blows a tyre just close to take off – it woke me up! 2.5 hours later we are in the air again after a replacement and arrive in Glasgow to sleet showers and a 40-minute journey home

Likes
Love people watching on the bridges at Bills, even better than the fountains
Love shopping in Vegas with no need for a car.
Loved meals at Cosmopolitan and Brio Tuscan Grill.
Love Ellis Island ribs.

Dislikes
Too many beggars for my liking, has got much worse in past couple of years, !!!!!! slappers don’t really bother me now.

So there you have it, last trip for a while and no chance of going again this year due to a bit of an outlay for a daughter's wedding.

I'll still check this forum daily just in case any flights sub £500 appear from Glasgow. We live in hope:)