Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

wdyw

Froggitt wrote: »

Virgin and BA have a monopoly on direct flights to LAS.

..duopoly!

...but then again Thomas Cook also flies direct.

A triopoly!!! An oligopoly with three sellers of direct flights!

wdyw

Froggitt wrote: »

Sleazyjet arent half as bad as Ryanair.

but if its wasn't for Ryanairs extra charges sensible people wouldn't be able to pick up flights for a few quid. I've got absolutely no problem flying for a fiver if I get that price simply because many pay for baggage/ credit card etc etc.

who needs baggage for Vegas ..we were once stopped going into the USA at Vegas as they thought we had too little baggage for a 2/3 week stay.

zackary71

Booked Absinthe for my 40th !!!
The $20 discount is still working on ticketmaster website so tickets worked out about £47 each.

stoneman

October

wdyw wrote: »

who needs baggage for Vegas ..we were once stopped going into the USA at Vegas as they thought we had too little baggage for a 2/3 week stay.

euww lovely;)

photome

August

stoneman wrote: »

euww lovely;)

But its such a dry heat in Vegas that you dont sweat, so no problem

bubble113

August

cas20 wrote: »

Fistly thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread - i've got loads of great ideas from it.
But I have a question about taking an extension lead - has anyone had any problems with the different voltage in the US? I'm a bit concerned that if I have various chargers and a hairdryer plugged in that it might blow the plug.

Thanks

I find my GHD's never get hot enough.....

bubble113

August

Spursman180 wrote: »

Just come off the strip after 10 days in Harrahs, genuinely my first and last stay on the strip, my mate was desperate to stay mid strip and like a mug I agreed. Harrahs itself was fine as a hotel, the buffet was pants, only went the once though.

Love Vegas but didn't appreciate how difficult it was to move about various parts on foot, the stretch of pavement between H's, IP & Flamingo was clogged at best with touts, flickers and just people. Best thing between all 3 was Johnny Rockets, great shakes and very decent burgers.

Was supposed to transfer to the Orleans but booked in to the Silverton. Decent location for the last 2 nights $121 for 2nights Inc fees and taxes. 10 minute drive from the outlet and South Point, bit further to M. Free shuttles to airport, outlet and strip. Facilities look good. Sitting here now for about 3 hours and no one has tried bumming a ciggie off me. Feeling relaxed, all I need now is a coffee and a drop out of the machines.

Supposed to log in for Internet but it looks like Starbucks works in the room, sitting here playing fire opals, using the IPad.

Feeling cool, later

I agree about strip I didn't enjoy it as much this time but loved South Point and Silverton.

We could walk home from Silverton. It's not for everyone as its alot quieter but that just means quicker drinks!:beer: Apparently they are the tallest "free" drinks in Vegas. The poker room is quiet but friendly, Barbara lovely dealer. I lost on poker one night and went to play 1c Sirens slot, 60c a bet second press $435 spin! back to poker :T. I also like the progressive pai gow poker but was not kind to me this time. Do you know what the current progressive is at please?

cloudy_nines

September

Hi all,

This was our second trip to Vegas. Last time we stayed 12 nights, this time 14. We loved it and without the tips and pointers on this site and trip advisor our trip would not have been so good, so wanted to do a TR both here and TA.

I won't do a day by day account as it will just be too long, so I will break it into categories.

FLIGHTS

Flew indirect with Delta. Would have preferred direct for obvious reasons, but the saving between us was £500 so it was a no brainer. We flew with Delta last year so knew what to expect. We flew from LHR to JFK and then onto SFO. We spent the first 5 days in San Francisco (which was excellent I must add) before going to Vegas.

Flight from London was fine. The food with Delta is good (had chicken with mash which was delish) and I like the IFE and seating layout (2 -3 -2).

Was due to leave JFK on time and as we were going to pull away, there was a fault with the plane door.....2 hours later we left and we were not allowed to leave the plane. It was horrible, hot and we were so tired This is not Delta's fault and of course it is better to be safe than sorry, but my god it was a very long day.

Flying back from LAS to JFK was again good. It was a 7am flight though, and we decided (stupidly) not go to to bed that night.....ouch!! By the time we landed in London we had been up for 36 hours. I slept from 3pm yesterday until 11pm and then went back to sleep at 2am and woke up at 6am this morning. I hope I will be OK now !!

Had a 3 hour stop over at JFK, so went to the duty free, had lunch at a nice restaurant and the time went fast. However, when we got on the homeward bound flight and we left our departure gate, I have never in my life seen so many planes ready to leave the airport. There must have been no less than 20 planes scattered around waiting for departure. I thought to myself that we will not be leaving at 6.35pm......indeed it was not until 8.15pm that we were in the air. What a nightmare. Could not sleep on the plane as I am quite a nervous flier, and we hit some mild turbulence and that was it for me, sat bolt upright until we landed in London.

I would go indirect again, but will probably avoid connecting at JFK!!

HOTELS

We stayed 3 nights at Golden Nugget, 4 nights at Tropicana, 3 nights at Aria and 4 nights at The Cosmopolitan.

GOLDEN NUGGET
We stayed here last trip as well as we like downtown and the vibe, prices and atmosphere. Did not disappoint. Tried upgrade trick which did not work. Was told they were busy and the first night would have to be in a smoking room. Was not overly pleased with this, but when we got to the room we were pleasantly surprised as there was no smoke smell, the room was big and we had a strip view. We didn't bother changing the next day.
We had 2 beds, but they were small, smaller than our bed at home (we have a kingsize). We decided to sleep separately!! It was Ok, not ideal. We could have slept together of course, but would have been uncomfortable. Our room was a long way from the elevator, but as it is so quick to get to fremont from the hotel, it wasn't really an issue.
PRO's of this hotel;
* Best hotel downtown IMHO
* Really good price, £82 for 3 nights
* Liked the swimming pool, but the one free day we had to spend at the pool it was too cold!!
* Like the casino although the croupiers we encountered were really miserable!
CON's
* Sounds silly, but not on the strip
* Small bed

Overall I love this hotel and would stay again if spending time downtown.

TROPICANA
Wow, was really pleasantly surprised! Booked it because the prices in Vegas for these 4 nights elsewhere were ridiculous. I assume the fight and Mexican independence day put the prices up. Was really not expecting much but after our stay would not hesitate to stay again if the price was right and we wanted something cheap.
We popped in the Trop last year for a hypnosis show whilst it was being remodelled and did not like it. However, not the work is done, it is a very light, airy, inviting hotel.

We spent 3 days by the pool, no problem getting a sun lounger. The first day we were right by the entrance for Nikki Beach and it was a Saturday and the music was very loud. The other two days we made sure we were at the other end of the pool where it was a lot quieter. The water was freezing, but it was so hot, that it was needed. Like this pool. Didn't bother with Nikki Beach, not our scene, so cannot comment.

Our room to strip was approx 1 minute. We were on the 16th floor, with a strip view which we got just by asking. Only downside was we heard every noise from the strip - ambulances in particular being loud, but it wasn't really an issue. Rooms are bright, with a big bed, chaise lounge, flat screen TV, wi-fi as part of the resort fee.

Casino was small, but adequate. Minimum bets started at $10 so within our budget. They also have a small poker room, played a couple of times but was not very busy (this was over a weekend).

Thought the location would be a pain, but it really was not. I think this is because it is so quick to get from room to strip. Out the hotel, over the walk way and you are either at Excalibur or MGM. No more than 5 mins from room.

PRO's;
* Room - big, modern, light
* Small but good casino
* Like the Pool
* Easy to get to strip from room
* Nice feel to whole hotel
CON's
* Lack of restaurants (not an issue to us, just being picky)
* Freezing pool water (again not an issue to us, but would be if the weather was cooler)
* Not very busy poker room

ARIA

I don't know why, but I just really fancied staying here! Glad we did, as it is a lovely hotel. The casino is too pricey for us, but the hotel has a great feel to it.

Our room was on the 17th floor, over looking the Cosmopolitan next door, no real great view, but was OK. The issue was the walk from the elevator, I just did not realise how big this hotel is, it is so deceiving! I absolutely loved our room, despite the walk.....I loved the fact as we walked in, the curtains automatically opened and the TV had my name on it! Very high tech, everything in the room can be controlled by a control panel which we really liked.

The Aria has 3 pools, all very similar in size and appearance. We spent one day by the pool. A lot more calm than the Trop and there were plenty of beds available. Water was not as cold and no loud music pumping.

What I didn't like tho (and maybe we missed a trick here) was the trek to get to the strip. We went through Crystals, caught the tram to the Bellagio and then walked all the way through Bellagio! 20/25 minutes each way.....don't get me wrong, we dont mind walked but it was a bit much and would put us off staying again.

We really liked the hotel, service, atmosphere, pools and design.

COSMOPOLITAN

Thought we would save the best for last and boy this hotel did not disappoint!

We snagged a 1 bed terrace premium view via a price mis match on Netflights. We paid £500 for 4 nights, which included a Friday and Saturday. In fact when we went to check in, they had us down for a non-premium view room & told us we had to pay to upgrade to a room with a view. Thankfully I had our confirmation from Netflights on me which quite clearly stated premium room, so after the check in guy made a call, it was agreed we could have this room - phew!

This deal also included a free brunch at the Wicked Spoon each day. I did not know this when I booked it, so this was a VERY pleasant surprise.

Anyway, the room - OH MY GOD !!!! Love love love LOVED it. Best room we have ever stayed in. EVER. Two tv's, view of the Bellagio fountains, sofa, balcony and the biggest and deepest bath you could ever imagine. Plus lots of little touches with books, ornaments and funky toilet decor made the room complete. Felt like celebrities, or at least people with lots of money! Haha. We kinda felt out of place in a way, cos we don't have a lot of money. We made sure we spent time in this room and we used the bath every day There is something pretty special standing on that balcony watching the fountains dance to the music, especially as the sun sets.

We wanted peace and quiet so asked for a quiet room and were given a room on the 20th floor in the West tower. We had room 2029, and it could not have been closed to the elevator. In fact, our room was the first one from the elevator, brill.

The actual hotel is just so funky and trendy, but far too expensive to gamble. Our fave table game (Pai Gow Poker) has a minimum $25 bet. Dislike. However, as the hotel was so central, it was not really an issue.

It is really hard to describe this hotel....there are lots of cool features and it is visually pleasing. We didn't get to the pool area, we had a look on the Saturday, but it was rammed with young 20 somethings, there was no room for sit or even go in the pool so gave it a miss.

Would not hesitate in staying here again, but I very much doubt we will get that room and that price again!!!

GAMBLING

We like to play Poker (cash and tournaments), Pai Gow Poker and Crazy 4 Poker.

Until this holiday, I have never played a slot machine, but did this time round...

The first week was terrible! We lost every single time we sat down to play, no matter what it was we played. It was getting depressing and boring to be honest and we were starting to question our Vegas love!

Anyway, 1 week in, everything changed. We both sat down to play cash poker at the Mirage. We play separately and after about 2 hours or so I was $100 up, was starting to lose a few hands, and decided to quit whilst I was ahead. ( I know $100 doesn't sound a lot, but based on our experience up to now, this was good!!!). Anyway, my husband wanted to continue so I went off to play some Pai Gow Poker. This was OK, I walked away even after about 90 mins of play. Went back to my hubby but he still wanted to continue. I wondered around the casino and saw these Wizard of Oz machines I have read a lot about on here. I sat down and put in $20. Within about 5 mins my money was gone. A bit disillusioned I thought I would put in one more $20 , wondering why people rave about these machines. Anyway, next minute, the red slippers click together and the machine just starts going mad. After about 2/3 minutes of the machine "ding ding ding ding dinging" I assume I have a won a few hundred $$$. So I press cash out, and to my disbelief, I have won over $1000! I couldnt believe it. I rushed back to my husband who was still playing poker, who also couldn't believe it and then went to the cashier to collect.

From then on, we both played a few slot machines, but needless to say we never won like that again!! So to anyone that has recommended or mentioned the WOZ machines, thank you!

The next day, I sat at a Monopoly machine and Bellagio, put in $20, hit a bonus and left $300 richer - nice!

On our penultimate day, we went to The Flamingo to look at the wild life habitat and after that my husband went off to play poker, whilst I sat at the Crazy 4 table. I got talking to a guy from New York, who recommended a new table game to me - 2 way winner. He said it was a slow burner and gives you the option to play either blackjack or Texas Hold 'em depending upon your two cards and the dealers Up card. Intrigued, I gave it a go. My only regret is why did I not discover this game earlier!! I literally could not stop winning and spent the best past of our last 2 days playing this and I walked away $600 up over the 2 days. It was because of this game that we did not go to bed the last night, we just stayed up til 3.30 playing it before going back to the Cosmo, packing and leaving for the airport at 5am for our 7am flight back home. The Flamingo is the ONLY hotel on the strip which offers this game and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If anyone wants more information on this, how to play, etc etc, just ask.

Overall, it was a good gaming trip, despite our losses in the first 7 days. Our final day was the best, I played a mixture of 2 way winner, Pai Gow and Crazy 4 and won on each. I have come home with $700 in my pocket - nice.

FOOD

We ate at many places over the 2 weeks, but want to comment specifically on the following;

COMME CA @ The Cosmo
* Used the travel zoo voucher, $79 for 4 courses. Absolutely excellent value and the food was something else. We both had the French Onion soup to start which was the best soup we have ever had, but ever so filling. For main course, I had the beef bourginion (sp??) and my husband had the salmon. My beef was so tender and melt in the mouth. For dessert, I had the profiteroles and my husband the creme brulee. The profiteroles has ice cream in the centre as opposed cream (which is good as I do not like cream) and were hand made. Absolutely delicious. Had a bottle of the house white. The service was fantastic and the voucher included the tax which was unexpected. We tipped $40 which may be too much, but we thought it was worth it. The waitress could not believe it and thanked us ever so much.
We would highly recommend this restaurant.

STRIP BURGER
* Ate here last trip as well, but after snagging the $25 rest.com voucher, ater here again. Had the hickory burger and chips with melted cheese. Without a shadow of a doubt, the best burger I have ever had and the chips literally melted in the mouth. Yum yum yum!!

MON AMI GABI @ Paris
* 2 hour wait for a patio table, but we were prepared to wait and were not disappointed. Given a buzzer, so we went to play some pai gow whilst we waited. The food was a good. I had the onion soup (again!!) for starter and a burger for my main. My husband didn;t have a starter as he was having the strip steak for his main. It was $40 and he told me it was the best steak he has ever had. Neither of us like the fries though. Both is us too full for desert.

TOP OF THE WORLD @ The Strat
* Haha, I told me hubby to wear a shirt as it was quite posh, but he didn't listen. When we got there, they explained it was collared shirts only and so they had to lend him one. Hehehe, we had a great laugh. Their shirt is not so good - it was bright orange and massive. He looked like a massive pumpkin sat next to me and stood out like a beacon. We were crying with laughter, but I don't think he will go to a posh restaurant without a collared shirt again!!
*Aside from that, the service, food and restaurant setting was fabulous. We had the chicken for main course (cant remember the name exactly) and it was fantastic. Very pricey though, but worthwhile in my opinion. The revolving top makes the restaurant unique and the views spectacular.

GRAND LUX @ The Palazzo
* Ate here last time and enjoyed. We grabbed a meal at 11.30pm after we saw a show as we were hungry and missed dinner before hand. It is open 24 hours which I didn't realise. I had a salad and their equivilant of "chips and gravy" which was really really nice. Husband had a burger which he loved.

WICKED SPOON @ The Cosmo
* As mentioned earlier, this was free for us. It is worth $30 per head and is actually brunch, running from 8 - 3pm. I am NOT a buffet fan at all, but my husband is. I was not overly bothered about eating here but as it was free I thought why not? Anyway, it was excellent. I usually fund buffets tend to focus on quantity over quality. However, this was different, and the quality and choice of food was excellent. Would definitely recommend. I would especially recommend the ice cream for dessert.

SECRET PIZZA @ The Cosmo
* Have read good things about this place so was keen to try out. Found it easily enough on the third floor. However, were we both a little disappointed. Yes the pizza was good, but we both thought the pizza slice we had the day before at Paris was better. Would not rush to go back!

HOUSE OF BLUES @ Mandalay Bay
* We had a rest.com voucher for here and so we sat down to eat. However, we were told 10 mins later that the voucher was actually for the Foundation room a the House of Blues. We didn;t even know they were any different and didn't see the Foundation Room. However, they said they would accept the voucher anyway so it was fine. I had a the Jambalaya which was sooooooooo nice ! My husband had the hot chicken wings which he loved but said they were ever so spicy. Nice restaurant , nice setting and good vibe - would recommend

Other places we ate at were;
* Cheesecake factory - portions were so large, the food lasted 2 days!
* Munch Bar @ Ceasers - cheap and cheerful, had very late at nights, had these lovely waffle fries with chilli con carne on top of them, yum
* Mcfaddens @ Rio - again cheap and cheerful but nothing special
* Carson Street Cafe @ Golden Nugget - again cheap and cheerful but nothing to specifically comment on
* Had a really really chocolatey crepe at that place in the Bellagio (cant remember the name, but it is the one with the massive chocolate fountain!). I love chocolate, but even this was too much for me and I only managed half.

I know we ate at others places, but my mind has gone completely blank!

SHOWS/EXCURSIONS etc

Day trip to LA with Avatar Tours - we really wanted to see LA but had no real inclination to actually stay there. The tour was good and our tour guide (Randy) really friendly and informative. However, the day is ever so long. We were picked up at 6am and returned to our hotel at 9.30pm. It seemed to take FOREVER to get out of LA but Randy said the traffic was light!! We went to Hollywood Boulevard, saw the walk of fame, kodak theatre and the hollywood sign from here (you can no longer get so close due to new restrictions which was disappointing but we understood. Randy said the last time he tried to get close, he was caught and had a $200 + fine). We then spent time at Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Beach as well as a drive round the Celeb homes. We saw what we wanted to see and at least we can say we have been there, but would have no desire to go there on holiday.

Le Reve @ Wynn - Really good show, nice setting but I don't think the price was worth it (personally). We had a travelzoo deal which made it cheaper.

Lion King @ M Bay - Excellent show! First time we had seen it and we now understand why it is so popular.

Legends in Concert @ Harrahs - Got cheap tickets and was not expecting much. However, we were very pleasantly surprised with this show. The Michael Jackson & Gaga impersonators were the best.

Penn & Teller @ Rio - For some reason I was so tired during this show! It was good, but some tricks were much better than others. I didn't know that Teller doesn't speak!!

Qua Spa @ Ceasers - We went there last year so knew what to expect. We had the same mid week cheap massage for $110. Excellent value, great spa and was really needed after all our walking

Scoot City tour @ Red Rock canyon - found out about this via this site and had the groupon voucher for 50% off. Very very good and would also highly recommend. Went on the Sunday morning am tour and had the blue car. Both took it in turns driving and it was so fun!!

I think this pretty much completes our trip report.

Hope you enjoyed. There are loads more I could add, but I realise this is long and it's taken ages!

We would love to go back to Vegas, but it just depends on other commitments at the moment. Never say never though!!

Thanks for reading :j

Triker

March

cloudy_nines wrote: »

FOOD


TOP OF THE WORLD @ The Strat
* Haha, I told me hubby to wear a shirt as it was quite posh, but he didn't listen. When we got there, they explained it was collared shirts only and so they had to lend him one. Hehehe, we had a great laugh. Their shirt is not so good - it was bright orange and massive. He looked like a massive pumpkin sat next to me and stood out like a beacon. We were crying with laughter, but I don't think he will go to a posh restaurant without a collared shirt again!!
*Aside from that, the service, food and restaurant setting was fabulous. We had the chicken for main course (cant remember the name exactly) and it was fantastic. Very pricey though, but worthwhile in my opinion. The revolving top makes the restaurant unique and the views spectacular.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::T


Fab TR, thanks for the details. Sounds like you had a mega deal at the Cosmo too, well done.:D

TrishaM

January / February

I have been following this thread for ages, but there is sooo much to take in... I am taking my 14 year old to Vegas in Feb for 1 week during the half term break. I haven't booked a hotel yet, and really would like some ideas. would prob like to stay on the strip and I thought the Mirage might be a good one. Where would be the cheapest place to book this? Or if anyone has any suggestions for other places. Of course we will not be gambling, but will hire a car to go out to Boulder and red Rock. Would like to do the canyon but think we should fly over it, any suggestions there. I appreciate any help or suggestions many thanks MSEr's..