Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2012

stoneman

CASINOS

ferf1223 wrote: »

.this year was a bit more as we did declare a condition....

Paranoia is not a medical condition, more physiological if anything;)

nvh

stoneman wrote: »

NEWS FLASH!!!
New contact at the Platinum.
After sending emails to various previous contacts that have all since left, I have secured the email and same willingness to give good rates with the new Director of Rooms. Just booked for March. Email is derekmorrison at lvplatinum dot com

touche! I also had an email from him this evening was gonna drop you a note to let you know but looks like you already do

nvh

honeypop wrote: »

Also, we had been advised about the tipping out there and did our best to tip appropriately. We didn't bank on people wanting a tip just for answering a question on where to find the restrooms or a particular bar or restaurant within a hotel. And one of our cabs refused to give change of $20 on a $11 fare, as 'that's what people normally pay'. We had told him to only give $5 change in the first place!

thanks for the report - much appreciated

i'm not sure about the taxi one to be fair, though I know that sometimes it's polite to pay a bit extra if a short fair (as he has to go to the back of the queue again) - dont think i've ever been in that situation though on a different subject, the out-laws were long-hauled BACK from Bills last year which shocked me (and i've been meaning to mention on here for some time!) - they paid twice the price it had cost us to get back from Caesars!

You mentioned you didn't expect to tip for having questions answered -- i'll be honest, that is a new one on me and something we have never done (and will never do unless someone argues a good point on it!) - where did that occur where people expected tips for answering where the toilets were and who were they?? Most interesting...

honeypop

BUFFETS

I think the first time was in Riviera, when we asked where a particular part was (where we were to collect the tickets for the show) as it had taken us quite a while to get there and were in no mood for traisping round the casino round and round looking for it. A man who worked there began directing us, then said 'hey I'll walk you', and accompanied us there (it wasn't far!) and then stood smiling at us expectantly. We didn't know what he was doing, and just thanked him and off we went.
Then we noticed in Planet Hollywood when we asked where a certain bar was, again we were looked at rather expectantly when provided with the answer. I assumed they were waiting for some sort of tip, or perhaps they were just grinning nicely (or weirdly) at us, not moving until we moved away first lol.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

honeypop wrote: »

I didn't realise that you would be hassled so much on the streets by people trying to get you to do the timeshare presentations in return for free show tickets/casino vouchers/free meals/free rooms on your next visit etc,

Thanks for the trip report! Glad that you liked Bally's - did you take any photos of the room, by any chance? I'm curious to see if it was a renovated room - I have heard that some have been renovated so maybe you got lucky! We're booked there for 5 nights next month and always hope we'll get an upgrade...but one day I know we won't...so we try to manage our expectations.

As for the time share people, they almost always focus on couples...we learned the trick ages ago from Open Vegas - if you're walking along with your SO and you see the timeshare folks ahead...separate slightly until you pass them...or tell them 'we fly home tonight'...that works too.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

amrad wrote: »

What are views on luxor vs excalibur vs ballys? And how much better than these is monte carlo?

I forgot to say - on Bally's the pool has a deep end...this is unusual in Vegas...and probably of little importance to most, but we go to the pool to swim, so we like it.

duchy

SHOWS

New one on me too. Cheeky beggers !

I rather like the Riv -it's old style Vegas without the trek to Fremont Street (I may be slightly biased as the first time I stayed there on a dirt cheap priceline rate-they upgraded me to a fab one bedroom suite -and when I wrote and thanked them-they comped me two nights plus some food on my next stay -and I'd gambled minimumly there as most of my time was spent mid-strip.).

luci

Need your help peeps.

I have Harrah's booked for 4 nights mid-trip at the moment at $35. We have stayed there once before. The room was OK, nothing special, we don't like the casino for gambling, but like the location for a few days so we can go to Cravings, Flavors, the Range, etc.

However.......... I am tempted by the Bally's Travelzoo offer. Have stayed in the North Tower before and didn't find the room any better than the South Tower. Don't mind the casino.

We are looking for a cheaper place for the 4 nights to offset the cost of a one bedroom suite at the Carriage House for the remainder of the time.

Any thoughts to help me make a decision?

honeypop

BUFFETS

I do indeed have a photo of the room, and if I can work out how to put it on here, I will.

nvh

honeypop wrote: »

I do indeed have a photo of the room, and if I can work out how to put it on here, I will.

1) go to http://imageshack.us
2) select your picture to upload
3) change the resize option to 640 x 480 (for messageboards)
4) hit the 'upload now' button and wait - it will take you to a page and give you a bunch of links - whichever one is wrapped with [IMG]tags is the one you need to copy and paste on to here [/img]