Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2012

stoneman

CASINOS

Sounds like Virgin are all over the shop with the Vegas flights. Loads are light in the new year, according to Vflyer people are having flights moved forward or back a day and they are combining the MAN and LGW flights in some cases dropping off pax at MAN then flying on to LGW

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

ratkarth wrote: »

Do restaurant.com still do a code word of the month to get 75 percent off or have they stopped tat?

current code is GIFT - email says $2 for $10 gift certificates...assume it applies to the $25 certificates as well but haven't checked it...they don't seem to do as many codes as they used to.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

This is a bit belated but here goes - trip was 17-26 Oct, our 20th since 2001...will spit it into categories.

Flights

We wanted to fly direct this time and decided for a special trip we would fly PE...as PE seating wasn't meant to be available until online check-in opened due to the whole system upgrade/refit thing it was a frustrating wait, but it turned out that 2 days before the outbound flight I was able to log in and select seats - so that was a nice surprise. On the return, I was able to select seats in the morning the day before the flight (well before check-in opened late afternoon) and we went out for the day..didn't get back to the room until about an hour after check-in opened and was so glad I had been able to chose seats in the morning as at the point we checked in online, after check-in had been open an hour - you weren't able to select seats in PE...whether that was because the allocation that can be selected was gone or not, I am not sure...but I would have been a wreck waiting until we got to the airport.

Twilight check-in at LGW was great as always - and we just arrived in the queue before a huge swarm of people rolled up - so it was good timing on our part.

On the way back we did our usual - check out of hotel and head for airport. Virgin check-in opens at 11. Check in, get rid of bags, and head back to the Strip for a few hours. They were still getting the check-in terminals set up when we got there and didn't actually start calling people forward until about 11:15 but other than that it was fine (and we were 2nd in the queue). We weren't sure what to expect with the new terminal in respect of parking for this purpose, but it was really easy to park in the short-stay garage, come across the bridge and into the terminal - upstairs right to check-in...back to garage and done. Cannot remember if the parking charge was $0.80 or $1.00 but was nothing.

We did have new planes both ways and did opt to sit in the downstairs section and not the bubble. I don't understand why they arranged things the way they did with the bubble. We are normally economy passengers, so really are not snobs, but they way they laid out the upstairs is just so odd.

Updated planes were very nice - entertainment system was fantastic, especially compared to the previous offerings. Meals were as to be expected and Virgin especially looove their mushrooms...if your hubby is allergic to them it can be a total pain when everything has mushrooms in it.

Edited to add - arrival at LAS was a bit of a PITA...off plane and quickly through immigration...bags started coming off and some numpty had unloaded economy bags before PE and Upper...what this means, is all the PE and Upper passengers who got off first have no luggage, and all the bags for the economy passengers still queuing for immigration start piling up and eventually they turned off the carousels because it's over full...several passengers were having a go at the baggage guy standing there doing nothing - asking him why he doesn't take some of the bags off. His reply was basically 'it's not my job'...so after standing around getting more frustrated I went up and asked 'if we, the passengers, remove some of these bags - will you turn the carousel back on?' and he shrugged so several of us jumped in and carefully moved bags from the carousel to a nice neat row a bit away...until there was enough clear space...then (nicely) asked the guy to turn it back on. He said 'it will just get full again'...and I said 'well, we will deal with that when that time comes, please would you turn it on?'...he did...our bags were some of the first out after that and we were free.

Hotels

Hilton Gatwick - night before the flight. Got a good deal we thought - and have liked staying here the night before the Virgin flight from Gatwick with the bonus of twilight check-in for the flight. It seems a lot longer walk to the terminal now but the fact that it is walkable is such a big plus for us. Check in queue was just silly, but the clerk who checked us in says they only have 3 on the desk and it always gets like this. I felt bad for them. Room was as expected, we did upgrade to the Executive room so did have access to the lounge - though were too late for the happy hour nibbles and drinks she offered to call up and have them set aside 2 drinks for us - nice touch. We did take advantage of the PCs in the lounge for a bit the night before the flight, and did have breakfast in the morning (and free wifi in the lounge too)...nicer start we think than trying to source something to eat in the terminal.

Bally's - stayed here so many times and nothing of any particular note this time other than we did get upgraded to the North Tower without asking and were in room 1777 which we thought was particularly cool. We did have 5 nights comped and minimal to pay for the 6th so for about $10/night it was a very good deal. The rooms are nice enough, but getting a bit tired. And I do not know what they are thinking with their pillows anymore - they aren't great...but for the price, well, we can't help but keep coming back.

TI - hubby had an offer for 2 nights free + some freeplay so we went ahead and double booked 2 nights we were at Bally's. Planned only to stay at TI one night but in the end stayed both. I really like the place, more than Bally's now...if only I got the same sort of offers hubby did and we could bolt them together we might make it our normal home. Rooms are not as big as the standard rooms at Bally's but the bedding, etc. is nicer and more comfortable, and the rooms are big enough. I just like the feel of the property overall, I think.

Cosmo - after several of you posted such great reviews we did decide that for our 20th trip we would splash out for the last 3 nights. We did go for the Terrace Suite (for that washer and dryer, don't you know!). Amazing room - really really loved it - loved having the terrace (and being able to pop out to smoke rather than going down to the casino)...absolutely stunning room and view and was really a highlight of the trip - though being on the 58th floor we couldn't really hear the Bellagio fountains music which was a slight downer. We did head straight from Bally's about 11 and were unable to check-in and no real estimate when the room might be ready...so that left us a bit adrift for a good few hours - eventually got the room about 4. Think this is the first time we've had more than a 45 minute wait on room move day and I didn't like it - didn't like not knowing how long it would be as we didn't want to get too far away and get the call the room was ready so just sort of bumbled about without much of a plan, but the room did make up for it - it was worth it in the end. Having the option to do laundry in the room was great - it meant we were able to pack a bit less, and bring home mostly clean clothes and avoid that whole post-holiday laundry spree which I hate.

Room video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAKGFUa0FLI

Really did love it and it was worth it - would we stay again? I'm not sure - it was sooo much more than we normally pay, and we are perfectly happy in much lesser and less expensive accomodation. For a treat (and to do laundry) maybe though...we were obviously not the hotel/casino's target market - which we knew...but we didn't feel shunned or like we were not looked after, it was a very nice stay overall.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

Food

Went to many of the usuals:

PF Chang's (twice, second time after going to the Paris cafe, being seated and given the menu and finding it was completely different now - and nothing really took either of our fancies, so we politely returned the menus and explained why we were leaving to the hostess and she said the menu had been changed 3x recently - sad, it was always a go-to place for us)

HHAGG at IP (chicken and waffles was disappointing compared to what we had last time but looked really impressive)

In n Out (mmm, double double animal style!)

Canter's Deli at TI (still the best reuben I've ever had, love the pastrami option)

Grand Lux (love the Asian nachos and split that and a sandwich for lunch and didn't eat again for 24 hours)

Earl of Sandwich at PH

EI BBQ (in new location, not 100% sure if we thought the ribs were as good as normal, will need to try again to be sure)

Stripburger with r.com voucher (the peanut butter chocolate shake is on the proper menu now - though when I had it when it was a special it was actually too much (!) so opted for cookies and cream instead this time).

And the less-usuals/new places

Serendipity 3 - after wandering around, thinking about the Caesars buffet and seeing the queue and deciding no...going to the Caesars food court and finding that the place that used to do the huge battered prawns didn't have them on the menu anymore we settled here. Hubby had 'The One and Only Vegas Strip Steak Sandwich' - will try to find the photo - it was ridiculous, but really good. I had 'The Full Monty' and it was also very good...not the cheapest dining option but a nice place, we think.

Ok, here, hubby agreed to let me post the photo that he is in because it gives more idea of the scale than the photo of just the plate.



Santa Fe Station Buffet - we were in the area and had a 2-for-1 and have enjoyed other Station buffets for lunch. This was no exception, very good quality and selection especially for the price...and hubby is still talking about the steak fries. We will go back, if only for those steak fries, I am sure.

Cafe Vettro at Aria - This was one of those 'we are hungry right this instant and do not want to go anywhere else, what is right here' places for us. We used whatever the MGM points you can use to pay for stuff in restaurants are. Both had the Greek pizza - I loved it, hubby wished he ordered without the pepperocinis as he picked them all off (such a wimp). ..but basically a white pizza with gyros meat...I am a fan of whoever thought of this.

Weera Thai - went with the lovely pebbles and Tony for lunch - they had been before, we love Thai food so were looking forward to trying something new. SO GOOD! Is no wonder that they like it and that it gets so many good reviews. It's not a fancy restaurant (we are not fancy restaurant people so suited us)...nice people, huge selection and ridiculously good prices. It has been so long since we have been to Lotus of Siam and we had completely different things, so I cannot say how it compares, but I can say we would absolutely go back here and would wholeheartedly recommend it. I did err on the side of caution with my spice level (2) and next time would bump it up a few notches - but the food was delicious and plentiful and we had great company so it was a most excellent lunch and thanks to pebbles for suggesting it.

Raffles at MB (with r.com voucher) - same as the last time we were there - with the voucher it was reasonably good value and food was reasonably good - both had fish and chips...without the voucher it would have been vastly over-priced for what it was. I think we'll skip buying anymore from here though as there are better options out there - we used a voucher we bought when we were going to be staying at MB a few trips ago but didn't use it then.

Wicked Spoon (brunch) - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=56840159&postcount=4619

Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=57326033&postcount=4768

ratkarth

Ferf Can I ask your opinion of Cosmo in terms of value for money, for our last 3 nights we are torn between our old fav the palazzo, Cosmo or possibly trump. Trump is cheapest by far and haven't found any deals on the Cosmo so ts the priciest by far, I don't mind paying for things if its worth the extra, what are your thoughts, also any clues on where to get best rate?

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

Stuff that is not flights, hotels or food

Car hire - picked up at TI our first full day - timed pick-up for 2:30pm and was much better than picking up in the morning as there was no queue. Got a black Chrysler 200 and thought it was quite comfy. We had booked the platinum package so had already pre-paid a tank of fuel.

Jeff Civillico - having seen him at Nathan Burton and really liking him, and seeing that he now has his own afternoon show at IP, and that you could get free tickets, and that pebbles was in town earlier and kind enough to swing by to get the freebies while they were still available - this was a great show- I would have paid to see it, I'm sure. Laughed so much. Some of it is the same as what we saw at Nathan Burton but it was still hilarious - and some different stuff. Really worth checking out, we think, and was again great to spend time with pebbles and Tony.

Pinball Hall of Fame - finally made it! What a fun place...but while someone like my hubby can spend ages here and not spend a lot...someone like me, who has no hand-eye coordination whatsoever probably would spend less on the slots in the same amount of time. But so fun to see some machines I remember from childhood and even some that pre-date me quite significantly.

Geocaching - Having taken this up a few months ago I was quite keen to try a few in Vegas, while not spending too much Vegas time on it. Thanks to lizzielie for the recommendations as well, most appreciated! In all I found 16, and managed to make the Welcome to Las Vegas sign my 100th which was really cool for me, to have my 100th find be in Vegas and at the sign (which we had never been to before, bizarrely enough). I didn't do 1/2 of those I had picked out so plenty to go for in March when we're back. And the hire car coped well when I might have taken it a bit more off road than would normally have been ideal - she was very dusty by the time she was returned!

Walmart/Best Buy/points.com - thanks again to alictait for mentioning this...hubby bought 2 gadgets at Best Buy, we did all our WalMart shopping and still have over $200 in WalMart gift cards left after redeeming our United/Continental miles shortly before they would have expired...so ridiculously great, thank you so much - without that post those points would have just gone.

Shopping - hit our usuals, Galleria Mall, Fashion Show Mall, Boulevard Mall, south outlets - until the last day we didn't think we would need the spare case, then that changed.

Downtown - we did head down on the SDX bus one night and it was OK ,but quite crowded for no apparent reason which put us off a bit...we missed the new Bon Jovi show too...another time.

Gambling - overall this was hubby's best trip, but since we regularly share when one is doing better than the other, we have no actual idea how good since I was a bit of a leech most of the time. I'm not sure he would have been up overall - but pretty sure he would have broken even. Regardless, we came home with 4 of 9 days money...which is certainly not too shabby. I did (finally) beat him at slot golf though...if only I had done as well the rest of the trip when we were not competing. he had win of the trip with a $350 feature and then a $68 progressive triggered on a machine at Bally's - with lions on it (good notes!). Up to that point I had win of the trip of $300 on a Blazing 7s at Wynn.

If you made it this far thanks and well done! Our trips are pretty similar now, so I'm not sure how I managed to ramble that much...but if anyone has any questions please let me know.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

ratkarth wrote: »

Ferf Can I ask your opinion of Cosmo in terms of value for money, for our last 3 nights we are torn between our old fav the palazzo, Cosmo or possibly trump. Trump is cheapest by far and haven't found any deals on the Cosmo so ts the priciest by far, I don't mind paying for things if its worth the extra, what are your thoughts, also any clues on where to get best rate?

It's really hard to say...we haven't stayed at either of the others so cannot compare and Trump doesn't interest us because there is no casino.

Value for money when compared to what you would get most places in Europe - absolutely, without question...hard to say in Vegas. It was vastly more than we have ever paid for a hotel room in Vegas and while we do think it was worth it as a treat - and we did really enjoy it, we wouldn't make it our normal place - it's just not necessary for us to stay somewhere so expensive or so nice. And we had a terrace suite - so not just a standard room...so cannot even compare to Wynn or Encore or anything...it was better than those, yes...but not a comparable room type either. I'm not much help, am I?

At the time we booked there was a 20% off for international guests offer booking direct -but that has expired now...it was still slightly more than lowcostusa.com though - so would think they might be the best place.

photome

VALUE FOR MONEY

Ferf thanks for the report.

re the thai restaurant, quite fancy trying that next year, when i googled it a map showing Royal Thai came up on west sahara, is that the same place

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

hi

is this one

http://www.weerathai.com/

It looks like there used to be a restaurant called Royal Thai at the same address but reviews seem to stop 2008/2009 for there...so same address, but may be different owners, etc.

photome

VALUE FOR MONEY

Thanks for that, just noticed the streetview on google is from 2009