Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

Georgiegirl256

luci wrote: »

If you have never been to a Vegas buffet before then I would strongly suggest you avoid the Spice Market at PH as that could put you off buffets for life.

I tend to prefer a buffet for breakfast than dinner. However we had a couple of dinner buffets last trip which were excellent. I agree that Cravings at Mirage is excellent, especially if you like seafood. Even though I don't I still enjoyed it. Paris was also very good for dinner and breakfast.

Wow, it's that bad is it?! :rotfl: You'd think it would be good considering it always seems to be voted top!

I think I'd prefer a buffet for breakfast too.

silvercar

stoneman wrote: »

But he wasn't trying to book economy, so as I said status made no difference to what was able to book, and no one should EVER use Avios to book Y redemption for long haul.

I would go further and say no one should ever book Y for long haul full stop!;)

My first ever long haul flight was on maxjet and that gave me the urge to travel more widely and to travel business (or first).

vegasvisitor

We never went to buffets for our first few trips to Vegas. We used to eat at Bertolini's (now called Trevi) in Caesars Palace, Il Fornaio in NYNY, a place in St Marks at the Venetian, food court in Fashion Show Mall, even made the mistake of going to Battista's. :rotfl: We're vegetarian, so sometimes our wishes are a bit different from others.

Recent years we've went to various buffets, and occasionally to restaurants. We still like Il Fornaio, and also Maggiano's. Sometimes we drive to go for dinner, we went to Nora's and Gaetano's (both really nice).

As far as buffets go:-
Harrah's is acceptable (to me possibly because of the pasta station and large salad bar) and the reasonable price. With the groupon deal for Beer/wine with meal it's a good value.

Bellagio is good but more expensive. If we're ready to eat at 3pm it's a good spot to go to. By the time we stand in line we still get in for the lunch price, and they might even bring out dinner items, and it will certainly be our last meal of the day. It's good value at lunch price.

Wynn - I just love this buffet, but it's pricy. We tend to go for champange brunch (it's usually a birthday treat for me), and it's really good. The food is fantastic at brunch and the bubbles flow freely. I love the atmosphere, it doesn't feel as much like a buffet in the sitting areas. This buffet can lead to trouble...on a couple of occasions we've enjoyed a few champagnes and then ended up getting good service in the casino...:beer:

Orleans - cheap and cheerful and we sometimes go if we're staying there or if we're heading to the quiz at McMullan's. Good for b/fast or dinner. $7 bottles of wine (full bottles)

Gold Coast - similar to Orleans.

Green Valley Ranch/Red Rock Canyon - good buffets and good price. They include a glass of wine with dinner I think at both. Good food. We love Red Rock for breakfast, sometimes a drive around out there, and a stop at the shops across the road and along Charleston Blvd.

Silverton - another good off strip buffet for the price, good one to stop at if you have a car. They don't do breakfast though.

M Resort - was ok and included wine, but there weren't quite enough veggie options for us. That said it was still good value, and I can totally see why others like it, nice unusual displays.

Stations/Fiestas - we have sometimes stopped at these for b/fast and used a slot card and a 2/1 coupon. Ends up costing us about $7 or $8 for both of us. Usually short queues and cheap and cheerful - quick pancake, orange juice, melon etc. Not particularly good quality but a bargain and quick stop.

We have been at TI and Mirage buffets but not recently. Both were pretty good. MGM I also liked, but we had 24 hour passes included with our hotel a few years ago, so I'm kind of loathed to pay for it now :rotfl:

Aria I believe does an alcohol option. I really like a champagne brunch so I think I might like this option. Depends how free flowing the drinks are in the casinos....often get enough but sometimes struggle to get drinks and don't like to pay high bar prices mid strip.

I hear Wicked Spoon is good, I might like to try. Keen to hear if anyone knows what their veggie options are like. I believe this buffet has little portions of everything served up rather than you selecting from big dishes.

Did I mention it's 3 weeks today until we go? :j

Georgiegirl256

We're wanting to try the Wicked Spoon as well, the small individual portions is what appealed to us.

I was going to ask if anyone could recommend any good Italian places, as that is my favourite cuisine, so checked out the ones you mentioned above, they look really good, and as far as I can see at least one of them does gluten free pasta! :T

3 weeks! :j I hope you'll be doing a trip report when you get back, I love reading them, and we'll be going just a few weeks after you get back!

ferf1223

we thought the food was good at Wicked Spoon but wasn't that hot...maybe something about the individual pots? Not sure...pebbles had mentioned it and we noticed it as well when we went...the food was quite different to the sorts of things they have on many buffets - a very strong Asian/fusion offering...great for me, less exciting for my hubby (he has a serious unpeasant reaction to mushrooms which knocked out quite a few dishes) but still plenty that he liked...but again the food was good...it just seemed cooler than we would have expected. I like the little pots - they are a nice touch - but most dishes at buffets you can take only a little bit if you want.

My favorite thing was the build your own mac & cheese station - pick your additions (various meats, veggies, etc), types of cheese, etc. and they made it fresh in front of you...that was some good, good stuff...but I am biased toward macaroni & cheese in general.

Georgiegirl256

ferf1223 wrote: »

we thought the food was good at Wicked Spoon but wasn't that hot...maybe something about the individual pots? Not sure...pebbles had mentioned it and we noticed it as well when we went...the food was quite different to the sorts of things they have on many buffets - a very strong Asian/fusion offering...great for me, less exciting for my hubby (he has a serious unpeasant reaction to mushrooms which knocked out quite a few dishes) but still plenty that he liked...but again the food was good...it just seemed cooler than we would have expected. I like the little pots - they are a nice touch - but most dishes at buffets you can take only a little bit if you want.

My favorite thing was the build your own mac & cheese station - pick your additions (various meats, veggies, etc), types of cheese, etc. and they made it fresh in front of you...that was some good, good stuff...but I am biased toward macaroni & cheese in general.

That's what my Mam hates about buffets, the fact that the food goes cold quickly.

My husband has a bad reaction to mushrooms too.

gracie10

We are here at the moment and had breakfast buffet at mirage on Thursday it was really nice. Prefer having a breakfast buffet as it fills us up till dinner in the evening.
Saw matt goss again last night for the 3rd time in Vegas got some great photos and always such a gentleman when you meet him.
We moved to The Hotel today and our suite room is fantastic, love it here.
Can't believe our 3 week road trip is nearly over, fly back Tuesday have had such an amazing time.

vegasvisitor

I have a feeling we might not bother with Wicked Spoon. I don't really like Asian Food either (Thai tends to have fish paste, and Chinese tends to have Oyster sauce), and I also don't like mushrooms. I do like mac cheese though

We also saw Matt Goss last year and enjoyed the show. I doubt we'd go back though, but I agree it's a good show.

duchy

silvercar wrote: »

I would go further and say no one should ever book Y for long haul full stop!;)

My first ever long haul flight was on maxjet and that gave me the urge to travel more widely and to travel business (or first).

Oh pleeeaaaaase guys !!
Can we return to the real world !! Stop willy waving your gold cards
I'm a huge advocate in using FF miles and have at one time or another held gold/plat etc status with most of the airlines who fly to the US .....and introduced several readers on here to the AA challenge and status matching........ Using miles for economy is usually not the BEST value but not always. Especially for those who can't justify the cost of a trip unless there's a free air ticket in there !

To some a trip is unthinkable in "the back of the bus" to others the chance of an extra trip makes the absence of a bigger seat and a bit of champers very do-able as the point of the trip is what you see and do once there - not how you get there !!

If I had more disposable income - yes I'd probably blow it on a bit of indulgence flying (but not at the expense of the "ground arrangements") but I don't so you can turn your noses up at me using miles to make a trip possible in the dreaded economy and "pity" me for "wasting miles" I'll be too busy enjoying my holiday to care

(Yes I've travelled in all three classes transatlantic at one time or another and of course I got a kick out of "and would you like a shot of vodka with your caviar Ms Duchy" and the extra comfort.......but I'd rather travel than forgo a trip because it's in the "wrong" cabin )

Never is a long time .... I first flew transatlantic first class at the tender age of eighteen (for free but not with miles) If I'd said "I can't possibly fly cattle class again "....I'd have missed out on a heck of a lot of travelling over the years !

traveller

bubble113 wrote: »

Thanks for the great trip report but just feel I have to mention 'The Ugly' part about children on the strip. I agree in part as I would not drag my children up and down the strip but disagree that there is nothing for children in Vegas. My boys have been 5 times and loved it, like with any destination people need to do some research and should find there is plenty to do (may depend on age) . We have stayed off the strip in beautiful villas and had amazing family holidays. I have experienced Vegas both with and without children and they are very different holidays but both great in their own way. They have been to Disneyworld but prefer Vegas...
However my 15 yr old will not be going again until he is 21, it is not a place for 16-20yr olds!

Totally agree with your points regarding kids. However, i'm due to fly out on Sunday, to celebrate my 40th next Friday . It will be me and my 4 kids aged 20,16,14 and 5. I'm slightly worried regarding the older two now,lol. The things we have planned are:

Skyzone,
valley of fire,
overnight grand canyon,
mob museum,
score at the luxor,
recycled percussion,
Springs preserve,
childrens lied museum,
madame tausauds,
cars museum at the quad,
exposition park,
ferrari cars exhibit-can't remember where
dolphin habitat
adventure dome
outlets-primm, north,south
galleria mall and two others
wet'nwild
Eiffel tower
Stratosphere observation deck
general walking of the strip
3 days in LA
Possibly a sun buggy tour
Possibly paddle boating in a lake mead resort

We are staying at the Signature and will use the MGM pool, although we are not really pool people. Do you think I stand a chance of not having a repeat of Orlando last year? They all looked like they were off to the dentist every time we went to Disney world :eek:although to be fair they did go there quite a bit when they were younger, before we went elsewhere.

My eldest chose not to come on that one. I assumed he wouldn't want to on this one. He claims as it's my special birthday he make an effort He is a photographer by trade, so I'm hoping he'll be happy with the many photographic opportunities he will find.

I don't drink, or gamble, so we are all hoping to get the same out of everything. Also, how was the parking at wet'nwild and what did you all think of it?

We have been before, but when they were much younger (not the 5 year old though). We were also only there for two days as a side trip from Anaheim. This time, vegas is the main part and although LA is booked, we are slightly unsureif we will go-it's all refundable till the day before.

Thanks