Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

stoneman

Heading out tomorrow for the marathon on Sunday, then back home on Tuesday.
Anyone out on the strip watching give us a wave, I will be the one with the "MSE washing team" top on. Should be able to see amid the 40K runners, or probably wait to see the stragglers at the end. lol

ferf1223

good luck to you both! I'm most impressed.

pebblesmax

I'll see if we can spot you on the day. We are just round the corner at Tuscany, assuming you're staying at Platinum again.

Froggitt

BTW I recently priced up UC out and CATTLE back. It was around 70k miles and £400.

stoneman

pebblesmax wrote: »

I'll see if we can spot you on the day. We are just round the corner at Tuscany, assuming you're staying at Platinum again.

Shhhh, don't let too many know but we are actually staying at the Westin, had some Starwood points to burn and needed to keep this as cheap as possible.

pebblesmax

stoneman wrote: »

Shhhh, don't let too many know but we are actually staying at the Westin, had some Starwood points to burn and needed to keep this as cheap as possible.

Your secret is safe with me

ferf1223

Trip report for our trip last month...it's pretty similar to most of my trip reports are, I think.

Flights

Virgin flights – used twilight check-in on the way out (I seriously love this option) and the flights both ways were uneventful...we had booked PE again and I think we’ve officially spoiled ourselves enough that it will be difficult to go back to economy. Check-in at LAS now opens at 12:30 rather than 11 which is a bit of a bummer, but we still did our normal check out of the hotel – go to the airport...short term parking...get checked in for flight and bags out of our hair...and back to the strip for a bit...just that now it’s a short time before we’re off to return the car...but we don’t have the faff of all the cases/carry-ons on the shuttle nor the queue at check-in.


IFE was good though I only actually watched two movies on the way out and none on the way back (Hangover 3, naturally...and The Heat)...food was airline food and not the worst airline food ever...service was good, flight attendants were nice and attentive and friendly. Luggage arrived quickly and without damage...both were relatively quick flights at <10 hours – flight home was 9:16 which was super fast...I slept at least 5 hours on the way back too...so no complaints at all.


Hotels

Hilton LGW – booked an executive room even though we couldn’t find any super great deals for it...we like the executive lounge and this time actually made it for the happy hour drinks and nibbles the night before our flight...and then had a nice breakfast in the lounge the morning of the flight knowing that all we had to do was to get through security and at LGW Virgin PE lets you go through the premium security queue which is usually empty.


Bally’s – 5-nights comped, standard north tower room which we’re happy with, though I’m quite tired of Bally’s overall now...no complimentary upgrade ($40/night for Jubilee Tower, no thanks)...$10 tip for the maid with a note our first morning netted a refrigerator which made us quite happy...check-out day was the morning of the shooting and that was just a very odd experience being in the property not long after that happened. Made the mistake of assuming ‘resort fee waived’ meant ‘resort fee included’ so did end up paying for several days internet and a whomping $19 phone call to a US friend’s mobile...lesson learned! Pool was closed and never got motivated enough to go over to Paris.

TI – upgraded to a Strip view room, 3-nights comped 4th night was $75 and we had $100 freeplay and a spin to win additional where we won $60...so net -$85 cost to us which was excellent...pretty much the same as the other rooms we have had there and we like them. Smaller than Bally’s but not too small...refrigerator as standard...nicer linens than Bally’s...I would be happy to stay here for 5 nights if they comped us. The resort fee was optional for us and the only thing we likely would have used was in room internet – but with the tram and Mirage next door and free wifi in MGM properties and elsewhere, we just popped over when we wanted to check email. We did go swimming on our last morning and it was lovely....every time we go swimming we say ‘why do we not do this more often?’ For us spending significant time at the pool just is not our thing, but an hour in the morning was really enjoyable.


Orleans – 2-nights comped (we only stayed one of them), $10 food credit used at the coffee place ...lovely large room, nice clear view of the mountains we had not really had before...I really like the property as a whole...our room was at the end of the longest corridor known to man and the decoration was such that it did look a bit like it went on forever but wasn’t really a concern. The weird sliding door to the bathroom was the only thing that was a bit odd – not a quiet door and if one of you is still sleeping it’s a bit tricky to get in and out. I am not a big fan of food courts in general but a Sbarro stuffed slice was absolutely lovely as a quick meal. All-in-all I understand why people like the place...I would be happy to stay here for longer...hubby wouldn’t though...the inability to walk out and to another property with a casino is a deal breaker for him for other than a temporary stop.


Shows and attractions

O – loved it...already said that we saw it several years ago and this time we went to it (MyVegas) and were interested to see if I still thought it was my favourite and it was...we do plan to go again middle of the theatre as first time we were 2nd balcony and this time 2nd row...would really like to see it from the middle. I find the show just beautiful...the performances, settings, stage, costumes, music...it nearly brought a tear to my eye a few times. Love it.


Zarkana (also MyVegas) – blech. Really did not like it – maybe didn’t help that 2 nights earlier I was so in awe at O and I have seen several other Cirque shows...found myself thinking ‘I liked Criss Angel much more than this...’ and ‘I made my hubby blow so many MyVegas points on this I am never going to live this down’...for me it was by far the worst Cirque show I have seen...part of it is my fault, I avoided reading too much about it lest I read too many spoilers so I did not realise it had been a travelling show previously. To me part of the wow factor of Cirque shows has been the grand stage/staging and this was mostly static...most of the acts I had seen the same or very similar before (with one exception which was the highlight of the show for me and I was not expecting it)...it just seemed like the Cirque show that performers work for until they can get into one of the big shows...nothing against the performers, they were great...but it was just boring to me...and the whole sort of eerie/creepy concept (which I expected to like) just seemed forced and annoying. Hubby said ‘it has no soul’. Lesley – you mentioned before your fear of snakes and that you heard that there are snakes in this...I would agree with those who have told you if you are afraid of snakes there is a section of this that you would not want to see..there are no REAL snakes but there are plenty of videos going on. Also, the stupidly overpriced Cirque drinks were awful here...tradition says we get them...other shows they have been really tasty...these were terrible..though I was quite tipsy by the end at least as I forced myself through it.


Roos and More – Our second trip. Glad we had not planned on the otters again as the last places were taken by the people in front of us. We were surprised they were doing 3 sessions and how many people were in the enclosure. I think we got really lucky when we met the otters last time. Really enjoyed wandering around and seeing the animals. I love lemurs so getting to interact with one was particularly cool for me. The little capuchin monkey loved my hubby – the little guy ignored the queue waiting to meet him and jumped my hubby’s back while he was looking at something else and proceeded to take off his hat and sun glasses and generally make himself at home. The fennec fox was super cute but looked really quite stressed by all the ruckus and so I could understand why they did not have him out for people to hold. We also had the chance to meet photome and his wife while we were here which was great. Really enjoyed chatting with them for a bit and next time our trips coincide would love to meet up again.


National Geographic 50 Greatest Photographs, Venetian – I loved this...I had thought we would miss it as it was originally scheduled to end before our trip...it worked out well as we had time to kill on our first day between lunch at Grand Lux and picking up the car at TI so I suggested we just do this as it was on the list (the alternate of shoe shopping at Fashion Show Mall was less appealing to my hubby too). I loved seeing the few frames before and after on some of these photographs...overall it was well worth the entrance fee to me...though I admit that it is a bit expensive for what it is.


Cinema – we had planned to see Rush while we were at Orleans but it had already gone...so we tracked it down at Fiesta Henderson...hubby is an F1 fan, I am a Chris Hemsworth fan (mmmm, Thor...) so this was perfect for us...big tub of “buttered” popcorn and trough of diet coke and an enjoyable couple of hours...I know some think it’s bizarre going to the cinema in Vegas but we almost never do at home so it’s nice for us to go together...plus it kept us out of the casino for a few hours.

Food

Pampas – with pre-paid voucher 2x meat rodizo for $43...we enjoyed what we have come to refer to as our ‘meat-adventure’...would never pay full price for it though. We had more than our fill, and the food was good, so was the service. I find it a bit strange that you go and get all your side dishes (hot and cold) and then you wait for the meat to begin...I get how that is the way it works, but there is this initial meat-related anxiety when you are sitting with your plate of side dishes and wondering when the meat men will come...and early on we had a couple of instances where one of the gauchos with the less interesting meats was at our table and we got skipped for the meat we actually would have preferred but didn’t know it was about to arrive...so there was meat strategy involved too. We did find toward the end when we were declining specific meats that one of the gauchos did say ‘is there any particular meat you would like?’ and then went and got the lamb for my hubby...that was nice. It was an enjoyable (and filling) experience...we were offered the dessert menu and I asked if anyone ever actually ordered dessert and our server said yes, but 80% are to-go orders.


Aria buffet (MyVegas) – lovely...just lovely...best buffet dim sum ever, so nice...hubby had some excellent prime rib...I had some fantastic mushroom polenta that I am still thinking about. Desserts were great too, though very chocolate-oriented (to me this is not a bad thing). Hubby thought the mudslide cookies were the best things ever and now I have to find a recipe. I found the oddly small beverage glasses silly – they did no one any favours, diners nor wait staff...but hubby thinks it’s something to do with the alcohol bump you can buy...the beer glasses were the same size...so maybe all the glasses have to be the same size..or something.


Monte Carlo Brew Pub (MyVegas, MC $50 dining credit) – a good example of food that is tasty but probably over-priced if paying full price...both of our burgers were excellent as were the sides, and the vast array of unusual beers was fun to choose from...I can’t imagine we would come here without a voucher but it was a nice meal, cannot fault the food or service. It was nice to finally come here after years of planning to.

We did many of the usuals for us too...PF Chang’s, In and Out, Toby Keith’s (in hindsight $40 for $20 wasn’t as good of a deal as expected as we thought we needed an appetizer to get to the limit, but on the bill they had the total + tax then the discount so maybe not..and that was way too much food), Red Rock Station cafe (queue for the buffet was INSANE so we skipped it), Grand Lux Cafe


Gambling

Started out brilliantly with my first slot giving me a $200+ win...but went downhill rapidly and the first 2.5 days were terrible...but settled after that and we had some really good days...we came back with at least 40% of our budget even after taking an extra withdrawal on the 2nd day and declaring a ‘do-over day’.

Unlike the experience some others have had, the Willy Wonka slots were not kind to us. I liked the new Iron Man machine, it didn't give me any huge wins but I played for quite awhile with a lot of little features that kept me going.

One sad thing for me was that the last remaining Get Nuts slot I know of that was at Harrah's is now gone. It is my all-time favourite machine (and our only W2G win was hubby, Get Nuts, Paris) - they took them out of Bally's...then Paris...now Harrah's and now I do not know if there are any left anywhere I have not noticed. Every time we passed the area it last was we bowed our heads in Get Nuts' honour.

If anyone sees one anywhere, please let me know?



If anyone plays the Three Kings slot machine – the one with the purple, red and green lions where the number of free spins increases and when they get to a certain point they are ‘flaming’ on the screen (this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uknYbvDdl5Y) ...I got the green lions feature (both of us had red this trip too). I play these machines a lot and I never thought I would see a green lions feature let alone get it myself...70 free spins and win was about $230 and we let the machine play it all out as it wanted – we didn’t push any buttons to make it count up so took quite awhile too.

We’ll head back in April, already looking forward to it and already seems like a long, long way. Any questions I'll be happy to try and answer them.

duchy

stoneman wrote: »

Shhhh, don't let too many know but we are actually staying at the Westin, had some Starwood points to burn and needed to keep this as cheap as possible.

I didn't know the Westin had washing machines..........

vegasvisitor

I'm afraid they don't, but on a short trip Stoneman can hopefully do without (or take a trip to wizard of suds....or even take some travel wash and do it by hand.).

We stayed at the Westin a couple of times when it was new. I really liked it. We also used the pool once when we were at the Platinum and a function was on, only a year or two ago. The pool is nice too.

sweenytodd

Thomas cook, no,! I would never ever fly with Thomas cook no matter how cheap they are, id rather pay extra an arrive in a much better mood ! they were just awful, rude staff , rubbish I.F.E. , dirty plane, delayed for an hour, never ever again, it,s just no worth it for 11hours, oh an you have to pay for EVERYTHING on the flight, drinks, snacks, headphones (thats if they work) .