Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2014

ferf1223

vanilla8 wrote: »

We went with $2400 and came back with $1000, had some joy with the slots

welcome back and well done! Always good to hear about luck on the slots!

We're going to try Tender via MyVegas next month - any suggestions? And I know the dress code is listed as business casual which in Vegas seems to mean jeans and a nice top or shirt is just fine...if you happened to notice if that was the case would be grateful for reassurance. We don't pack dress clothes for holiday.

lizzielie

ferf1223 wrote: »

I don't think there are courtesy buses to and from the airport for any of those hotels? I am not sure how they could be used to go from one hotel to the other if there were?

It does sound like a lot of moving but with a 6 night final stay (so a lot of moving then a stretch one place) and a 2-week trip it doesn't sound unreasonable...if you know you're only staying somewhere a few nights you can minimize what gets unpacked so repacking isn't too painful. If you have a car I agree it would be a bit less of a faff and if you plan for any potential delays checking in - and plan what to do while you're waiting, it should be fine. The one time we had a considerable wait we were a bit out of sorts as felt a bit homeless...since it had never happened before we hadn't really come up with a contingency plan for the homeless period.

The only thing that might be something to consider is staying somewhere other than Paris? As Paris->Aria is a short move and you're not really changing the scenery at all.

We moved from Paris to Cosmo once and it seemed moderately silly but rooms were comped so we figured it was OK.

I was considering the alternative of extending a bit at Palms, but not too keen staying off strip for so long as there is not much happening around Palms, or having the long stay in the middle and then 3 nights towards the end somewhere else. However hubby just found a nice deal with MGM Grand Stay Well room for less than our Mlife discounted price, and including 2 buffets, so we booked it.

Only considered Paris as we really liked the ambiance when we visited, but hopefully with 9 nights in MGM properties we will now reach platinum on this trip.

We won't have a car, but the odd taxi here and there won't hurt, so no concern there

I do worry a little about the period between check out and check in, but it sounds if we plan for it, and make sure we have something to do, it will be ok

78 days and counting down! All flights and hotels booked, it is all coming together nicely:)

One thing though, not sure if anyone has had the same issue booking flights with any American airline, but using my debit card to pay, we had some serious issues going over our agreed overdraft. It seems they do not release the initial hold when you make the booking, and then proceed to take the funds again when the tickets are issued. A very long call to AA, and eventually being transferred to a supervisor, I did receive an email I could forward to my bank so any pending charges could be released. Was not impressed to initially being told to wait 7 - 31 business days to get my money back...

Our bank was super good when I did call back and after being transferred to a different department they did release the pending hold without the letter in the end. A stressful experience overall and not one I would like to repeat!

lizzielie

ferf1223 wrote: »

welcome back and well done! Always good to hear about luck on the slots!

We're going to try Tender via MyVegas next month - any suggestions? And I know the dress code is listed as business casual which in Vegas seems to mean jeans and a nice top or shirt is just fine...if you happened to notice if that was the case would be grateful for reassurance. We don't pack dress clothes for holiday.

Tender is really nice, you will enjoy it For dress code, as long as you are not wearing shorts and loud t-shirts/ swimwear/ offensive clothes you will be fine. Jeans no issues either. One tip, the sides are big enough to share between 2, so try sharing if you can

ferf1223

lizzielie wrote: »

Tender is really nice, you will enjoy it For dress code, as long as you are not wearing shorts and loud t-shirts/ swimwear/ offensive clothes you will be fine. Jeans no issues either. One tip, the sides are big enough to share between 2, so try sharing if you can

Thanks very much! On the sides thing we always over-order because we like different things - if there's mac and cheese on the menu (there usually is) that's my given side dish but hubby is not as madly in love with mac and cheese as I am...and so we usually end up with crazy amounts of food leftover...the jacket potato hubby ordered at Gordon Ramsay Steak was nearly as big as my head and between us we didn't even finish 1/2 of it.

pebblesmax

We liked the Mac and Cheese at Nine Fine Irishmen. Very nice.

lizzielie

ferf1223 wrote: »

Thanks very much! On the sides thing we always over-order because we like different things - if there's mac and cheese on the menu (there usually is) that's my given side dish but hubby is not as madly in love with mac and cheese as I am...and so we usually end up with crazy amounts of food leftover...the jacket potato hubby ordered at Gordon Ramsay Steak was nearly as big as my head and between us we didn't even finish 1/2 of it.

LOL, we're the same, as we also like different things. And not helped that we always find the portions huge, but we never seem to learn.... We really want to try Gordon Ramsay Steak this time around. Do you know if you need to book far in advance or are there generally tables available on the night?

ferf1223

lizzielie wrote: »

However hubby just found a nice deal with MGM Grand Stay Well room for less than our Mlife discounted price, and including 2 buffets, so we booked it.

Glad it worked out for you. And I have never noticed that about booking with AA, though we normally use a CC, it's a good thing to know.

As for the moving thing I think if you plan for worst case scenario in terms of having to wait for your room you'll be fine. The time it happened to us was at Cosmo - we checked out of Bally's at 11 and headed over only to find that our room might not be ready until 4pm and they couldn't give us even a range other than it might not be until 4pm. They did take a mobile number and said they would ring us when the room was ready which was nice and they did...but we felt a bit adrift not knowing if it might be an hour or might be 5...and feeling like we wanted to get checked in and didn't want to go too far in case it was ready earlier and in the end we think it was between 4 and 5 that we got the call.

Before that the longest wait we had was at Encore for about 45 minutes.

So this trip, when we will be moving from Caesars to Cosmo we've already decided that we will have a plan laid out in advance for what we do if the room is not ready and no 'oh, maybe we should hang around for awhile just in case' as we did feel like we lost 1/2 the day due to the uncertainty and our lack of a back-up plan.

ferf1223

lizzielie wrote: »

LOL, we're the same, as we also like different things. And not helped that we always find the portions huge, but we never seem to learn.... We really want to try Gordon Ramsay Steak this time around. Do you know if you need to book far in advance or are there generally tables available on the night?

I would have a look at the online reservation system to get an idea...when we went we called about a month before and could only get a 9:45 seating for the night we wanted (later for the alternate date) but it may have calmed down since.

It looks like right now you could book early or late most nights via Open Table...you can't book most nights between about 5 and 8:30 online so maybe that's reservations via the restaurant direct only?

http://www.parislasvegas.com/restaurants/gordon-ramsay-steak.html#.UxyaFPl_t0k

We really enjoyed our meal...it was even better when immediately after my hubby won enough to cover the whole cost on a Quick Hits slot machine.

lizzielie

ferf1223 wrote: »

Glad it worked out for you. And I have never noticed that about booking with AA, though we normally use a CC, it's a good thing to know.

Me too, especially as it was a Friday afternoon, the timing not the best! And looking forward to the Stay Well room, although it may be a bit gimmicky

Great to know they call you when the room is ready, this trip I have said we will get one of the T-Mobile sim cards. BTW, does anyone know how long they last before they deactivate if not used?

Thanks a million for the link to book a table! Might just try to book it asap then Love it as well when Lady Luck smiles on you like that with a great win, nice finish to a great evening I reckon :T

pebblesmax

I buy $100 credit and that keeps my number for a year. I think that the length of time it lasts before being deactivated is dependent on how much credit you add. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Just found out that it's 90 days for all other amounts. Hope that helps.