Default Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2019

cubegame

As I suspected (typing live from LV), it's still not worth more than a days visit.

The main difference between now and the last time we were here ten years ago is that back then it was tacky and cheap.....now it's tacky and expensive and stinks of cannabis.

On to Utah and Canyon country......

Misty_Blue

cubegame wrote: »

The main difference between now and the last time we were here ten years ago is that back then it was tacky and cheap.....now it's tacky and expensive and stinks of cannabis.

You're doing it wrong. Vegas can be like Blackpool or Benidorm on steroids if that's what you're into, but it can also be as high-end as you could possibly dream of, and everything in between. We like to save and only visit every 2-3 years then live like money's no object for 10 days.

Still, enjoy the scenery or whatever it is that appeals to you.

Brats64

cubegame wrote: »

As I suspected (typing live from LV), it's still not worth more than a days visit.

The main difference between now and the last time we were here ten years ago is that back then it was tacky and cheap.....now it's tacky and expensive and stinks of cannabis.

On to Utah and Canyon country......

No disrespect...but if you think Vegas is only worth 1 day visit, you are not going to the right places.

It appears you are one of the few who have been to Vegas and obviously don’t like it...that’s fine, we don’t all like the same things.

Again, not meant to be rude, but if you found it tacky last time, not sure why you went back...I wouldn’t go back to somewhere I didn’t like.

Most who post on here love Vegas, and most go back there multiple times....roll on next month for my 20th visit...or something like that.

nvh

stoneman wrote: »

It has been agreed that strikes that involve the employees of the airline involved are within their control so EU261 duty of care and compensation applies.

It's since transpired that the cancellation is most likely going to be due to the Trent 1000 issues. From what I saw, this leads to a regular BA once a day service cancellation. Nightmare! (... well, apart from the eu600 p/p )

nvh

cubegame wrote: »

As I suspected (typing live from LV), it's still not worth more than a days visit.

What hotel did you end up staying in in the end? Did you have plans whilst there, or literally just a bed for the night?

StuieUK34

hey peeps, although Dollar is still utter rubbish, compared with a few days ago, its looking better! Buy rate of $1.22 today , as since 7am, it gone up almost a cent.... (trade rate at $1.24)

I know it don't sound much, but I am a kind of tightwad, and given the amount I change, it can make a difference a cent here and 2

Here's my plan (as long as VA don't strike in 2 weeks time!)
La Quinta / Airbnb house (Palm Springs) - 1 Night
The Aquarius / Laughlin - 1 Night
Downtown Grand / Freemont St - 1 Night
Luxor / Vegas - 4 Nights
Then home with ideally some money, or busted just like in June with less than a dollar to my name!
1 things for sure, I will come home bigger! The food joints are already in the planner!!

bobbyhibs

StuieUK34 wrote: »

hey peeps, although Dollar is still utter rubbish, compared with a few days ago, its looking better! Buy rate of $1.22 today , as since 7am, it gone up almost a cent.... (trade rate at $1.24)

hi
and your the same as me...every penny (or cent) matters to me !
just in case you are unaware (im sure you may know) there is a tool on MSE about currency and where to buy it realitive to where you are and where the best place to buy would be.
In the past, when my brother and I went to vegas... we looked to where the best place to buy dollars was and tried to blag it a lil.
for example there were 2 shops in the centre where we were that had really good rates (at the time !) and we tried to get a better rate by putting our moneys together so we d be taking like £1500 each
so instead of going one £1500, we asked the counter person if they could add xxx to the rate(3-4cents) we d happily change £3000 ..a few cents x £3000 is a bit of money..
we spoke to both shops to see if theyd happily do this (and both would!)

hopefully give you some food for thought..enjoy your trip

StuieUK34

Am 1 step ahead there

photome

Brats64 wrote: »

Typical...

Just started to play the Wynn Casino app last week, and I was just starting to get the hang of it..up to 500 gems in the week, with a stash of 300 million coins to play.
Now they have moved the goalposts.
App upgrade has new VIP points and levels to get to before purchasing anything.
You have to collect thousands of points to get up a level in a certain time frame, and if you don’t they re-set.
Looks like they have made it even harder to get anything, plus i had a go to see how quickly you can accumulate the vip points, and i lost 50 million chips to get 29 points.
I’d swear the wins have tightened up also.

Just updated my Wynn app , it was difficult to get rewards before it has suddenly got much harder

vegasvisitor

Well, we finally got back during the night on Saturday after having our flights cancelled, rebooked, delayed, connection cancelled, rebooked etc. Quite an experience.

So this trip we had 2 nights in Los Angeles (Culver City - Courtyard Marriott), 1 night in Palm Springs (Best Western Las Brisas), 3 nights at Red Rock, 3 nights at Tuscany, 4 nights at Signature, 1 night at Long Beach (Westin).

Overall it was a great trip. We flew to Los Angeles because the Vegas flights kept going up and up and we never managed to get a decent deal on them. We didn't book hugely far in advance, maybe around May or June. We took flights with BA, along with a hire car from Avis booked together as a package. Some others have reported getting their hire car free for booking this way. We were happy with the price, but the car wasn't free or even nearly.

In LA, we spent the day driving to Santa Monica for a walk (2 hours parking) then up the coast to Malibu where we walked for a bit and sat on the beach (free parking on the road). Then drove to Beverly Hills (2 hours free parking) and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and a walk on Rodeo Drive (well worth seeing).

Next day we got up early and set off for Palm Springs, stopping along the way at the outlets at Cabazon just outside Palm Springs. These outlets were really nice. We had a Chevy Impala with a huge boot, so we were quite comfortable leaving everything in the car knowing that the car was locked and everything was out of view. We just made sure we never opened the boot when we arrived anywhere. Then drove onto Palms Springs. They were just coming out of excessive heat warnings, with excess heat still around nearby, and it was really hot. 43C I think, with a real feel a little higher. Again very dry like Vegas, but quite unbearable when we went for a walk at 3pm looking for drinks (water/soft drinks) for the room which seemed not to exist. We eventually went out in the car for them. Unlike Vegas, there wasn't really anywhere to duck inside to get out the heat, other than small shops. Our hotel was extremely central, had a pretty pool area, but was generally an old building. The rooms had been recently upgraded and were perfectly acceptable.

Next day we were headed for Vegas, with plans to drive through Joshua Tree National Park etc. Unfortunately there had been really heavy rain during the night and the road was closed. Having considered looking for another way onto it, we had a rethink, knowing it was a one lane each way road with lots of dips, and we were too concerned it could be flooded anywhere out there so not worth the risk. We decided to take the long and boring drive via the interstate which goes out towards LA before heading up towards Vegas. Long and boring. Plus, I was tired and jetlagged still.

Arrived at Red Rock and staff were as usual very pleasant and we got checked in easily even though we were earlyish. Went down to the pool, and this was Labor Day...the pool was really busy, and a bit of a party atmosphere going on. We had to move loungers to get away from noisy splashy teenagers at one of the smaller nice pools (why couldn't they go to the main one!!). So it wasn't very relaxing after the long drive and I was concerned maybe the atmosphere at Red Rock had changed. Next few days we spent mornings at the pool and whether this helped or not I'm not sure, but it was very pleasant. Whist there, we had a few meals - one at the buffet, one at Maggiano's (well it was just happy hour flatbreads, followed by some Buffalo cauliflower from Wolfgang Puck), and some cocktails. The other meal was at Mint Indian Bistro, which we have visited on Flamingo but this was their other location out west of the strip and on our way to Arroyo Crossing etc where we shopped that day. Most of our shopping was done in the first part of the trip, meaning less driving when we were finally on the strip.

We got a late checkout at RR and went to the pool then quickly checked out and headed over to Tuscany, via some shops etc. We couldn't get in the room at 130pm and were told we could use the pool till 3pm, thinking we were checking in then. We went over to Target for supplies at 3, but still couldn't get in the room till 4pm or so. They said check-in is FROM 3pm, not AT 3pm. hmmm. So it was inconvenient and kind of moved our timings on for the evening.

I can't remember the daily rundown, but we had 2 visits to Canaletto for happy hour and pizza, which also included pop-ins to Buddy V's (good happy hour), Segundo Sol (I like a margarita and their chips and salsa). We never went in Fashion Show Mall, which is a first for us. We had a late lunch buffet at Wynn, and for the price I was a little disappointed by the lack of veggie items considering how good it was in the past. I regretted not eating more the changeover to dinner items as it got worse for me then. We also had a lunch buffet (late lunch) at Bellagio (good), dinner buffet at MGM (also good). Both of these were myVegas rewards. Aria buffet we did a 2/1 and drink bump for 2 from myVegas. This was good as it wasn't a premium reward and cost us $45 for buffet for 2 and drinks. The service wasn't great though and I had to get sparkling and orange separate to get sparkling as it was a mimosa. Strange that they made me take the orange juice, but well at least it was a solution. I'd have been unhappy with the deal had we paid $145 which was on the receipt. Interestingly, although we had wrist bands on, our server checked our receipt thoroughly, so I guess she wanted to know if we were on a deal. :rotfl: We also ate at Wolfgang Puck Cucina on a myVegas $25 credit, and this was also good. We had happy hour cocktails first though, which weren't so good and not really cheap.

So then we moved onto Signature for our last 4 nights in Vegas. We took an upgrade at check-in for $35 per night and the room was amazing. I was so wowed by it. I don't think I want to stay anywhere else now, and it has certainly replaced Platinum where we previously stayed, only issue being lack of washing machine.

We leisurely checked out of Signature and left after 9am for our drive to Long Beach. Stopped at Barstow on the way and shopped a little and went to Burger King to use a groupon gift card we kept forgetting about. We then hit bad traffic as we approached LA. Took quite a while to get there. By the time we checked in, the sun was off the pool so we went out for a walk to see the beach (missed that last time we were there), and along to the front to see the Queen Mary and there was a Carnival ship in too. Had a happy hour drink, then headed back at 7pm to get changed, but realised we shoulnd't have bothered. By the time we die that, then ate, had one drink and checked in for our flights, everything was under 'curfew' and the bars were becoming night clubs and didn't appeal. Back to hotel to relax etc. The guy who had checked us in was very kind and offered us a free 2pm checkout as well as extended parking (fee was $30 per day, but they let us stay as late as we wanted). Our flight had been changed till later, then delayed, so we had to hang about a bit to avoid waiting at the airport. The hotel public areas were very comfortable, and we also went for a meal around 4pm at California Pizza Kitchen. Their lunch menu was quite good with various half and half options.

So that's about it, as I won't go on about the long journey home. Another great trip, found a new great hotel (Signature) and did some different things this time. Have already spoken about doing Phoenix next year as we haven't been there for a few years.

Oh, editing to add weather info....it was nice in LA, but in Palm Springs it was baking hot, as was Vegas for the first 5 or 6 days of our trip. It cooled down quite a bit around the 7th or 8th and at night there was even a slight chill in the air a few nights. It had been boiling before that, to the point we were struggling outdoors even at night.