The Las Vegas Thread and MSE guide

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Steve1981 wrote: »

We are due to fly to vegas on 31st august for a fortnight, we have within the last week, had some unexpected, though pleasing news that there is a little one on the way. There have been complications in the past and now we are a bit unsure about going (not exactly the best timing but you cant always pick these things). Im just interested if anyone else has flown while expecting and if so what they made of it?

Congratulations.

we had a similar dilema in 1993, it was going to be our first trip and wife got pregnant but she would have been at a much later stage than your wife. We cancelled, ended up going 3 years later with a 3 year old.

ferf1223

March

pcg2001 wrote: »

Another quick question before the big day tomorrow: my OH and I will be travelling with a ds lite, psp, small laptop, £300 sony camera, 2 ipods (I know this sounds like a lot... ). Since we want to bring back some clothes (I will try to average us to £145 each to keep within the limits), is it advisable to declare the electronic stuff we will be taking with us tomorrow at the airport? Am I correct in thinking I may run into a lot less trouble if I declare that stuff beforehand, in the (unlikely, but possible) event our bags are checked on the way back? I have never done this before, and am not sure of the implications of doing this, or of where I can do it... Any clues? Thanks.

I'm not sure what you mean. On the way out, you only have to declare stuff that you will be leaving in the US as far as I know...I don't know of a way to declare the electronic stuff you have on you as yours at the start of the trip...if you're worried, take a photo of the items you will be taking with a daily paper from a day before you leave or something to document you previously owned the items.

I wouldn't worry about it. Between my husband and I we regularly travel with about the same amount of electronics and never had a problem...and we normally come back with a large suitcase full of clothes and a small carry on with DVDs and CDs.

And don't put any of the electronics in your checked luggage...just in case you were thinking about it.

ferf1223

March

Steve1981 wrote: »

We are due to fly to vegas on 31st august for a fortnight, we have within the last week, had some unexpected, though pleasing news that there is a little one on the way. There have been complications in the past and now we are a bit unsure about going (not exactly the best timing but you cant always pick these things). Im just interested if anyone else has flown while expecting and if so what they made of it?

congratulations!

I can't offer any first hand advice as I've never been in the situation, but I think that if you, your wife or both will be worried or uncomfortable going I think it may be best to cancel and go in a few years...it is a long flight, so if she's got morning sickness I can't imagine that would be the best thing in the world for her...and some women develop severe aversion to the smell of cigarette smoke when pregnant (I've known several, some who were smokers before they got pregnant)...then again, it's a last chance for the two of you to go off on your own before the next stage of your life starts.

Not a decision I would want to have to make - good luck and again, congrats.

stoneman

May

pcg2001 wrote: »

Another quick question before the big day tomorrow: my OH and I will be travelling with a ds lite, psp, small laptop, £300 sony camera, 2 ipods (I know this sounds like a lot... ). Since we want to bring back some clothes (I will try to average us to £145 each to keep within the limits), is it advisable to declare the electronic stuff we will be taking with us tomorrow at the airport? Am I correct in thinking I may run into a lot less trouble if I declare that stuff beforehand, in the (unlikely, but possible) event our bags are checked on the way back? I have never done this before, and am not sure of the implications of doing this, or of where I can do it... Any clues? Thanks.

I have read on this very forum about people bringing all sorts of things back from the U.S. without customs batting an eyelid. I have heard that people take things out of boxes, take tags off of clothes, throw away receipts, even use a brand new set of golf clubs just to dirty them up a bit;) .
I have heard on this forum that with all the security issues that HMC are far too busy , and in fact , I can never remember ever seeing a customs people in any of the green lanes on my return from Vegas. Now, I just remembered, I have even heard of people taking empty suitcases or buying cheap ones while out there to stuff all their booty into for the return.;)
BTW, there is no way to declare your own belongings on the outbound journey AFAIK

Lantana

Quick plea for advice! Another Vegas addict here - but always tend to book very last minute due to work.

I am tracking a hotel and flights package on expedia and lastminute.com for the end of August for 7 days....( have compared against seperate flight and hotel for what I want and happy to combine as the deals compare well for my chosen hotel)

However I haven't booked yet as the price is fluctuating up and down on both sites.

My question is ...with the credit crunch on both sides of the Atlantic..should I gamble and wait abit longer to see if prices fall or....grab what I want now. I had half a mind to wait til it was 31 days and falling before I booked ..but not so sure now as both sites have slightly increased prices in recent days.....which surprised me in the current economic circumstances!

triggerrabbit

October

Hi i Have question on the $20 trick. We are booked in pretty good room at the Bellagio already and i was wondering whether to put the $20 in with my i.d. will i get any comp vouchers etc from the check in clerk or is it worth keeping hold of my money

Steff

July

Hi everyone – finally got round to compiling a “sort of” trip report/hint and tips/observations etc from my recent trip to Vegas – June 29 to July 13.

First of all – had an amazing time and to put it in context it is my third trip there with my other half – we are both early 30’s. The first time we stayed at The Wynn for 6 nights, second time at The Rio for 14 nights. This time we were supposed to be staying at The Orleans for 9 nights and The Wynn for 5 nights but ended up staying 14 nights at The Orleans as we loved it so much!

I’m going to post this in two parts as it is rather long.

PART ONE


FLIGHT

Flew direct with BMI from Manchester on Sunday 29/6 – definitely the best flight I have experienced to Vegas, (have previously flown Continental with 1stop and My Travel via Glasgow Airport). We were delayed by one hour on the tarmac outbound and one hour inbound – but it was still the best.
I booked the flight in November 07 for travel in June 08 in their November sale for £820 for two – best price I have seen for direct travel in June/July to Vegas.

THE ORLEANS

Unbelievable value hotel. We paid $35 Sun-Thurs & $80 Fri & Sat £370 in total for 14 nights. On arrival at the hotel my other half wanted to walk straight back out again but after two days he loved it – as did I. I think his initial reaction stemmed from only ever staying at higher class places in Vegas – but seriously folks this is now our favourite hotel and on any return holidays will be our first choice.
It is friendly, not too busy despite having over 1,800 rooms. The facilities are amazing – free spa, free shuttle bus, free gym, free business centre, free local calls, 18 screen cinema, 70 land bowling alley and the Poker Room is one of the best I have seen over there (save Bellagio and Caesars). The pool area is absolutely lovely – like a much smaller version of The Rio’s (minus the sand) The buffet is, again, amazing value $8 I think for breakfast and $13 for lunch and then you get $1 off pp for having their players card. I could go on forever about this hotel but it would take up too much space, so you can read my full report on Trip Advisor if you are interested (I’m SteffLeeds).
Can I just say – I am definitely one of those people who DOESN’T want to switch hotels mid-stay simply because I DETEST packing. This trip we treated ourselves to a night at the Wynn whilst keeping our room at The Orleans – that was lovely if not a bit decadent- just needed to pack an overnight bag J

ELLIS ISLAND CASINO - BBQ

First time visit there this year – amazing. $8.99 for half a roast chicken, half a rack of ribs, two corns, beans and garlic bread. If you get the book American Casino Guide you get coupons for buy one get one free and four free drinks at the bar – so for $8.99 we had two dinners and four drinks. The value is out of this world and the food is lovely – I don’t just like it cos its cheap – I really enjoyed it. Didn’t get chance to try their steak dinner (not on menu I don’t think) but its something silly like $4.95?
You get to it by walking down the street in between Bills and Ballys – it is literally behind Ballys – opposite some electricity pylons. It is dark in there at first, but the atmosphere is lovely and everyone is friendly. We had to wait for 50 mins for a table inside, but you can get seated quicker if you sit outside. But, with 4 free drinks vouchers it wasn’t a problem!!!

GRAND CANYON

My other half treated me to our first helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon – it was amazing – loved it. We booked online two days before travel via Papillon. I chose their Canyon Skies trip but upgraded it to First Class – which then came out as being their Grand Celebration Tour First Class. Cost was $294 each – approx £300.
We got picked up by limo from our hotel and taken to McCarran Airport. VIP check in, free refreshments and snacks. Please note – go to the loo before you get on the helicopter as unsurprisingly there aren’t any loos in the Canyon!!!
We had a 75 minute flight to the Canyon – no turbulence – very very smooth flight – loved it. We landed in the South Rim and had a champagne picnic lunch then had 30 mins to look around before boarding and heading back to McCarran over the strip.
There were four of us plus pilot in the chopper. Very comfortable. Then, again, limo transfer back to our hotel. Perfect.
The headsets that you have to wear are cool and the soundtrack that the pilot played included tracks from Top Gun which was really fun. I have a lovely big piece of the canyon on my mantelpiece at home now – great souvenir.

BILLS

The shuttle bus from The Orleans to the Strip stops at Bills Gaming Hall & Saloon. Great place. I had never been in before but, out of curiosity, we went inside and I’m glad we did! 99c Margaritas all day every day (at the margarita bar only – at the back of the hotel) they were divine and, after 3-4 I’d say I was drunk! Their Steakhouse has a $14.95 steak dinner (not on menu-have to ask for it) which consists of your choice of soup or salad, bread roll, NY Strip or Prime Rib with fries, mash or baked potato with sour cream and butter. No veggies – so order a side if you feel you must. I tried both and I preferred the NY Strip as the Prime Rib is HUGE!!!! Tip – if you like your steak Medium Rare – ask for Medium if you like it Medium as for it Medium to Well – they undercook it if you don’t. We went three times on this trip and will probably make it our first night stop on any future trips!
Service is great – you pay at the till on your way out but they can’t take tips at the till so leave your tip on the table – the service is SO worth it.
You do have to wait for a table – usually 30 mins or so, but that just gives you chance to sample more of them cocktails!!!

AMERICAN CASINO GUIDE

My first time using this book. Will ALWAYS buy one every trip from now on. Unbelievable savings. If anyone is unsure about getting it – just do it - seriously.
I cut out each Vegas coupon before I went and made a brief note of them where they could be used and put them in small clear wallets so that I was able to easily carry them around with me. I didn’t manage to use them all and was in no way a slave to them – in fact, I still have some really good ones left as sometimes I forgot to use them but the ones I did use saved us a lot – the Ellis Island ones alone paid for book a few times over!

RESTAURANT.COM
Sorry to those fans out there but I was NOT IMPRESSED whatsoever. I bought x4 $25 gift certificates when they had 60% off. I had them for Ocean One Bar & Grille, Blondies, El Paso (Mexican) and 40/40 club. I left three of them for the cleaner of our room after using only one of them at Ocean One Bar & Grille.
Ocean One Bar & Grille is in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile. It looks lovely and has a great menu. Both me & my partner ordered the steak (which came with potatoes and veg). I ordered mine medium and he order his medium well. Mine was seriously rare. I asked if they could cook it a little bit longer and about 15 mins later, after my partner had finished his and my veg and potatoes were cold, they returned with my lump of meat. I didn’t enjoy the meal but thought, ah well, at least we are not paying full price. WRONG!!!! They charged the 18% tip and, of course, tax. This left us paying nearly full price for the steak – only saving about $6 in all. Down to principal I spoke to the manager to say I wasn’t happy with the service and therefore did not want to pay the 18% - I was told basically, tough – you have to. Very bad taste left in my mouth after that – pun intended! In my personal opinion I will not be buying them again. I also felt that I was tied to arranging my dining experiences around them – with deals at places such as Bills (see above) I see no benefit in buying them.

PART TWO TO FOLLOW

PandaPants_2

September

We use Vegas as our annual shopping trip and have never been stopped, we spend a couple of grand on clothes, shoes, etc... We brought home a $2000 engagement ring, 3 i-pods and a hell of a lot of clothes in January and no-one stopped us, admittedly we had opened 2 of the i-pods and i was wearing the ring.

We don't buy things to sell on, we just buy things we couldn't afford over here, like Jimmy Choos.

Steff

July

PART TWO


ONE ROAM US SIM CARD
Invaluable. If anyone wants to be able to get in contact with their friends/partners whilst over there OR even ring home then consider getting a US Sim card before going through One Roam. I think they were £14 each with $10 free credit. Bargain. They have a website and do a search on this thread for more info. Call charges are 35c to a Vegas number and 35c to ring the UK! They even have a number where people in UK can ring you for 1p per minute. My mum rang me twice using this number and it was great to be able to do that. Do bear in mind that you are charged 35c for receiving calls too though. I think texts were 12c or so. We had a few friends over at the same time as us and it was good to be able to keep in touch knowing it wasn’t going to cost a fortune. I topped up three times ($10 minimum) using my credit card and there were no hidden charges or anything. I would highly recommend them and I will be using them again next year. Its handy being able to ring the other half to see if he is still in the poker tournament or not!!

LUXOR IMAX & STAR TREK
I was hugely disappointed to learn that the Imax in the Luxor is closed indefinitely. Planned a whole day around watching all their 3D films – I was very upset. There is a lot of construction going on at Luxor at mo – it wasn’t that great – not a good atmosphere at all.
Also – the Star Trek experience is closing from August. My best mate is really upset about that as she got wed there a few years ago and was planning a return trip in January 09 – had to break the news to her. I think Quarks bar is staying as they will still be holding the Star Trek Convention there every year though.

WYNN

Let me start by saying that I love the Wynn. From the smell to the Terrace Point Caf! to the waterfalls, to the bed – everything!! To me it is paradise. I was lucky enough to stay one night here during my trip. They are doing some really good promotions at the mo for free slot play etc – check out their website for details. At check in we tried the $20 trick – she looked at me like I was rubbish and said no, they don’t do that – but we could happily pay for the upgrade – NO THANKS!!!! She did give us a strip view BUT the Palazzo totally blocks the view. I was really disappointed. You need to be staying under the Wynn sign to see the strip now. We did get a view of their own waterfall show, but its doesn’t compare to that impeccable strip view that I had the first time we stayed there. The room was identical to last time and the bath is to die for – champagne, plasma telly lots of bubbles and I’m set J. Went to Terrace Point Caf! for our main meal – beware the menu changes at 10pm to the revised smaller version – we were very disappointed as we arrived at 9.50pm – and kept seeing all these interesting looking plates of food coming from the kitchen only to be told they were from the “other menu”.
If you are just visiting the Wynn – go to “Sugar & Ice” – it’s a smaller caf!/icecream parlour but if you go outside you get a fantastic view of the waterfalls – its very relaxing and a lovely place to chill out for a short while and rest your feet!!! Its not cheap though – but it is worth it.
A huge negative in the room. We were on the 51st floor I think and about 3am I was woken up by a high pitched screeching noise. At first I thought it was the fire alarm and shot out of bed. Turns out it was the wind screeching through the hallways!!!! I opened the door and it was like a wind tunnel. I was quite scared at first before I realised what it was. Had to use earplugs to get back to sleep.
All in all, my second trip to the Wynn was not as good and I’m not really that picky.

UPGRADES

See above for experience at The Wynn. Didn’t bother trying at The Orleans but was given exactly what I asked for – Non-smoking King Bed with Strip View close to the elevator. Perfect.
POINT TO MENTION – On our outward flight with BMI – on entering the plane through Premium Economy, there were at least 6 seats empty and I jokingly said to my other half – those are ours. Turns out if I had asked it would have been possible that we were upgraded as a guy behind us asked first and, sure enough they were upgraded. Lost out there. On way back plane was packed so no chance.

THE VOODOO LOUNGE @ THE RIO

I have to say that dancing outside on the rooftop terrace of The Voodoo Lounge at the Rio continues to be one of my highlights whilst visiting Vegas – we went for the second time during our last trip. It is a totally unique experience – dancing and drinking whilst overlooking the whole of Las Vegas – superb.

FREE ENTRY - Tip for you all – I went to The Total Rewards desk (their players club) and asked them if they had any passes for the Voodoo Lounge. She simply asked me how many there were in my party (x8) and handed over VIP passes – which entitles the bearer to free entry before 10.30pm Sunday to Thursday. On the back is a two for one voucher for a Skky Vodka Cocktail – so – free entry and 241 drinks – cant say fairer than that really. Even if you just go for the view and have a soft drink its SO WORTH THE TRIP. I think she presumed that I was staying at the Rio, but I wasn’t -so just imply that you are! I have no idea how much it usually costs – sorry!

We arrived at 10pm on a Thursday night and there were 5 people before us in the queue. It was very quiet when we first got in but by midnight the place was packed. Just taking the lift up is amazing – it has a clear back so that you can look out and your ears do pop. Once you arrived you walk through the rather dark corridor and enter the inside bar area which plays mostly dance music. The outside area is more old school and classics with some hip hop.

TOP OF THE WORLD RESTAURANT

I have commented on my recent visit already so, briefly, I have wanted to visit here since 2005, so decided to definitely do it this year. I booked the table 3 months in advance for a Monday night for two @ 7pm and requested a booth.
The drive to The Strat was a bit of an eye opener – we went through a very rough looking area and the taxi man warned us NOT to wander around there when we had finished – not likely!
On entering they brought up our booking and advised that they had one booth left which we took. The booths face outwards so that you don’t have to turn your head – there is a table in front of you though, so this can block your view somewhat.
The views did not disappoint however and I loved the slowly moving restaurant – very gimmicky and very enjoyable.
Service is impeccable. Very attentive. Food although delicious is overpriced and I would advise anyone going to skip the starters – they are the most overpriced part and are disappointing. I would simply order a steak. NB – the sides (priced at $10 a pop) are for two – our waiter didn’t advise us of this, so we ordered three and needless to say, we couldn’t finish them!!! (Price two courses each plus bottle of wine £105). The main course was lovely though – I couldn’t handle dessert.
After eating you can go up to the observation deck free of charge ( I should hope so after that bill!).
I’m glad I went but I won’t be returning – the view from the Voodoo Lounge is just as good and not as expensive – unless you drink the “Witch Doctor” cocktails that they are famous for – go on, you know you want to!

CRAPS

Right everyone – when you are over in Vegas I’m sure that you have all seen and heard people high fiving and cheering over at the Craps table. There is a reason why it seems like such fun – cos it is!!!! I started to play at the end of last years holiday and I picked it up again this year. LEARN TO PLAY – take a free lesson but do it. It’s such fun and I really do think its part of the Vegas experience. Go somewhere where their minimum is $5 – Orleans, Gold Coast, Bills, Ellis Island, Casino Royale etc and give it a go. I am still learning and still feel a little apprehensive each time before I join a table, but get another margarita down you and give it a go! When its your turn to shake the dice it’s a huge buzz, but if you don’t want to, just wave your hand over them and the next person will do it.

I just wanted to mention that I tried the Gold Coast’s lunchtime buffet whilst there this year and it thoroughly impressed me – no complaints whatsoever – I’ve read some recent posts where the quality was questioned – we loved it and it is definitely on our list to return to on our next visit.

Overall this was my favourite trip to Vegas – maybe cos we planned it all ourselves and we had friends over there at the same time as us, so it was like a few holidays all in one – poker, relaxing, fine food & drinks and also socialising. Loved it, miss it, want to go back already. If anyone would like to ask me any questions then please feel free – either PM me or use the forum as normal.

TOTAL COST OF TRIP – Flights & Accommodation = £1,190 + £1,800 spending money = £3,000 approx.
(Partner won $3,000) so in total the holiday cost us £1,500 – RESULT!!!
Steff
(to put our spending money in context - we dont gamble that much - just poker and the odd game of craps!)

Lantana

Fantastic post Steff - thanks for all the up to date info! Will now check out the Orleans as had never thought of it before !