The Las Vegas Thread and MSE guide

diddydi

Just to keep you updated on Tasha's trip. They moved from Excalibur today to Mirage and were able to check in at midday. Spoke politely to check in and even without the 20$ trick were upgraded to a strip view room. The Volcano theme is undergoing refurbishment so not working but she is so happy to have changed hotels. Both my daughters are wimping out about going to the Grand Canyon which I think is a great shame - have said they are missing something quite spectacular. Their other halves are going but the girls are going to the outlet malls. Each to their own I suppose. Looking forward to the wedding tomorrow night if anyone else wants to join me in the hanky brigade go to www.littlechapel.com sign in as guest go to bridegroom name Slater and press go.
Di

Steve1981

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I KNOCKED UP FOR A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS GOING TOWARDS THE END OF NEXT MONTH - WE WENT FOR TWO WEEKS LAST AUGUST FOR OUR HONEYMOON - UNBELIEVABLE

firstly we stayed at the Mirage, this is centre strip - this is good as whatever direction you go (either to the north of the south) you are always at least halfway there so it cuts down on travel time, which is helpfull as there is so much to do.

other hotels in the middle(ish) are TI (Treasure Island), Harrahs, The Venitian Ceasars Palace. The hotels are huge and you will spend a lot of the time in them, it will still be hot when you go but not the hottest time of the year. sunglasses and lots of water will be the most important thing you will need.

I can only tell you about the hotel we stayed in which was great and if you ask for a strip view on arrival you normally get one.

In the Hotels

Mirage - has white tigers and also a dolphin habitat. The Beatles 'Love' by Circ du Solei is a show here, we went its great but tickets might be hard to get - the box office is in the hotel.

Ceasars - is BIG loads of shop - also has planet hollywood for good food not too expensive (most things in Vegas are priced well due to the strong pound against the dollar - ha listen to me getting all world finance) you can normally just walk in and for 3 courses for two of us and 2 cocktails for the wife and 4 pints for me cost about £40-£45. hotel is all roman themed (no surprise) and is huge. also has a massive cheesecake factory shop - you can get anything you want on a cheesecake

Venetian is big (more expensive to stay at too) - you can go on a gondola ride in or outside and they sing whilst they take you round - you can get nice snacks in 'st marks square' and real nice Italian ice cream too.

in the Miracle mile shopping centre is pretty cool - it 'rains' inside into a stream and has a thunderstorm, not worth going to just for that but if you are there you may as well have a look - also you canbook to see a beatles tribute act if you wish

Paris has a half scale Eiffel tower and a restraunt that does french cusine - you will need to book and its not cheap

New York New York has a roller coaster around the manhatten skyline places inside do pizza and pasta meals.

excablibur is next to the luxur - medieval and egyptian themed accordingly and leads to the Mandalay Bay really nice - big hotel - expensive though. its the bottom hotel on the strip and then is the Welcome to Vegas sign - it is not far to walk but if its hot (DONT WALK) get a taxi as its worth it if you want to live.

MGM grand is largest hotel in the world with over 5 thousand rooms it also has a Lion enclosure where the staff go in and handle them - mental it is and the biggest brass sculpture in either Europe or America is outside in the form of the MGM Lion

The Bellagio is the hotel in Oceans Eleven - also go and watch the Fountains outside the Bellagio after dark - they are really big and dance to music - really really good.

of an evening go and watch the Treasure Island - pirates of TI show outside its good fun, the Mirage has a volcanoe that goes off every 20 minutes afer sundown.

The stratosphere is at the North End of the strip, if you want to eat at the top of the world restaraunt you need to book (BEFORE YOU GO) about 6 weeks prior as its fully booked otherwise. its the highest restaraunt in America, it rotates and you see the whole of Vegas from 1000 feet, its amasing. a real must and not too expensive - 3 courses each 2 bottles of wine and it was about £90 in total - which whilst may sound quite a bit if it was in london it would be double or more and you wouldnt get the view. after go up to the observation tower - outside it is a bit windy but a hot breeze (which is strange) and great views - i sent you the picture on the phone. also if you are brave/stupid enough there are 3 rides at the top - which go over the edge.

Circus Circus - has circus acts and a pleasure dome with loads of rides

If you fancy a bit of shopping get a taxi to shopping outlet north of the strip (bout $10 in a taxi) i went mad and had saved for a while but between us we spent about £500 and got over £2000 of clothes if we ahd bought them in the uk (all desginer brands) and you can do it in a morning if your up early enough (Pack light when you go and I mean really light as you dont realise how much you will bring back with you)

We went to see a Rat Pack Tribute night at the Greek Isle's you get dinner and the show for about £20 and its a really good night that - i had steak and they wait the tables and the theatre is the same as the Sands hotel where the Rat Pack performed.

Trips

It is not cheap (bout £100) but with Heli USA you can do a Vegas Night flight - it is truely unbeliveable to see the whole of Vegas all lit up from a helicopter in the dark - they pick you up and drop you off at your hotel and it doesnt take more than 2 hours so you can still do stuff the rest of the night.

The also do a Grand Canyon trip which is totally beyond belief - i wish I could explain it to you but it simply would not do it justice- this if i recall is not as expensive as the night flight - both of these you do with your travel agent before you go - it does mean you have less to pay when you get there though.

also opposite the Mirage is a restraunt called the outback (I think) its an Australian place and does cracking steaks and stuff.

at the stratosphere there is an American Diner where its like Grease, they get up on the tables and sing.

Also if you are travelling about the cheapest way is on the Vegas Monorail - it runs behind the hotels on the East side of the Strip from the Sahara in the North (which is a short walk to the Stratosphere) to the MGM grand in the south - single trips are a couple of dollars or you can get a three day pass for about $18 which is just under a tenner.

drink lots of water and try and get a hotel which is around the centre of the strip will keep things easy.

Mardrew

pinkpinkfizz wrote: »

Hi,

I am still working on my trip report, which will follow soon, perhaps an abbreviated version though otherwise I may take up too much space.:rotfl:

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Pinkpinkfizz

I'm waiting for your trip report with baited breath. We are going in just over a week's time and, all of a sudden, I am not feeling very sorted or organised and haven't got our plan together (from all the notes I've previously made) as to what to do or see and in what order whilst there. (We have got tickets booked to see Tom Jones and also Love but still need to sort out our Grand Canyon trip. I will still be able to book that at this late stage won't I?) We are staying at The Signature for the first 3 nights and then The Palazzo for the final 4 and so it would make sense (wouldn't it?) to work out things to see that are close to those hotels so that we are not darting backwards and forwards along the Strip. I would welcome any of your tips/recommendations.

Kind regards

Mardrew

photome

Steve1981

Great report but just to add the cheapest way to get aroud is a $5, 24hour pass on the deuce bus, it is also much more accessable

photome

I have mentioned this before but not sure if it is on the first page.

Anyone in to chocolate ? If you go in the Bellagio to the left of the conservatory and down the hallway there is the worlds largest chocolate fountain and a choclatier

pinkpinkfizz

Las Vegas Trip Report

Flying economy with Virgin Atlantic on a direct flight from London Gatwick to Las Vegas McCarran international airport, our flight was delayed by 2 hours just as we were about to board, as the plane had “gone technical”. Once onboard, we located our seats and were fortunate that we had a spare seat in our row of three, we were grateful for the extra room on our 10.5 hour flight. The food was served regularly and was very nice. All in all a good flight, I would definitely fly Virgin again.

Upon arrival we were dreading customs & immigration as we had heard lots about them being very stern, and the possibility of it taking a few hours to get through, with all the security checks, problems with the visa waiver forms, etc however this turned out not to be the case and although they were very professional, they were also very polite, courteous and welcoming.

We took a cab to the Bellagio Hotel, where I tried my hand at the $20 front desk tip. I put forward $20 with CC and DL and said “It’s our 10th wedding anniversary, do you any rooms that would make our stay extra special?” the check-in clerk asked if there was anything in particular I had in mind, so I said we would love a view of the Bellagio fountains. A few clicks later and we were on our way up to the 26th floor, we located our room. The view was spectacular. Our room was lovely, very luxurious with a bed that felt as though you were sleeping on a marshmallow! The bathroom was huge too. It was 5pm Vegas time (1am morning at home) we unpacked our suitcases and decided to try to stay up as long as possible.
Before we left home I had spent a lot of time researching our trip and had put together a notebook with information, hints, tips and guides from other people’s trip reports. From our room window I spotted Bally’s right across from our hotel. We decided to make for there first, to try out the Margarita bar, where it was Happy hour and free nachos with every drink. We enjoyed a drink and listened to the entertainment then took a wander through the casino and down into the shops and food courts. Finally getting back to our room around 10pm (6am home) we fell into bed and fully expected to sleep until morning, however around 4am we were wide awake and ready to go back out.
This is the view from our room in the Bellagio;

Incapuppy

Thats an amazing pic pinkpinkfizz. I visited Vegas for the first time in 2000 and reading this thread has really made me want to return.

pinkpinkfizz

The first Buffet we tried was the Bellagio breakfast and it was delicious. King strawberries that were the sweetest I have ever tasted, fresh fruits, smoked trout, smoked salmon, cheeses, pancakes, pastries, bacon, eggs, omelettes made to order, sausages, not forgetting the noodles, sweet’n’sour chicken, various other oriental dishes and more! It was so filling we didn’t feel hungry again until evening.

On the first day we went to the Outlet Mall in the south end of the strip and took the Deuce bus to get there. It only costs $5 for 24hours on the Deuce which goes up and down the strip very regularly. The only draw back is that it is painfully slow, as it stops at every stop and people seem to take forever to get on and off. Also mid afternoon traffic on the strip almost came to a standstill so it was quicker to walk than get on the bus. We walked loads and loads. I had taken my pedometer with me and we averaged about 30,000 steps daily and that was only strolling in and around the casinos/shops and from one casino to the next. I had purchased a lovely new pair of Nike shox, for which my feet were eternally grateful. The outlet was quite good, although several shops were the same, but the Timberland outlet shop was exceptional value for money. This mall is all indoors. We took the Deuce bus back up the strip but ended up getting off at MGM grand as it was so slow and the traffic was chock a block. It took us ages to walk back to our hotel, although it had looked only a short distance. We quickly learnt how deceptive the distance is to walk due to the scale of the buildings, just because you can see it, doesn’t mean you can walk there quickly! We got showered and dressed up glam for night time and we went and wandered and gambled a few dollars here and there, people watched and sipped cocktails. It was a lovely, friendly laid back atmosphere as all sorts of people mingled from one casino into the next, taking their drinks with them as they went. At bedtime we took a snack from the “snack shop” in the Bellagio to our room, as we hadn’t eaten since morning and were too tired to appreciate fine dining. The snack was HUGE. I had a turkey club sandwich with a side of crisps and coleslaw. The sandwich had to be pinned together there was so much meat in it. The standard of food was exceptional no matter where we ate, it was the finest food prepared to the highest standard, presented in pristine condition

I genuinely thought, that as I was so tired I would sleep for hours, but again after only a couple of hours we were awake and couldn’t settle back to sleep. This was the way my sleep pattern stayed for the duration of the holiday and I have struggled to settle back to my normal sleep pattern since returning home. I’m sure I’ll get there in the end though.

We had pre-arranged a 1st class celebration Grand Canyon helicopter tour with Papillion before we left the UK and had booked the early morning flight. This was a 6.30am pick up by stretch limousine, breakfast at the executive lounge of McCarran airport and state of the art helicopter tour out to the Grand Canyon with a 30 minute landing in the canyon for a champagne picnic, then back to the airport and limo to the Bellagio It was excellent service, excellent food and great value for money. We purchased the souvenir photo that was awaiting our return, for only $15. We had all of this done and it was still only 10.30 in the morning. We spent the rest of the day taking in more hotels/casinos.

The Bellagio is located very centrally on the Strip and so we decided to try to “do” everything to the right of the hotel, in one day. We set off and walked passed the Monte Carlo, closed due to the recent fire, and came first to New York New York. It was amazing, with the Statue of Liberty, roller coaster and sky scrapers making an impressive skyline. Inside the ringing and singing of the slot machines, as people played filled the place. They had an excellent sports book, where you can bet on almost any sport, and usually watch it too! They had the authentic New York pretzel stations and some good shopping. I left my other half to watch some football and continued exploring. Up the escalator, more shops and out to Excalibur in one direction and MGM Grand across the bridged walk way. I went to Excalibur first, wandered around, played a few slots and went upstairs to the mall where I bought the first of my souvenirs, then came back out and crossed over to the MGM Grand. It is a really BIG casino (not sure if it actually is bigger than the others but it felt like it was huge). It has the Lion Habitat with the glass enclosure and the lions can climb onto the roof of the glass covered walkthrough. This was very cool, although the glass is somewhat scruffy; presumably it was better when it was newer. The lions provided some entertainment when the 2 male lions decided to show everyone their skills in the bedroom department! It was hilarious as one little kid turned to his Mummy and said “what are the Lions doing, Mummy?” just after his mummy had told him it was 2 “Boy” lions!
It was time for me to make my way back to collect my husband and we then went back over everything I had done, I was able to tell him where everything was, as I’d already been there.
We continued along the strip and into the Luxor. I wasn’t overly keen on this one as it was quite dark inside and thought there wasn’t much to see. We found an escalator which takes you to the upper floor where there is more to see, with rides and shows. The attention to detail in all the casinos is pretty amazing, and the Luxor was no exception. The pillars/ monuments were finished in a sand-like colour with hieroglyphics and the Sphinx out the front is HUGE. At night the light from the top of the Luxor can be seen beaming high into space, and apparently costs $60 per hour to run. We heard a rumour that the Luxor is soon to be demolished, so I am glad I can say I’ve been there and seen it.

Next was the Mandalay Bay hotel and a look at THE hotel at Mandalay Bay. These were luxurious and very, very nice. The marble floors and extravagant d!cor would make me happy to stay there as it felt very luxurious. The casino floor was pretty much the same as the others, which all felt clean, safe and very inviting. Most of the casinos were steadily busy all day and even busier at night. We just kept wandering and by checking my notebook I knew that there was a shark reef to see there. We paid $15 each to get in, were given remote control type listening devices to learn about what was contained within each “fish tank” and this was a good idea. You simply pressed the number on the control that corresponded with the one next to the viewing window. I think my children would of enjoyed this and it would of taken a lot longer with them. As we entered we had to pose for a “photo opportunity” which we had the option to purchase on exiting. We didn’t as although it was a nice picture of us; it had a very fake background so ended up looking a bit tacky. This photo opportunity was also available upon entering the stratosphere. I would say it’s the only time that I felt like we were being exploited for money, I know that there is no obligation to purchase, but there was no option to decline to pose either as it was the only way in.

We came out of the Mandalay bay at the furthest point and walked back along towards the massive road junction at Tropicana Ave, where we took the footbridge over the road and headed for Hooters. Whilst we were in Vegas, the local TV stated that the Hooters Casino has been sold and is to close and reopen as something different entirely. No more Hooters girls. At least we can say we’ve been there and seen it. Walking back up onto the strip, we slowly made our way back towards our hotel, popping into M&M world and Coca Cola world along the way.

As far as I can recall it was close to 6pm by the time we were almost back and the Strip was very, very busy. The footpaths were heaving with people and the traffic was slow to move along the roads. As soon as evening time approached “the flickers” came out. “the flickers” as I named them were seedy looking men & women who stood at the side of the street flicking pictures/business cards, of scantily clad women and trying to get everyone to take the pictures. They all wore oversized t-shirts printed with “GIRLS TO YOUR DOOR, JUST CALL …..” I thought they were so funny as they never discriminated who they offered the cards to and weren’t offended that we just walked passed and never took any cards. They stood relentlessly flicking their cards and sticking their arm out in the hope someone would take the cards.

We were exhausted and had to force ourselves to go back out for the evening. The strip is so different at night that it was worth making the effort for though. At night we saw the look-alikes of Austin Powers, Jack Sparrow and ehm… Elvis! They were all great and so very realistic. We headed out to Caesars Palace and it is HUGE and lovely. I took loads of pictures whilst in Vegas but none of them do justice to, or capture the scale of the places. It truly has to be seen to be believed. By the time we had seen Caesars palace we had to go back to our room as we simply had no more walking in us. My feet have never been so sore and that was with my lovely new shox. Our plan was to return to Caesars in the morning.
We fell into bed exhausted but again were awake around 3 am. We tried to get back to sleep as this was just too early to get up, if we intended to try to stay up late that same night. Finally around 7am we were out and went across to the Paris for buffet breakfast at Le Village. There was a queue which took about 15 minutes until we were seated and again the breakfast was delicious. The choice was vast and the freshness and flavours made it so hard to choose what to have first. I think the pastries were my favourite in here. They were all miniature so it was easy to try a few things without being wasteful. It was very enjoyable. We continued thorough the Paris it was beautiful inside, the shops were stunning and the themeing felt very authentic. The whole place was immaculately clean. Although this was not exclusive to the Paris, this was consistent almost everywhere in Vegas. The reception/guest check in area in the Paris had the most stunning chandeliers, not just one or 2 but I’m sure there were about 12 of these glistening beauties. They were utterly Gorgeous. We spotted a shop in the mall where you could actually buy chandeliers and furniture, only in Vegas!

We played the slots a while, then moved onto the Venetian and the Palazzo.
The Venetian and Palazzo are also stunning in design. The canals with the Gondoliers looked very romantic but we didn’t go on one as we would have laughed too much at being sung too! The Palazzo was just amazing. It had a walled waterfall that would make a beautiful photo back drop. It also had a water feature that looked like an ice sculpture but was in fact glass ladies standing with water cascading down, with a decorated domed glass ceiling above to allow the sunlight to stream down. Again the size of this was incredible. We continued down to the Wynn and then headed back towards the Bellagio, via the Fashion show malls, where, even I, struggled to think shopping due to tiredness. Although the upper food court replenished us slightly with a Wendy’s Chicken burger meal, it was nothing like a McDonalds or burger king; it was fresh food that was made freshly to order, not left sweating under a heat lamp.

We had booked “O” by Cirque de Soliel at the Bellagio, before we arrived and our showing was at 7.30pm. It was around 5pm when we got to the hotel and I went to collect our tickets. There was a huge queue, everyone had done the same and left it late to collect tickets. If you do not collect your tickets an hour before the performance they will resell them. It took a good 25 minutes to get served so it was a quick shower and change into and back downstairs for the show. Neither my husband nor I are really into shows, although we both said we had to go to see this as we were in Vegas and its all part of the tour. We both admired the skills of the acrobats and the performance was sensational, the way that the floor changes from water to solid surface and back without you being able to tell what’s going on. I’m fairly sure too, that there was a storyline to it all, but this escaped us both, perhaps tiredness won over! We are glad we saw it but we wouldn’t go again.

On our last day we went out to the Las Vegas sign in the morning, by Duece bus, and then took the bus to Downtown and Freemont St. I know that it lights up at night but we had run out of nights and had to see it even in the daylight. I’ll be honest and say if I’d never been I wouldn’t of cared as I felt it was far from the safest place to be. We took the touristy pictures and we were out of there quick time. We stopped at the Stratosphere on our way back up the strip. This turned out to be, probably, one of the highlights of our trip. My husband decided to do the Big Shot ride at the top of the tower and then we went into the restaurant for a cocktail but ended up having lunch. It was $35 for a 3 course lunch and the food was magnificent. We really enjoyed ourselves and would highly recommend this to anyone who’s planning their trip.

We headed back towards the fashion show malls and I did some shopping. I was very chuffed at getting my tourist discount in Macy’s (Go downstairs next to the Mac makeup counter and ask for discount card, you only need to have some ID to get it) I bought my husband a new watch as it was his birthday on the Monday we got home. I had to restrain myself from going overboard on purchases from the Hello Kitty shop and got a lovely pair of sunglasses for myself from the Steve Madden boutique. All in all good shopping and just in the nick of time.

I’m sure I’ve missed loads out but I hope that this gives people some idea of what to expect on a trip out to Las Vegas. We can’t wait to go back.

pinkpinkfizz

pinkpinkfizz

Lunch at the Top of the world restuarant and the views are highly recommended to all