FLIGHTS
Flights were with US Airways. Manchester, England to Philadelphia then on to Las Vegas. Same in reverse on the way back. The flights were mostly uneventful on the way there. Watched a couple of films and read my book to pass the time. We were first in line at the immigration. We went separately because our last names are different and they only like you to go up together if you have the same name. T got through in no time, but I had to answer loads of questions. Where did I live, did I own my home, how much money did I have with me, my occupation, my previous occupation and then I had to show the officer my itinerary to prove that I had a return flight. Oh well, at least he was thorough.
On the first flight home T had a sandwich. This is what he is blaming for the next few hours of hell. While we were waiting for our second flight he began to sweat. Once on the flight he began to shiver. Then he was violently ill for the whole seven-hour flight. Barring an hour when he slept it was a nightmare. All but one of the flight attendants was great. (I think she thought she would catch something.) They looked after us very well with the minimum of fuss.
HOTELS
We spent five nights at the Gold Coast. Room was fine, the bathroom was a little on the small side, but nothing to worry about. The bed was the most comfortable one that I have ever slept in. The pool area was open but in shade for much of the day. We sat around here for an hour or two on a couple of days. 32 inch LCD TV with reasonable picture quality.
Then it was on to the Barbary Coast for four nights. I really liked this hotel; it's a shame that they have sold it to Harrah's. It is in a great location and we would definitely stay there again. The rooms were slightly larger than GC, but a similar layout. Another good comfy bed here, just not as good as the one at GC. 42 inch LCD TV with reasonable picture quality. It was better on HD programs.
From here we went downtown for a couple of nights. We were booked in to Fitzgerald's. I felt it was a bit grubby, the room had a slight smell of smoke and the carpet definitely needed a good clean. The beds here were hard. We had requested a king non-smoking, but had to settle for two queens because there were no NS kings available. Never mind it was fine really, just not as nice as the previous two. There was a standard TV in this room. The Fitz pool was closed, but the spa was open. It was pretty sunny in the pool area and T spent quite a lot of time sunbathing.
After the Fitz it was on to The Orleans for four nights. The rooms here are bigger than GC and BC, but again a similar layout. The beds here were fine. No LCD TV here though and T was quite disappointed. The pool area was quite shady. T managed to get his sunshine fix though. I really liked the Orleans and can see how so many people have it as their home base.
The last six nights were at the Aladdin. Our room had a partial view of Bellagio Lake and a good view of the PCC building site. The windows both inside and out were filthy. The room had two film stills and a spear used in the film Waterworld in a glass case on the walls. Same decor apart from this, I hope they are planning more changes. When we checked in the registration was still on the mezzanine level. The new registration desk opened on Monday 27th and is very different from the original. One pool was open when we first arrived, but this closed for the season on Monday.
TRANSPORT
We only used cabs to go to and from the airport and between hotels. The remainder of our journeys were either on free shuttles or the CAT buses. We each bought a months ticket when we first arrived for a total cost of $60. That was $40 for my ticket and $20 for T's since he is over 62 and has a card. We used the bus quite a lot and apart from the Deuce along the strip it was fast and reliable. The Deuce is a different matter though; I think they really need to re-introduce the express service. Some of our journeys along the strip would have been quicker walking. Also I lost count of people getting on the bus with no change, some even with $100 bills. That always slowed down the journey, with people looking for change and messing around. It would be better if they just got off and waited for the next bus whilst finding the correct money, since they are every 7 to 10 minutes.
MEETS
Seahorse Lounge @ Caesars Palace organised on LVT.
This meet was arranged by Vegasjacks, and was attended by vegasjacks and friend, vegassi, Oakleytoronto, mudskipper, gooseylucy, MikeE, the percyuk sisters and pebbles and friend. Had a nice chat over a few drinks and all had a good time. It was lovely to meet you all.
Gambling (or my no roller version of it)
We mostly played Texas Tea, Deal or No Deal, Hot Flashes, Frog Prince, Hexbreaker and a little Video Poker at the 1c or 5c level. Didn't lose too much altogether, and actually came out ahead a couple of times. I won't play VP when T is around because he is too critical. Even when I won he would say that I would have won more if I'd listened to him.
We visited the following casinos,
Aladdin - Stayed here. Also had $10 free slot play included in our offer.
Bally's - Just visited here.
Barbary Coast - Stayed here. Played slots and VP.
Bellagio - Visited the conservatory. Fall theme. It was being changed to Winter when we left. Played some slots.
Binion's - Just visited here.
Caesars - This used to be Tony's favourite. Went to an LVT meet here at the Seahorse lounge. Nice to put faces to some of the names on the board. Played slots.
California - Just visited.
Casino Royale - Had a few $1 Michelob's here. Played slots.
Fitzgerald's -Stayed here. Played slots.
Flamingo - Just visited here.
Four Queens - Just visited here.
Fremont -Just visited here.
Gold Coast -Stayed here. Played slots.
Golden Nugget -Just visited here. $10 free slot play each.
Hard Rock - Just visited here. $10 free slot play each.
Harrah's -Just visited here. Played slots.
LV Hilton -Just visited here.
Main Street Station -Just visited here.
Mirage -Just visited here.
Orleans - Stayed here. Played slots.
Palms - Just visited here. $10 free slot play.
Paris -Just visited here.
Rio -Just visited here.
Silverton -Just visited here. $5 free slot play.
South Point -Just visited here. Played slots.
Terrible's - Just visited here. Played slots and VP.
TI - Just visited here.
Vegas Club - Just visited here.
Venetian - Just visited here. Played slots.
FOOD
Aladdin
Had a 2 for 1 coupon for a breakfast or lunch buffet included in the room deal I booked. We used this for breakfast on our last day before checking out and flying home. The buffet is back in the original place downstairs, and the layout appeared to be almost the same as before. Only the decor had been changed.
Zanzibar Cafe @ Aladdin
This was a disaster. We decided to try the famous Pink's hot dogs. BIG mistake. Had to wait for ages to be seated even though there were lots of empty tables. The cutlery we were given was dirty and the table hadn't been cleaned properly. We each ordered the chilli dog. What can I say? The bun was quite fresh; the rest of it was horrible. I have had hot dogs in the past and quite enjoyed them, but this was disgusting. Used a $5 coupon to ease the pain.
Commander's Palace
We had the $18.80 lunch special and some $.25 martinis. It was a good way for me to find out that I don't really like martinis. I tried a Lemon Drop and a Commander's Palace and only managed to drink the first. T had 3 Sour Apple martinis. He loved them.
We both had soup to start, turkey gumbo and a fish dish for the entree, and bananas foster and strawberry mousse cake for dessert. All courses were very tasty and beautifully presented. The place is really nice, the service is excellent and I can't wait to go back again. It was a shame that we left our visit until almost the end of our trip, or we would have definitely gone there again.
Ellis Island
We both had the steak and seafood dinner. It was very good. I have heard some people say that the steak isn't very good here sometimes. We have always had really nice pieces of meat. Our next visit to EI was for breakfast when we both had steak and eggs. The only thing I didn't like was the buttered toast, but that is probably because it was sweet butter. We used a 2 for 1 coupon for both meals.
Flamingo
Had dinner here one evening. I think we had the worst server ever. The drink order was wrong, twice! Our plates weren't removed at all during the meal. When we asked for more coffee, he brought it to the table opposite and just dumped it. We never did get that coffee.
Had brunch a week later and really enjoyed it. $5 off coupons used for each meal.
Ports O Call Buffet @ GC
Have always liked this buffet and since we had some 2 for 1 coupons, we ate here 4 times.
Monterey Room @ GC
Ate here at around midnight on our first night. That would have been breakfast time in England. I had soup and T had the T-bone special.
Flavors @ Harrah's
Had heard that this was better since the remodelling and enjoyed 2 meals here. One meal was weekend brunch and the other was Thanksgiving lunch. Both were very good. We used $5 off coupons for each meal.
Hilton
Had dinner here one evening. Didn't enjoy it as much as previous visits, but there was plenty of choice. We used a 2 for 1 coupon here too.
Main Street station
Had Sunday brunch here. The line for the omelette station was unbelievable. I didn't bother, but found plenty of other choices. We had the most pleasant server here. She was lovely.
Orleans
Had a lunch and the seafood dinner here. Enjoyed both very much. We prefer this to the Gold coast buffet. Used a 2 for 1 at the seafood buffet, paid full price for lunch.
Terrible mike's @ Orleans
Had a snack here. It was fine. Good value.
Palms
Had a dinner and a breakfast here on two different days. They had half off all their buffet prices for the three days before Thanksgiving.
Paris
Had lunch here. We used the $10 off coupon from the POV.
Rio
The Rio buffet was good as usual. There is always something to suit every taste, IMO. We used a 2 for 1 coupon here too.
Sports Cafe @ Rio
We ate here late one night. All I can say is that it was disgusting. We were really hungry and still could hardly eat any of it. A total waste of $26.
Silverton
Beautiful buffet. Was sad that I wasn't hungrier. Had a 2 for 1 coupon for this too.
Tamba Indian Cuisine
We had a buffet dinner here and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Indian food. We wanted to go for dinner, but Thanksgiving weekend was buffet only so we gave it a try. There were lots of selections and several vegetarian options. I really enjoyed this meal. Lovely.
Terrible's
Went here for lunch after we had been to the Atomic Testing Museum. There was a reasonable selection of food. We used to go here for breakfast regularly when we stayed here, but haven't visited in a while. Yet another 2 for 1 coupon, this time from the museum gift shop.
SHOWS etc.
Fab Four
We had planned to see some shows this time, but as usual didn't get around to it. We had 2 for 1 coupons for several shows from the POV, but didn't use them. The only show we did see was the Fab Four in the V theatre in the desert passage. The tickets were free with the package I had booked. T really enjoyed the show, but I thought it was too loud. The lads were excellent musicians and John Lennon's accent was almost convincing. Paul McCartney's needed work though. George Harrison was actually from Liverpool and Ringo didn't say a lot.
Big Elvis
I always like to see Big Elvis if he is performing. Saw him twice this time. He has a big wooden chair that he sits on now instead of the edge of the stage, and there are video clips of him on the screens above the stage. Apart from that there wasn't much difference from previous years, still quite a bit of audience participation and fun. He does appear to have lost some weight though. His outfit was hanging off him and I have seen that same one when it was quite snug.
Atomic Testing Museum
This museum is on Flamingo Road. I really enjoyed looking round it. Even T thought it was interesting. Some of the films were quite alarming. Here is some information from their website.
The Atomic Testing Museum portrays world history through varied representations of the story of the Nevada Test Site and its programs.
The museum features many not seen before, first-person narratives, large iconic artefacts, environmental re-creations, theatrical devices, and interactive elements for personal exploration.
It also presents multiple viewpoints expressed in multi-media presentations and stunning graphics.
Founded in 1998 to preserve the legacy of the Nevada Test Site, the museum's parent organization, Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation was founded with a mission to document and interpret the unique history associated with 50+ years of nuclear weapons research and testing conducted at the Test Site.
The Atomic Testing Museum is located at 755 East Flamingo Rd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. The museum is only minutes from the Las Vegas strip, located just East of Paradise Road.
SHOPPING
We visited both the Downtown and South Strip outlets a couple of times. In addition we visited Boulevard Mall, Fashion Show Mall, Venetian Shops, Caesars Shops, Desert Passage, Bass Pro Shop at the Silverton, Target and T.K. Maxx on Maryland Parkway and Flamingo, Wal-Mart on Spring Mountain and Rainbow and a few other places. We didn't think we had bought much until it came to pack the cases on the way home. We almost had to buy another bag.
We had a lovely time, the weather was great the whole time we were there, and apart from the journey home, I wouldn't change a thing.
I hope it wasn't too boring.
-
Edited by
pebbles
2007-09-03 08:14:36
Good report, thanks.
