Very Basic TR March 20-25

Here is my very basic trip report for our stay March 20-25, 2009.

My husband, a friend, and I flew direct from PHL to LAS on USAir. Our flight was delayed about an hour. Other than the delay, there were no problems. It was a smooth flight all the way to Vegas.

We landed at the airport and played a slot machine. We won $60 so decided to hire a car instead of a cab. In hindsight, this was a waste of money.

We arrived at Harrah’s and after a brief wait, we checked in. My husband had five comped nights. I guess this is from his Atlantic City play. Our friend was comped four free nights and one night for $50 at the Imperial Palace so he decided to stay there. I received three comped nights at Harrah’s and used them for a friend who joined out trip on Sunday. So all in all, we were staying on HET’s tab and only had to pay for our flights, about $260 rt.

We were assigned Mardi Gras Tower 1023. It overlooked Carnival Court and the pool. Very close to the elevators. There was some noise from the elevators in the daytime. There were reports of the court being noisy. I did not hear noise unless I opened the slider. Now, we also did not return to our rooms ‘til way after the bands finished in the Court! Hey, it’s Vegas, baby! I would definitely suggest this room.

The room was small. We had a king bed, a small table with two chairs, and an EXTREMELY small closet area. The rod to hang clothes was only 2 feet long. Since we were here for several nights, this was a bit of an inconvenience. The bathroom was clean. There was sufficient room for all my “stuff”, as my husband calls it, to fit on the vanity. The tub/shower was your standard size. The shower curtain was very dark and not too much light was let in while showering. There was a flatscreen TV.

After evaluating the room, my husband was not too satisfied. He also had some work to do, yes, even in Vegas, and there was no desk area for the laptop. He called and they said there was a bigger room available in the Carnival Tower but not until Saturday. He said ok, we will look at it then. And fyi, broadband service is $12 a day. I think that is ridiculous! There is free wifi in the rooms on the top two floors of the Carnival Tower according to the front desk person.

We checked out a room in the Carnival Tower on the 28th floor. The window also overlooked the pool area and a bit of the Strip. It was only slightly bigger than the room we were already in and there still was no desk. We decided to stay put. I am glad because I really enjoyed my teenie, tiny balcony every day. And I didn’t have to re-pack all my “stuff”!

So we unpacked, stepped out on our small balcony and checked out the view. We could see mountains to our left and the top of Caesar’s to our right. The pool was below. I liked the balcony; you could step out to judge the weather for the day. Coincidentally, our friend at IP was right across from us. He did the $20 trick and was upgraded to the king suite. It ended up that it was the Love Tub room. Too funny!!!! Especially since he is a single guy! He was not too fond of showering in the middle of his bedroom but he made do! Be advised, there are mirrors over the bed and on the ceiling in the shower! I thought the room was true Vegas fashion!

We checked out a room in the Carnival Tower on the 28th floor. The window also overlooked the pool area and a bit of the Strip. It was only slightly bigger than the room we were already in and there still was no desk. We decided to stay put. I am glad because I really enjoyed my teenie, tiny balcony every day. And I didn’t have to re-pack all my “stuff”!

So we decided to head out for the late afternoon and night. I had a plan to see as much as we could possibly see in the short amount of time we were there.

I won’t bore you with the exact details but here is what we managed to see during our trip. It is in a bit of random order, some parts are still fuzzy, so bear with me.

Carnival Court

The Road House

O’Sheas

Bill’s

Bellagio Fountains

Planet Hollywood…best voucher package of all casinos

YoLos Mexican Rest in PH….delish!

PH casino

Harrah’s Casino

MGM

NYNY

Nine Fine Irishmen Pub …menu said $6 for Miller Lite bottle, charged 6.50, questioned it, and the bartender just said oh well. Left after that! Good guy singing though!

Freemont Street and all the casinos

Golden Nugget pool area is cool!

Stopped at a bar on the way to the bus stop, great southern rock band playing.

Venetian

Mirage

Mirage Buffet

Secret Garden….nice to see the dolphins and tigers but the cost is a little high for the size of the gardens.

Mirage Volcano

Freemont Street again….friends came in on Sunday. Getting married by Elvis on Monday…so we met up with them. Wished we did not go on Saturday and just waited until Sunday…not thinking!!

Harrah’s casino

Lunch at Toby Keith’s

Wedding hosted by Elvis….great time!

Dinner at the Steakhouse in Bill’s. Fantastic steaks and decent prices. Great ambiance.

Paris casino

The Eiffel Tower Experience…what a view…amazing!

O’Shea’s again

The Piano Bar at Harrah’s…the twins are too funny!

Harrah’s casino

Harrah’s buffet….cool desserts…snow cones and cotton candy!

Caesar’s Shops and Atlantis show

Treasure Island Pirate Show….cancelled due to high winds…nice ship, looks like it would be a fun show

Bette Midler Show….Fab-u-lous! She rocks!

Bellagio Fountains again….love them!!!!

Bellagio casino…can not be rated unless playing $25 a hand blackjack….ridiculous!

Harrah’s Casino for the final time!

Exhausted!!!!!

Check out went smoothly. We hired a cab to go to the airport. We got to the airport in ten minutes and $20 including tip (there were three of us)! We checked our bags and realized our plane was on a delay…again! Another extra hour to wait. We played a slot but no cha-ching at all! We boarded the plane and headed home. This flight was a lot more bumpy! So much so that we did not get our second drink service. We finally landed in Philly, gathered our bags after a long hike to the bag claim area, and hopped the bus to our car. Long term parking was $66.

Found the car and headed out. Make a quick stop at Pat’s Steaks, ate some great cheese steaks around midnight, jumped back in the car and drove the last two hours home. You must, must, must stop for a cheese steak every time you are in Philadelphia…no matter the time of day or night!

And that just about sums it up. I liked Vegas. I wish we had pool time but the weather just did not cooperate. It was cold and windy. As far at the gambling goes, I enjoy Atlantic City better. The odds are better on most blackjack tables. The comps program also seems to be much more generous in AC. At check out, my husband and I only had $29 in combined comps. That was earned for five days of craps, blackjack, three card poker, and slot play. We were expecting a bit more.

I, and my group, will return to Vegas. We will do less sightseeing, more pool time, and less gambling because it really doesn’t pay enough in comps.

Sorry this is so long and I hope you were not bored to death! If you have any questions, please ask!

Very Basic TR March 20-25

Great read. What voucher package at Planet Hollywood are you referring to? And how did you like the Mirage buffet?

Very Basic TR March 20-25

Good TR thanks for sharing.

Hi - thanks for the report. What toiletries do you get in the room at Harrah%26#39;s? Is it just no brand generic stuff?

Nice trip report. Thanks for sharing.

I should have said coupon book! Sorry. It had a bunch of 2-4-1 drink coupons and discounted food options. Best one we saw while we were there.

As far as the toiletries, I never use them. They appeared to be generic. I did not take them home or I would give you the exact name.

Hope that helps.

Kathleen

The Mirage Buffet was ok. There is a lot of walking required to fetch your food! It is really spaced out along the three walls. The most interesting part was the salad bar section. You choose your ingredients and a server will mix and toss your salad and then give it to you in a bowl. I guess they go by the premise that ';it always tastes better when someone else makes it for you';.

thanks Kathleen. That answers my question. If they are no recognisable brand I will bring my own.