Hotel--Stayed at the Luxor in the West Tower (Tower suggested here on the Forum). Room was nice and clean. Long walk from the casino to the room. Pool was nice but only 1 pool was open the entire time we were there. No trouble finding a lounge chair. If you are interested, you can read our entire Luxor review on the hotel review site. Luxor was nice but would stay mid strip next trip.
It was 50 something and windy when we left Illinois. Weather was beautiful in Las Vegas. I think in the low 80%26#39;s. Very windy on day 2. Wind advisory so the fountains were not flowing and the monorail/trams were shut down. By the end of our stay, it was getting very, very hot. Had to walk really fast on the concrete at the pool!
Food--Ate the Cheesecake Factory one early evening. No waiting for a table. Food was delicious and service was good. Another night we ate at Margaritaville. About a 45 minute wait. I only had dessert and others had a meal. Friendly, knowledgeable waitress and we had a great view of the strip from the 2nd floor dining area. Ate MGM buffet and Pharoh%26#39;s Feast (Luxor) breakfast buffets on 2 separate occasions. We like the MGM buffet and feel we get a good variety for our money. Luxor buffet was okay. Monte Carlo Brewery/Pub was our choice for a lunch. Food was good and reasonably priced (prices similar to Bennigan%26#39;s/Chili%26#39;s). Remainder of the meals were just a quick bite here and there. Ran out of time when we went dowtown or we would have tried the new item at Mermaids --- deep fried OREO%26#39;s!
Taxi%26#39;s--Taxi from Stardust to downtown was about $10. From Luxor to airport, about $11. From Orleans to Luxor, about $15 (busy time of day).
Monorail/Trams/Shutttle%26#39;s-- Took tram from Mandalay Bay to Excalibur. walked to Monte Carlo. Took another tram from Monte Carlo to Bellagio. Walked over walkway and took Monorail from Bally%26#39;s to Sahara. Trams were free. For the Monorail, there were 4 of us, so we bought the $20 shareable ticket. It is good for 10 one way trips. Some hotels, you have to walk quite the distance to get to the Monorail station. IMO, the worst Monorail drop off station is Las Vegas Hilton. It is advertised at LV Hilton/Riveria/Circus Circus. It is a long, long walk from the Las Vegas Hilton to Riveria. Since we stayed at the South end of the strip, the monorail was helpful in getting to mid strip.
Shuttled from Barbary Coast to Orlean%26#39;s. Too many people waiting and too long of a wait to shuttle back, so we took the cab.
Wanted to shuttle from Mandalay Bay to Green Valley Ranch. Went to the tour area and couldn%26#39;t get any information. People there said they had seen the shuttle before but didn%26#39;t know it%26#39;s schedule or anything about it.
Free Stuff we saw--
-Bellagio chocolate fountain (walked by it on the way from the tram to the casino). Wouldn%26#39;t have made a special trip to see it.
-Air Play - free acrobat show at the Tropicana. Saw this twice.
-Karaoke bar in the Stardust (some were better than others)
-Mo Town lounge act in Bally%26#39;s (very good)
-Lounge band in Barbary Coast
-2 different street bands on Freemont Street
-Carl the saxaphone player on Freemont Street
-Lounge band in Westward Ho
Casino%26#39;s--
Slots of fun--Husband found machine he liked from the %26#39;old%26#39; days of Vegas. Double down draw poker. The buttons were so worn, we had to look at 3 different machines to see which buttons to push to double down! You forget how dirty money is until you play the old machines that pay out in coins not tickets.
Also played slots at Flamingo, Barbary Coast, Luxor, Monte Carlo, Westward Ho, Stardust, 4 Queens, Mandalay Bay
Walked through Riveria-it is in need of a makeover.
Drink service was just okay at some places and great at others. I didn%26#39;t notice much difference when playing $1 VP versus 1 cent VP. Tip--even if you don%26#39;t drink, order a bottled water. It%26#39;s cheaper than buying $2.50 bottled waters.
Our daughters (22 and 23) got carded several places. The 22 year old got carded for an ice tea when she was watching me play VP and carded another place for watching a poker table. Also, both got asked their age at the Airport when we were waiting for the plane but not gambling.
Timeshare/Card flippers--Maybe we are used to them now, but they didn%26#39;t seem quite as bothersome this trip as they were on past trips.
Airport-- For the trip home, got to the airport 2 hours before departure, waited about 40 minutes at curbside to check luggage/get ticket. Started slowly with only 1 person checking then 2 others showed up. Going through security was very quick. Almost no lines at all.
It was a great trip. Now back to work and 60 degree weather! (Doesn%26#39;t work get in the way of life!!!)
5/15-5/20 Trip Report - long
Thank you for the great trip report.
5/15-5/20 Trip Report - long
Thanks for the very informative trip report. Sounds like you got some good weather. We were just a little early for the good stuff on our trip. I love the detailed reports so I can take note of what or what not to do next time.
tut: Sound like you covered the whole strip. You must be exhausted! But this is why we go to Vegas. Isn%26#39;t it great? The Timeshare/card flippers are always bothersome. It got to the point I would not walk with my wife. When I went to Vegas with my brother no one bothered us. LJ
Thanks for the great info. What lounge act did you see at Barbary Coast? BTW, it least it%26#39;s not snowing now.....
Thanks for the report.I too am from Illinois(Berwyn).
My wife and i are going july 1st thru 5th.
can%26#39;t wait.
Al
I don%26#39;t know the name of the lounge act in Barbary Coast. We listened to them last year too. It%26#39;s an all male group (mostly Asian) that played Ricky Martin, etc.
And you%26#39;re right...it beats snow!
Great review and details...
No comments:
Post a Comment