It would be good if you got something booked.

Pebbles is first out sometime in April and for about 8 weeks I think.

luci

Ha ha does pebbles really come here on holiday from Vegas

Spot on Lesley. Pebbles lives in Vegas and holidays elsewhere!
I'm just jealous
I've not been looking for a hotel yet, will wait a few months yet

TC

TeeCee, not sure you need to look....I bet you'll end up at Signature.

Hope the work issue is at least managable for now.

Still not booked....not just 100% sure yet.

I go April 20th and have some of my hotels booked up now. I have Orleans, Rio and Gold Coast so far, and still have about two weeks to fill.

We like to spend a bit of time Downtown, so we're waiting for deals for the Cabana Suites at El Cortez. We had a look around our friend's room last year, and apart from the green walls, they are very nice. There is a gym and 24 hour concierge just for the Cabana Suites. It is key card entry only for the whole building too.

Surprisingly enough, I do spend more of the year in England than I do in Las Vegas or Spain. There's not much in it though.

Hey Pebbles, we're just jealous!

I wish I could just get something booked for this year. Need to book a June week somewhere too for our 10th anniversary. Thinking about Italy.

I'd quite like to see an MGM buffet deal, I take it they've never done the 24 hour buffet pass again? I've only heard mention of the 2/1 buffet since. Would like a Celebrity Spa Suite on that deal.

We're hoping to go for close to 2 weeks in September, so we will need access to a washing machine at some point. I'd also like a fridge for at least part of the stay. It's making Platinum sound good. Still also enjoy the Orleans. Wondering if we should try somewhere new for a change. Never stayed at Luxor, Excalibur, Trop (new rooms look nice), Monte Carlo, Mirage. No real interest in Bally's, Harrah's or Flamingo despite the location.

We use either Wizard of Suds on Arville or the one at Maryland Parkway and Tropicana. Both are OK, but the W of S gives free soap.

TeeCee, not sure you need to look....I bet you'll end up at Signature.

You're probably right Lesley! We really want to stay there again because we love it. We have been talking though of staying completely off strip for a couple of nights......possibly M Resort or Red Rock, then use a couple of free nights at Rio followed by the rest at Signature. Still thinking at the mo' but quite like the idea of staying completely away from the strip, just for something different.
No news on the job front. They think we'll be let go anytime between July and the end of the year. I'm not going to worry about it, lifes too short. We're saving hard for Vegas now so we don't have to worry when we go, flights are now paid for so we just need LOADS of spending money

Cheers,

TC

I quite like Red Rock for b'fast, followed by a drive around RR Canyon, and of course a visit to the shops accross the road (Marshall's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy). Last couple of times we've took the freeway up from near the Orleans, surprisingly quick. then we usually come back along Charleston, via Walmart and Michael's and then maybe a stop at the outlets near downtown. I think the pool area is nice up there, from memory of seeing pictures. Never visited M Resort at all. Should probably do that soon. Have you also considered GVR?

Yeah we've been in GVR a few times for a gamble. I quite like it, although I'm sure I looked 2 or 3 years ago at room prices and it was VERY expensive. I may check again. M Resort is very nice, obviously modern, but there was something we didn't really like about it when we went/looked at it and I'm damned if I can remember what it was? They normally have some decent specials on so may consider a couple of days there, I need to check out the pool area first though!
We went along Charleston last year when we did a tour of 4 TJ Maxx's on the trot. We'll probably go that way again, not only to pop into the shops but there's an In and Out Burger out there somewhere and I want one of those again! Best burgers ever!

TC

Ha being veggie we're not interested in those burgers, but have heard lots of people talk about them!

Maybe you will remember what you didn't like at M resort....and hopefully before you go and check in there in case it's something important! If you did a walk through it might just have been something you saw on the day but you might never see again anyway.

Did you like the food choices? If you drove over you probably weren't sitting waiting on a cocktail waitress. It's in a bit of an odd location. Just that we tend to drive down past there and it's off the main road a bit from memory so we never stopped. We really should though.

Yes, I think GVR might be expensive, but maybe you'd get it on priceline or hotwire? I'm not sure. I'd guess it would stand out down there on the bidding websites because there won't be anything else as high star rated as GVR I doubt.

What about Laughlin for a couple of nights I laugh because I'm not a big fan of Laughlin. It was stinking hot when we went.

Well I've got some prices for the Signature from a couple of people on VRBO. I have to say they are pretty competitive. One of them, from Blue Chip Vegas, which is a management company a bit like LSI who we usually use, have given us a price on a Penthouse Junior suite that works out over £400 cheaper than we paid last year for a standard junior suite on a lower floor. I'm now trying to get LSI to get somewhere near that! I don't think they will but BlueChip seem to have some good reviews anyway. Fingers crossed, we may have something booked shortly.

Getting rather nice rates when I log into Harrah's and go to Hot Deals. Rio $35. This is tempting...but should really book our flights first. Thinking about avoiding labor day weekend (well the fri-sun part) the hotel rates are quite high.

Lesley, the Rio rooms are great, and the have a fridge as standard. We are stopping there twice next trip.

Pebbles...tell me more. Do all rooms have a fridge? What's the pool like (is it too young/trendy)? We'd be going for the basic rooms, so are you saying those are good? We can get 5, 6, 7, 8 Sept at $35 per night. 9th we'd move to Platinum and do our washing. They are doing 10 % off 3 nights or 4th night free on Expedia. So we could do 9, 10, 11, 12....then somewhere else for 13-17. I'm thinking either south or north strip at that point. MGM Celeb spa would be good I'm hoping we can book quite soon, probably flight + hotel for part stay with expedia.

Remember that the MGM now has a resort fee of $18 + tax.

luci

A few pictures for you Lesley.

Outside the bathroom.
Outside the bathroom looking in.
Another.
Tony's grandson sat at the table by the window. Two queens room.
The beds.
Table and partial view.
The seating area. There was a long settee, an easy chair and a pouffe. Also a long coffee table.

The fridge was in the wardrobe, which is opposite the mirrored vanity area outside the bathroom.

We really like the Rio. There's some handy things to know about the pool areas there - you get some nice 'quiet' sunbathing over the back behind the main pool, you can get some shade there as well. The main pool gets quite busy and rowdy at times (certainly not all the time tho'). The second pool, near where we usually sunbathe is much quieter but it's not heated so the water is very cold! You only need to walk a few yards to get to the heated pool of course, but we found it was much quieter sunbathing over the back by the second pool, just behind the rocks of the waterfall feature.

Thanks both. Seriously thinking about that now. Did you mind using the shuttle? We like the Gold Coast and Orleans too, so we'd use the Orleans Shuttle, and we'd also spend some time in the GC and possibly even the Palms (if there's the Comedy Club on). We could even use the Orleans shuttle to go to the quiz at McMullan's.

Room pics look good Pebbles. I take it that was the room I'd be looking at (the most basic/cheapest)? Were you in the lower tower, I am thinking I can see the big tower out the window in one of the pics. So would that be the Ipanema tower you were in? I think that's the lower one?

Love the Rio Buffet!