Will post a trip report in due course but the short and sweet story is: we had a briliant time!
Mark
My Vegas trip
76 Posts
Well we're back.....
Will post a trip report in due course but the short and sweet story is: we had a briliant time!
Mark
Will post a trip report in due course but the short and sweet story is: we had a briliant time!
Mark
So after the rather long built up of this holiday, herewith the finer details which I trust are of interest to those contemplating going to Vegas and/or Cancun.
Wednesday 12/09/2007
The pre-booked taxi picked us up at 6PM on the dot as arranged for the hour or so journey from the big smoke to Gatwick Airport. The advantage of flying with Virgin Atlantic is the ability to check in the night before, therefore beating the massive queues in the morning. Checking in was stress-free and with the luggage got rid off, we headed to the Sofitel Hotel adjacent to the North Terminal where we booked a room for the night. For a review of this hotel - Click here. We checked in and dumped the hand luggage in the room after which we enjoyed some drinks and had a breakfast (yeah I know, but a full English breakfast goes down any time of the day) at the North Terminal.
Thursday 13/09/2007
Up fairly early and made our way to the Virgin Atlantic ticket desk to enquire on upgrading our ticket from economy to upper class for the return flight. A quote of £ 550 per person was politely declined. Through security and into the relative comfort of the Servisair Lounge for some snacks, coffee and a few beers. The flight was soon called for. Although everybody was on board in good time, push back was some 30 minutes late due to traffic congestion. With quite a few spare seats available on the plane, the ride to Vegas was very comfortable with attentive staff serving meals and drinks.
Some time was made up and we arrived at Vegas about 15 minutes later than scheduled only to be sat on the stand for 30 minutes due to congestion in the arrivals hall. When we finally were allowed off the plane we were met by a queue that took over an hour to get through to an immigration official. Not what you wanted after such a long flight, but hey we're on holiday! By the time we had cleared immigration the luggage was already on the carousel. Outside in the boiling heat having the first cigarette for 12 hrs we contemplated on sharing the transportation along Las Vegas Boulevard or a private taxi ride to the hotel. It did not take a lot of thinking and some 20 minutes later in the air-conditioned taxi we arrived at our home for the next seven nights - the Stratosphere Hotel and Tower.
After a slight mix up of the rooms (we requested a smoking room but were instead given a non-smoking one) we soon settled into the 10th floor room. For a full review of the hotel and its amenities - Click Here. We unpacked the suitcases and went on a discovery tour of the hotel but resisted putting the first dollars in the machines. As we were still stuffed from the food provided on the plane, we did do with a McDonalds on the second floor of the hotel followed by an early night.
Friday 14/09/2007
A relative early morning which started with a buffet breakfast at the Courtyard restaurant at the hotel. The missus being a sun-worshipper this was followed by a lazy morning round the pool on the 6th floor.
Once it got too hot to just lie in the blazing sun, we decided to have a 'little' walk to both the Sahara hotel and the Circus Circus hotel. This sound like a cliche, but boy are distances so deceiving. What looked like a 5 minute walk turned easily into twice that much. We watched some of the acts at Circus Circus and braved the heat to walk back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Deciding that the bus would be a better option, we bought a day pass for the Deuce bus which got us to the centre of the strip in the evening. We enjoyed a pretty good dinner at Planet Hollywood inside the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace. Afterwards we watched a couple of "performances" by the dancing fountains of the Bellagio Hotel
A slow Deuce bus ride took us back to the Stratosphere were the first of the many dollars were wasted in the slot-machines. If we only knew about a trick that somebody of the hotel told us later in the week.
Saturday 15/09/2007
The day started off with a buffet breakfast at Luckys (not so an appropriate name after last nights gambling fiasco) followed by yet another morning round the pool. The things one has to do to keep the other half happy. Had our first moderate $30 win in the afternoon. Got changed late in the afternoon for the drinks/dinner/show package at the Stratosphere. The price we paid was pretty good - $50 per person for two drinks, a buffet meal and the 90 minute show called "American Superstars" which showed performances by Elvis, Michael Jackson and other impersonators
After the included acceptable dinner the night was finished off with some more gambling. Luck was turning as we were another $50 better off by the end of the night. Not quite high rollers, but every penny counts.
Sunday 16/09/2007
Another sunny day in Vegas started off with breakfast at Luckys followed by - yes you guessed it right - another morning round the pool. After a quick bite to eat we wasted some more money in a 2 hr gambling session. Overall we were now suddenly down by $50. We got ready later in the afternoon so we had time to get down to the centre of the strip to grab a bite to eat before the prebooked Mystere show at Treasure Island. Our mode of transit was this time the trolley bus. A little dearer, hotter but much quicker than the Deuce bus. People didn't seem to f@rt ass about which causes the biggest hold-ups on the Deuce bus. We had an excellent dinner at Kahunville inside Treasure Island followed by a good show by Circue de Soleil. It had some great humour and some breathtaking acrobat stunts by the performers. Well worth the money spend. The plan was to watch the pirate show afterwards, but this was cancelled due to high winds that evening. The weather was certainly turning. What started off at 100 degrees when we got to Vegas, turned to 80 degrees by the time we left. We walked to the Venitian to see how the other people live and took the trolley bus back to the rough part of town followed by some more loosing money at our hotel. Perhaps gambling is not our cup of tea afterall.
Monday 17/09/2007
Yet another breakfast at Luckys. No pool side sunbathing instead, but instead it was going to be walk from the south of strip to the centre. The Deuce bus got us to the Luxor hotel and the rest of the morning and afternoon was spend walking to the centre to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Vegas
We were on winner again later in the afternoon ($25) after which a well deserved afternoon nap at 6PM"¦"¦"¦"¦
Tuesday 18/09/2007
Oh dear, we missed all the nights action as we slept throughout to wake up at 7AM.
Starving hungry, we pigged out in the Courtyard buffet. We booked a trip to the Grand Canyon earlier in the week as we were meant to be picked up at 12 noon in good time to catch the 1PM helicopter. As instructed, we waited at the East entrance of the hotel. 12 o'clock came and went and no sight of the transportation to be seen. Getting a little worried at 12:15 hrs, we made our way to reception so they could make enquiries as to the state of affairs only to be told we were supposed to wait to the site of the entrance rather than the front. Alternative transport was sent and we made it in time for the 1PM departure. We used the services of Maverick and the trip and landing was spectacular and very worthwhile.
In the evening we decided to get gambling proper this time. We did and came out evens after spending some 8+ hours on the casino floor. Not bad going considering each drink costs just a $1 tip each. Only at the end of the evening we were told a little trick that we were going to test the following day. As soon as you get a decent win on the machine ($30+), cash out but don't put the slip into another machine. Instead change it into cash and feed the machines that instead.
Wednesday 19/09/2007
Our last full day in Vegas started off with breakfast followed by the now famous pool on the 6th floor. The missus wanted to do some washing in the afternoon in preparation for our 7 nights in Cancun. This was followed by the first test of our new gambling system. A dollar bill returned $50 which we cashed. Ten of these dollars were put into another machine and this returned $45. Hmmm"¦ perhaps this system is working but it had to wait until the evening as we had a dinner reservation to keep at the Top of the World restaurant. The meal was excellent and combined with the view over the strip made it very good value for money. The rest of the evening and early hours of the morning were spend on the casino floor with our new system. A quick count at the end of the evening made us discover that we were $400 up for the night. Not bad going that was. Overall our gaming budget was at a surplus of $150 for the seven nights.
Thursday 20/09/2007
With just 4 hours sleep it was an early morning call so we had time to get some breakfast, check-out and head for the airport for our flight to Cancun which was going to be via Dallas. Check-in was a breeze with the luggage tagged and not to be seen till Cancun. Both flights were with American Airlines. After having received such an excellent service from Virgin Atlantic, the service received from this airline was dire. Both sets of flights were late (which was good for the second part of the journey as we only had 45 minutes to change plane), the service was dreadful by staff that did not seem to want to be there. Not a good experience and one that has taught me not to fly this airline anymore.
Friday 21/09/2007 until Wednesday 26/09/2007
These days were spend at the more than excellent Barcelo Tucancun Beach Resort. For a full review of the hotel - Click Here.
Most of the days were spend relaxing round the pool and on the beach, accompanied by a steady supply of excellent food and drink. Nightly entertainment was laid on by the staff which was of acceptable standard. It doesn't compare to Circue to Soleil of course, but it was watchable and entertaining. But the highlight of the Cancun part of the holiday was the day spend swimming with the dolphins. It was a unique experience to be able to interact with these animals. The best part was being pushed into the air ala Superman style by two of the dolphins.
The weather in Cancun didn't hold unfortunately, and we had two days were it continuously rained. But being in an All Inclusive hotel with a shopping mall just across the street, it didn't mar the holiday.
Thursday 27/09/2007
Time to wave goodbye to our fortnight of overseas fun starting with an American Airlines flight from Cancun to Miami. Once again, the check-in was an absolute breeze and hooray - smoking facilities in Cancun airport. The service on the hour or so flight to Miami was diabolical, but that was expected. We had to clear US immigration again (this time no queues) and collect our luggage. The return flight to Heathrow was uneventful with an excellent on demand entertainment system on the Airbus plane.
Overall we had a great time in both Vegas and Cancun. We did the right thing and spend seven nights in each destination as in our opinion two weeks in both Vegas and Cancun would have been too long.
Mark
Wednesday 12/09/2007
The pre-booked taxi picked us up at 6PM on the dot as arranged for the hour or so journey from the big smoke to Gatwick Airport. The advantage of flying with Virgin Atlantic is the ability to check in the night before, therefore beating the massive queues in the morning. Checking in was stress-free and with the luggage got rid off, we headed to the Sofitel Hotel adjacent to the North Terminal where we booked a room for the night. For a review of this hotel - Click here. We checked in and dumped the hand luggage in the room after which we enjoyed some drinks and had a breakfast (yeah I know, but a full English breakfast goes down any time of the day) at the North Terminal.
Thursday 13/09/2007
Up fairly early and made our way to the Virgin Atlantic ticket desk to enquire on upgrading our ticket from economy to upper class for the return flight. A quote of £ 550 per person was politely declined. Through security and into the relative comfort of the Servisair Lounge for some snacks, coffee and a few beers. The flight was soon called for. Although everybody was on board in good time, push back was some 30 minutes late due to traffic congestion. With quite a few spare seats available on the plane, the ride to Vegas was very comfortable with attentive staff serving meals and drinks.
Some time was made up and we arrived at Vegas about 15 minutes later than scheduled only to be sat on the stand for 30 minutes due to congestion in the arrivals hall. When we finally were allowed off the plane we were met by a queue that took over an hour to get through to an immigration official. Not what you wanted after such a long flight, but hey we're on holiday! By the time we had cleared immigration the luggage was already on the carousel. Outside in the boiling heat having the first cigarette for 12 hrs we contemplated on sharing the transportation along Las Vegas Boulevard or a private taxi ride to the hotel. It did not take a lot of thinking and some 20 minutes later in the air-conditioned taxi we arrived at our home for the next seven nights - the Stratosphere Hotel and Tower.
After a slight mix up of the rooms (we requested a smoking room but were instead given a non-smoking one) we soon settled into the 10th floor room. For a full review of the hotel and its amenities - Click Here. We unpacked the suitcases and went on a discovery tour of the hotel but resisted putting the first dollars in the machines. As we were still stuffed from the food provided on the plane, we did do with a McDonalds on the second floor of the hotel followed by an early night.
Friday 14/09/2007
A relative early morning which started with a buffet breakfast at the Courtyard restaurant at the hotel. The missus being a sun-worshipper this was followed by a lazy morning round the pool on the 6th floor.
Once it got too hot to just lie in the blazing sun, we decided to have a 'little' walk to both the Sahara hotel and the Circus Circus hotel. This sound like a cliche, but boy are distances so deceiving. What looked like a 5 minute walk turned easily into twice that much. We watched some of the acts at Circus Circus and braved the heat to walk back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Deciding that the bus would be a better option, we bought a day pass for the Deuce bus which got us to the centre of the strip in the evening. We enjoyed a pretty good dinner at Planet Hollywood inside the Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace. Afterwards we watched a couple of "performances" by the dancing fountains of the Bellagio Hotel
A slow Deuce bus ride took us back to the Stratosphere were the first of the many dollars were wasted in the slot-machines. If we only knew about a trick that somebody of the hotel told us later in the week.
Saturday 15/09/2007
The day started off with a buffet breakfast at Luckys (not so an appropriate name after last nights gambling fiasco) followed by yet another morning round the pool. The things one has to do to keep the other half happy. Had our first moderate $30 win in the afternoon. Got changed late in the afternoon for the drinks/dinner/show package at the Stratosphere. The price we paid was pretty good - $50 per person for two drinks, a buffet meal and the 90 minute show called "American Superstars" which showed performances by Elvis, Michael Jackson and other impersonators
After the included acceptable dinner the night was finished off with some more gambling. Luck was turning as we were another $50 better off by the end of the night. Not quite high rollers, but every penny counts.
Sunday 16/09/2007
Another sunny day in Vegas started off with breakfast at Luckys followed by - yes you guessed it right - another morning round the pool. After a quick bite to eat we wasted some more money in a 2 hr gambling session. Overall we were now suddenly down by $50. We got ready later in the afternoon so we had time to get down to the centre of the strip to grab a bite to eat before the prebooked Mystere show at Treasure Island. Our mode of transit was this time the trolley bus. A little dearer, hotter but much quicker than the Deuce bus. People didn't seem to f@rt ass about which causes the biggest hold-ups on the Deuce bus. We had an excellent dinner at Kahunville inside Treasure Island followed by a good show by Circue de Soleil. It had some great humour and some breathtaking acrobat stunts by the performers. Well worth the money spend. The plan was to watch the pirate show afterwards, but this was cancelled due to high winds that evening. The weather was certainly turning. What started off at 100 degrees when we got to Vegas, turned to 80 degrees by the time we left. We walked to the Venitian to see how the other people live and took the trolley bus back to the rough part of town followed by some more loosing money at our hotel. Perhaps gambling is not our cup of tea afterall.
Monday 17/09/2007
Yet another breakfast at Luckys. No pool side sunbathing instead, but instead it was going to be walk from the south of strip to the centre. The Deuce bus got us to the Luxor hotel and the rest of the morning and afternoon was spend walking to the centre to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Vegas
We were on winner again later in the afternoon ($25) after which a well deserved afternoon nap at 6PM"¦"¦"¦"¦
Tuesday 18/09/2007
Oh dear, we missed all the nights action as we slept throughout to wake up at 7AM.
Starving hungry, we pigged out in the Courtyard buffet. We booked a trip to the Grand Canyon earlier in the week as we were meant to be picked up at 12 noon in good time to catch the 1PM helicopter. As instructed, we waited at the East entrance of the hotel. 12 o'clock came and went and no sight of the transportation to be seen. Getting a little worried at 12:15 hrs, we made our way to reception so they could make enquiries as to the state of affairs only to be told we were supposed to wait to the site of the entrance rather than the front. Alternative transport was sent and we made it in time for the 1PM departure. We used the services of Maverick and the trip and landing was spectacular and very worthwhile.
In the evening we decided to get gambling proper this time. We did and came out evens after spending some 8+ hours on the casino floor. Not bad going considering each drink costs just a $1 tip each. Only at the end of the evening we were told a little trick that we were going to test the following day. As soon as you get a decent win on the machine ($30+), cash out but don't put the slip into another machine. Instead change it into cash and feed the machines that instead.
Wednesday 19/09/2007
Our last full day in Vegas started off with breakfast followed by the now famous pool on the 6th floor. The missus wanted to do some washing in the afternoon in preparation for our 7 nights in Cancun. This was followed by the first test of our new gambling system. A dollar bill returned $50 which we cashed. Ten of these dollars were put into another machine and this returned $45. Hmmm"¦ perhaps this system is working but it had to wait until the evening as we had a dinner reservation to keep at the Top of the World restaurant. The meal was excellent and combined with the view over the strip made it very good value for money. The rest of the evening and early hours of the morning were spend on the casino floor with our new system. A quick count at the end of the evening made us discover that we were $400 up for the night. Not bad going that was. Overall our gaming budget was at a surplus of $150 for the seven nights.
Thursday 20/09/2007
With just 4 hours sleep it was an early morning call so we had time to get some breakfast, check-out and head for the airport for our flight to Cancun which was going to be via Dallas. Check-in was a breeze with the luggage tagged and not to be seen till Cancun. Both flights were with American Airlines. After having received such an excellent service from Virgin Atlantic, the service received from this airline was dire. Both sets of flights were late (which was good for the second part of the journey as we only had 45 minutes to change plane), the service was dreadful by staff that did not seem to want to be there. Not a good experience and one that has taught me not to fly this airline anymore.
Friday 21/09/2007 until Wednesday 26/09/2007
These days were spend at the more than excellent Barcelo Tucancun Beach Resort. For a full review of the hotel - Click Here.
Most of the days were spend relaxing round the pool and on the beach, accompanied by a steady supply of excellent food and drink. Nightly entertainment was laid on by the staff which was of acceptable standard. It doesn't compare to Circue to Soleil of course, but it was watchable and entertaining. But the highlight of the Cancun part of the holiday was the day spend swimming with the dolphins. It was a unique experience to be able to interact with these animals. The best part was being pushed into the air ala Superman style by two of the dolphins.
The weather in Cancun didn't hold unfortunately, and we had two days were it continuously rained. But being in an All Inclusive hotel with a shopping mall just across the street, it didn't mar the holiday.
Thursday 27/09/2007
Time to wave goodbye to our fortnight of overseas fun starting with an American Airlines flight from Cancun to Miami. Once again, the check-in was an absolute breeze and hooray - smoking facilities in Cancun airport. The service on the hour or so flight to Miami was diabolical, but that was expected. We had to clear US immigration again (this time no queues) and collect our luggage. The return flight to Heathrow was uneventful with an excellent on demand entertainment system on the Airbus plane.
Overall we had a great time in both Vegas and Cancun. We did the right thing and spend seven nights in each destination as in our opinion two weeks in both Vegas and Cancun would have been too long.
Mark
Brilliant trip report Mark!! I have been dying to hear how you got on and am glad you weren't disappointed.
Sounds like you had a great time and I will remember that tip when gambling in Vegas next time.
luci
Sounds like you had a great time and I will remember that tip when gambling in Vegas next time.
luci
Thanks Mark. Glad you enjoyed yourselves. Will you be going back to Vegas any time soon?
We are flying with AA this November, I hope we get some happy staff for our trip.
We are flying with AA this November, I hope we get some happy staff for our trip.
Good report! Glad you enjoyed!
We just need to decide when we will go back..........maybe June or September next year. It will be trip no. 8!
We just need to decide when we will go back..........maybe June or September next year. It will be trip no. 8!
Good TR Mark, thanks, good to have the pix embedded too.
(..........as for me, this time NEXT WEEKI'm on the plane to LV!)
(..........as for me, this time NEXT WEEKI'm on the plane to LV!)
What a shame- I've just been bragging to someone about AA- I've flown twice with them this summer and had NO problems. Great report,makes me want to go.
Thanks for the compliment guys and also a little belated thanks for all the advice given prior to our holiday. It certainly helped us in Las Vegas 
Perhaps the AA staff had off days on the flights we took with them. Alternatively, perhaps the Virgin Atlantic staff are better and we got spoiled by them.
Mark
Perhaps the AA staff had off days on the flights we took with them. Alternatively, perhaps the Virgin Atlantic staff are better and we got spoiled by them.
Mark
We found AA to be OK, nothing special, but nothing bad either. Quite a mature cabin crew.
luci
luci
Most US airline employees are doing the jobs of two people due to ruthless budget measures, so it's hard to find one that is really enthused about their job anymore..... the only customer service you will find is when you are purchasing a ticket....after that,you're on your own. AA is having their worst ever year for baggage handling,I must have just had a couple of good days.
When I started flying the Air Hostesses as they were then called,were plentiful,looked glamorous and seemed to have very nice jobs...... now they all look fatigued,stressed,and the whole atmosphere is very different..
When I started flying the Air Hostesses as they were then called,were plentiful,looked glamorous and seemed to have very nice jobs...... now they all look fatigued,stressed,and the whole atmosphere is very different..
Mark- did you have any problem making your connecting flight to Cancun? I noted what you said re American Airlines service problems- but did you find the terminals at DFW easy to get around?
sorry, didn't have time to do trip report last weekend....should definitely do it this weekend tho'
Mark- did you have any problem making your connecting flight to Cancun? I noted what you said re American Airlines service problems- but did you find the terminals at DFW easy to get around?
Don't know what happened here, but just picked up your post.
Yes, connecting was a breeze. We were given the gate number whilst we were in the air from Vegas to Dallas. Once the doors of the plane were open (we asked for a seat near the exit), straight off and onto the monorail system that took about 5 minutes to get to our gate.
Mark
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