i really enjoyed reading,your report michelle.it sounds like you had,a great time!
look forward to reading about vegas,
tracy

Thanks Michelle. I too am eagerly awaiting the Vegas instalment.

luci

Sorry for the delay, but work nights and had to do extra to cover holidays, hopefully i can remember the majority of things, This is a very long review
Ok .............

After being in Anaheim, we flew over by US Airways to Las Vegas

This didn't go smoothly !!!

We got to check in ok, and got our seats sorted, then for the weigh in of our luggage.
As most of you know we get charged now for taking suitcases over, we stuffed all ours in two, we had a good luggage allowance due to being upgraded to Premium economy with Virgin Atlantic. Unfortunately we knew we were going to be a little over-weight as bought clothes from LA. If we brought over 2 suitcases its even dearer, so tried in vain to economise.

We were over weight and tried to stuff as much stuff into hand luggage rucksacks, why we didnt do this in the first place i don't know. Of course i was not keeping an eye on my husband, and what he was stuffing in the ruck sack !!!

Suitcases didnt go on the conveyor belt, instead you had to walk with them to the end of the airport and slide it under a belt to give to the attendant, i thought this quite strange.

Next, had to go up an escalater to go through controls there, hmm, nightmare, we more or less had to take off nearly all my clothes, well joking but it seemed like it, my sandals, my belt, handbag,money, keys, jewellery (imagine all my pierings , my sweater, oh and all my rings on my fingers, the reason this happened was the bleeper kept going off. Anyway they let me through as couldnt find anything. Sam got stopped because the plonker had put in the rucksack a litre bottle of Pimms and some conditioner ! The man said to go back down the escalator and check it in, i said that i wasnt bothered and to chuck it knowing i would have to pay. He returned by saying no you should check it in , it just needs a tag. So i thought here we go again, left Sam upstairs whilst i was rather rudely ushered off by a security guard downstairs back to lining up near the woman that served us in the first place. I had to pay $25 for conditioner and a bloody bottle of Pimms, i wouldnt mind so much but the drink was only a tenner in the first place I refused to pay, but the woman said it had already gone through and i had to pay, i had no money on me except a CC, so had to pay on that !
After lined up again to go through the x ray machines again, piercings out, shoes off, clothes off etc, went through bleeper, went off again, got eye contact with security, glared and said even go there again mate, and walked through. By this time we had 10 mins before departure, wasnt i glad to get on plane. I nearly killed hubby for costing me $25, i will purposely get that back when he buys me a fancy dress that at present he doesnt know about lol.

Settled on US airways, good flight, in fact they gave us a free drink wow (bet it didnt cost £25 !) then we landed into Viva Las Vegas, so far not an Elvis insight.
We had virgin vouchers to collect transport from a designated area out front. If you haven't got them then do not worry, they have a kiosk out front to buy tickets for one of the mini buses.

The heat hit us after being in Anaheim, USA in general all over have suffered (to them) low temperatures, Vegas was 11 degrees lower than normal for that time of year, we were blessed.
Eventually after hotel drop offs, we arrived at the Flamingo. I have never been to Vegas before, so i am going to tell you as honestly what i thought on first impressions. I had an idea due to pictures and TV programes, but it still hit hard the reality.

At first it reminded me of Egypt, lots of unfinished building work and quite dirty on first impressons, compared to Anaheim a purposely built resort, i thought i wasnt going to like it, but hey ho, lets go with the flow and get to the hotel. Drop off was strange to us, as they go around the back underground, but eventually after getting lost lol, we found our way to reception. First in line (queue). The staff knew we had upgraded here in the UK for a 'GO Room', but there was an offer on to upgrade to a GO SUITE for $25 per night, she said they were much nicer than the 'go room'. We upgraded as normally they were $100 per night, when Sam opened the door i thought !@£$%^&* it was amazing, we were so high up, views of flamingos and all the pools as there are thousands. I couldnt wait to try out the 'swish' drapes and nets, and oh my god 3 yes 3 42 inch plasma screens, one in the living quarters, one in the bedroom and one in the mirror in the bathroom.

In the room the bed was the most comfy we had ever stayed in, it was a huge 6ft bed and seemed to be full of feathers as were the pillows, amazing. Whilst i was looking around, Sam took great delight in still playing with the drapes, oh yes, drapes not curtains, we felt like Posh and Becks without the GUCCI shoes and pecks lol. We had an IPOD docking station and Denon sound surround with speakers, a drink station, fridge (which i pulled the plug out at night, kept droning). Small wardrobe (closet), a huge dressing table down one wall, and two cordless telephones and ice bucket. A huge chaise lounge and a large sofa and glass table in the middle.

The bathroom was something else, all in bright pink, every woman dream and maybe mens too huge mirror, a large bath and a shower to dye for, it also had jets to have a harsh spray on your back, i loved this. In fact if i couldnt decide whether to bath or shower, i did both lol.
We unpacked and ventured out, it was around 2pm. We were dying of thirst and tried to find a place that sold drink. I dont know exactly what we were expecting, but i suppose shops up and down the strip and food cafes and eateries, this we didnt find until the second or third day. In the end i think we paid $3 from the hotel and got water, then refilled with tap water. We walked as far as NYNY and had a goosey around some hotels.
We went for our first meal in the Harley Davison restaurant, cost an arm and a leg, but my gosh the portions in there were over-whelming. Our server was 'free' yes that was her name, she was brilliant, told us which hotel we should go into and prices etc. We actually went in there a couple of times over the 8 nights we stayed, each time attentive service and not in your face type place and great food.

We knew we had a welcome meeting in Caesars Palace forum shops the next day, and went to the wrong part as CP has like three parts to it, thought it would save time finding the Planet Hollywood where we were going to eat breakfast.
We were told by free to watch the moving statues, well that was different, you don't expect this, only in vegas lol, quite amusing to say the least. I think CP was one of the hotels i spent most time in, it was nice and not rowdy like some. If anyone is going to CP, its lovely.

Next day went to meeting and listened to the spiel of the reps, they look at you not as people but £££ signs ha ha. After seeing a video of the top ten highlights we actually booked to go and see the blue man group, we got Orchestra seating at the Venetian for Saturday 13th at 10pm, section 3, row k seat 64. We paid total $289. The thing i didnt like whether you got vouchers from virgin or tix 4 tonight, you spent a lot of wasted time in line and finding where to go and exchange for tickets. Most i know would queue up on the night, but then you are left with not so good seats. The venetian was a nightmare, lining up for an hour as only one lady working. Then to be told that the virgin rep hadn't faxed it through and we had to go back another day. We did and got them ok. Whilst in the venetian we paid $16 each to take the gondola ride, we took the inside one as they told us the outside isn't as good and shorter tie. All in all 13 mins on it. If you share its that price, double if you want one on your own. A tip though, share, and get them to take pics for you, they do them and charge ridiculous prices, and ours came out better. A nice experience, but didn't like the hotel at all, too big i think, hard to get around.

We bought tickets for other shows from outside BILLS, the lines were long but worth it. I bought David Copperfield tickets front row from the UK, others i bought from txts 4 tonight were....
CIRQUE DE SOLEIL - KA
Steve Wyrick - Planet hollywood miracle mile shopping centre

My thoughts on the shows

David Copperfield

Sat on front row and shared a very tint table with another young couple. Several people in the entourage came up to us and front row people to ask if we wanted to go on stage, they never asked hubby, and he was dying to get up there. David Copperfield if you didn't know is a master illusionist. A woman came up to everyone on the front and said to us and this is gods honest truth, when DC does his amazing illusion at the end with a fan, please stand up and give him an standing ovation ! I thought this odd as normally it is up to the crowd to do this if they felt the show was good enough. Apparently if everyone stands up at the end, and follows the front line people then he comes back on, well lets see shall we.
There is no escaping (excuse the pun) that this man was fantastic, getting planes on the stage and really looking close at all his magic, i havent a clue how its all done, Sam maybe had an idea as hes done magic before. I paid a lot of money to see DC and looking forward to his show. I thought he didnt have a warm presence, we both felt it rushed and it was all over in just under 1.5 hours. Did we do the standing ovation? Well what a farce, we didnt know when to stand, eventually we did, but the last illusion was flat, our table got up and everyone looked at us, then one by one the front row got up and NO ONE ELSE in the auditorium did ! Needless to say he did not do an encore abut came back on and shook all the front rows hands including mine. Was it worth all that money, i do not think so, Steve Wyrick he was something else I think most people left a bit deflated. This show was at MGM Grand Hotel, if anyone is going to this hotel, i loved it and the lions, bless them so sweet lol.

STEVE WYRICK - ILLUSIONIST AND MAGICIAN

Remember the nice dress i wanted for that pimms well i got it from the fashion mall, it was flowy and long in peach and had a piece of material that flowed and parted at the front. From one of the designer stores, was around $300 but got it for $68 in sale. I wore this thinking the the theatre in PH Miracle mile mall was going to be smart as the hollywood theatre for DC, well we arrived and everyone had pictures taken. Got our seats and it was pitch black in there, it wasn't exactly designer dress code, but nevertheless waiting and anticipation whether i would be got up on stage as on the aisle seat. Very small theatre, but a family feel to it. Steve came on stage and i am not going to spoil things, but this guy is amazing, as well as gorgeous, he had stage presence, his show was not rushed, he came into the audience, got kids up and adults, not me though unfortunately. I didnt want this show to end. There was an accident halfway through the show. A little boy got a goldfish (dont ask !), he was on the next row to us, after the magic, he ran up the steps knocking over my bud light which was placed in the hold next to me, yes you guessed, hit right down my dress at the front. Within a second a lady came up to me as steve noticed the drink had gone on me (he was stood next to me, my knees were shaking by this time lol). She said that another drink would come up to me, but i said it didn't matter it was an accident.

When the show had finished, we went downstairs as Steve was coming out for signings and photos. Whilst we were waiting the guy at the bar asked if i got my free bud, how he knew i dont know, i said it was ok i didn't need one, i was already peeing my pants having Steve next to me for a whole 5 minutes lol. Some people had paid to go VIP to see SW but it was a money spinner, i lined up for an autograph, then a lady asked if i wanted MY photo with him and i said yes of course. Unfortunately my husband thought it included him, and stepped up on stage with me, i tried to knock him out with my nearly empty bud light bottle but wasn't effective! But i got y own back cos he spoke to me for a whole 3 minutes not sam so there lol. He asked me if i enjoyed the show, i told him he was a lot better than DC, he asked if i got my drink, again i said it didn't matter, they were all so obsessed! Next minute he got down went to the bar and got me and Sam a bud light each, well i was so chuffed. How often does that happen. By the way dress wasnt ruined. The photos came out really good.
A show definitely to see, tickets very reasonable from txts 4 tonight outside BILLS gambling saloon.

BLUEMAN GROUP

I cannot say much about this because it will spoil it, you have to see it, i went having no idea what i was going to let myself in for, but truly amazing and so funny, my sides hurt. If you would like more information on it, please PM me, do not want to spoil it for other members here on HT. One thing i will say though is they all come out after, sign and have pictures taken with you. I had mine done and it was great, bough the DVD and CD, well worth the money, in a good theatre in the Venetian hotel.

CIRQUE DE SOLEIL - KA

Wanted to see Mystere, but it was the 25th anniversary so everyone was off for holidays. Did manage to buy tickets from txt 4 tonight very reasonable for KA at MGM GRAND, I had no idea what to expect, i had only heard of it via the forums. We lined up at the bar and i bud and a pint & half of heineken cost £14 yikes, i nearly had a panic attack Las vegas is soooooo expensive. A man asked me how i got my tickets for less than him, at least $80 cheaper and better seats, i told him, he paid at the show counter. The theatre was amazing, again not going to spoil it, well weird show, but the acrobatics were second to none, hadn't a clue what was going on, but didn't care, it was like i was in peter pan. It was cool in there though, if you go, take a cardigan or wear long sleeves. Fantastic show, i didnt want it to end.

That's all for the shows.

trips

Of course the hi-light for us was the grand canyon, i researched on reviews and who people recommend to take you there. I went onto the MAVERICK site on the internet, you can actually have a free conversation with a person who works for them. I spoke in length to Christine, and sorted out the trip for us, GC with champagne breakfast and after a river rafting excursion down the Colorado river.

Early start 5AM, not good when you went to bed at 1am lol

Mavericks own very new and clean bus picked several up from different hotels, went to their depot and got measured height wise and weighed for seating requirements. We had a card to read for safety. We were spilt up into groups and taken out into the yard to have a briefing on the helicopter and how it worked. All strapped in and were off. Fantastic day, great views of the hoover dam and the colorado river, we landed and had champagne and muffins for breakfast, also could have had juices and plenty of water available.

All in all even after refilling with fuel, the ride was 2.5 hours, we stopped a few times to take photos etc. We flew over the skywalk. Personally looking at it, you see more on the helicopter, it is not as big as you think and you cannot have the view we got in the air, that trip is a rip off with all the add ons from the Indians. We landed in another place to drop us off to get another coach with other people to go to CR. Had a toilet break and got into coach , we went to an arcade to pick up tickets for CR and the rafting. Got our food hamper and off we went for a 10 minutes drive. It was roasting that day, but fortunately our guide who was great had an never ending supply of water. It was quite still the water, we saw a lot of canoes, and jet skiis, when they came towards us, we had some fun as our guide asked us if we wanted to get wet. We did get a bit wet, but we liked it, it was 99 degrees by this time. We stopped for lunch, they call it a beach, but it wasn't, it was a pull in, no toilet except for a porta loo, no one was that desperate lol The guide supplied cold flannels to keep cool as well, he was a lovely man. What peed me off was hardly anyone tipped him, i couldn't believe that we were on a lovely trip for 6 hours or more and how tight people are, a lot of information he gave us. Mostly all americans as well, they should be ashamed.

We docked then went into a cheap shop of goodies, t shirts, drinks, hats you know the sort of thing. I then realised how ripped off the tourist part of Vegas is when you come into an outback shop.

Went back to the Flaming exhausted, i fell asleep on coach. All in all Maverick and the river rafting was an amazing day, it cost approx £400 each from 5AM until $;30pm, it was all day and not wasted, breakfast and lunch included which was cobs, crisps, drinks and a pasty. I would recommend Maverick very professional, their trip lasted a lot longer than some and the helicopters are all new and the largest fleet in LV and are NO1.

Now for my reviews on the hotels

The FLAMINGO
We saw most. I prefer my own hotel reguarding its simple and very easy and assessible to get around, yes we got lost a few times, especially one night when we came back rather worse for wear, we entered the hotel and was that tired i said to Sam lets get this lift, he said no because we would have to walk miles to get to the 22 floor. As we were walking around to find the correct lift, i said, this is strange, it is very noisy in here to night, Sam said i thought that, i looked around and then noticed it wasnt our hotel, we had gone by accident to BILLS next door, by golly i was so glad to see Donny and marie Osmond next door lol. The rooms - if i hadnt upgraded then i would have proberly gone to another hotel, mostly i should imagine they are virtually the same, but i had read basic rooms are just that. To upgrade for the price we got was really good, i loved the room, and the hotel, very central, loads of pools, although cram packed. Again drinks at the bar were dear, we had a skimpy girl who fetched them for you, again tips on top. £12 for 2 bud lights, soon added up on hotel bill. Pool could be lets say adventurous, they had a go pool for topless women surrounded by trees and you couldn't see in. I never knew it was there until we saw someone smoking a hookey pipe, or whatever they are called, in Egypt they are shisha pipes. We wanted one and the hostess said you get them from the go pool. On the door was a lady in a bikini she said Sam had to pay $10 to go in, i said all i wanted was a pipe. I asked why Sam had to be charged, she said it was a topless pool, i laughed and said well he's seen it all before in the Med and places, for heaven sake. Anyway didnt get pipe, and could see in the 'go' pool either. When we went up to the bedroom later, i zoomed in my camera over the go pool to have a goosey and a gander what was really in there, we couldn't see any topless people at all, it was secluded and covered by trees.

We had breakfast in the hotel for 2-3 mornings, tried to get into BILLS but always having to wait for 1-5 hours for a table. Prices on par i think with the UK. Didnt really play the slots, i am not a gambler, but did enjoy watching people, the atmoshere was good. The flamingo for playing always seemed to be packed and never closes.

I loved the MGM Grand and CAESARS PALACE, dont know why i do, but the hotels seemed very easy to get around. The best hotel that i went into that had a garden of flowers a ferris wheel, and gorgeous toilets was the BELLIAGO, the fountains are amazing and we watched many a show, we didn't venture into the Mirage or the WYNN. We didn't have enough time. Treasure Island has a great free outdoor show every night as long as it isn't windy, that hotel quite nice also.

The hotels i didnt like :

NEW YORK x2

We went into this hotel several times as my friend from work was going in it as we left. I went up to the roller coaster and all around the hotel, it looked very very old, kids rule upstairs and were running riot, too noisey and on a weekend as with most of vegas it was party time. The Irish pub was over balanced with drinkers and entertainment, it had topless woman in there drunk and rather xxx rated shinaigins going off, i knew this was sin city but i was so glad when i left the hotel, well tacky in my opinion. I did go back just to re check it for my friend, she is a 21 year old, so hopefully she will like it, but nah not for us.

THE LUXOR
You maybe a little surprised that i didn't like this as an avid traveller to Egypt. I a not sure why i didnt like it, it was clean and on different levels, i felt it was very dark in there, spooky looking rooms, and from the outside looked a miss match of pyramids. It was clean and staff friendly, but felt very impersonal and strange lol.

MANDERLAY BAY

The worst hotel out of the lot we ventured into, this hotel is so large that there is nothing in it from what i saw. In the pictures i have seen it looked a lovely sandy beach and a pool, well it was nothing like the photos, it was packed and a rather crude pool and a bit of beach. It all didn't look pretty like the flamingo, no beautiful gardens, all rather boring. This was a 5 * hotel, to me more like a 3*. You walked miles until you got anywhere, the floors were filthy with cigarette butts all over. Checked the loos as with all the hotels, most are lovely. In the MB just normal, no chandeliers or anything special. To say i was disappointed is an understatement to say the least. People used to say to me that Robbie Williams stays there, i know why, it is more like a hotel for business people, not a holiday-makers place.The Belliagio is 50 x better than that. I wouldn't waste my money, its a hole in my opinion.

EATING OUT

After we had been to the strip for a while we eventually found cheaper places to eat. We had several meals late on in the evening in the fashion mall food court. You get plenty and for two of us with drinks was around £14 total. We ate in the PH mall as well and had nice food there, wasn't cheap, but different. On the last day we did wait for an hour to be seated at BILLS, i had a lovely steak and enjoyed it very much, worth going to if you can be bothered to be seated, always packed and people waiting. Water was expensive unless you go in the PH miracle mile mall, we went into shops and got it cheaper, or in the shops up and down the strip, still expensive, but cheaper than the hotels for sure. The cheapest water we got was on the bridges, people sell it for a quid, we bought loads, be careful though, if caught buying you will get arrested as we saw whilst out there. They scuttle off very fast, if seen by cops.
All the food we liked and drinks, the worst place we found to eat was Planet hollywood, crap food and we tried it twice as we had a welcome breakfast in there first with our REP. Never left a tip and food cold and cheaply done, packet mash for example.
I preferred the Harley Davison out of anything we went to, their menu went on for ever, and it was fabulous food.

We did get cheaper alcohol drinks, we bought one of those half yard drinking vessels with a cocktail in it, when its finished you can go back and refill it with whatever you want for half price, everyone especially at the weekends walked around with them or one and half pints of stella/beer and was supping it whilst walking about, thinking nothing of taking it from shop to shop or arcade to arcade, even in hotels, rather bizarre.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT VEGAS

I didn't like the vegas shuffle, nighttime was an absolute nightmare, you couldn't move, if you do not like confined spaces then this isn't for the place for you. If i had to put into words what Vegas is like well its certainly an experience but on par with Ibiza and Falaraki, both party places and it is not called sin city for nothing. At times it was quite over whelming and scary, people at you all the time. If i saw another 'flicker' i would kill them. They are the mexicans pushing escort girls/prostitutes into your hands on cards, all they do is flick , flick, flick, so annoying ! Everywhere you went they were there, all landed of course on the dirty floors, which were smelly and sick everywhere at the weekend, witnessed that a lot at night, puking in front of you as you walk. I like a drink myself and i am an outgoing person, but this was filth at night. Was not my cup of tea. Most of this happened in the dead centre of the strip, out of it was a lot different, if anyone is going to the Stratosphere as a cheaper hotel and actually one i forgot to mention is actually a nice clean basic hotel, so much quieter up that end of the strip, didn't see circus circus, but a nice clean area. Although it is a tourist place, it was well over priced on food and drink, has got to be the dearest place in the USA i have ever been too. Recession has hit hard here, but no excuses, they still had plenty of tourists. We did more shopping in the day to avoid the middle of the strip at night.

We didnt go to see the light show on fremont street, we were going to get the deuce but the restaurant lady said not to go as that morning there was a shooting and a body was found in the trash, also a rape. She said you shouldn't go there as now it is very violent, and if you go off the beaten track its dangerous as gangs and poor people are ready to jump on tourists and they also carry guns. Well i knew that bit was true as we saw it earlier on tv.

OVERALL

8 nights is way to long for us, 2-3 nights would have been enough, we don't gamble, i much preferred spending money on shows. If i hadn't seen any shows or gone on trips i would have left after the first night. But as we had never been before, we filled our time roaming the many hotels and going shopping. It was an experience, but one i wont be repeating. NYC is hustle and bustle, but i would go back there tomorrow. IWe wished we had stayed at Anaheim, cheaper and a lot more to do. We did use the deuce bus which was very cheap, but you could be waiting half an hour to catch one as virtually they are full, irritating for disabled passengers as only two clamped chairs could fit on at any one time, should you be in a group you would be stuffed.

Be always vigilant there, plenty of pick pockets etc, and do not go off the beaten track, unless you know it well. We were glad of the experience, but the noise and drunks and flickers put us off, oh and the Vegas Shuffle

Thanks

Michelle x

ps...sorry for any errors, too long a report to check x

Firstly, thanks for the trip reports, very interesting reading.

Is this the Vegas I know and love? I'm not sure. I must admit there are a number of comments you have made which totally stun me (i.e. the scathing attack on Mandalay Bay, the mention of people being sick in front of you on the strip, comparing Vegas to Faliraki, not seeing the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown because a restaurant lady told you not to, the comments on Vegas being expensive etc).

Vegas doesn't suit everybody, I think that much is clear from reading any travel forum but I have to think you were probably unlucky with some of your experiences.

I have never experienced any cleanliness issues at Mandalay Bay, and whilst I would agree, it doesn't offer as much to the regular Vegas tourist as other "themed" properties, it is a 5 star resort on merit and many people enjoy staying there. Factor in some great bars and restaurants (Burger Bar for one), a stunning pool area (packed or not, it is excellent) and a less manic and more chilled out casino experience and you have the reason why people love it. I haven't even mentioned the rooms.......Flamingo or Mandalay Bay? Its just not a contest.

People being sick in front of you on the strip. Never ever happened to me in 6 visits, either on the strip, in a bar or on the casino floor. I think this really was just bad luck. People will always take things too far with drink, but your experience could happen any Friday or Saturday night in your local big city/town here in the UK.

Vegas or Faliraki? Not the best comparison that. I understand the party tag but you can't compare a tiny Greek resort to one of the World's most popular cities.

The Fremont Experience. Why let a restaurant lady put you off doing something you want to do? Do you not think people get shot/murdered in New York/LA? Downtown Vegas is far from salubrious, but if you keep your wits about you and are aware of your surroundings at all times (as you should be in any major city in the world) then you can have a pleasant experience day and night. Once again, what happened was probably shocking but again it can happen anywhere at anytime. The Deuce bus would have dropped you right outside Fremont Street and picked you up just around the corner. There would have been thousands of people milling around that area all night. You have now missed out on a Vegas only experience because of a comment from someone in a restaurant. That is unfortunate.

I think I've already responded to a post you did on how Vegas was so expensive so I won't go into major detail here. Sure, there is no getting away from the fact that Vegas can be extremely expensive, but by using vouchers/coupons you can certainly save quite a bit of money and in my opinion, I don't spend anymore on a daily food budget in Vegas as I would in Orlando/Anaheim or any other US city.
Alchoholic drinks are expensive in bars and restaurants, so I try and avoid them (not just in Vegas, but everywhere in the US). I have free soft drink refills with my meals, and then take advantage of offers (2 for 1's in a lot of the MGM Mirage properties) on beers and spirits and also tips for drinks when gambling. We played with $50 each in the Excalibur back in 2006 and lasted from 10pm until 4am (6 hours), won just shy of $400 and must have drunk $100+ of beers. I'm not gloryfying gambling, thats just one of my experiences. It is certainly worth seeing what the casinos have on offer in terms of drinks deals, remember they want you in their property gambling. I know if you texted a code to a number in the MGM in recent months you get a text with 2 for 1 drinks in most of their bars. Thats how to keep costs down.
As for soft drinks, you mention the water on bridges but a quid? I've never paid more than a dollar on a bridge. Also, in any of the rather lame tourist shops you can get 2 bottles of water, or 2 cans of Coke/Pepsi for $1. It's cheaper than Walgreens. Avoid the temptation to buy tat (it isn't hard) and get the drinks for next to nothing.

I think its worth noting also that you say that Vegas is the most expensive city you have visited in the USA, but you probably didn't factor in hotel cost when making that assumption. I know I can book a room in Vegas, lets say the MGM Grand for $59 weeknights, more at weekends, but when you compare that to a city like New York the savings on accommodation are huge. I'm not saying Vegas is better or worse than New York, but you have to factor this in also when mentioning costs. I mean, just the other day I priced up 8 nights in the Excalibur and it was only slightly more than it would be for 2 nights in New York (even 1 night at some of the hotels in NYC).

You will be pleased to know that I do agree with your opinion on the Harley Davidson Cafe. Excellent food, huge menu and great service. Well worth a visit.

As I mentioned earlier Vegas is not everybodys cup of tea and I do find it equally interesting reading reports where the experience has been less than good. I still think its worth making comments against some of the remarks posted though for future reference, in the hope that it can help somebody make a decision on whether Las Vegas is right for their holiday or not.

Ju

Hi Ju

First of all i know LV is your baby as is Egypt with me and i dont like it when people say how they dont like something when i think whats wrong with it.

I did make some mistakes in my post you are right it was $1 for a water not a quid, i had been typing this for 3 hours from 7am and having pc problems, lost my post then my MAC packed up, but thanks to kath for suggesting a remedy.

I haven't seen any other bedrooms on the strip, and i dont doubt that MD perhaps would have better rooms than the flamingo, i did say i wouldn't have gone in the basic rooms in the flamingo or anywhere else, but the room in the flamingo was the best room as a 'penthouse' suite i have ever been to. I dont mind a budgety hotel but to be upgraded. I still stand that the flamingo pool area and trees were beautiful and a lot of weddings were seen there, well its vegas after all. I was upset to report about MD basically because i would have liked to have stayed there and had my marriage vows renewed again. Maybe it was bare because of the themes going on in the other hotels in which are a bonus i dont know, but it was dirty, and i didn't like the pool area and took several photos as well.

There were coupons to be had and we did get some for 99c margaritas, but to be honest there wasn't many around, only in hotels. All the flickers kept giving us were porn rubbish and gay bars etc. Mostly the coupons were only any good if you gamble. It is a gamblers paradise so therefore holidaymakers who go to gamble would benefit than to someone who didnt gamble.

We went there because we have been to Anaheim a fair few times and never been to vegas. We only really went for the shows and the canyon. So that part we loved.

Comparing it to Falaraki and Ibiza the clubbers island was just how it was, drinking and smoking in the pools, all crammed in, it only seemed to be on a thurs-sunday.There is a bar where a woman always dances on the bar top not far from the flamingo, people are leaning over the banister people watching, its quite congested, that was where people were throwing up as passers by walked.Yes you are quite correct by saying it could happen anywhere, but on holiday i personally do not want to see it, if i did i would go on a club 18-30 (or 40 !). I knew it was called sin city, now i know why. It was very dirty with litter and broken beer bottles across a small road leading to the Harley Davison.

Fremont street i wasnt just put off from what the restaurant lady told us, it was the fact on fremont there was a killing/shooting etc, we had seen it on the news, most was cornered off. Majority of Americans we spoke to were mixed reviews and some said go some said the lights around vegas were better. We decided no to go, i wasnt really bothered as it gave me more shoe spending time

Of course readers of my post maybe shocked, some may think as my family who have been that it wasnt for them, but they are not gamblers anyway either. I think in my opinion for what its worth that vegas is wholly geared up to a flutter. But as i said the trips and shows were outstanding, and that is solely what we went for. I dont regret going, all i will say is, it is an experience.

Michelle x

Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the reply. I re-read my post and thought I was being a little critical so I am glad you've taken it in the right manner. No matter where I travel I will always stand up for somewhere I believe to be an exciting place to visit. Not everybody is the same and it has to be said that the lure of Vegas to many is certainly the gambling, but as you have proved there are other things to do such as shows and trips.

Fremont Street is a strange beast. You will see on TA people who quote crime figures saying that you are more likely to involved in an "incident" on the Strip, rather than Downtown, which may or may not be the case. If the area was cordoned off there wasn't a lot you can do, it would have been an experience and a Vegas only one at that, but I'm sure you can live without it.

Sometimes places don't live up to the hype, for me, Fiji and the Cook Islands and to a lesser degree Thailand are certainly countries I won't be busting a gut to get back to anytime soon. In the US, cities like Memphis and New Orleans disappointed despite rave reviews (mainly for New Orleans I must add) whereas hidden gems like San Antonio, Albuquerque (and Santa Fe), Savannah and my personal fave Denver I would go back to in a heartbeat.

I am glad you enjoyed your time in Vegas, and I am sure maybe one day you might think to go and take another look. As we all know, things change so quickly in Vegas......

Thanks for the trip reports, very good reading.

Ju

Oh and by the way, I really do wish Vegas was my baby......

Thanks for the report Michelle. Sounds like Vegas isn't for you.

I've never seen anyone vomit in the street in 9 trips, some of them 14 nights long.

If you haven't done so already, remember to leave a review of the hotel in the reviews section.

luci

I sure will Luci thank you.

Vegas was for me for the trips and shows that i went for, oh and the lovely hotels, just not the party scene, i am glad i went, and its another USA notch on my map of places i have visited. I would go back tomorrow for the shows and GC alone The gambling didnt bother me either, but i loved to watch, even though i hadnt a clue what was going on. I did have a bit of a flutter in Bills, i have no idea why, but that to me had a great feel about the place, saloon type of cowboy film lol except when i got lost, that was embarrassing.

There are loads of people who keep returning to Vegas who never gamble. There is plenty to do without gambling and every time I think I've seen all the shows I want to see, I managed to list 10 I want to see on the next visit, even though I may have seen some of them before.

I find drinks very expensive if you are paying for them and not getting them free through gambling. A glass of wine is $12-14. Meals are not cheap either although you can get 50% off entrees using Tix4Dinner. I don't eat fast food at home so I'm certainly not going to eat it in Vegas. Some places are better value than others.

I list the prices of practically everything in my trip reports so you should have had a good idea of prices before you went from reading those.

The hotels are the best bargain of all and you wouldn't get the suite you had for that price anywhere else and no, the rooms are not all the same in all the hotels. There are vast differences.

luci

Thanks for the report Michelle, I really enjoyed reading it.............even if I was a bit shocked as well with some of the experiences you had! I too have never seen anyone puking up in my 11 visits (well, I have, but it was me and it was in my hotel room)!
I've heard a lot of stories about Downtown. We've actually walked around the back streets down there and caught a bus from the bus station - now THAT was scary! Loads of drunks and junkies hanging around, we did say we won't do that again! However, walking from Fremont Street down to Main St Station and also in the other direction to El Cortez (I love El Cortez) - not a problem at all. It's the same anywhere in the world, use common sense.

We always have our first few beers gambling on the penny slots, in fact, sometimes we're cheeky and walk till we see a waitress coming then sit down and stick 1 dollar in a machine as she walks by and order a couple of Corona's. We'll tip her a couple of bucks and end up with two corona's for 3 bucks in all - not bad! Do that a few times and you're on you're way. If I'm going to pay a lot for drinks I'd rather go somewhere a bit special rather than just pay $8-10 for a beer in one of the normal hotel bars. For instance, we went to Red Square in Mandalay Bay, the Vodka house where they do hundreds of different vodkas. I think we spent over $100 in there on various vodka's and cocktails but left very happy and drunk and loved the place!
Meals can be reasonable depending on where you go and if you mix eating at decent restaurants with the odd buffet here and there it adds up to fairly good value.

The 'porno slappers' (that's what we call them) are a bit of a pain but having said that, they just hold out the cards they never touch you so I don't see it as much different from hawkers around the med trying to get you to buy fake watches or sunglasses.

Ju - you don't like Thailand? Oh my god, it's my favourite country I've been to along with the USA - been three times and absolutely love it, the people, food, scenery, value for money, ladyboys......errrr joking on that last one!!!

That's the beauty of travel though, thankfully we're all different in many ways and all love different things - thankfully otherwise Vegas would be really busy and we wouldn't get cheap room deals!

Cheers,

TC

There are some very informative comments (good and bad) on Vegas in this thread which I do apologise to Michelle for hijacking and I am sure it will help people decide on whether Vegas is for them or not. After all, the point of this forum is to offer balanced views and tips for others and I like to think we do our bit selling Vegas to the interested, but clearly the weight of expectation and the hype fails to satisfy some (not you Michelle I might add).

Teecee. We follow a very similar plan to yours for initial drinks and last year even started sitting down in front of a Video Blackjack machine playing less than $5 in some casinos and managed to bag a few drinks (the best effort was in the Rio). Sometimes my Wife sat beside me watching and we still got two drinks which to me is outstanding service, but then again they know there is always the chance she might get bored watching and want to play herself (ahem).
We also tend to have one night where things start to heat up and we do a bar crawl. It happened in the MGM last year, where we had plans for a meal at Toby Keiths in Harrahs but just couldn't face the walk (or monorail again) so decided to have a few drinks.....and then some more....until we ended up slightly worse for wear in the MGM food courts McDonalds (Luci, I'm with you but it tasted so good). After that we headed back to the casino and played as we would normally, well ok, maybe we were a little keener to throw our money down the slots but with a reasonable drinks service that night, we actually ended up having a good one, and my Wife had her best ever win.
To top if off at the end of the holiday we went down to the Players Club and were extremely pleased to hear all our drinks at the MGM Mirage properties throughout the 6 nights were to be comped. I wish we'd had more!!!!!

Thailand was ok Teecee, but compared to Cambodia and Vietnam (the next two countries we visited on our RTW trip) it fell way short in comparison. I must admit we didn't get to see that much, but it was disappointing. Not as much as Fiji though, but thats a different story.

Back to Vegas. As mentioned by just about everybody Vegas can be expensive and there certainly isn't the level of vouchers/coupons in tourist booklets that you might find in other US cities such as Orlando. However, using the Tix4tonite outlets there are often deals to be had with the $9.99 Paris Buffet, and 50% off Pampas Brazilian in the Miracle Mile being two examples. Vouchers aside, I still think some of the restaurants offer great value. Places like the Harley Davidson Cafe and Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill all offer some entrees around $6-$10 mark, which is outstanding value, but as I have mentioned, adding alcoholic drinks to any restaurant bill is going to push it up. I've only splurged once in Vegas on my Wife's 30th in Diego at the MGM. Total including tip was $115, which on an exchange rate of 1.85 I think back then, is still only £62 and we had beers and annoyingly a $7 bottle of Fiji water we thought was complimentary. Clearly you can spend far in excess of that. I doubt I ever will though.
Whilst the 24 hour restaurants in the hotels might not be to everybodys liking, sometimes they do offer seriously tasty and good value food. Take the Sherwood Forest in Excalibur. Ok, cheesetastic to a degree, but a $7 steak meal with choice of potato and veg at certain times of the day is outstanding value, especially if you are on a budget. It might not be Haute Cuisine, but its as good as a steak you would get at any of the standard USA chains throughout the country (Applebees, Outback, Tony Romas etc).

As Luci mentioned, the real value to be had in Vegas is the hotel room which can often be overlooked when you book a package. I am still in a state of shock at seeing the Excalibur down to $22 (Mon-Thurs) in November, which if you only went for those 4 days you would end up paying £60 for your hotel room all in. Now that is value. Even if you go to Vegas for the shows, or base yourself there for a quick look before heading out on day trips to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Valley of Fire etc, that is an exceptional price and well worth taking up.

Vegas is Vegas, love it or loathe it, it certainly offers a blooming good debate.....

End of waffle.

I love reading all these reviews - you certainly get a wide and varied array of opinions.

I am off to Anaheim and San Diego on 3rd August and cannot wait - Michelle: your report was most helpful - thanks! We've never been there before so any detail is useful.

Does anyone have any experience of San Diego?

We are also off to Vegas in April next week (for our second time). We loved it there the first time. We are not gamblers but found so much to see and do to keep us entertained and never experienced any of the bad ones that Michelle did, except for the "flickers" but we just ignored them same as we do with any other hawkers in other destinations - guess you have to take with the good with the bad and so far in Vegas the good definitely outweighs any bad!

I will do a full report on my Anaheim/San Diego trip when I return - we're out there for 17 days.