TR - Rio/Vdara - 10/23-28 - Pretty Boring TR

This was a solo trip with the first 3 nights at the Rio to attend a conference there to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Last 3 nights (third night double booked) at the Vdara in a City View suite.

I originally had booked an offer at the Aria, but then changed my mind (yes, I know – big shock) and decided I wanted to give the Vdara a try, and to have no obligation to play those last 2 days. I had like $1,370 in EC’s to pay for it.

I'll post as replies.

 

Rio - I was tunneled on the way to the Rio. I started getting a bit nervous when I looked over and we were just getting to the MB and the meter was already at $15. Fare ended up being $23 something – so not too bad. I checked Vegas Mate when I got home and they estimated the fare at $22. I hadn’t done any research as my original plan was to take a shuttle.

I didn’t get to the hotel until around 8:00 p.m. on Thursday so even though I had called to let them know I would be getting in late and to NOT give my room away – they did anyway. So I hope whoever tipped $20 to get an upgraded room enjoyed my Samba Premium Strip View room, while I was left with a “classic” room .

With that said, the room was fine. I’m not that fussy. I was in room 949 in the Ipanema tower. The room was quiet, the bed was comfy, and I did enjoy having the fridge and the Keurig. Although I do think that some of the CET properties just assume we have our eyes closed on the way to the room and won’t notice the garbage in the hallways for days on end. There was a room service tray and several pieces of trash when I checked in – still there when I checked out.

Conference – why did I schedule a conference in Vegas??? Dumb, dumb, dumb. I admit it - I didn’t attend as many of the sessions as I had planned . I think I had paid $150 for it, so it wasn’t like I was out big money.

Food - Not being a foodie, I ate at the Carnival Buffet my first night - it was good. I then mostly stuck to breakfast at Starbucks and food from the deli at the sports book, and thanks to having a fridge, my lunch usually was my supper as well. Tuna wrap – very good. Potato Salad – not to my taste. I have yet to find a potato salad I like in a deli in Vegas. Must be a Midwest thing .

Gambling - overall pretty good. I didn’t have any hand pays or anything, but had enough smaller hits to keep me playing. I went from like 230 to 5,200 tier credits in less than 48 hours. I did enjoy playing more VP as I don’t play a lot when staying at M Life properties. My goal at CET properties has always been just to play enough to keep the free rooms coming. But now I admit, after giving them some pretty good play – I will be curious to what future offers will look like, and if any will include free play.

Other – Housekeeping did a great job. I thought the CW service in the casino was very good. Would I stay here again – probably not. There are just too many other choices to stay at, and nothing that really stood out to make me want to stay there again.

Comps – I had only charged the one buffet to the room, and when I went to check out I asked what could be taken off based on my play – he said he would remove the buffet and 2 of the resort fees. I paid for the rest with RC’s.

 

Vdara - My original intention was to leave the Rio and go to the Vdara around 6:00 p.m. as I was double-booked for the third night. Once I hit platinum I figured my play obligation was met as I’m sure by that point I had been gambling for around 8 hours so far already on that day. So I decided to head over earlier. I got there around 1:30 and checked-in and as I didn’t care about the view, I could get right into my City View suite. It was nice and looked just like the pictures on the web. I was in room 7024. My view was of the tram station, and as I said, I didn’t care. It was a nice place, very quiet. I can’t speak to how housekeeping was as I kept my privacy light on. Again, I did really enjoy having the fridge and the Keurig. I love my coffee first thing in the morning.

My only slight issue with the Vdara was the morning I was checking out. The previous day I had stopped by the host office at the Aria, and they comped my entire stay at the Vdara, plus the small bit of food I had charged to the room. I was down having a smoke and decided to check and make sure I didn’t owe anything, and that way I could just check out via the TV. So I walked up and said “a host at the Aria comped my stay and I just wanted to make sure you were seeing that - and also wanted to make sure I got my deposit back”. She looked and immediately said it’s all been take care of.

Thanks to previous experiences, I decided I’d rather get it in writing. I decided to actually go down and check out. I then specifically asked for paperwork showing me that I would be receiving a credit of the $440 deposit I had paid. Even if I hadn’t gotten it comped, I had more than enough EC’s to pay for it. She disappeared in the back room, and came back and said her supervisor had to put through the credit – so I guess everything wasn’t all taken care of – as she had previously told me. I am so glad I went back to get confirmation on that.

Gambling - I won’t go into the gory details of the beating I took at both the Bellagio and the Aria over the next few days. The Siberian Storm machines were brutal and did NOT show me any love – or even any mercy at all. I earned 104,000 tier credits, which actually was down to 94,000 tier credits by the time I got home. Don’t you just love M Life .

 

Other thoughts and ramblings:

For anyone considering the Vdara, it was really nice and the location was great. It takes 2 minutes to get to the Aria, and not much longer to get to the Bellagio. I personally think you get more room for the money at the Vdara.

The weather was beautiful – not that I spent much time outside. I did take the shuttle over to Bally’s on Friday morning and spent a few hours at the Flamingo.

There wasn’t anything freaky or strange on this trip to report (sorry, I know that makes reports so much more exciting).

Next trip - probably May - hopefully the Bellagio will cough up a decent offer given the beating I took from them.

 

Nice trip report. Your Vegas trips seem to be very similar to mine! Sorry the slots weren't better for your last couple of days. I'm thinking about trying Bellagio for one of my 2015 trips. Love the slots there.

 

Thanks. Yes, I love the slots at the Bellagio too. They still have some of the older slots that I like. They just don't love me as much as I love them . But I love the casino itself, the location, the rooms, the food options. Bellagio is still my favorite.

 

you took a shuttle to Bally's? you could have walked down the stairs between Vdara and Aria and just crossed the street

 

Thanks for the trip report. Not boring at all. Glad you double checked on that deposit refund. Too many clerks nowadays go "yeah, yeah, it's been taken care of..." but don't really care or know for sure.

I know what you mean when you love a casino but the casino doesn't love you as much. I tend to think of casinos like prostitutes, they whisper sweet nothings in your ear while their hands reach for your wallet.....

 

that's why I leave my wallet in the safe!
last time I stayed at Vdara I had the hospitality suite, which comes with free limo to and from airport
on arrival it was 15 mins late on checkout, they start banging on our door an hour before checkout for HK, then when we go to concierge they said they didn't think I wanted the limo...wtf?......one of the very few times I've gotten loud, very loud in public, idiots!

 

LOL I took the shuttle to Bally's when I was staying at the Rio .

Thanks! Yes, I've learned it much easier to get issues like the credit resolved - before you get on the plane. Casinos - prostitutes - good one!

 

ahh Rio got it, reading fail...yeah also why I pay cash or use ECs and get a email or paper receipt before I go to the airport
btw Pro Tip: Do.Not. take your Amex card to the strip club, because they do take American Express, oof!

 

Thanks for the pics of the Vdara room, Looks great!

 

Thanks. The Vdara was great. I would definitely stay there again!

 

The reason your tier credits reduced was due to the spend for your room and food. When they comp them they take the points back. I was a few thousand points away from platinum on my last trip and then my host comped my room/food and I dropped back like 15K tier credits.

 

Wow, I never thought of that but you are probably correct. I'm usually on a full up front comp, so have never really had this issue before. By the amount of tier credits they took - that would seem to match with the $440 deposit I paid on the room for the first night.

Thanks much!

 

?? tier credits are never reduced. The express Comps amounts are used for charges but not Tier Credits.

 

My tier credits were reduced because they had already given them to me for the room deposit I paid ($1 spent on rooms = 25 tier credits). When they ended up comping me they took them back, which is fine.

 

ok the teir credits for the deposit sorry I mis understood.