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50th birthday trip June 30-July 4

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by VegasDiva, Jul 7, 2009.

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  1. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    My Trip Report

    My girlfriend (L) and I went to Vegas last week, June 30 thru July 4 to celebrate our 50 bdays ~~ both of us have been to Vegas before
    I've stayed at IP(2005), Flamingoand MB (2007) Harrahs(2008) on the strip ~stayed offstrip in 2006 when I took my daughter
    She's stayed at Bally's(2007) , MB(2007) Luxor(2008), on the strip
    Originally I had booked us 4 nights comp'd at Flamingo but rec'd an offer for 2 nights at Mandalay Bay , as we were seeing the Lion King there anyway

    I had to work the morning of the 30 and was off work at noon, and met up with L , who was already in Calgary, she lives 2 hrs south of here , and was dropping her sons off at airport , as they were off to meet up with their dad for the month of July........

    We departed Calgary about a half hour late as WestJet had to change planes at the last minute...... our original plane, had a malfunction in the cockpit with some window that wouldn't close proper......so they brought in another plane....and we took off around 7:10pm (original departure time was 6:35) Landed @ Terminal 1 , B Gates in Vegas around 830pm vegas time about 20 mins later than usual, went to get our luggage then , off to the Taxi stand , where we had no wait and off to the MB ...... cab fare was about 20.00 with tip , didn't realize an airport fee was added in also


    HOTELS~~ pics added below

    stayed at MB via comp'd offer via email for June 30 and July 1st
    not much of a wait at checkin at around 915pm and was flabbergasted when I was told I was being given a 2 bedroom suite!! (their 1500x2 suite)
    was in room 5-135 and at the end of a very long hallway .....i counted 165 steps from the elevator to the room lol ....... had a big double door way and when we opened it was like oh my gosh :faint:...... you walked in and there was a big foyer , with a sitting area to the left with 2 couches and a huge plasma screen TV on the wall facing ......to the right a big dining room table and the bar area along the wall .......the bedrooms were to the far right or far left.......I took the Master Bdroom which had a huge king bed in it , plus a chest of drawers with a huge TV on it and a chaise lounger
    The bathroom had a double sink vanity , a huge jacuzzi tub , and a lovely walkin shower..... was nice to have our own bathrooms ~~ curtains opened via a button to open /close or raise/ lower them (i had visuals of Homer Simpson sitting there muttering curtain goes up , curtain goes down) heheh
    was hard to leave this place lol the view from out side was our wing , where the room was , we overlooked the tram station but didn't hear a thing .....

    FLamingo~~ last pic is the First Flamingo room we had ~ July 2 and 3rd via comp'd offer thru Harrahs total rewards checked out of MB around 10am and over to the FLamingo where we got checked in right away .....was offered GO Room for additional 30.00 each night , but we declined ..
    I had requested a pool /courtyard view from the south tower ..but we ended up with a south view , aka the roof of Bills Gambling hall!! had a room on the 5th floor again ! upon entry the door, was filthy , like someone had shaken a can of soda or something and it fizzy'd all over the door and dribbled down or someone urinatedupon the door UGH was disgusting..... The rooms are much smaller and plainer than MB but I expected it as I'd stayed there b4 , I don't mind the size as long as the room is clean .... the Flamingo doesn't have bed spreads but coverup thingys at the bottom of the bed for color.......L's bed had white stained crap all over her's ..... didn't even venture what it could be , again looked very disgusting!! , went to turn on thermostat for A/C and it was grubby n grimy with finger prints ...... sink in bathroom was very slow in draining and mold in shower tiles ~~ called down to the desk and no other rooms available........decided to head out for lunch and shopping then decide what to do ...... ..... returned back to Hotel around 4pm and tried to call Paris to see if I had comp's there , they could tell I had reservations at Flamingo, and we were honest in why we wanted to move.....they didn't have any thing comp'd but suggested go to desk and talk to manager........which we did...... explained the dirty grimy state of room and he moved us to 15th floor, same view but a bit better ......room till wasn't up to sparkling clean , bit of grime on the thermostat and on the phone too .........UGH ......... i'm not a clean freak but when sleeping in a public place per say, I want a fresh clean sparkly look lol ....... comp'd or not ! even the furniture was worn with scratches and dings .....I used to say doesn't matter where i lay my head in Vegas as long as room is clean but now after being at MB i could be a bit pickier lol

    FOOD
    Raffles at MB~~ ate there the night we arrived in Vegas, split a club sandwich and my gosh, could have fed 3 of us lol was good and reasonable priced around 15.00 with diet pepsi's each
    had breakfast there also the next two mornings ..... L had a cinnamon bun and coffee , I had whole wheat toast and fruit cup and coffee again was less than 10.00 each altho mine might have been about 10.50 plus tip
    PepperMill~ ate there twice actually....on July 1st (did shopping at Ross store next door as L had never been in one,) and again on July 4, day we left ~ both times we split the fish n chips, with side salad and bread plus had soft drink each so bill came to around 20.00 plus tip the portions are so HUGE there so it worked for us to split a meal
    Paris LeVillage Buffet ~~ was about 17.99 plus soft drink so around 20.00 total , got there about 330 pm on July 2, no wait and the food was excellent ~~ there are 5 carving stations, all representing different provinces in France... and the regional foods, I had primerib, roast porkloin, coq au vin , sauerkraut, all kinds of veggies done in different ways, like creamed spinach, sweet potatoes in a nice sauce, salads , and a dessert bar to die for , rich pastries, cheesecakes, etc was well worth the money
    Mon Ami Gabi ate there on the advice from many members of this board and ty very much.......was fantabulous ~~ got there about 330 pm the Friday July 3 afternoon , no wait ~ got a table right outside in the shade , nice view saw the Bellagio Fountains........ I had the seafood crepe @ 13.95 had 3scallops and 3jumbo shrimp in a creamy sauce with peas within the crepe mmmmmmmmmmm and L had the fish n frites @18.95 ~ the fish was whitefish, pan fried and a huge portion and the frites or fries came in a paper *cup* and were cut a a different shape but good
    Burger Bar popped in after Lion King for a quick dessert and coffee, had the *chocolate burger* and a coffee yummy.....was about 13.00 plus tip L had same burger but a cappicinno thingy
    Tropical Breeze Cafe~ ate there for Brkfst both mornings July 3 and July 4 ~ had same each day ...... 2 egg special~~ 2 eggs scrambled, hashbrowns, whole wheat toast with sausage patties, L had same, with sunnyside up egg, bacon and white toast....... came to 9.99 plus coffee plus tip filled us up til supper lol

    Shows~~ July 1st ~ saw the Lion King at Mandalay Bay , had a great seat , Row N in the main middle section perfect view of the stage , started at 8pm and finished just b4 1030 with about a 10 min break midway

    Gambling I was the gambler of this trip, L gambled somewhat but she isn't a big gambler or spender budgeted aout 40.00 per day on slots so doesn't take long , spent her winnings on shopping deals , which she got a few of, last two nights she was in bed at 1030pm whilst I stayed n tried the penny slots at Flamingo, wandered to O'sheas and IP , did ok
    I got a couple wins at MB~~ one on Dean Martins wild party , hit 120.00 right off the bat ...... and got 150.00 on a Lil Lucy game ....other than that slots weren't very friendly to me ...... L got a couple big wins like that and instead of putting back into the slots, she went shopping and got a few good deals and retired early each night ..........I tried MB and Luxor slots, and a few on Freemont street too ..... some at CP and Paris also

    Shopping~ L is the shopper of us two, and she found a few good deals , whereever we went ...... did the Ross store and she got 3 tops and a pair of capri's for under 40.00 , did PH Miracle Mile and she again found a few good bargains , found a lovely gold necklace for 30.00 with 3 different stones in it , very unique looking....... and found a buncha good deals in the Forum Shoppes....... she had rich tastes, but a beer budget but can find a good deal

    Transportation ~~ did cabs to and from the airports to the respective hotels..... bought two Duece 24 hr passes for 7.00 each, that was a good deal as we bussed it up n down the Strip a bit, wasn't that bad for waits n such ..... we had a long wait from check out at Flamingo on July 4 to heading to airport......about 7 hrs so we rode the Duece to Flamingo street then decided to head as far south as it went .....saw the welcome to LV sign too .......down past the outlet malls and to the terminal where we hopped off and headed on a north bound bus........ that took about 3 hrs in total lol
    but was interesting to see the strip like that

    POOLs spent time in both the Mandalay Beach and the Flamingo pools both are very nice in their own way ...... met some nice folks sitting around the pool and chatted with them even bought a frozen drink at the MB pool, I don't drink muchly as I'm diabetic and L rarely drinks too , altho may have some wine ~~ I did have some JD and diet coke at the slots but agree with others, drink service was slow in the casinos!!

    The purpose of the trip was to , shop, gamble a bit, eat good food , see a show and relax a bit which we did I wanna go back to Vegas I love it
    I still would like to see the Jersey Boys :) on the Friday evening, we popped into the apple store at the Forum shops, and did our online boarding pass thingy for westjet back , and I checked my home email I had had an offer from Venetian for 2 tickets to Phantom and room for 129.00!! had I checked earlier , I woulda scooped it up ....... altho i've seen Phantom , last year L hasn't and would have liked too

    our flight left Vegas at 9PM, on July 4 saw fireworks as we took off , had a good flight home , arriving back in Calgary arbout 1230am (its about an average 2.5 hr flight) and was home about 115am , hit the bed and had bkfst in the morning and L left for her home
     
  2. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    More pics of the MB hotel Thats me at the doorway lol

    was a huge room !! as you can see
     
  3. gmoney590

    gmoney590 VIP Whale

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    I like that suite at MB. What was the view like? We were hit and miss on the slots too...my wife was mostly hit...me, mostly miss. What, exactly, is a chocolate burger?
     
  4. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    the one picture of the side of the hotel , we were only on the 5th floor so not a spectacular view , I tried to take some pics out the window but kept getting reflection back from the flash .... we weren't that high up but had a view of the house of blues sign , and towards the strip.. my room had the driveway up to the main doors and the MB sign itself
    http://www.mandalaybay.com/accommodations/gcx2suite.aspx << heres the link to the room shows the floor plan too


    a chocolate burger is a burger shaped treat made of chocolate and the *tomato* is red strawberry , some yellow icing stuff for mustard, and some ketchup
    http://www.fleurdelyssf.com/ a description is on the menu there

    was very tasty!! i should have taken a pic but left the camera up in the room while in the Lion King wasnt sure if they would confisicate it as they did at Better Midler last yr
     
  5. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Awesome room at MB!!!!! Thanks for posting the photos and TR!:eek:
     
  6. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    Totally awesome trip report.

    As long as I have a clean room I will be ok with the room style you show at Flamingo. Last time they had upgraded me to GO before I got there, but I'm not holding my breath for two lucky times in a row. But the room layout looks fine. If I get upgraded to GO I'll do 2 @ Flamingo and 2 @ Bellagio (both comped) but if no upgrade I'll just sleep the one night at Flamingo and the other three at Bellagio.

    Question - you indicated at LeVillage' Buffet you paid for your drink?? I have never paid separately for beverages (and we were just there in May). Is that a change at their buffet or was that just a mis-type?
     
    Easter again..:
  7. JimRochester

    JimRochester Tourist

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    Looks like you had a great time. I'm going for my 50th as well next week. Actually I turned 50 on the 18th last month but this is when we are going. This is a very big summer for me June 4 my son turned 20, june 18 I turned 50, June 26 my daughter graduated high school, June 30 my daughter turned 18, July 5th we had a graduation party for her, July 14th we leave for Vegas. I really can't wait to stop celebrating and start relaxing.
     
  8. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    okie dokie i must be having a vegas seniors moment because I think you are correct lol i only paid the one price....
    the Flamingo room is much smaller than the MB room but i'm usually like you, as long as its clean, who cares the size only there to sleep , right>?
     
  9. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    happy belated
    L's bday was May 31st and mine was June 5 but this was the best time for us to go , as she didn't have to worry about her sons

    have fun in Vegas! I took my daughter for her 21st back in Sept 2006 she will be turning 24 this week , my hubby has no desire to go to Vegas ........he is fond of the machines and maybe some of the table games probably thinks if we go together we wont have a house to return too lol plus he let his passport expire and needs to renew it ..... I still think I'll try to get him down there for our 30th wedding anniv in 2012! hehe

    have a fun celebration :beer::drunk:
     
  10. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    Whew - I was getting worried about that beverage, LOL!!!

    PS - Happy Birthday - I didn't even think to say that before! I am headed their in 19 days for my 47th birthday - which is the ONLY reason I am staying @ Bellagio - they had a birthday offer for me (3 nights/75 FP & 2 buffets). Previously the best they have provided was $169 a night. And the double booking came into play because Flamingo had a $100 food credit offer but I need to charge my food to the room - so I needed Monday night anyway - just double booked the remaining days.
     
    Easter again..:
  11. sailor53

    sailor53 Tourist

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    Great report and great pics! Thanks for posting!
     
  12. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    ty everyone

    I was dissapointed with the Flamingo for the lack of *going that extra mile*
    they just didn't seem concerned that the room as grimy ..... lol i should have gotten back to the 5th floor and checked out the original room , see if they had cleaned up the door entrance way was gross :vomit:
    didn't get any offers of any food credits, didn't even get any coupons at checkin ....... I had mentioned that also in my *complaint letter* and was told *they sometimes run out at the front desk* hmmmmmmmmmm

    hope u have a great 47th jgates :) nice choice of hotels hopefully one day i'll get an offer from them !
     
  13. Beach Crazy

    Beach Crazy Hostess With the Mostess

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    Enjoyed the read VegasDiva! Sounds like you both had a very enjoyable birthday trip. Thanks for the photos, I love when people post room photos. Happy belated birthday to you and your friend. :thumbsup:
     
  14. lvchic80

    lvchic80 Low-Roller

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    Thanks for the report and pictures! Your friend sounds like me.. when I get a decent win, I'm quick to cash out and go shopping. At least that way I know I won't be coming home empty handed. That MB suite is nice. Was that a Bose sound system? Sweet.
     
  15. spunky96

    spunky96 Low-Roller

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    Thanks for posting the pics! I'm staying at Mandalay Bay in Sept.
     
  16. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    I think it was a Bose , we did turn it on once , some news station lol

    was afraid to touch the dials....... oh and apparently the not-so-MINI bar is motion sensitive we tiptoed past it lol didn't want to get charged!


    I've stayed at MB twice now and by far this was the nicer of the two rooms lol

    Flamingo I have been twice also now.....but very dissapointed in the lack of customer service

    actually in Nov 2007 did 3 nights at Flamingo and then 3 nights at MB
    this time was vice versa , two nights at MB then two at Flamingo

    yes we did have fun ty for the bday wishes

    we have known each other since we were like in 7th grade :)
     
  17. Blondie76

    Blondie76 Low-Roller

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    How nice you and your good friend can enjoy Vegas together. You had a very nice room at MB. Sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for posting. :)
     
  18. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the post. Big pics.

    later, GVJ
     
  19. VegasDiva

    VegasDiva VIP Whale

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    Big pics.



    lol i'm a chatter not a techie I have no idea how to resize thoses

    I just used the attatchement feature and clicked away and posted
     
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