Vegas trip March 4-8 (make that the 9th)

Thursday: Well, the day was finally here. DH was working till noon then we were heading to Chicago’s Midway and flying Southwest. Trip to the airport, check in and security all went smoothly. Flight was good and we got into Vegas about 5:15 pm. As soon as we landed, we grabbed our luggage and a taxi. Taxi driver was great and got us to Bally’s quickly.
We had to wait maybe 30 minutes max to check in. We didn’t try the $20 trick but did take the $20 daily upgrade to the North Tower. Our room was on the 16th floor facing Flamingo. We never had a problem waiting for an elevator. I didn’t really hear any of the construction noise but we were able to hear the people walking on the street below and sirens. It seemed like there was always a fire truck or ambulance going by.

After settling into our room, we headed to Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville for dinner (one of our favorite places). Food was good and margaritas were yummy. After dinner, we headed back to Bally’s. Since we were used to Eastern Time, we played a few slots and headed up to bed.

 

Friday: We slept in then headed to the buffet at Harrahs for breakfast (used a 2 for 1 coupon). Signed up for our Total Rewards card and played a few slots. Then we headed to Madame Tussauds (I know, a little cheesy, but I enjoy it). Took a boat load of pictures and married George Clooney for the second time.

We hadn’t seen the Palazzo yet, so we went there to check it out. We had coupons for $25 in free slot play when we signed up for the Grazie card. I turned my $25 into $45. We wont talk about how DH did. Went into the Venetian and picked up our tickets for our Blue Man Group show that night.

On our way back to Bally’s, we stopped at Serendipity 3 for a late lunch. Although the food was good , we don’t think it was worth what we paid for it. Frozen hot chocolate was to die for though (and free with our coupon). Went back to Bally’s to freshen up and play some more slots before our show.

Blue Man Group was awesome! Believe it or not, this was our first show ever. Definitely would recommend this show. After the show, we walked down to Bellagio and watched the fountains a couple of times. We could watch the fountains for hours. By now DH is starving so we head back to Bally’s to grab something to eat. Grabbed something to eat at the Tequilla Bar and Grille. Food was good. By this time I’m exhausted so we head up to bed.

 

Saturday: I’ve wanted to try the buffet at the Bellagio so we got ready and headed over there. We got there about noon and waited in line about an hour but it was so worth it. This was the best buffet I have had so far in Vegas. Everything was so yummy.

After brunch we took the tram to Crystals. We haven’t seen City Center and wanted to check it out. We didn’t really browse the shops (no way I could afford to shop there). We walked around outside and checked out all the different sculptures. We loved the gallery with the blown glass and the one with the huge photos.

We headed into Aria and signed up for our players cards. Played some slots (can you tell we’re not high rollers?). Probably broke even. Took our time making our way back to Bellagio and then Ballys.

Headed up to our room for a quick nap before our 10:30 Jubilee show. We still had some time to kill so we headed downstairs and played some more slots. Didn’t do so well. Jubilee was interesting. I think DH and I enjoyed the secondary acts and stage sets better than the main acts. It was annoying though that people kept coming and going all through the performance.

By now it is midnight and since we haven’t eaten since brunch at the Bellagio, we are starving. We headed down to Margaritaville. Was told it was open seating and we couldn’t find a seat. Of course they had the other floors and part of the main floor blocked off. We left there and headed for the Burger Joint in the Flamingo. There was quite a line to get in. They had a steak and eggs special for $5.99 and a burger and fries special for $2. It took forever for our waiter to come and take our order. He was quite rude. DH and I said we would both have the steak special. Told him I wanted mine medium rare and he said it only came medium well or well. I told him I would have the burger special instead. He started walking away and we asked about getting drinks. Thought that was going to kill him. My burger was decent but DH’s steak was terrible. He only was able to eat about half of it because it was so full of gristle. I definitely would never eat there again.

 

Sunday: Got up, jumped on the monorail and headed to MGM. After playing a few slots we walked over to Hard Rock Café for lunch. We had been to the other Hard Rock Café by the hotel but this was our first visit to this one. Of course the food was great and the margaritas really yummy.

After lunch we headed back up the strip, taking lots of pictures along the way. We stopped in Planet Hollywood and signed up for our players cards. We finally found a couple of unoccupied penny slot machines (I know, we are real big spenders). We both ended up walking out with a little bit of money. We then walked to the Paris but didn’t have the same luck there.

It was getting close to dinner so we moseyed back to Planet Hollywood to feast at the Spice Market Buffet. Of course we gorged ourselves yet again. We have always enjoyed the Spice Market Buffet. We then waddled back to our hotel room.

 

Sounds great! Fountains, Margaritaville, Blue Man Group are all favorites of ours. Can't wait to get back after reading your report. Hope you have a terrific trip!

 

Monday: This was our last day in Vegas (or so we thought). Although we love Vegas, I was ready to go home. After a smooth checkout (we must be really big spenders because we only got about $2 taken off our bill), we left our bags with the bellhop and headed for Caesars. I was starving so we went to the Cheesecake Factory. The portions were huge and the food was delicious. DH and I split the Godiva chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It was to die for. After some more penny slots, it was time to head for the airport.

After getting our bags from the bellhop, we grabbed a taxi and headed for the airport. There was a line for curbside check in, but it went fairly quickly. Security took a little longer. I forgot I had a bottle of water in my backpack so security went through it and confiscated my water. We then had to walk for miles to get to our gate. We still arrived about an hour before our flight to take off.

While waiting to board the plane, we heard them announce that boarding would be delayed because of weather in Chicago. Other passengers said that there was extreme fog in Chicago. 30 minutes after our original departure time, we finally boarded the plane. We thought we were finally going to be able to go home. NOT!!! After we taxied to our spot to take off, the pilot said that Chicago closed their airports. Great. He then said we had to wait till they found a gate for us to unload at.

We finally were able to get off the plane (mind you this was at least another 30 minutes since we were able to board the plane). At first there was one person to help 180 people reschedule their flights. A few more employees were called in to help. We were rebooked to leave the next day at the same time. Unfortunaely we were not able to retrieve our checked luggage. We were given a number to call to get a hotel room for the night at a discounted price. Got a room at Hyatt Place and waited for the complimentary shuttle to pick us up.

After checking in, we headed up stairs, dropped our stuff in our room, and went back downstairs and asked if they could call us a taxi. It was getting late and we thought we would head over to the Hard Rock Café at the Hard Rock Hotel for some dinner. We got into the taxi and told the driver where we wanted to go. He said the one here? We told him yes and I told DH that its probably like only a block away. The driver said not even that. It was just about kiddy corner from the hotel. We couldn’t see it because the Haufbrau Haus is so huge it was blocking our view of Hard Rock. Talk about an expensive 5 minute ride! Dinner was great though and we walked this time back to the hotel for a great night’s sleep.

 

Thanks for sharing, love that $5.99 Steak & Eggs special. It's a Vegas tradition for me.

 

Tuesday: OK, so this was our last day in Vegas. After a good night’s sleep and a pretty decent continental breakfast, we jumped into a taxi and headed for the Wynn. I’ve wanted to try their buffet so we went there for lunch. We waited about 30 minutes to be seated. I thought the food was very good, just not a lot of choices. Not to mention I’m a very picky eater and all the food was a little too fancy for me. I would try it again for breakfast or dinner though. Service was absolutely horrible. Our waiter disappeared not long after we were seated. Had to ask someone else for drink refills and empty dishes weren’t cleared from the table.

After lunch, DH and I each played $20 worth of penny slots. Neither one of us won anything. We hadn’t been to TI so we decided to head over that way. We didn’t have that much time before we needed to head for the airport, so we each found a machine and played $20. I actually won $120. I think that is the most I have ever won on slots at one time. DH was happy because we wouldn’t have to stop at the ATM.

Again we caught a taxi and headed for the airport. Since we were already checked in from the previous day and they kept our luggage, we were able to skip this part. Security went a little quicker than the previous day. Walked miles again to the same gate we were at previously. We Sat by a couple that we talked to from the day before. Luckily their daughter lived in Vegas so they didn’t have to find a hotel to stay at. While waiting for board, they again came on with an announcement that Chicago was having bad weather (fog again) and weren’t sure we would be able to fly out. We all thought, oh no, here we go again. Luckily we were able to take off and on time. Trip home was a little bumpy but otherwise good.

Cons: The Burger Joint at the Flamingo, the cold rainy weather and our flight being cancelled.

Pros: Bellagio Buffet, Margaritaville, Blue Man Group and spending an extra day in Vegas because of the flight being cancelled.

 

Great report---and you handled the problems well-LOL-wish my flight was delayed for the extra day--what a great reason to stay in Vegas :evillaugh

 

Great TR , very informative

lol, we never eeem to get bump'd or delayed coming home, its always going out anywhere!! Nice you got an extra nite in Vegas

 

Thanks, we have flown quite a few times and this was the first time we have encountered any problems, let alone having our flight cancelled. At least it was coming home instead of going out there.

 

Great trip report. I felt the same way about the Wynn Buffet. Our waiter disapeared and most of the food I had only heard of from the food network. Ours was for dinner. I really wanted to try the Burger Joint but I'm not too sure now after you described it.
We got an extra night one time in Vegas but ours was for plane mechanical issues.

 

Had the same thing at the buffet at Wynns--food was very good but the service left a lot to be desired--especially when I put my receipt on the table and it showed this was a comp meal.

 

Thanks for posting your TR. Like the font, too.

later, GVJ