Three Ladies experience Las Vegas

Well, two of us got home late last night and the third will arrive mid-day after taking advantage of two bumps. We are tired, but had a wonderful time. Two of us are mid-to-late 50s and one is 35. The primary reason for our trip was a ladies escape specifically to see "Human Nature". We had a great time.

Flight: We booked a package including flight & hotel. Both outbound and inbound flights had one stop, but we selected ones that put the bulk of the trip behind us and offered time for a refreshing break. In Salt Lake City we loved breakfast at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill. Food, service, coffee were all great. Decor / atmosphere was wonderful except that music volume was too low (rarely is this an issue for me these days). In Memphis on our return, we had dinner at Sun City Grill (or something like that). Food was pretty good, service was pretty lousy, a fake Elvis was singing poorly and greeting guests at tables. But the novelty of it all was worth the stop. On both legs with had seats D, E & F so we could chat, but all ended up sleeping. Travel went fine.

Las Vegas Airport / Taxi: We schlepped our barely-within-limits carry-ons so we could avoid the baggage carousel nightmare. So arrival went smooth and easy until we saw the taxi line! Really? I work at Disney World and I know "queues". I thought Disney was the master of line-ups, but this taxi wait was unreal. It was most definitely organized with the gestapo on either end making sure people followed the rules. The line moved right along, but I'm pretty sure it took longer to get a cab than our last flight took from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. But finally we were on our way. With due diligence, I advised the cabbie to take surface streets, no tunnel and got a somewhat indignant response asking if particular streets were OK. Up yours Buddy...you know what I mean!

MGM Grand: We had checked in at the airport and were offered a Bungalow Suite for only $25 more per night. But we didn't know if that would be a good choice, so we stayed with our Grand Tower room. It was just after noon when we slid our room key in the door. It was a lovely room with limited strip views (look down and see a roof top, but out straight we see Excalibur, Monte Carlo, Planet Hollywood, in the distance a very nice view of mountains. We had two queen beds as expected, so we reminded the front desk that we booked a room for three and would need a 3rd bed. A rollaway arrived in minutes. Ready to explore, we quickly got settled and headed out.

Monorail and Taxis: None of us wanted to deal with the bus, so we had 3-day unlimited monorail passes with taxi as a back-up. We found the monorail to be an excellent option and really enjoyed the clean, fast means to get up and down the strip. Most of the stations were just fine, although some distance to walk it gave us a peek at the different hotels in the process. Our only Monorail station complaint was Bally's / Paris...good Lord it was easier to walk to our destination than the distance from the strip to the monorail. I would choose another station on either side and avoid this one unless you are actually going to those hotels. We took more taxis than we had intended because one of the ladies wasn't into long distance walking. Taxi fares were higher than I expected and we spent more than planned on this. Generally the cabbies were fine, some were friendly (and tipped accordingly) but we got in two cabs that WREAKED of smoke and I choked the whole way. Otherwise we made taxis work for us when necessary, but strongly preferred the monorail.

Entertainment: The #1 reason I do Las Vegas is for shows.

* Human Nature (Imperial Palace) - this is an amazing Motown show and I strongly recommend it. I saw it twice and the other ladies went with me once. Their run has been extended by two years and the theater is now named after them. Amazing singing & dancing...do not miss Human Nature.

* Beatles Love (Mirage) - two of the ladies saw and loved this.

* Menopause the Musical (Luxor) - we bought $30 seats at Tix4Tonight and would have been very annoyed and disappointed if we had paid more. The show was cute and entertaining, but I wouldn't go see it again. It is definitely for the menopausal crowd and the poor men who have endured it with us. The regular prices for this show are just too high given its caliber, but it is cute.

* Mac King (Harrah's) - This comedian / magician was cute and entertaining, did a great job interacting with the audience. We used ACG coupons for a free show with $9.95 drink. Next trip I will do the same so my husband can see it. Nice way to break up an afternoon...pleasant experience.

Dining: We did buffets for breakfast - Harrah's, Flamingo and MGM Grand. We all like Harrah's the best. Our favorite dinner was a Tacos & Tequila (Luxor). We had lunch at Tacone Grill (PH Miracle Mile) and everyone loved their food. We did a late lunch / early dinner @ Roxy's Diner in the Stratosphere . Food was great (albeit unhealthy) and we loved that the servers also sing for guests.

Gambling: Our experience was limited to slot machines. We just have fun playing them and look at the money as paying for that fun. But I lucked out this time and won 3 days out of 4 (the other ladies all lost). We were all shocked when I kept winning so I used the money to buy everyone drinks, pay for cabs, buy my souvenirs and still can take my husband out to dinner today. It was great fun to actually win!

Let me know if you have any questions. I'll update my signature with my next trip which looks like Nov 4 - 8. Already can't wait. Human Nature tickets are top priority!

 

Nice report. Thanks for sharing

 

Nice report. What is the current rate for 3 day unlimited monorail pass?

 

fun

Sounds like you ladies had a fun time..
I'm thinking about seeing Human Nature in Oct. Are there any discount coupy's around ? Tix for tonight ? Thanks

 

I have used Goldstar for Human Nature tickets three times. Be advised that IP's website indicates only the four center long tables, plus booths are VIP, however, all three times we were assigned one of those outer tables. Our view was fine, but off to the side. When picking up my tickets, IP told me that their website is outdated. I emailed Goldstar about this and they more or less said "it happens".

For November, I'm booking booth 207 directly from IP (which, I'm sure, is exactly what they want me to do). But that is the view I want next time.

Bought the DVD in February. Bought two CD's Wednesday. They are awesome.

 

We paid $30 each and thought it well worth while for a stay at the MGM Grand. We used it just afternoon Monday for the 1st time and Thursday at 10am for the last time, so we made good use of our 72 hours.

 

Thanks for all of that, especially the Human Nature comments.
What a fine show that was. I am ready to go back.

 

Sounds like you ladies had fun!! I've used Goldstar twice for Human Nature VIP tickets and got a booth once and a seat right up front and just off center the second time so I guess I've been lucky with Goldstar. I agree with you that HN is a show I could see again and again! Congrats on coming home a winner!!!

 

I LOVE Human Nature too! When we went in Feb., BB kept apologizing because she said she didn't realize I had already been to the show once & here I was taking her. I kept telling her it is a show I wouldn't hesitate to see every single trip.

As a note to anyone reading, Platinum HET cardholders should be able to get BOGO tix and Diamond get 2 free for Human Nature (at least as of a month or so ago yet). Go to Rewards booth to get your redemption slip (I think I did @ Flamingo both times) & then take slip to box office. I did not try to tip our way into a booth but this last trip requested a seat at the very front of a table on the upper level. Gave us the best view. (My view was blocked way too much down at the back of the mid-level tables the time before - as well as becoming a bit claustrophobic with the cramped tables). Next time I may try to tip my way to a booth.

 

Hint at Airport Cab Line

Yes, that line is long. But it does move.

When I am solo, which is quite often, I yell anyone going to the Palms? Sometimes I score and move up in line. I then pay for the cab ride. Which I would have done if I went solo.

The monorail is perfect for people staying on that side of the strip. People staying on the west side of las vegas Blvd, the walking will stop most of them.

Human nature seems to be getting excellent ravs. Looks like I must see it.

Beatles Love is a very good show.

In November the weather can be a BIT cooler, be prepared for that.

 

Excellent report - thanks for a great read!

 

Thanks for posting a great trip report!

If you think the queue was long for the cab at the airport, you should have seen the line to get on the shuttle buses that take you to the car rental building at about 3 pm on a Sunday. Insane! And I’m from Florida and am used to the Disney inny-outy lines. We stood in a lot of those longggggggggg queue lines when visiting Vegas during the first week in April…and I recall Dollar Car Rental counter, Bally’s check in, regular pay line at Rio dinner buffet (thank heavens for ACG B1G1F coupon b/c it got us to the front of the line), and the line at Bellagio for the lunch buffet to name a few. It got to the point where we thought that standing in line was in and of itself a Vegas destination. Knowing that tourism has been slower in recent times, I can’t even imagine how bad the lines could be during peak season during the heyday of Vegas in recent years.

But we still loved it and want to return!

Madison

 

You haven't seen a long cab line until you've been outside the LVCC during CES. 2+ hours at times.

 

Enjoyed your TR. Thanks for posting. We may see Human Nature in June.

later, GVJ