Paris, MLife Properties, and Heat -- June 30-July 4

Just came home from a fun trip with the Hubby -- an early anniversary celebration courtesy of me wearing him down begging to go back....

I won't detail everything, but I'll hit some highlights. First, it was hotter than hell. However, we were in Vegas. It's a desert. It's hot. It changed a couple of our plans, but it was no biggie.

Allegiant flew us to and fro -- bulkhead seating, smooth flights, on time, and easy.

We stayed at Paris for about the sixth time, I think. We checked in on Sunday the 30th around 4:00 or so. I nicely asked for a Red P room, and we got it. I didn't do the $20 trick, but I did tip her after all was said and done. She was really surprised. We got to the room, and it was as expected. We were happy!

Although we love Paris, I think we'll stay elsewhere next time. Hubby is getting a little bored (and we can't have that!), and we decided changing things up a bit as far as hotel surroundings would be a good idea. I don't care as long as we walk to Mon Ami Gabi for breakfast and as long as we can keep going!

My stupid laptop has a mind of its own and likes to kick me off a page after a certain amount of time, so I'm going to submit this and then keep writing in the next post. I'll probably have to do that more than once. Sorry about that.

 

Being a Total Rewards kind of gal, we tend to spend most of our gambling money there in order to keep getting the free rooms. The last time we stayed at a non-Harrah's property was in 2002 at the Mirage. I stayed at Aria a couple years on a girls' trip, but that was because my friend had a free room (among other things) there.

That being said, this trip we spent quite a bit of time at the MGM properties. They have MyVegas to thank for that. The game did exactly what I'm sure the corporation was hoping to do: it got us into several casinos we normally would not have frequented, and we spent money there. We had a great time!

We went to Monte Carlo and spent my $50 in food credit at The Pub. It was delicious! Food was great, service was great, fun was had. We didn't spend quite as much time here after the meal because my hubby was a bit sick to his stomach from the heat. We did, however, walk around and drop a couple 20 spots into machines. MLife desk was extremely efficient and helpful here.

We also had the $50 credit at Camelot at Excalibur. The meal was excellent! We had a great bottle of wine, I had the filet mignon, and hubs had a steak, too. My french onion soup was to die for, and hubs really liked his iceburg salad. The server was top notch. Our bill came to about $140 plus a 20% tip -- so they did not lose money on us. We only had one complaint about the place: the total lack of dress code. A nicer place such as this should have some sort of dress code; even Mon Ami Gabi required sleeves. There were people in tank tops and swim trunks. OK, maybe we have two complaints. There were several screaming kids in there, too. Sort of ruined the mood, you know? However, we tuned it out as best we could and really did have a lovely romantic dinner.

(Need to submit now...computer thing)

 

The MLife desk at the Excal was a nightmare -- a complete and utter nightmare. I was third in line and waited 45 minutes to be helped. They were terribly inefficient. Lots of annoyed folks were in that line, let me tell you. Good thing the steakhouse was so darn good!

After dinner, we did gamble in the casino for at least an hour. Lucky for us, we walked out about $200 richer. On a normal gambling run, we would have left about $100 there, so again, the MyVegas game did what it was meant to do.

On our last day, the 3rd, we redeemed the $75 credit at The Bar at Times Square in NYNY. Although the purchase indicates it's a drink credit, you can also order from a limited menu, which we did. We got the potato nachos (YUM!) and the onion rings. Those two things plus five drinks brought us to $73. Pretty darn good, if I do say so. Our bartender was outstanding, and she was tipped well. After that, we stayed for between two and three hours in the casino, which was a blast! We will return for certain.

As far as MyVegas goes, we also redeemed a Monorail pass and a Sugar Factory reward. Those were extremely easy to redeem.

Thank you, MyVegas and MLife! We enjoyed every single one of the rewards.

(More to come....)

 

Enjoying the TR so far.
Here's a tip: Maybe you could write a huge report using Wordpad, then copy/paste it into your web browser(VIA the reply button), that should give you plenty of time to do a larger report.

I too feel the same way with MyVegas. Been a hardcore CET card holder since the 90's and now MLife is seeing more of my action and casino stays as well.

 

OK, what else should I include?

I would like to mention the Paris pool. Last year, it was freezing cold, and I mean freezing. It was a pleasant surprise that this year, it was warmer. It was still cool, but it was perfect given the 115-117 temps. I'd like to give a shout-out to the mojitos at the pool bar, too. Mmmmmmm......

I guess the rest of these ramblings will be random thoughts/pieces of info in case you are interested:

--If you are a Hard Rock Casino chip collector, the cage will no longer sell you chips. I collect the $5 chips, and this change was made in May. You now need to go to one of the tables and buy chips. They are not friendly about it, either. I went to a table (where no one was playing -- about 8:00 a.m.) and asked to buy $60 in $5 chips. The dealer immediately called the pit boss over and very rudely said, "SHE wants to buy $5 chips." The PB asked whether I was going to play or keep the chips, and I said keep. He was rude about it, too, but he finally let me buy the chips. He told me to go back to the cage and buy them there. Long story short, the cashier was pissed about that, she made a call, new pit boss an hour later, I approached him directly and told him what I'd like to do, and he had that same dealer (who still wasn't doing anything but all of a sudden was very nice to me) spread out all her $5 chips, and I chose seven of them. Guess I am done collecting Hard Rock chips. Hope I can fill my last chip frame with the ones I bought.

--Paris buffet: ICK. Enough said. (We are not buffet lovers, but it was free for 24 hours -- we didn't bother going back to any of them)

--Kids. Jeez. I'm don't want to offend anyone, but man, there are more kids every time we go. I love kids, but I don't want them screaming in Vegas. I don't mind the ones who are being tended to by their parents, but those numbers are getting smaller and smaller. I believe the straw that broke the camel's back for us was while we were gaming at Paris, we were at one end of a five-bank of dollar machines, and a woman was at the other (aisle) end. A group of about seven little girls (about 10 years old) were walking through the casino in the evening hours without an adult -- they were screaming at people who were smoking, yelling, "STOP SMOKING!! STOP SMOKING!!" and then moving on to the next person. They were literally one foot away from the person they were yelling this at. My dear husband finally yelled, "Get the hell out of here" at them. Of course, they didn't hear him, but the lady at the end of the aisle appreciated it.

--Jersey Boys: Loved it! I'd see it again in a heartbeat. What talent on that stage!! We got the fourth tier seats in the balcony; we were on the aisle. I think we paid $69 each. Great seats.

--My sincerest sympathy to the family of the young woman who lost her life performing in KA this past Saturday night. It's a loss for the entire community, both in Vegas and those of us who are temporary residents.

I think that's about it. Lots of laughs and good times with my hubby, who works way too hard when we are home. It's nice to pull him out of here and plop him Vegas once or twice a year and watch him relax a little bit. Can't wait to go back!

Hope this didn't bore you too much. I love reading TRs, so I usually feel as if I should write one, too. Cheers!

 

I enjoyed your trip report. I used to really like the BrewPub at Monte Carlo, but after all the construction, I forgot about the place.
Maybe I'll hit it up again though like you, I don't frequent MGM properties. I'm off strip first, then Harrah's properties if I'm on the strip from my play outside of Las Vegas.

I used to have a host at Excalibur when a friend "introduced" me. I did stay there a few times and enjoyed it and used the dining credit in their steakhouse. IT's a good value and tasty.

 

Bored us?! Leeza are you kidding? I live to read these (like you, lol). Loved it and thanks for taking time to do it.

 

Thank you for posting your trip report! You survived the hellish heat! Good for you. I haven't eaten at the Paris Buffet in a couple of years but it was delish the last time I was there. Too bad it was not good for you this trip. Hopefully it was just a bad day for the buffet and not a sign of things to come.

 

Leeza, enjoyed your TR..just an FYI about your chip collection,seems there is some new Nevada Gaming rule where the casinos cannot sell chips from the cage.But anyway check out the Chipboard message index online and the CC+GTCC message board and if you are missing a chip or two,fellow collectors will help you out.! P.S. I collect Palms chips and just last September must have spent an hour at the cage digging through thier $5 chips trading in $100 at a time.Tipped the teller and all was good..

 

Belated Happy Anniversary....I still haven't redeemed any of MyVegas points for rewards. Going on a girl trip in October so will probably wait until December trip with hubby. I enjoy the reviews others post on their rewards to help decide which ones to get. Congrats on the room upgrade at Paris.

 

I enjoyed the report! I'm not a player in Myvegas and probably never will be, but it sounds like you and others are doing well using it.

 

Thanks for the post. Sounds like a good time.

I'm seeing a reoccurring thread recently -- what's with the kids in Vegas? If I see them without supervision, my natural instinct may cause me to grab them by the ear and lead them to the office...

 

We aren't buffet people too but have done the Paris buffet twice for breakfast and thought it was great.
Lots of freshly cooked food instead of precooked food in warming trays.
What was it that you didn't like?

We just obtained the Monte Carlo food credit and looking to use it next month.

It appears I am reading more and more about both people and kids becoming a nuisance to others in Vegas who are there for some simple fun. Hopefully its not a trend.

 

Jamesxnj, thanks for the chip collecting info! Do you have the URLs for those message boards?

As far as the Paris buffet, it was probably mid-evening when we were there, and it was still absolutely packed with a long line still waiting to get in. Not everything was full at the buffet lines, so it looked "picked over," and much of what we got was not the appropriate temperature. It was very messy and just not very appealing, which is probably what turned us off the most. I hope we just hit it at a bad time. Our server was very nice, though.

I meant to mention, too, that it was a shock to see Bill's being torn up -- they were really making progress even during the four days we were there. Even though we knew it was happening, it's still a bit sad to see it being done. We loved being in there and really missed it this trip. The Linc is certainly progressing; we could see the top of it over the Bally's building from our room.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip and got your P Red Room. I guess you had left for Vegas before I could post my experience at check in on your other pretrip thread. We could only upgrade for a fee. Had a standard Red Room comp, but did take a LeMans suite for 60 per night. Considering the standard room rate was 108, we took it.

 

Nice report. Great tidbits spread throughout.

 

Maxbet, how did you like the LeMans Suite? Great offer on that -- I would have snapped that up as well!

 

Leeza,

It was nice, about 750 sq ft. Jetted tub, but shower was a little tighter than the standard rooms. Good sized couch and two chairs and flat screen. The wife and I were quite comfy. Only complaints, no tv in the bathroom area and no hooks for robes/swim suits. Quiet also. we were directly across from the concierge room on the 31st floor, thought it might be noisy, but was not. I would take it again at that price. Wet bar and fridge also.

 

Wonderful post. thanks for taking the time to write up your TR.

later, GVJ