TR 7/20-7/26 NYNY & Caesars Palace

Thought I should share our trip report. We've received so much help from this board, and I know how you enjoy the feedback via TR's.

This was only our second trip and first staying on strip.

Pre-arranged discounts were:
MyVegas- Secret Gardens @ Mirage, Bellagio lunch buffet, aria dinner buffet
Groupon- Fresh Grill & Bar, Rhumbar
Rest.com-Border Grill, Strip Burger, and Fresh grill

Hope you enjoy the read...got a little wordy, sorry!

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Saturday, July 20
Arrived on Southwest at 12:30, smooth and on time flight. A bit of a wait for luggage, then on our way. No cab line at all, told cabbie, “NY NY please, let’s take Swenson and Tropicana. Quick ride, except for the excruciatingly long light at Trop & LV Blvd., even still it was only $14.90 plus tip!! Proceed to invited guest line as instructed and had only one party in front of us. Main check-in only had 5 or 6 people, slow time of day I guess. Check-in with Kate went quickly and smoothly. I previously had agreed to an upgrade to a strip view/higher floor ($5/day x 3). Wound up with a Century Tower, Park Ave. room on the 18th floor, with a view of MGM, Trop, Excal, & MB…not much of the strip, but we were O.K. with it, considering we were still paying next to nothing for it. Probably a basic room, comfy bed, sitting area, floor to ceiling windows, smallish bathroom and very clean.
After bellman delivered our bags, went for a walk about. Checked Excal for a bit, then MGM, then down street to pick up some water and snacks etc. Suddenly, wife wasn’t feeling well, not sure if it was the flight, or maybe the hot/cold - hot/cold – hot/cold, in and out of buildings. After a bit, she was feeling better but thought she’d take a nap. She insisted (or gave me permission!?) to take a look around…Checked with pool door attendant about what’s allowed/not allowed. Basically little to no restrictions. They said no coolers, but did not do bag checks (so if you had a small one), and it was O.K. to enter with a drink in each hand. I think they have some rules they can fall back on, if someone gets unruly. Other than that they tried to stay relaxed as possible. Finished getting reacquainted with the casino and retail areas and went back to check on J. She was up, refreshed, and ready to get the vacation started…Yeah!
Didn’t have any dinner plans, so to tide us over, we got a couple of pretzels, walked around, took some pictures, had a drink at Nine Fine. Decided to make it an early night, and went to Greenberg’s Deli and listened to the Dueling Pianos for a while. Then off to bed. This is when I realized I wasn’t getting my “free” wifi, so a call to the front desk where Devin took care of it in a matter of a couple of minutes, and by the way, on her own accord removed the Resort fee of $20 for that day, before I even mentioned it…

Sunday, July 21 (day 2)
Todays’ plan centered solely on the Border Grill Brunch at Mandalay Bay. We had an 11:00 reservation, so we had a coffee and donut at 7, since we were up so early. We decided to go early so we could explore MB. Took the tram (what a time and step saver). The following is the actual review I will post on TA Restaurant Reviews:
Although we were early for our 11:00 reservation, the hostess was more than happy to seat us, and on the patio, as requested. The patio overlooks their immense pool complex, and also had a nice little breeze at times. Our server, Brandon, arrived within a moment or two, and explained the process of ordering a few plates at a time, and order as often as we’d like, and the most important ingredient is to relax and enjoy. Since we were adding the unlimited mimosas, he took a moment to go over the various flavors. Upon arrival every table gets a fruit plate and guava empanadas to share. So as not to be redundant, let me just say up front that every single dish was delicious, some savory, some sweet, but all (but one) a treat. The plates we had were: Plantain Empanadas, Breakfast Enchilada, Peruvian Shrimp and Grits ( 2 ), Bread Pudding French Toast ( 2 ), Yucatan Egg Benedict, Churro Tots, Breakfast Fries ( 2 ), Brisket Omelet. As for mimosas we enjoyed the peach, lemon cucumber, pomegranate, watermelon, and strawberry which had the strongest flavor, so we might have had more than one. lol…Of course at the end of all this, because we were celebrating our anniversary, Brandon offered us a free dessert…um, very kind, but no thanks!!! Brandon was excellent, as he played to our pace, he was there when we needed something, but not there when we didn’t, great talent for a server to have. We had some down time between orders (on purpose), so we could sip our mimosas and soak in the whole experience. Although some consider it a little pricey (myself included), it truly is worth every penny. Having a Restaurant.com certificate ($25) is what got us there this time, but we will return on our next visit, with or without any discounts.
So the rest of the day was spent walking, pooling, napping, and not much else!

 

Monday, July 22 (day 3)
This day started with breakfast at Il Fornaio in NY NY. A pastry, four cheese omelet, and thin P’cakes with fresh strawberries and cream, all delicious. Plus all the awful coffee you care to drink. Guests of NY get second entrée free..saves about $10. The rest of the day was a planned pool day, unfortunately it was mostly cloudy until around noon. About 2:30 we decided to go and get ready for our early dinner, since we did not have any lunch. We have a MyVegas comp for ONE Aria dinner buffet (couldn’t get a pair)(…hey wait a minute, that’s what my wife tells me,….no, sorry, it’s GROW a pair…lol), I think the second one cost $31. Believe it or not we were a bit disappointed, aside from crab legs and the Indian food station, everything else seemed either overcooked and dry or just regular bland buffet food that you can get anywhere. Of course we managed to get enough to fill us up, had a couple of desserts and we were on our way.
What a pain in the a$$ trying to get from Aria to a crossing point on the strip. I’ll take 20% of the blame as I made a wrong turn, but aside from that it was really obnoxious. Headed to Miracle Mile Shops, Fresh Grill & Bar in particular as we had a Groupon for two 45 oz. slushie drinks. After running the gauntlet of time share weenies, and kiosk humps trying to get in your way at every turn (it seemed), we managed to find it…All the way on the far point of the circle. They let you sample before you buy, we both ended up with sweet teas’ in giant beer bottles with about a two foot straw…imagine the suck you have to put on that…’nuf said. Returned to NYNY, dropped off some things, proceeded to Tropicana, wanted to check out tickets to Laugh Factory. The Headliner didn’t excite us (Can’t remember who) so we passed. It’s been mentioned here before, but it seems really odd, how the powers that be have decided to put the entire female senior citizenry back to work as CW’s. Took a walk to Excal, then back to NYNY, a drink at 9 Fine, gambled a bit then off to bed…Change hotels tomorrow! We enjoyed NY NY for several reasons, for it’s smallish size, it’s easy to get around and get to other casinos, good CW service, and an efficient and friendly staff….

****FYI, not one escalator, up or down, was operable in the south strip area…Nice! Is heat related, or something else entirely? Anyone know?

Tuesday, July 23 (day 4)
Check-in at Caesars was painless, arrived at 11:45, waited only about 10 minutes before we were at the desk. Our agent, Suzanne, opened the door wide and initiated the upgrade by asking if it was a special occasion for us, This was our 10th anniversary celebration, so she was able to upgrade us to Palace Tower Spa Tub Room (27th Floor)(We had booked on an email offer for Roman tower). So we dodged a bullet there. It goes without saying, this was a beautiful room, and also had a Strip View. Now she may have seen the $20 I had folded in my hand, but had not offered it yet, I don't know nor does it matter, as I did tip her for her attention and efforts and, of course, the upgrade. So this time it worked out.
So we couldn’t get our key until 3:00 without paying $30 Early check-in fee(ridiculous), so we checked things out at Caesars, again talked with the pool attendant for the do’s and don’ts, bringing your own water was OK, and I think he said you could bring an adult beverage, if purchased at Caesars. Once again though, no bag check. We had a MyVegas for the secret garden at Mirage, spent about 1 ½ hours there. The dolphins seemed to be having fun, playing with their toys and such. After this we utilized our Groupon for Two Headhunter drinks at Rhumbar. J ordered the Mai Tai and I ordered the Hurricane. Both drinks were good but the Mai Tai was very strong so we had to switch. Fortunately for us, there were no cigar smokers at this time.(They have an extensive cigar selection). Time to get our room key, it only took a moment and we were off to the Palace.
The room was very nice, King bed, glass desk, sitting area. The bathroom had double sinks, separate toilet, shower, and, of course, the spa tub!! Out the window was a strip view from Quad north past Wynn/Encore, Mirage and TI on the other side, PLUS all of it surrounded by the beautiful mountains in the distance. OK, now were hungry, so armed with our $25 Rest.com certificate, we head to Strip Burger. We’ve heard so many good things about their burger, we couldn’t wait to get there. Our server was Maria, she made us aware of all the happy hour specials before we looked at the menu. J ordered the Mexican Burger and a coconut mango milkshake, I had the mushroom cheddar burger and a beer (HH), we also ordered the fries/onion strings basket…you all already know how tasty all this was, it lived up to its reputation. I must tell you a “brief” story. We both enjoy spicy and hot foods, so with J’s mexiburger came a grilled jalapeno, having had them before she plops it onto her burger and takes a bite…….well, this was much further up the heat scale than we have ever encountered in the past. I told her to keep sipping the milkshake (I had heard milk is supposed to help)…eventually it started to subside. I’m sorry, I thought it was a little funny, but did my best not to even crack a smile. I cut up the remainder of the pepper into tiny pieces to try it. I had a tiny piece and I was amazed at how hot it was, and she had a much bigger bite than I did…Wow. I asked Maria about the heat, she said they are just regular jalapeno, but in some there is almost no heat and some are like the one we got. Lesson learned…Anyway, this was a great stop for us and will return. Almost forgot, we had the best Flan while in Las Vegas, here at Strip Burger. Twice the size and twice the flavor (others were Bellagio and Aria buffets). $19 + tip with Certificate.
Left here, strolled thru TI and saw the Sirens (corny) show was just about to start. Decided to watch show but about 10 minutes in, after the first “explosion” an announcement saying the remainder of show was cancelled. Didn’t see anyone get hurt, hopefully it was just a malfunction. Eventually crossed over at Casino Royale, got the dollar beer, strolled thru Harrahs, Quad, Flamingo and the rest on that side…Eh! Don’t have to do the Royale beer thing again. Finished up at Margaritaville on the outside deck, sippin’ a ‘rita and people watching. After all this walking it was time to put the spa tub to some good use.

 

Wednesday, July 24 (Day 5)
Perfect spot for a Caesars Day…Pool…Max Brenner…Rod Stewart. This will be the 4th time for my wife! Big Fan! My 1st.

Get to the pool at 8:30, decide on individual day bed (much cheaper than the king size day beds) and still right at the pool edge. Probably wouldn’t do it again, because you’re always in the water anyway. After we set up I went back inside to Payards Bakery (I’m sure someone will cringe at me calling it a bakery), picked up some coffees, cheese pastry (delicious), and a ham, egg, and cheese crepe to bring out to the pool. Everything was quite good. Not a cloud in the sky (while at NY NY we experienced a couple of pretty cloudy days). This pool, Temple of the Gods, was so nice and relaxing. With all the waterfalls it drowns out any other noise/music, not that anything was that loud to begin with. Around 10:30 it was time for our first Pina Colada. Got the 32 oz. to share, so it didn’t get all warm and melted before it was finished. Tasty but weak. It didn’t start to get crowded ‘til about 11:00, and even then it wasn’t that bad, as it is such a large pool complex. 12:15 or so went to “Snackus Maximus” poolside, for light lunch. Split a chicken Caesar wrap ($14), a fruit plate ($14), and another Pina Colada, this drink was far better than the previous one, however, our chicken wrap didn’t have one piece of chicken in it, I swear, not one piece…order taker was a stone wall, but her boss took care of the issue immediately and admirably. The fruit plate had a wide assortment and was nice and fresh. In spite of these minor issues, we enjoyed our day at the pools. Left about 2:30 or 3:00, had to get ready for the evening ahead. Arrived at Max Brenner Chocolate about 5:00 for Happy hour. Our menu consisted of:
Intoxi-cake Martini, Youngs Chocolate Stout, and for food we had, Buffalo chicken tenders, Molly’s White Corn croquettes, Cheesy Thin Crust Roni Pizza. We were expertly looked after by Travis and Shaun. We decided that rather than stuff some decadent dessert in now, we would return after the concert.
Speaking of which, the concert was very good, nice intimate theater, a little over 1 ½ hours, and J was mesmerized all the way thru. I think I had more fun watching her enjoyment, than I did the show. (Tried to tip to move closer; either it wasn’t enough or it was a sellout. Either is entirely possible). He still does the soccer balls, he even got one up to the second balcony…Afterward, as planned, we returned to Brenner’s for our sweet decadent dessert. We shared the S’mores Concoction, along with a Lucky Lemon Martini for each of us, nice nightcap.

Thursday, July 25 (Day 6)
After another visit to Payards, walked thru Bellagio to work our way over to Miracle Mile. On the way we passed by a Plinko penny slot, don’t usually play pennies but wanted to try this slot. Long story short, within about 15 minutes I’m up $120 and hitting everything. At some point J started playing the one next to me…Same thing, hit, hit, hit. In less than 30 minutes I walked with $100 profit, and J walked with $70 profit. To us low rollers, we deemed it a worthwhile time investment.
We proceed to MM and waved to all my new friends that are the time share leeches (my notes say something about colorful bantering…???). We head to Fresh Grill & Bar for a refill ($12/each -$10 for Rest.com). This time it was Peach for me, and Pina Colada for J. Both were even better than the first ones. Strolled around a bit, ending back at the Bellagio because we had a MyVegas voucher for one lunch Buffet, one additional lunch was $21.99, I believe. This buffet deserves its top notch ratings and accolades. I’m sure this lunch is better than most Dinner buffets. Oh, the line pass that is included with reward and/or MLife card, might have been the most valuable part. Huge “regular” line, whereas the line pass brought us to where there were but two couples in front of us. We accept! Back to the food, Indian , Asian, Italian, & Omelet stations, all delicious offerings, not to mention the mounds of shrimp cocktail…Cleaned and Deveined…NOT peel and eat..Yeah! Though it was after 12:00 they still had some breakfast items out, including a mound of Bacon, which I had to “test” to make sure it was ok to serve…Have to mention one little side dish…pineapple fried rice.. never had it before, very very good. Service was good, she offered us coffee when she saw we had desserts in front of us. Even the coffee was very good.
Back out to the casino, I went for a little Roulette, Why? I’m not sure…Started out bad, and down to my last bet, luck turned a bit and was able to build back up to my original stake, and then hit the bricks. Crossed the street again to Cabo Wabo, our little snack turned into midnight before we knew it. Great, we have to be up at 5:30…oh well we can sleep on the plane…(didn’t happen).

Friday, July 26 (Day 7)
Up at 5:30, showered, packed, call bellman, and we’re off to airport…all uneventful. Thank You very much!

I know it is rather long, but I just didn’t know where to cut. You know you relive it as you’re writing it…Thanks everyone for your help on this forum. VMB is an invaluable resource to Vegas travelers.

 

Really enjoyed your report and it sounds like you both had a great time! Thanks for posting.

 

You sure covered a lot of ground. I really like the Palace Tower at Caesars for the pool proximity. I'm adding Strip Burger to my list of things to do; can't believe I haven't tried it yet. I laughed about your senior cocktail waitress comment at Trop.....it does seem to be true!

 

Thanks for reminding me, I had that in my notes, but missed it....That was probably the best part about Palace...exit elevator, walk 50 yards to the pool.

 

SUMMING IT ALL UP:

• Furniture in NY NY was a little beaten up, but the room was more than adequate and clean
• I think I like the smaller Resorts better
• I was pleasantly surprised that the pools were much less restrictive than anticipated, based on what I have read here. (Maybe its other pools)
• There is just too much to see to stay within one resort your whole stay
• Why is the 27th floor only 18 floors up (it was 2 floors from top, that’s all that matters I guess)
• I like a good steak as much as the next guy, but I won’t pay $52 for a $25 steak (anywhere, not just Vegas)
• Don’t let the coupons rule your stay, but use them at your convenience
• 2-4-1 Pretzels- use it twice and it makes up for being tunneled lol
• 2-4-1 Hagen-Daz (sp) save 5.50 a cup
• Porn slappers were few and far between, but I think the time share leeches may be taking over the world (Yikes!)
• Every bus that I could see into was jam packed

THINGS I FORGOT TO MENTION:

• One of the best parts of staying in Palace Tower was the walk off the elevator right to the pool!!
• We did walk thru the Conservatory at Bellagio…very nice!
• We finally got to TI, at the right time, to use our TravelZoo Voucher for six(6) frozen drinks at Kahunaville…However, we discovered we left the voucher in the room!! Such is life.
• I think…That’s all folks!!!