Gosh It's Hot May 1st - May 5th

Preface
Our previous three trips were all in the months of December. With it being so cool out we mostly just walked around the Strip and Fremont and did as many activities as we could and went to a couple of Shows each trip. We opted for a May trip to take in the pool scene and enjoy some good weather, we were not disappointed. It led to a different kind of trip though.

As the Abominable Snowman said to Bugs Bunny; Gosh it's hot.



Treasure Island Experience

We didn't arrive to Treasure Island until midnight on Monday May 1st. Our flight was delayed an hour and the airport in Toronto was god awful experience as always. It needs to leveled and rebuilt.

They were checking for room cards at the elevator at night.

The Room - Check in was smooth. We used the TV Ad Special and waved our resort fees. We were on the 18th Floor with a Strip View. The room was clean and tidy. The refrigerator was a nice touch. The bathroom was large enough and the water pressure was amazing. I mentioned in a previous report that we were taken back by a lack of water pressure in our Aria Corner Suite. My wife always comments on the bed and she was it was nice and cozy. Not like the Aria but nice enough. I am usually drunk and could sleep on pavement so.. We were happy that it was clean and quiet.

Wife thought I took pictures of the bed and I thought she did.







The View

We finally had a decent view of the strip which was nice. Staying at Aria we have never really enjoyed a true strip view so it was nice. My one gripe was that the windows were filthy which kind of obscured the view. Not sure if we caught them at the end of cleaning cycle or if it's just the way it is. We looked right down at the pool, The Mirage and Strip from The Venetian on down.






The Pool

After much help from the forum I was aware that there are pool line ups. So I ventured to the casino at about 8:00 and had a couple of Miller Lites and played Caddy Shack for a bit (boring). I headed over to pool about 15 minutes before it opened and was about 15th in line.

We bought the $10 chairs but probably didn't need to. The spot we did get had a mix of sun and shade. There were lots of chairs until later in the day but before 1:00 we would have been okay.

Random thoughts:
- They blasted top 40 music so thankfully I had my headphones.
- There was a wide range of people from those in the 20's up to people in their 70's
- It did get kind of drunk and loud towards dinner time. I think alot of the older crowd had left.
- A pirate showed up and was drinking beers and wandering around the pool. He did entertain a group of children for awhile teaching them a pirate dance
- A very muscly tattooed man passed out on the pavement in front of us with one foot in the hot tub. This was about 3:00 and it was bloody hot out. A girl sprayed him down with sun tan lotion but nobody seemed to do anything. I mentioned it to a waitress who said it was being looked after. I don't think they would have known he was actually drunk and passed out until somebody mentioned it so I don't blame them but he was down and out for quite awhile.
- A group of black girls did a booty shake right out of an MTV Video at one point that was entertaining.and I would have been disappointed if I hadn't witnessed this.
- There is no need to fully make out in a public pool. These two skeezy chicks went at it all day long and it was low brow.











The Casino and Eats

Everyone on here nailed it. Not a lot of places to eat that is close. We ate at the Cafe when we arrived because it was the only thing open and the service was terrible. We waited forever just to get a drink. After that things came fast but the initial wait was terrible.

Tip: Up the escalators by the Tram is a little store that also has coffee and a wide range of Krispy Creme donuts.

The CVS Pharmacy is golden. Every property should have something like this.

Because we were poolside and really only there one full day I didn't get a big chance to gamble. I played Caddy Shack which is boring, Jurassic Park and some Quick Hits. I believe I left a little up but nothing crazy. The Casino was a little larger than I originally thought and they had a bit of variety in slots.



In and Out and LINQ

We ventured over to In and Out Burger around 1:00 because we had heard so much about it. It was packed but they moved people through pretty quick.

Not sure what to say. We liked Fat Burger better and I even enjoyed my Carls Jr. as much at the airport. It was good but didn't blow us away.

After that we headed over to the Yard House for a quick beer and check the place out. I could have spent all day in there but the Mrs wanted to get back to the pool. It was hovering 90 degrees and we weren't used to it yet.







That night we headed over the Mirage for the Buffet. We seem to like the breakfast buffets more than the dinner buffets. We have ate this buffet lots so we knew what to expect but I think I agree with a few others on here that say it has slid in quality a bit.



From there down to the Bellagio check out the display. It was gorgeous as always and not too busy. The casino was busy but we didn't hang around.for too long.











From there we walked to The Park. I wanted to check out Beerhaus and see what was happening. Nothing. It was a ghost town. Such a waste of space. I realize it's busy when there are shows on but otherwise there is no need to go down there.

We stopped in at Paris on the way back for a souvenir and called it quits by then. It was past midnight and the booze and sun put the zap on this Canadian lad. Oh, the Tram from the Mirage to TI was out of order so we had to walk that maze of dark streets in behind.

We literally walked from The Mirage to the Bellagio. Took the Tram to Monte Carlo. Walked the Park and walked back to TI. That was a long haul.





Treasure Island was definitely worth the stay. Some people we ran into though it was run down because they remembered it from years ago but we liked the location, the CVS, the pool was fun, the view was great and the room was clean. Better eats would help. We will go back again for sure.







I will finish up with the Mirage portion of the trip tomorrow. I am getting tired.

 

Nice report and pictures.

 

Nice report. I just got back from the exact same days, and you are right it was HOT out. I hate the heat and didn't think it'd be that hot, but it was still a lot of fun.

 

I know the winter is over, but it can not be called hot, just 95 degree or so.

 

Great, thanks for sharing- looking forward to your Mirage report!

 

Really enjoyable read, looking forward to part 2.

 

The Mirage Experience

We spent our last two days at the Mirage courtesy of MyVegas. We took the Tram over at about 11:00 am and expected to put our luggage with the bell desk and have to come back at 3:00 to sign in. To our surprise they had a room ready for us on the 22nd floor. We were really happy to be able to check in so early.

We actually spent the entire Thursday at the hotel and did not leave the property. We had never done this before.

They were checking for room cards at the elevators at night time.

The Room - The base room at The Mirage was super clean and spacious. It was kind of odd that there was lots of space where you first entered the room. Kind of wasted space. The bathroom was pretty small compared to Aria or even TI. That part was a little disappointing. Great water pressure. We were shocked that windows opened, which was great to air the place out after a night of drinking, eating and what comes with it.

We were fairly close to the elevator but some of the rooms looked like they were really far away. Much farther than any Aria walk we ever had.

We didn't have much of a view. Parking garage, mountains and TI. Didn't matter at this point we weren't in the room at all other than to sleep.






The Main Pool - We made our way down to the pool probably around 1:00 or just after. It was absolutely packed at this point. We wandered around the entire pool, circled at the back past a bar and a hot tub and ended up with two nice seats by the small waterfall. I think they were available because nobody knew how to get there. The water temp was a little cool and a few people we talked to noticed it as well.

You can see from the pictures we had a perfect spot actually because we could see everything from our chair and were in between the two water falls. Some guys had a WaveRunner ball (google it) and attracted visitors to play. They were fun.

By 3:30 it was so hot we decided to leave, we had plans anyways but there were still no seats left and there were two younger girls with not seats sitting on the side across the bay from us. I waved them over and they put their stuff in the air and waded across the pool. I helped them out with taking their bag so it didn't get we and they were surprised by my manners.

Tip: You can bring your own booze into the pool, kind of. A guy walking out was going back to his room to fill two water bottles with booze and told me they didn't care. I asked the lady the next day and she said you just can't bring something like McDonalds into the pool but you can bring anything they sell at the Mirage and if they question your drinks tell them you bought them at the store. The next day I went back to the room once and grabbed a couple of drinks and went out and gambled and brought back some free drinks. I just don't think you can drag a cooler in. Next time Cups.








The Oasis Pool - My wife can sit at a pool all day long so as a treat we rented chairs at the private pool. A little pricey but well worth it to us. You get your choice of seats, your own waitress, a shade umbrella that a pool guy will move for you, they brought a couple of snacks and a free slush drink and there was a lemon water dispenser. Having a shade source was nice. We spent the entire day here. It was nice to be able to quickly go out and play some BJ or Bubble Craps and walk back in. It is also close to the washrooms.

People were not overly chatty. I think most just wanted to be left alone and sun. The water station ran out of cups and I noticed there were sleeves under the table so I restocked. I laughed at how many people got up to get water. They couldn't open the packages themselves I guess. Spoiled.

The Caddy Shack Experience - At one point we noticed a bunch of people wandering in and trying to get seats. Then we noticed they posted a cabana guy at the open entrance to main pool stopping people.

A girl had puked in the main pool and they had to close it down for an hour or maybe even two. People were pretty upset and I don't blame them but at least The Mirage closed it down immediately and took action.

So they let Cabana people into the private pool. It so funny how spoiled and rude people can be. The waitress said to one girl you can stay as long as you are in Cabana and instead of saying thanks the little snot nosed 20 year old remarked how they were over charged for the Cabana and she as staying anyways. Not sure who held a gun to her head to rent a Cabana.

We met a nice couple who paid after the fact to get into the pool (cash I think if you know what I mean). Their daughter was getting married and they just wanted to enjoy the pool. We offered to order them some drinks but the waitress started them a tab.

I felt bad for the staff down there as it was little stressful with all of the self entitled millennials complaining and the influx of people trying to sneak in. It was entertainment though.









Big Elvis - On the Wednesday we headed over to see Big Elvis play the 5:00 show. We arrived about 20 minutes early and got moderately okay seats for the show. He did not disappoint it was great free entertainment except for the $9 beer and $5 diet coke which was more ice than coke. We stayed for about an hour as we had dinner reservations.

Again it is poorly set up. While the show is on they should close the one door. It was constant parade of people coming and blocking views for the entire one side of the bar. People had to get up out of their seats and tell people to move it every 5 minutes. This time it was young people it was older people that should know better. I snarked at three older ladies and then half apologized but they formed a wall blocking half the bar out.





Fremont St and Binions Steak House - After Elvis we took the buss up to Fremont St. We had reservations for Binions Steakhouse which we were looking forward to. We had the LVA 25% coupon which helped the cause.

Our Binions dinner was top notch. We had shared the Chicken Fried Lobster appetizer and each had Fillet Minion. They treated us like gold right from the moment we got there and the food was great. This was our first fine dining experience in Vegas. We usually eat pretty meager. We enjoyed it so much we didn't really take any photos. We were about $140 before tip and the coupon took about $35 off. It was worth it.

I had asked for sunset view but really meant just a window seat. They gave us a set in part across from the bar. The view was good and we watched helicopters come back from the canyon constantly and watched the sun go down and the lights come on.

If you ever go try to get to the back room opposite from the entrance. It has really nice views of the mountains and vegas in general.

They did have some entertainment. A guy and his lady made out basically in their booth for about a half and hour and the table behind us had a pretentious loud mouth that constantly told the staff that the food was terrible and he was never coming back. Funny once but after the 20th time it was nauseating.



We didn't hang out for as long as we normally do. We were a little hung over and had a long day of sun and fun.

Betty White and Sharknado took me for a quick hundo and that was somewhat depressing. The Betty White machine was a little creepy. We had no luck in general with the slots. We did get to play Sigma Derby at the D for about an hour that was a lot of fun. There is a fan kicking heat out of the side of the machine which happened to be a my seat. I was sweating it out.

I think we like Fremont in December better. Less Body Odour and urine smell in general. We checked out the bands, gambled a bit, saw the freaks, watched the cops detain a couple and had a few drinks. Typical Fremont.











Beatles Love - The Thursday night we caught Beatles Love. Being a Beatles fan this was one of my more favourite cirque shows so far. We had MyVegas seats and sat in the first row of 306. They were perfect. We had a great view of everything. I wouldn't hesitate to sit up there again. There was so much going on in the show I think we will see it again. No photos allowed so this is all I got. My Strawberry Fields Forever drink



We went out to watch The Volcano but after being there for five minutes we were tired of getting bumped into, pushed aside and have people squeeze their way through us to get a view when there wasn't any room as it was. People are such skid bags.

The Casino and Eats - This trip was supposed to be a cheap in and out which didn't work out that way. Poolside drinking is expensive and we ate at The Mirage over two days which again is not cheap. The food was good and we have no complaints.

When we arrived we went to the Carnegie Deli for quick sandwich. My wife ordered a turkey club and thank god that guy suggested we split it because it was gigantic. The photos doesn't do it justice because the pickle was huge as well. We had to take it apart to eat it.



For breakfast we at The Pantry. A $60 breakfast blows my mind. We each had omelettes and hash browns, a coffee and tea. The portions were large and we couldn't finish it but after seeing the bill I don't feel back about putting an airplane bottle of Baileys in my pocket.

After the Beatles we went to The Spill instead of cashing in our MyVegas rewards for the buffet. This was a mixed experience. I admit I had been drinking all day but it was loud in there and I don't hear the best. I couldn't hear the waitress and didn't get that you had to order drinks through her but go to a chip truck in the back to get your food separately. She was a little less than courteous. It was $80 for a couple of drinks, wings and a sandwich. Pricey. The food was good and it's a neat little place.

I like the Mirage Casino. The layout is fine and its not too smokey but they didn't really have any updated games since our December trip. There was a Zorro game that was always take but otherwise it was Chocolate Factory, Walking Dead, Buffalo and Quick Hits. We did miserable the last night. I did okay playing Bubble Craps and Video Black Jack but ended up giving it all back. We never got anything other than random $30 wins on the slots.

One of my great wins. Stuck on a 5 by mistake.










Final Thoughts Springer Style

- Vegas sure is different between December and May in lots of ways.
- Poolside living isn't cheap if you want to eat and drink
- The heat is nice, no humidity.
- Eating inside the casino can be tough on the old wallet. We usually do buffets and eat off site.
- We aren't cheap but I make note of the cost of things in case any body is wondering
- After 4 trips I have learned my lessons on rooms. It's nice to have upgraded rooms but all we really need is a cozy bed to sleep in, a nice clean bathroom and hopefully be not too far away from the elevator.
- We never made it to The Wynn which I really wanted to see.
- People are getting worse. I am a Canadian and probably apologized no less than 100 times over 4 days for bumping into people or walking in their way by mistake. I hold doors for people and say thanks when somebody holds an elevator or door. I helped a young lady at the pool with her bag. This is just having manners. We did meet a bunch of nice people but the ones that push you out the way, won't hold a door or muscle their way into you are the ones you tend to remember.
- Fermont St smells worse in the heat and some of the freaks were pretty skeezy.
- We enjoyed Treasure Island and The Mirage and probably will visit both again.
- When leaving a cabbie was arguing with a bell staff member. Another worker told me that he long hauled somebody first thing in the morning to The Mirage and they were giving it to him, rightfully so.
- We only took two cabs and both were fine. I told the guy at the airport to take Paradise to Sands and he had no problem with it. The cabbie to the airport was great and had some good insights into Vegas etc. No problems.
- The Toronto Airport makes any trip that much worse. McCarran is run so much better. When we landed they put three flights on the same baggage carousel. It was a nightmare.










Thanks for looking. I appreciate it.

 

Great report with great pictures, you have convinced me that I need to book a trip asap. As for joe public, I have found over time that 10% are arseholes, but as you say they are the people you remember.

 

Did you reserve your pool chairs at mirage ahead of time, or just walk up when you wanted to do It?

 

We reserved them ahead of time.

They were all taken when we were there. Most of them in the morning so maybe a few sold during the course of the day. It's hard to say.

They line up early for good chairs and open at 10:00 sharp and not as second early.

We were in line maybe 20 minutes early at most and were 6th in line for chairs.

These photos will give you some perspective.

So you enter from the right where the bluish covers are you can see there are a few rows of chairs there. It's kind of a busy area.

We were the last two chairs as you swing around the left side of the pool. I didn't have a chair beside me but the life guard tower which was never used. To me it was perfect because you had nobody on one side and you have a great view of the entire area as well as you could kind of people watch the 2nd entrance to the main pool. You were also close to both entrance spots.

If you look behind the lifeguard tower there was a row of chairs there which were nice as well. They are essentially at the end of the pool. Now there were some dudes in a Cabana right behind those seats who were trying to wheel some chicks in another Cabana and were a little loud but just having fun.

Note: When we tried to book online I had to add one chair at a time to my reservation. If I tried to search for two they would not come up and appeared sold out. The girl told me they had been having some issues with reservations online. When we arrived she could only find one reservation but showed us to our chairs and confirmed later in the day that they had it all fixed.

 

Thanks for all the info about the chairs. I was debating getting them one day, but sounds like pool is pretty crowded and we will be there Memorial Day weekend. So will probably do it.

 

Nice fotos and thanks for the info on TI, sounds pretty nice !

 

No pics of the skeezy chics making out?

Sounds like a great trip. I can't wait to go at the end of the month.

 

Nice TR

We enjoyed all our stays at the Mirage and I still head to their Book to bet and watch football every trip, even if we are not staying there.

I am not a pool person but enjoyed the pool info..........it sounds like there is a lot of strategy involved. I think the only time I did a Vegas pool day was at Bally's more than fifteen years ago. I had a little soft sided six pack cooler and just brought my beer down and sat down in the shade in a lounger.

Not sure I even remember any music....actually the only thing I really remember was the faint smell of sewage, like in front of the Flamingo

Glad you enjoyed your stay, thanks for the photos.

 

Nice report. Never can get my wife to spend any time at the pool.

Mark

 

Very nice report with good info along the way. Great pics - especially the pools at TI and Mirage. We are Mirage fans and if you decide to stay again, for a little more spend, I'd recommend the Tower King rooms (floors 24/25 I think) - the bathroom is larger with double vanity sinks and a separate walk in shower. I agree we tend to remember the rudies maybe because they seem to have not been taught any manners along the way or too self involved to be polite. Thankfully they are the minority as we have encountered many more gracious and cordial folks along the way.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for detailed TR!!!

 

Excellent TR, enjoyed the pictures and play by play.

 

Great report and photos. I haven't been in TI for a few years; will have to make a point of it next trip. Pearson is always a cluster coming and going and the construction at the airport sure isn't helping. There is a definite difference in December; the cowboys and crew are well mannered.