First Vegas trip

Hi everybody.

Thanks to all of you for all the info about Vegas and things to see and do. If we would have listened to your tips, we probably would have had a better time. It was a nice trip but it could have been much better.



We arrived at McCarran Airport after a very smooth flight. As stated in other reports it was about a 15 minute wait for our luggage to arrive. We had prearranged transportation with USA Grey line. We boarded our bus and were off to the Mirage.

We arrived at the Mirage at 11:30 am. Check in was 3:00 pm but we attempted to check in early. The desk person checked us in no problem and gave us the room we requested. A king size bed, non smoking with a pool view. Didn’t even try the hidden $20.00 trick.

The room was clean and had a nice view of the pool and part of the strip. We changed into our bathing suits and headed down to the pool to meet some friends that arrived a few days before us.

When we got to the pool we noticed there were a lot of small children. We met our friends and in no time a server was there to take our drink order. The Mrs. ordered some strange concoction of a Strawberry Daiquiri and Pena Colada. I ordered a Vodka Tonic. We got our drinks and they were huge! Hers was $15.00 and mine was $12.50. Well worth the price. Sipped our drinks, enjoyed the 104 degree temps and noticed more kids running around the pool. Most of them unsupervised.

After a few hours we decided to get changed, head to the casino and then get something to eat. The Mrs. and I donated about $100.00 a piece to the Mirage via the slot machines and then headed to Cravings, the buffet in the Mirage. Our friends met us there. Not sure how much it was for the dinner buffet, maybe around $22.00 per person. We were seated promptly and our drink orders were taken. We tried a little of everything and loved almost all of it.

I hate to say it, but as far as meals go, Cravings was the highlight of our trip. We were only in Vegas for three days so we didn’t have much time to try many different places.
We tried the Carnegie Deli for lunch the next day. The sandwiches are huge but lacking flavor. We both had the brisket sandwich, big but bland. Our friends had the corned beef; it was very fatty and loaded with grizzle. We did try the New York cheese cake and thought that was great. Service was good.

We proceeded to loose like crazy in the casino, which we expected. How else could they pay for these huge buildings at the rates they charge for a room?

We walked the strip and being from the suburbs from Chicago I guess we are not used to all the traffic, pedestrian or auto. The sidewalks are jammed the traffic is bumper to bumper. Again parents with strollers, to make things worse.

We tried a few more casinos. Drop a few hundred more into the slots.

We decided to go for a nice meal so we tried Delmonico in the Venetian.
The service was very good. The steaks were good but we felt over priced. I had a rib eye, may have been about 12 oz for $48. I order a side of asparagus which I later found out was $8. Our friends ordered a salad with their meal which was $14, mashed potatoes, $8.
For four of us with no drinks or dessert our bill was $300.00.

We then decided to take in a show. We headed to the Rio to go see Penn and Teller.
The show was ok would not spend my money to see them again.

We spent most of our time at the Mirage in the pool, which always had kids in it. We have kids, and now grandchildren, and would never have brought them to what we thought was an adult play ground. Isn’t that what Disney is for? People, leave the kids at home. It will be more fun for you, for them and for us!


Will we give Vegas another try? I think so, but it will be in May or September, when most of the kids are in school.

 

I got back from Vegas on Friday and I have to agree with you regarding kids. They were everywhere and it was a pain in the @$$!
I would never bring kids to Vegas for the reasons you mentioned in your post - it would detract from my good time, their good time and other folks good time. I stayed at Bellagio and there were kids all over the conservatory. One day I was in the venetion and the amount of kids in the halls between the different sections of slot machines was unfathomable!
I almost tripped over a couple!
When I visited Wynn, I had a reprieve - I've never seen many kids there!

 

ptfun..so, what was the most dissapointing part of your trip ? all the kids ?
I was looking forward to the Carnegie Deli next month...now, maybe not.
Thanks for posting.

 

This drink is called a Miami Vice. It is my preferred morning after drink....gets the hangover away for me. A mimosa is also nice.

 

I've eaten at the Carnegie Deli twice and I think I'm over the place. I am not impressed with the sandwiches I got. I had a turkey and swiss there, the turkey was dry and the cheese looked like it had been sitting out for a while. On the flip side, though, I had a slice of chocolate cheescake that was VERY good.

I find kids in Vegas disturbing. I have a bit less of a problem when they're well-behaved, but overall there are way better places for children.

 

Nice report!!!

And wow... you must be from the 'burbs... if you're used to city traffic, Vegas traffic is about the same (although I do reside in the NW burbs, lived in the city for several years and also worked there).

And I don't have a problem with kids in Vegas.... I have a problem with misbehaved kids in Vegas. Actually I have a problem with misbehaved kids anywhere.

 

Nice report. I wouldnt bring my kids but I wont let other peoples children ruin my vacation. I am also from the suburbs of Chicago and we have a lot of traffic. You must live out by Dekalb. We have a reservation for Delmonico on my birthday in September...what Chicago restaurant would you compare it to if any ?

 

We would say more so then the kids, the most disappointing thing was the crowds. In order to get poolside chairs we had to be poolside by no later than 7:30 am or you were just out of luck. I am sure that some of the nice folks on this board can recommend a much better sandwich place then Carnegie, but then again this was only our take on it. You might go there and love it. The place was packed and there is always a line to get in, so it might just have been our group that didn't enjoy it.

I was born and raised in Chicago, moved to Schaumburg about 23 years ago. The traffic in Schaumburg is bad also but nothing like Vegas. I have been downtown several times. The traffic on the strip was pretty bad. The kids weren't really misbehaving, they were just unsupervised. Kids will be kids, but parents should know better then to just let them run wild in a place like Vegas.

I wouldn't say that the kids ruined our vacation, they were just unexpected and a bit of a nuisance. Delmonico was very elegant and the service was great. The food was no better than you would get at Morton's, just much more expensive. Again though, that was just our take on the place.
By the way Happy Birthday in September! We hope you have a great time in Vegas. I am sure next time we go we will have a better time. It was a learning experience for us.

 

Go to Vegas during the first two weeks of December. I love it there then. Cheapest rates of the year, no kids, no crowds, you'll have the pool all to yourself!

 

First of all.... glad you had a pretty good trip and I wouldn't let the bad parts sour you from going back...enjoying Las Vegas is a learning curve. I couldn't agree more w/ you re; kids in Vegas. It's been an ongoing discussion over the years on this board beginning when Vegas tried to be "family friendly" and on into the current era where they obviously determined that didn't work and they are now on to making it a club/casino environment aimed primarily at the 21 to late 20's age group (IMO). People older than that will still always come to Vegas for the beautiful casino's, great restaurants and the pools looking for more of a Rat Pack era environment.

In the end, Las Vegas more so than any other vacation destination is so many different things to so many different people. That's the beauty of Vegas and why we love it so much. You've got "clubbers" that stay up all night and health nuts that are out jogging at 7am and old cigar smoking men rolling dice till 3am and granola types out hiking at Red Rock. The thing is...they are ALL adults. The key (IMO) is to find the right hotel/casino that fits what you're looking for in Las Vegas and make your trip what you want it to be. Going in the fall or spring will help w/ the kids but you'll still be surprised at how many people w/ pre school age children will be there plus there are quite a few europeans there w/ kids. My advice on this one is try the Wynn.

Hopefully... the word is slowly spreading that Las Vegas is NOT a family destination. I'll probably get some slams for that statement but hey, it's a free world... just my opinion.


Actually...as I write this, my daughter who turned 21 in July is in Vegas staying at the Mirage (her 21st B-day present was here airfare and her portion of the room) w/ 2 friends from school and her cousin from WA state enjoying Vegas as it should be.... old enough to gamble, drink and party. I figure if she can navigate her way through frat parties in college, Vegas should be a breeze...lol

 

I have to agree in general on the kid thing ... seems like there were even more running around this time. The "Happy Hour" pool party at the Flamingo was more families and kids than anything when we went for 2 for 1 drinks. I love my nieces and nephews but I would never try to take them all to Vegas ... just not a good environment for kids.

 

Didn't sound like to bad of a time,for a first time there.As was said before,Vegas is a learning curve.The first few times there,most people are on overload.

I like the mis-behaved comment.Kids are smart enough you shouldn't have to put them on leashes.Then again,If those parents had a brain in there head,there kids would be at home doing kid things.

The best part about having kids...is making them.

 

As it has been said "Vegas is a learning curve" the first few times you find out what your likes and dislikes are here so your trips become more enjoyable. The kid the thing I will never understand. I know there are things for kids to do here but is this really the family vacation you want. Disneyland/world is so much better for them; and, at Disneyland/world how many times are you going to have to deal with drunks, smoking, and porn slappers. I firmly believe that Vegas aka the casinos, are for adults. But aside from the unexpected you seemed to have a pretty good trip.

 

I agree with this one. I have gone the week before christmas the last two years and had nothing but a good time. Its still busy, but for Vegas, FAR less then normal, and yes, no kids really. I noticed a lot less then, then when I had gone the two times before in the summer.

The only problem with winter in Vegas is IT CAN SNOW AND DID on me on the strip last year, not a big problem for me as I am from CO and can handle the cold, but you can also get stranded as we have BLIZZARDS IN CO!! LOL

Ended up from a 3 night to a 5 night stay due to 2 feet of snow in Denver...haha, it was a great excuse to have two more nights of fun!

 

Say it ain’t so!!

First of all, thank you for taking the time to write up a trip report, it’s good to hear the negative as well as the positive. The fact that you're already talking about returning is a good sign that you probably had a better time than you think you did...or at least I hope so. :wink

As far as crowds, I’ve been to Vegas 11 out of 12 months of the year and to me it always seems crowded. Not sure if you were there over a weekend or midweek, but that makes a huge difference. If you don’t care for the large crowds next time you may want to consider going midweek.

I’ve stayed at Mirage several times and at first had the same problem finding seats at the pool as you did, but you’ll have that at almost all the resorts. I learned to tip the pool attendants to reserve my seats for the next day...no getting up early or waiting in line.

If Cravings was the highlight of your dining experience, so be it...different strokes for different folks. And as for all the kids, I don’t much care for it either, but I try not to think about it. If you return to Vegas in May or September that should help cut down on the numbers. And the weather in May or September is absolutely beautiful.

Oh, one last thing...when all else fails....drink more!

 

I agree about the kids. Initially, I did not have much of an opinion about kids in Vegas because we went in January for our first visit. In January, the weather was pretty cold and there were not many kids.

Last week, there were kids everywhere. I was surprised at the number of kids at Luxor. I almost stepped on a few many times while rounding the corner trying to get into the elevator.

I was also surprised at the number of kids playing around on the escolators and people movers unsupervised. There were also allot of strollers on Freemont Street after midnight. I have a 10 yr old son. My wife and I took him on a Disney Cruise for spring break and to Universal Studios, both are great family vacation destinations.

IMHO, Vegas is not for families. Riding around in taxi cabs you see so much bare asses, from the Jubilee, Follies and other show advertisements, to the smut magazine machines on the streets.

 

Hi Beach Crazy and Taris,

We will try Vegas again. We have to give it at least a chance to redeem itself. Being the party animals we are and with the reputation Vegas has I thought that we would see a lot of crazy wild people doing all kinds of naughty stuff but we most not have been in the right place for that.

We went to Carnival Court in hopes of finding or at least seeing a little girl girl action, but not on that night. The band was good though, and the drinks were very reasonable.

Taris, we were looking for those bare asses you were talking about, not a one my friend. I almost felt like we were on a Christian Retreat or something, LOL.

We like hot weather so we would try again in May or September but not the winter months. We hate the cold more than we hate kids, LOL.

Before you all get into an uproar, we have 2 kids and 4 grandchildren and we really love kids. Especially when they are at home and asleep, LOL.

We will stick around this board and learn more about where and when to go so next time we are better prepared.

Thanks to all for all the input. Hope you all have a great time on your next trip

 

Ptfun2,
I live in a small town about 70 miles west of Schaumburg. Even being from the rural area, I agree with your thoughts on children running amuck in Vegas. On my Alleigant flt back from Vegas a couple weeks ago, I ran into a prominent citizen from my town and his only complaint about the trip were all the "damn" kids. In June, I traveled with someone from home to Vegas, and he too complained about the number of kids roaming around Vegas at all hours of the day and night.

 

I think I agree and disagree about the whole kids in Vegas concept. I agree that they should NOT be seen in the casino floor...when I see people pushing their strollers through the casino as late as midnight and 1 in the morning, both in Vegas and in AC, it makes me crazy. Kids should still have normal bedtime hours, even when they are dragged through the casinos.

However, the pool area is what it is. When I go, which is at least twice a year, I always have fun at the pool area with all the kids. When I go with my wife, she gets some sun while I throw a ball around or have some type of fun with the kids around the pool. When I go with my friends, we mess around with all the kids. Maybe we are all a bunch of immature little kids ourselves, but we had alot of fun playing in the volleyball area of the pool at the Trop a couple years ago. And at Treasure Island, before it became all "growed up" we used to have alot of fun throwing around a football or hacky sack with the lifeguards, little kids and all the drunken adults who would come to the pool to join in the fun. It always seemed to bring some life to the day.

Like I said...maybe we are just a bunch of immature little kids ourselves