Eight night stay, June 16-24

My wife & I normally get to Vegas once or twice a year. We just got back from an eight night stay at the MGM Grand. First 3 nights in a Grand Tower room, last 5 nights in a Bungalow Suite. Love those Bungalow Suites. We don't gamble much, only play the nickel or quarter video poker or slots, but we got an offer for casino rates of $69, 89, 89 for Thurs, Fri, & Sat in a Grand Tower room and $139 a night for the Bungalow Suites Sun-Thurs that included a $35 dining credit. We spent a lot of time every day at the adults only pool - no kids and warm water. Also the friendliest bartender in town. Saw Howie Mandell spending some time at the pool one day.

We went to the Reba McIntire concert at Mandalay Bay, also starring Terri Clark and Brad Paisley. Great 4 hour concert. Also took in the Platters, Coasters, Drifters show at the Sahara. This took us back to the good old days of the 50's and 60's, when we were young. Nicolas Cage and his wife were seated a few seats down the row from us.

We always rent a car so that we can sample restaurants both on and off the strip and downtown. Plus, being retired Air Force, we always do a little shopping at the Nellis Air Force Base Exchange. We got a decent deal on a mid-size car at Alamo - $160 for the eight days.

We had some great meals at Maggiano's Little Italy (new location in Fashion Mall), Spice Market Buffet at Aladdin, Golden Nugget Sunday Champagne Buffet, Margarita Grille at the Hilton, Hofbrauhaus, ESPN Zone at New York New York, Regale at Excalibur, and Fiamma at MGM (great food, but way, way overpriced - $87.50 for 2 pasta entrees, 2 salads, & 2 ice tea). I would highly recommend any of the restaurants (except Fiamma for the price). We also had dinner at the Bootlegger Bistro one night. Then, read in the paper the next day that they had received 40 demerits from the health department and were downgraded from an A rating to a C rating.

Coming home - it was 94º when we left Las Vegas at 2pm, and it was 94º when we arrived at Chicago O'Hare at 8pm. But, it sure felt hotter in Chicago. We had a great time and are already thinking of our next trip to Vegas, maybe around Labor Day. That week usually has some good rates. Until then - VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!!

 

I saw Reba and Brad in May, but w/ Joe Nichols instead of Terri. Good show!!

What kind of car did you get w/ Alamo? I've got a ressie for a mid-size for 10/8-15 myself. Total including taxes is $140.03 using my BJ's discount and a $15 off coupon. Did you join and use the Quicksilver program?

Glad you had a good time. I will be staying around the corner from MGM at the Carriage House timeshare place on Harmon. I pray the construction noise is not too bad!

 

When we went to pick up our car at Alamo, they were out of anything mid-size. They offered us an SUV or a convertible, but before we made our decision, one mid-size car came out of the car wash. So, we had a Chevy Malibu, very nice car for driving around Vegas - great air conditioner. I'm not a Quicksilver member. I used a coupon from the Entertainment Book for one day free. Sounds like you got a good rate.

Speaking of construction - there is road construction on Tropicana east of Las Vegas Boulevard. There were some real long lines of traffic - I did my best to avoid it. Going downtown or to the north end of the strip at night from the MGM was much faster taking the interstate.