Lori R
Tourist
As this is my third trip in about 8 weeks, I have to say that I wasn't looking forward to it as much as usual--I was a little burnt out. Of course, once the plane landed, that all changed!
This trip, I went with Katie, who doesn't really gamble. I tried to change that with an introduction to the penny machines but I guess the multi-lines can get a little confusing. So K pretty much shopped and I pretty much gambled.
Here are the highlights:
Hotels:
Stayed at the Luxor tower. Rooms have been renovated since my last visit. Not sure I like the color scheme as much but the room and bathroom were fine. View of the pyramid from my window.
Did the usual walk up and down the strip. Stopped in at Planet Aladdin. Finally, the interior is a little more Planet than Aladdin. I think it's beautiful--very modern design elements. They've opened up the casino into more areas of the shopping center. Within the casino, there's an escalator going down (entrance was barricaded) and, at the bottom, there are these columns covered in real crystals ($4 million worth, as I am told by a casino host)--it looks like diamonds. I asked where it went and I was told it was to the hotel lobby (Truthfully, I don't know if this is a different escalator than the one they used to have since I was pretty turned around over there--I guess the new casino entrance to the shopping center threw off all my directional cues). The buffet is finally back downstairs and is fully operational with 7 food stations. I didn't eat there so I can't comment on whether or not the previous quality has returned or has even improved.
Went to the Hilton for the first time in probably 15 years. I thought it looked like a nice place so I signed up for a players card to get on their radar.
Food:
Paris buffet for lunch. Honestly, it was good but I didn't think it was as good as the breakfast buffet. Maybe I'm just a breakfast person--I don't know.
Kokomo's at Mirage. Nice restaurant--love the atmosphere. We just had soup, salad and some wine. The soup was a lobster bisque, served in a puff pastry. OMG. The best! Salad was also very good.
Quark's Bar--appetizers and drinks. We had onion rings, served with three dipping sauces and coconut shrimp. The rings were mighty tasty but I've had better coconut shrimp. Overall, the food was very passable. The drink of choice, the warpcore breach, went down easily. I'm not much for rum but this was good. One complaint: The printing on the menu was very difficult to read--too small. We were laughing as I think the average age of the customers in there was 45 or so and NOBODY could see it. Plus, it is a little dark. We mentioned to the server that your average Star Trek fan is clearly older than 12 and the writing needs to be bigger. Blank stare. We were visited by a Vulcan and a Borg while we dined.
Pyramid Café at Luxor: Good food. I ordered the chicken lettuce wrap appetizer and it's easily a meal by itself.
Best for Last: Commander's Palace. Wow! The service, the food, the atmosphere: A++++++. Get a restaurants.com coupon and have a really good time.
Shows:
Star Trek the Experience. I'm a Trekker so I loved it. Very much fun. We got the 1/2 price tickets and the good news is that the is one of the only shows for which you can buy your tickets in advance---doesn't have to be same day.
Love. There are no adequate words. What an amazing experience. Thanks to Gregrio's good advice, we got seats in section 209, high up, and we were extremely pleased.
Transportation: Walked, cabbed and took the monorail for the first time. I liked the monorail--no traffic. I think if you're going from Luxor or MB up to some place like Wynn or Hilton, it probably is a good value. Otherwise, between walking to a monorail station from the west side of the strip and the price of the ride for two people, I'd say a cab is probably a better choice.
Gambling. Lost money at all the best places!
This trip, I went with Katie, who doesn't really gamble. I tried to change that with an introduction to the penny machines but I guess the multi-lines can get a little confusing. So K pretty much shopped and I pretty much gambled.
Here are the highlights:
Hotels:
Stayed at the Luxor tower. Rooms have been renovated since my last visit. Not sure I like the color scheme as much but the room and bathroom were fine. View of the pyramid from my window.
Did the usual walk up and down the strip. Stopped in at Planet Aladdin. Finally, the interior is a little more Planet than Aladdin. I think it's beautiful--very modern design elements. They've opened up the casino into more areas of the shopping center. Within the casino, there's an escalator going down (entrance was barricaded) and, at the bottom, there are these columns covered in real crystals ($4 million worth, as I am told by a casino host)--it looks like diamonds. I asked where it went and I was told it was to the hotel lobby (Truthfully, I don't know if this is a different escalator than the one they used to have since I was pretty turned around over there--I guess the new casino entrance to the shopping center threw off all my directional cues). The buffet is finally back downstairs and is fully operational with 7 food stations. I didn't eat there so I can't comment on whether or not the previous quality has returned or has even improved.
Went to the Hilton for the first time in probably 15 years. I thought it looked like a nice place so I signed up for a players card to get on their radar.
Food:
Paris buffet for lunch. Honestly, it was good but I didn't think it was as good as the breakfast buffet. Maybe I'm just a breakfast person--I don't know.
Kokomo's at Mirage. Nice restaurant--love the atmosphere. We just had soup, salad and some wine. The soup was a lobster bisque, served in a puff pastry. OMG. The best! Salad was also very good.
Quark's Bar--appetizers and drinks. We had onion rings, served with three dipping sauces and coconut shrimp. The rings were mighty tasty but I've had better coconut shrimp. Overall, the food was very passable. The drink of choice, the warpcore breach, went down easily. I'm not much for rum but this was good. One complaint: The printing on the menu was very difficult to read--too small. We were laughing as I think the average age of the customers in there was 45 or so and NOBODY could see it. Plus, it is a little dark. We mentioned to the server that your average Star Trek fan is clearly older than 12 and the writing needs to be bigger. Blank stare. We were visited by a Vulcan and a Borg while we dined.
Pyramid Café at Luxor: Good food. I ordered the chicken lettuce wrap appetizer and it's easily a meal by itself.
Best for Last: Commander's Palace. Wow! The service, the food, the atmosphere: A++++++. Get a restaurants.com coupon and have a really good time.
Shows:
Star Trek the Experience. I'm a Trekker so I loved it. Very much fun. We got the 1/2 price tickets and the good news is that the is one of the only shows for which you can buy your tickets in advance---doesn't have to be same day.
Love. There are no adequate words. What an amazing experience. Thanks to Gregrio's good advice, we got seats in section 209, high up, and we were extremely pleased.
Transportation: Walked, cabbed and took the monorail for the first time. I liked the monorail--no traffic. I think if you're going from Luxor or MB up to some place like Wynn or Hilton, it probably is a good value. Otherwise, between walking to a monorail station from the west side of the strip and the price of the ride for two people, I'd say a cab is probably a better choice.
Gambling. Lost money at all the best places!