Las Vegas November 2014 Feedback and Thanks
Discussion
Just thought id update PH as the other threads on Vegas were so very useful for me last week. In fact PH was just about my only tour guide.
Flew with BA and that included the Bellagio from 13th to 19th November 2014.
Bellagio was lovely. I had a room (nothing flash but a King bed and plenty space) with a lovely bathroom with separate shower on the 27th floor not looking at the fountains and wasnt bothered so dont fall for that. The room was ultra quiet so you could sleep anytime which is very important. Got breakfast most days at the Bellagio Cafe. Now this is important. up to 18,000 people a day wander through the hotel and the que is big for the cafe I asked at reception if I had to que as I was a resident and they gave me a 'line pass' for my stay for all food places (not the club). This proved very useful indeed so make sure you ask for one as they are free.
I went to the Shelby Museum and factory at 1030 am and indeed the old guy who does the tour is very good indeed and its just the cost of a donation to the Shelby Foundation. I would have been in and out disappointed in 20 mins if it wasnt for the guy doing the talk so make sure he is on. Cobra number 1 is there and ill not spoil the rest.
I went to Hash House a GO GO in the Link (formerly the Quad) for Brunch and I had the Man V food chicken thing and french toast. AWESOME but a joke its so big. Share it with one other person.
I did the grand canyon picnic by chopper which was $900 with Sundance for two but worth every penny/dime. Plenty options for this. The flight included a sunsent trip back into vegas and you get a spin around town at night.
I had dinner at Andiamo Italian Steak House in the D Casino on Freemont St (old Vegas). The casino was a dump but the ratings are very high for the restaurant. The meal, wine and service we had was 100%. Its not just steak. its fish, pasta and steak and all are good. $200 for two. wine list is huge.
Went to see 'O' at the Bellagio. Came out wondering what the feck I had just seen but thats normal. I would encourage everyone to see a Cirque show and then decide if you want another. Personally I liked it enough to see another one in the future but one a year/trip is fine. $200 for two.
I had lunch at the Cheese Factory at the back of the mall in CP. Not good. They had burnt bacon in the carbonarra. Great looking sweet stuff to be fair so maybe i picked badly. Very busy so it was maybe just me.
I was in the watch shop in CP and thought it was pretty big. Turned out its the largest prestige watch shop in the world!
Saw Rod Stewart in CP. Not good. He had lost his voice. I wont go on about this but the best I can say is that I should have asked for my money back.
We eat twice in 'Holsteins' Buns and Shakes upstairs in the Cosmopolitan. I really liked it as it was a bar, lounge and restaurant with excellent food and a massive collection of beers. I had the strip burger and the wings which were great. I think their burgers have won best burger in Vegas recently. Eat there on a Saturday and watch the people/que at the Cosmopolitan nightclub for a while and you will get a laugh.
I had decided not to do the Exoctic Racing gig up at the speedway as I thought it would be rubbish. A guy on my canyon trip said it was great so I booked it. I took 5 laps in the Huracan and 7 laps in the 991 GT3. You get to go as fast as you like. I took the drift laps in the corvette for my wife and I for $150 (2 laps each). Its not worth it in $ value but you can spend a whole morning out there and enjoy it a lot. For me personally I was wanting to buy a 991 GT3 and lets face it I wasnt going to get a test drive in the UK so this looked a good option. The huracan was a choice to simply get it off the list and it was there. If you have the money DO IT. If you dont then save your money and try something else. Dont get into debt for it. I thought the canyon was better if I had to choose one. If you goo use there 'shuttle' service. Its really a shared limo and very cheap.
Gambling>
$100 a day budget for me only and i came back break even. My strategy was if if I doubled my money I have the $100 excess to my wife and then either lost the rest or went to bed when I got bored. I only did black jack and I only gambled in the Bellagio. I would have liked to play in the Cosmopolitan but the flashing lights, loud music and girls with their boobs out was just plain distracting and I just thought the Bellagio was a nicer place to be. Im not alone as it seems very popular.
Hotels>
Took a look at CP, Bellagio, Wynn, Paris. Planet Hollywood and New York. They are all special in their own way but overall I thought that the Bellagio and CP were the most user friendly. What the Bellagio has in Style CP has in scale and choice. Cosmopolitan looks really cool in terms of its style and id be very tempted to stay there next time.
Shopping>
Too expensive for me in town so I went to the outlet mall in the North of town ($20 taxi). My wife couldnt find anything but I found loads! The Diesel store was good and the Levi store. Finally a mall for men!
Anything else?
Tipping is a pain if you have just taken loads of $50 bills from the uk so get some $5 and $10's
The 'free' drinks while you gamble take a while to show up so for goodness sake dont lose while you wait as I did. Someone else on PH wrote about this and they are 100% correct.
I spend about $4000 in 5 days all in apart from flights and the hotel room I think for two minus shopping.
My last view is that VEGAS IS NOT FOR KIDS. I read loads about this debate and I have two kids at 6, 7 years old. Yes there is things to do but anyone wanting to take kids to LV should take a trip out on their own first. I looked at people with kids in push chairs and they were miserable and there were almost no kids older than that around.
I really hope this helps and thanks to all the people on PH who I took ideas and advice from.
Flew with BA and that included the Bellagio from 13th to 19th November 2014.
Bellagio was lovely. I had a room (nothing flash but a King bed and plenty space) with a lovely bathroom with separate shower on the 27th floor not looking at the fountains and wasnt bothered so dont fall for that. The room was ultra quiet so you could sleep anytime which is very important. Got breakfast most days at the Bellagio Cafe. Now this is important. up to 18,000 people a day wander through the hotel and the que is big for the cafe I asked at reception if I had to que as I was a resident and they gave me a 'line pass' for my stay for all food places (not the club). This proved very useful indeed so make sure you ask for one as they are free.
I went to the Shelby Museum and factory at 1030 am and indeed the old guy who does the tour is very good indeed and its just the cost of a donation to the Shelby Foundation. I would have been in and out disappointed in 20 mins if it wasnt for the guy doing the talk so make sure he is on. Cobra number 1 is there and ill not spoil the rest.
I went to Hash House a GO GO in the Link (formerly the Quad) for Brunch and I had the Man V food chicken thing and french toast. AWESOME but a joke its so big. Share it with one other person.
I did the grand canyon picnic by chopper which was $900 with Sundance for two but worth every penny/dime. Plenty options for this. The flight included a sunsent trip back into vegas and you get a spin around town at night.
I had dinner at Andiamo Italian Steak House in the D Casino on Freemont St (old Vegas). The casino was a dump but the ratings are very high for the restaurant. The meal, wine and service we had was 100%. Its not just steak. its fish, pasta and steak and all are good. $200 for two. wine list is huge.
Went to see 'O' at the Bellagio. Came out wondering what the feck I had just seen but thats normal. I would encourage everyone to see a Cirque show and then decide if you want another. Personally I liked it enough to see another one in the future but one a year/trip is fine. $200 for two.
I had lunch at the Cheese Factory at the back of the mall in CP. Not good. They had burnt bacon in the carbonarra. Great looking sweet stuff to be fair so maybe i picked badly. Very busy so it was maybe just me.
I was in the watch shop in CP and thought it was pretty big. Turned out its the largest prestige watch shop in the world!
Saw Rod Stewart in CP. Not good. He had lost his voice. I wont go on about this but the best I can say is that I should have asked for my money back.
We eat twice in 'Holsteins' Buns and Shakes upstairs in the Cosmopolitan. I really liked it as it was a bar, lounge and restaurant with excellent food and a massive collection of beers. I had the strip burger and the wings which were great. I think their burgers have won best burger in Vegas recently. Eat there on a Saturday and watch the people/que at the Cosmopolitan nightclub for a while and you will get a laugh.
I had decided not to do the Exoctic Racing gig up at the speedway as I thought it would be rubbish. A guy on my canyon trip said it was great so I booked it. I took 5 laps in the Huracan and 7 laps in the 991 GT3. You get to go as fast as you like. I took the drift laps in the corvette for my wife and I for $150 (2 laps each). Its not worth it in $ value but you can spend a whole morning out there and enjoy it a lot. For me personally I was wanting to buy a 991 GT3 and lets face it I wasnt going to get a test drive in the UK so this looked a good option. The huracan was a choice to simply get it off the list and it was there. If you have the money DO IT. If you dont then save your money and try something else. Dont get into debt for it. I thought the canyon was better if I had to choose one. If you goo use there 'shuttle' service. Its really a shared limo and very cheap.
Gambling>
$100 a day budget for me only and i came back break even. My strategy was if if I doubled my money I have the $100 excess to my wife and then either lost the rest or went to bed when I got bored. I only did black jack and I only gambled in the Bellagio. I would have liked to play in the Cosmopolitan but the flashing lights, loud music and girls with their boobs out was just plain distracting and I just thought the Bellagio was a nicer place to be. Im not alone as it seems very popular.
Hotels>
Took a look at CP, Bellagio, Wynn, Paris. Planet Hollywood and New York. They are all special in their own way but overall I thought that the Bellagio and CP were the most user friendly. What the Bellagio has in Style CP has in scale and choice. Cosmopolitan looks really cool in terms of its style and id be very tempted to stay there next time.
Shopping>
Too expensive for me in town so I went to the outlet mall in the North of town ($20 taxi). My wife couldnt find anything but I found loads! The Diesel store was good and the Levi store. Finally a mall for men!
Anything else?
Tipping is a pain if you have just taken loads of $50 bills from the uk so get some $5 and $10's
The 'free' drinks while you gamble take a while to show up so for goodness sake dont lose while you wait as I did. Someone else on PH wrote about this and they are 100% correct.
I spend about $4000 in 5 days all in apart from flights and the hotel room I think for two minus shopping.
My last view is that VEGAS IS NOT FOR KIDS. I read loads about this debate and I have two kids at 6, 7 years old. Yes there is things to do but anyone wanting to take kids to LV should take a trip out on their own first. I looked at people with kids in push chairs and they were miserable and there were almost no kids older than that around.
I really hope this helps and thanks to all the people on PH who I took ideas and advice from.
Nice write up there, went over the summer and can't recommend it strongly enough as a place to visit. I disagree that a week is enough time to do it all, esp if you want to make the most of the pools travel to grand canyon/hoover dam etc, I could loose 2 weeks there without breaking a sweet, wife disagrees though. I miss it 
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