My LasVegas Trip Report!!

Hey everybody,

I decided to write my TR now while my memory is still fresh.

Where do I begin!!!!!!!

We flew out of Philly (with a 30 min delay due to the weather) and our arrival time was originally 630pm, but we landed about 715, which was pretty good considering it was Vegas time, but boy did we feel the time change a few hours later. Of course my husband did not hesitate to hit the strip not soon after we got there.

Before I begin, let me say, Vegas is an Amazing Place, and how can anyone ever get bored here!!

Treasure Island (4 nights)

Our check in was smooth (under 15 minutes) and off we went to our room (10034). I asked for an upgrade with a nice view, and it turned out good. We had a partial view of the strip and the pool area. I asked for a king bed, and we got that too. Let me just say, that king bed is too die for!!!! It was one of the most comfortable beds we have ever slept in. This is a great hotel. The location is perfect, and although its a pretty large hotel, its small compared to some of the others we visited. Very easy to navigate and find your way around.

Our favorite place to hang out at night after a long day was Kahunaville. Two nights we got to enjoy the dueling pianos, which was very entertaining. We also ate two breakfasts and one lunch here, which both were very good. We opted for the $7.95 breakfast which was plenty to start your day, and I loved their scrambled eggs with onions, peppers and cheese). I also tried the mini samplers for lunch which consisted of small bite size buns with pina colada chicken, mushroom chicken and pulled pork. All were very good, but I did tell the waitress that they need to lighten up on the salt for the pork. This was on their lunch special menu for under $10.00 and you got plenty for that price.

One night at Kville the flair bartenders put on one of their shows and it was a lot of fun. Everyone got free shots!

The Buffet at TI: Very good. The barbeque ribs and greens were awesome. My husband had some of everything, and for dessert he ate chocolate covered bananas and strawberries. For less than $25 per person, it was well worth it.

Mystere at TI: Great show!!! and we only paid $20.00 (timeshare tour of Tahiti Village) so it was worth sitting/touring for 2.5 hours), but we did not buy (and had no intentions either). We were told that the show would start seating at 9pm, for a 930 show, and my advice don%26#39;t waste your time rushing, because althought the lines are very long, they move very quickly!!! We had awesome seats!!

Getting around Vegas; You have several options here, but in our opinion the best is the DEUCE!!! Of course you can walk, we walked the first night (and its a lot of walking) but the bus worked out great for us! $2.00 one way, or $5.00 all day, with the latter being the best option. However, you must have patience if you are using the DEUCE to get around. I can%26#39;t emphasize that enough. Our patience was certainly put to the test, and we passed with flying colors. But thats not the case for many folks!!! The only frustrating part of the DEUCE for us was riding with people who have no clue where they are going or people who get on the bus and can%26#39;t or should I say won%26#39;t move, and the real Headache, trying to give the bus driver a $50 bill for a $5.00 pass. Unbelievable!!!

It pays to do your homework/research before a trip, and from reading these boards I knew up front what to expect from the bus system, but it was obvious these people had no clue which made our bus ride at times extremely long and annoying. I asked one bus driver, what is the most frustrating part of his job, the traffic or the people, and he said hands down the people, for the exact same reasons I mentioned.

So this is why I said you must have patience and if you are going to a show that starts at specific times, give yourselves plenty of time especially during their busy seasons. Fortunately for us, the crowds were very good until Thursday evening, but we were leaving Friday.

The weather was fantastic. Too cool for a swim, but their were people in the heated pool at TI. Although their pool area is small in comparison to other hotel pools, it was very nice, clean and loved the pool bar!

The Strip Hotels;

We did not seem them all, but the few we did see;

Paris/Paris; very nice hotel, and we did the Eiffel Tower Experience and the views are stunning!! We had a beautiful sunny day which made it all the better. We may want to check this hotel out or a future stay.

Venetian: Beautiful is the only way to describe this one! I loved the Wax museum, very entertaining and fun. My husband did the horror thing, (I don%26#39;t do anything horror) and he said it was nothing too it, but of course with women screaming, who can tell, LOL. We got in with a two for one pass from the internet, which saved us about $24.00. I had an extra one so I passed that along to a family behind me. This discount only applies if you arrive after 5pm. The crowds are bigger but everyone kept it moving.

Ceasars Palace: Absolutely stunning!!!!! What more can I say!!

From the exterior with its fountains and statues, to the interior with is many many upscale stores, this place is amazing. Way too big for my taste, but I still enjoyed walking around. We ate a late dinner at the Cheesecake factory which the food was really good. Right across from the restaurant, yhey have a show every hour on the hour which was entertaining for adults and kids. I missed it the first night, because I did not want to leave my food (it was that good) but we returned the next night and I got to see it.

NewYork Hotel; We did not see much of this, but what we did see it was pretty nice. I was not crazy about the layout to much but it was pretty busy.

Mandalay Bay: Very nice, but way too big.

Riviera Hotel: We visited this hotel on Thursday night for a free comedy show at the Comedy club and that was a complete waste of time. I nodded off a few times it was that boring, but it was free so at least we did not lose any money. Before the show we ate dinner at Kadys Coffee house. I had a coupon good for a free entree, but was unable to use on Thanksgiving day, so I passed it along to a couple who was staying at the hotel. The food was good and inexpensive. I had the meatloaf and mashed pototates and my husband had steak and potatoes, which was pretty good. I was not impressed with the hotel at all, but the coffee shop was worth a visit.

Downtown/Freemont street; For this area to be what I was told the ';seedy part of Vegas, it was very very clean. No its not all glitzy and glamorous like the strip but it was fine for us. We arrived here around 12noon and spent about 3 hours walking around, and we did visit some of the casinos and the Golden Nugget Resort, stopped for a few drinks and to people watch. Very nice hotel, and I fell in love with their new Pool area. We also may have to consider staying here for a few nights just to lounge around the pool area. The area itself was pretty quiet on Thanksgiving day. Some of the stores were closed, but there were many people walking around like us.

Margaritaville: I always liked this place, and its a must do on our list when we travel (if there is one at our destination). I had a great Pina Colada.

Carnaval Bar; Wild and Crazy place, but the people were having fun.

My husband SKY DIVED!!!!!!!! He has been wanting to do this for a few years now, and I was trying to talk him out of it right up until the last minute, but he was determined to go. I just kept my fingers crossed and prayed that the parachute would open and it did. The first thing he said was ';AWESOME'; I must do that again!! It was a pretty breezy day, but all went well. It was pretty busy too. There were about 10 people in our group and a few more arrived after we got there. Everyone enjoyed it. I was nervous for them, but it all worked out good. He found an ad for it in one of the brochures in our room. The trip was $200.00 (with a $50 coupon) so that brought it down to $150.00 which included pickup and return. They will pick you up at the McDonalds parking lot across from the Mandalay bay and the driver was nice enough to drop you off closer to your hotel if you asked. We just got off at the same pickup spot so we could visit Mandalay bay.

Star Trek the Experience: We had planned on this but decided against it and instead just had a few drinks and appetizers at the Quark Bar. It was entertaining to see the different characters from the show walking around talking to people. The costumes were amazing.

Gambling: I am not a gambler by any means, but I did like playing the penny and nickel slot machines. I did not win anything, but I did gain back some of the money I spent. My husband only plays Blackjack and although he did not win big either, he won back some of the money he lost.

Honorable mentions;

People and their children: I could not believe how many kids I saw on this trip. It was amazing! However, in my opinion, this is just not a place for small kids, especially kids under 13. Their were so many kids on the strip in strollers way into the late hours. One night we were out until 130am and their were parents with their babies in strollers, I could not believe it. Some of these nights were chilly. I know there is more to do now than ever in Vegas and many of the attractions and kid-friendly, but WOW!

My room key: Not only did it happen once, it happened twice in two days. My room key stopped working. The first thing the hotel desk asked was did I have it near anything electronic and I said no, I only kept it in the card holder I was given. My husbands worked fine the entire stay, but I was the unlucky one. How frustrating that was to get to your room (and we were at the end of a long hallway) only to get there and you can%26#39;t get it in. At first we thought the battery needed changing but since my husbands continued to work, that was not the case.

Shopping; For the first time in years, my husband did most of the shopping, LOL. He loves cowboy boots and hats, so after our tour of Tahiti Village, we stopped at the Barn Store across the street, and he was in heaven. Purchased two pair of boots, two hats and one belt!!! Made his entire day!

Although the days were longer (gaining three hours) it seemed like the time went by so quickly, or we were just that busy every day. It was a little hard to adjust to the 3 hr time difference, because we were up way past our bedtime every night, but hey, your in Vegas, right???

Overall our experience was great!!

We wished we had more time!! But thats all the more reason to plan our next trip. I will be posting pictures with this report. I hope you enjoyed my review, and if I left anything out, I will post again. (its a lot to remember, LOL)

My LasVegas Trip Report!!

Oops, I knew I would forget something,

Our travel dates were November 19th to 23rd. (checking out on the 23rd)

My LasVegas Trip Report!!

Wow you really packed alot in to a small amount of time. Bravo!!! TI is my fav hotel also and (sniffle sniffle) looks like it will not be the hotel I am staying in for this trip. Oh well I will at least in Vegas!!!!

Very enjoyable read.

Learned some more aboout Vegas and the TI review was cool!

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing!

Enjoyed your TR! Guess you%26#39;ll be planning your next trip soon..

It sounds like you really had a good time and enjoyed almost every minute of your trip. You have a brave husband- I couldn%26#39;t do that- even if they paid me. You never have enough time to do everything you plan to do- no matter how many times you visit Vegas. Thanks for taking the time to write a TR.

thanks for sharing your trip

Glad you visited downtown, I visit Fremont each trip and feel safe too. It is nice to visit so many casinos without walking miles like you do on the strip.

Great TR very detailed and to the point thanks for sharing.

Wow...you saw alot (and I appreciate your comments), and now you can start planning your next trip :)

Great TR thanks for sharing-I enjoyed reading this! I have never stayed at TI so I appreciated your input! I have stayed at Paris, I think you would enjoy that. Another great location