Las Vegas Review
We spent some time in Phoenix with family and at a convention for my host travel agency. After the convention we went to Las Vegas. There were 5 of us my 82 year old father, my husband Dave, Zack age 13 and Matt age 11. We decided to drive to Vegas. We first stopped in Sedona. It has been over 7 years since we were in Sedona. I forgot just how beautiful it was. We stopped at the Ranger station for a map and went to a bunch of great lookouts. On one of them we drove up a hill to a visitor area near the airport. There was a Mystic tour group going on at the time. The guide was very loud and could be easily heard. I had to laugh when she told her group to feel the heat through the soles of their shoes. That it was the spirits contacting them. It was 107 degrees. I think she would have been more convincing in the winter. We next drove to Tlaquepaque Village in Sedona. They have very nice arts and crafts shops. We bought some great pieces. We also ran into some fellow ICT agents. What a small world.
After Sedona we decided to stop for dinner in Williams. It was about 30 degrees cooler there. We ate at a great Mexican style restaurant Pancho McGillicuddy’s Mexican Cantina. The meal was great. We sat outside where they had a country and western musician playing a great variety of tunes.
After dinner we drove to Kingman and stayed at the Best Western Wayfarers Inn. Very clean large rooms and a great breakfast was included. The breakfast included, cereal, fruit, juice and coffee as well as waffle, and breakfast burritos Matt loved the make your own waffles.
In the morning we drove to Hoover Dam and spent most of the day taking the self guided tours. It was a little too hot for my Dad so he spent a while in the air conditioned café. The boys loved the dam but Dave and I were disappointed since we could no longer do the tour inside the Dam. It was still well worth the trip.
Off to Vegas. We stayed at the Monte Carlo. This is a great hotel for families. The rooms were large but the best part for the kids was the pool area. They had a small wave pool and a river tube ride. Tubes were $12/hour. We brought tubes with us and they inflated them for us no charge. The current in the river runs at about 4-5 miles and hour and was a blast. In the end the kids dumped the tubes and floated around the river for hours so much for dragging the tubes from Pennsylvania. They had a nice snack bar and a bar that had great drinks in souvenir glasses. A bit expensive but hey it’s vacation. We had a view of New York New York. From my brother’s room you could see the fountains at Bellagio.
Location
Monte Carlo is a great location. It is directly across from MGM, next door to New York New York and connected by monorail to the Bellagio. We were within easy walking distance to Excalibur, Luxor, Caesars, Tropicana, Mirage & Treasure Island.
Activities
A priority on our list the indoor skydiving at Flyaway. I had requested brochures for clients and they sent me a coupon for a free flight. Since I was still recovering from shoulder surgery I was not able to go but the boys and Dave went and had a fantastic time. We bought a video of them flying. Another great souvenir. If your clients want to fly have them go when they open at 10:00 am. Our flights were at 12:30 pm and they were turning people away by then. The cost if $50 per person but there are $5 coupons in the What’s on Magazine which is available free in all the hotels.
We did most of the free shows. Fountains at Bellagio both day and night, Pirate ship at Treasure Island, Volcano at Mirage, Thunderstorm at Aladdin, Atlantis at Caesars & The Birdman at the Tropicana.
The best free show was the Birdman. The birds were great. The area for the show is very congested make sure you get there early. We bought the bird training tape. They boys want to train our 17 year old cockatiel.
On the last day of our vacation before our flight we took the kids to Game works at MGM. It’s a high tech video arcade. For $25 they could play any of the games for 2 hours. A great place to spend some time in the heat of the day.
Hotels- At every hotel we visited I went to the front desk to see photos of the rooms. There were room tours available at specific times but with the kids I didn’t have time to wait around. The best looking rooms were at the Bellagio and the Venetian.
The Tropicana was very outdated. We saw empty cocktail glasses left all over the hotel. I would hesitate to put anyone there.
Bellagio was absolutely gorgeous. The flowers were beautiful and the casino was tastefully decorated. There were signs saying that children under 18 were not allowed unless they were guests of the hotel or they had tickets for the show or restaurant reservations. We were not stopped but I would caution your clients just in case.
Aladdin – Beautiful hotel and in my opinion one of the best shopping centers. Lots of unique shops and interesting restaurants
Caesars – Matthew is a Caesar fan. He has read numerous books on Caesar and wanted to see every statue in the hotel. Even though the hotel has major construction(adding a new tower and building a theater for Celine Dion) going on it would not deter me from sending clients there.
Mandalay Bay - This was our first choice for hotels but with the price being double of the Monte Carlo we opted out. It is truly a beautiful hotel. The rooms were very nice and spacious. There was a great assortment of restaurants to choose from and again very interesting shopping. We paid for the Aquarium tour. Being from the east coast we hesitated because we have been to so many aquariums. I’d have to say it was worth the $15 admission fee. It took us about 1 œ hours to go through and the best part was the tunnel where the sharks swim above and below you.
Excalibur- The boys loved the medieval theme. We bought tickets for all of us for the dinner theater. When my Dad found out he had to eat with his hands he bowed out. The show was hokey but great for kids. The food was average but plentiful. The waiter asked where our 5th person was and when we told them my Dad couldn’t make it he suggested since it wasn’t refundable he would give the kids drinks in ceramic souvenir mugs. The kids loved the show. We were the country of Russia and our Knight fought kind of dirty. What more could you want? Dave and I had stayed here before. We view the rooms as a glorified Holiday Inn. If your clients want inexpensive clean rooms this is a good option.
Luxor – Zack studied Egypt in school last year and was very excited to see the Luxor. We tried to get a ride in the inclinators but we needed a room key. We saw the 3-D IMAX space station movie. Really great special effects. I would absolutely recommend it to clients with kids.
Venetian- If we had left the kids at home I would have insisted on a Gondola ride. The music was beautiful but not for kids. The hotel was gorgeous as I mentioned before the rooms were very nice, all suites. Dave wanted to do the Guggenheim Museum but the kids were not interested.
MGM – Huge hotel. Nicely decorated. The shops and restaurants were the big attraction.
Paris – Very attractive hotel. Rooms seemed large and well appointed. The theme of the hotel was very realistic. Of course we had to get some pastries just to taste. Excellent!!
New York New York- After we left the dinner theater at Excalibur we decided to walk through NY NY on our way back to the Monte Carlo. It was packed and people were rude. I told Dave it was very authentic! Just kidding. It was late and we were tired. We went back the next day for dinner at ESPN. The market area was very nice. The rooms were large. I couldn’t convince anyone to go on the roller coaster. The restaurants were the main attraction. Everything you would find in New York was there.
Dining- Here are some of the highlights of our dining experience in Vegas.
Monte Carlo Buffet -The kids are into buffets and we promised that we would do at least one. We ate at the Monte Carlo Buffet on the first night. The food was average. They had made to order pasta that was good but the rest was just okay.
Craftsteak at MGM- My brother was in Vegas on business and took us to Craftsteak. The menu seems almost too simple. Steaks, chops, poultry & vegetables cooked 3 ways grilled, braised or roasted. It was the most amazing meal we had ever had. The service was equally good. Matt is not big on trying new things and could not find anything on the menu he wanted. They allowed us to bring chicken nuggets in from McDonalds (in a plain brown wrapper). The rest of us had steaks, veal chops and osso busso with a variety of vegetables. Each one was better than the last. Zack said it was the best meal he ever had! That’s quiet a complement from a 13 year old. Matt was cold and asked if they had some hot chocolate. The pastry chef made him hot chocolate that could only be described as melted a Godiva chocolate bar. Craftsteak is very expensive but well worth the price.
Spago- I am a big Food Network fan and I have always wanted to eat at one of Wolfgang Pucks restaurants. We had lunch at Spago’s in Caesars Forum Shops. The lunch was fantastic. Matt had the best chicken fingers ever. They actually pounded the chicken tenders. I had a wonderful duck sausage pizza and fried calamari. It was not as expensive as I thought it would be.
Aladdin Noodle Bar – Dave and I were determined to try one of the noodle bars. It seemed like every casino had one. They seemed to be a combination of Chinese/Japanese. Dave has been to Japan on business and loved eating at noodle bars. Zack had a great chicken moo shu and Matt had steamed dumplings. I had rice noodles with a spicy shrimp sauce and my Dad had noodles withpork, spinach and cabbage. Dave had his bowl of noodle soup. The food was fantastic. Very authentic.
Monte Carlo Market Café- This is an Italian restaurant in the hotel that has a brick oven for pizza. Dave and I had the antipasto bar (need some veggies) very good and plentiful. The kids had pasta which they enjoyed.
Rainforest Café at MGM – The kid love the rain storms. My Dad thought it was too loud. We had been to one before so we knew what to expect. The food is pretty good for a chain restaurant. The menu had enough variety for everyone to find something. My favorite part is the bar stools. They are shaped like animal’s bottoms. Very cute.
Conclusion- We had a great time in Las Vegas. I know they say it is becoming less kid friendly but I believe it will always be a place for everyone. The only problems we ran into were the people handing out flyers at night. They were very aggressive although they never tried to give any to the boys. We felt very safe walking around Vegas. When it got too hot for my Dad we put him in a taxi and sent him back to the hotel. It never cost more than $8 with a tip. The big question I always ask my client is would you go back? To answer my own question.. Absolutely!! If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
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