Vegas Trip 10/09/2021 - 10/14/2021

 #Day 1 Trip Report - 10/09/2021 - Saturday

My flight was delayed and I arrived an hour later around 11:30am at the McCarran airport,LV. My first stop was the Bacchanal buffet at 12:30pm and an Uber from the airport cost me $16. I had heard a lot about this buffet specially about their seafood but I found it not to be so great for the $54 spent. They had Clams, Mussels, Crab legs, Shrimp, crawfish but it didn’t impress me. The other stations had average food. The Truffle mushroom eggs were good.

Next I was headed to the Downtown where I had to checkin into the 4 Queens Hotel and Casino at 3pm. The room cost me $200 and the good thing is that they don’t have any resort fees. I forgot about the $20 sandwich trick and when I realized, I asked if they had any complimentary upgrades, but unfortunately they were fully booked on the Saturday. The trick did work the next day at an MGM property, but that’s for the next post.I got a queen room facing the D Hotel on 19th floor which wasn’t bad. The room condition was not bad and comes with a mini fridge. The area had a series of free concerts going on that weekend with a lot of crowd. Don’t forget to signup for rewards card and get $5 worth free slotplay.

I was headed to the STRAT next for the Skyjump at 3:30pm. I grabbed the Unlimited Rides and Skyjump pass from Groupon for around $85. If you need pictures and video footage, you will be down an extra $35 and up one pen drive. There was a long waiting though and cost me 2 hours of my schedule but a very thrilling experience. Finally I was at the top of the tower all suited up. And there it was - The leap of faith. It is just the few seconds where you face the resistance standing on the edge where the mind is in the go no go situation and the bonus goosebumps. I stopped looking below and watching the distant mountains which made the jump a little easy. Once you jump it is all excitement. The other rides were good as well. I visited the 108 drinks bar, asked the bartender for any special drinks he liked to make, but to my disappointment he had no clue and handed me the menu. I got one of the green drinks which wasn’t so good but anyway the view made it better.

It was around 5:30pm and I took the Deuce bus from The Strat to Fremont st. The pass costs $8 for 24 hours. It was little confusing because of the road constructions going on and the busses didn’t stop at their actual stops and used diverted routes.

Once on Fremont st. I walked towards The Downtown cocktail room. The Fremont st. experience was amazing. The Downtown. Cocktail room is at an unusual location. I struggled to find the door to get in, but after some time I found it. There is a small note that says we are open. You just ring the bell and wait for a couple of minutes for someone to come and get you. The strange thing is that you will not find any humans outside the bar like an abandoned area. Once inside you can get a table or get seated at the bar. If you like watching the bartenders make cocktails you should definitely sit at the bar. The drink menu changes every 3 months and they have very unique ones. My first drink was Lady joker and I really liked it. The Shiso rim adds a unique flavor to the drink. The next drink was called the Potion 111. Lookout for Amber who invented this drink. I was mesmerized by this one like it has some magic to it. It is visually appealing and starts teasing your palate from the first sip. I was in around 6pm and it was a happy hour. I scored 2 cocktails for $7 each at this gem.

At 7:30pm I had the Slotzilla zip lining reservation. It took around an hour to complete due to long queue. Costs $69 with photo package. The superhero style gets your adrenaline high and was definitely worth it to zoom under the huge screen and over the crowd.

At around 9pm I went to the strip again using the bus pass. It was time to try the signature Verbena drink at The Chandelier @Cosmo.

It comes with an edible flower that gives a tingling and numbing sensation in the mouth that perfectly compliment the following sips of the drink. The drink is around $18. They have an another signature drink, but that’s for the next visit. Don’t forget to signup for their Rewards card called the Identity for a free $5 slot play.

I had a reservation at The Eiffel tower restaurant at 10pm, which I had to get 1 month in advance. I spent some time at the Paris casino and converted my $100 bill to a $500 on a $2.5 betting machine. This one uses a Caesar’s Rewards card.

I got a normal table at the Eiffel tower restaurant with a tiny view of the Bellagio fountain. I ordered the Sautéed sea scallops and the Rack of lamb. The scallops were amazing bursting with so many flavors. I was impressed with the lamb as well. I also got a complimentary desert. Cost me $100 plus tips and I felt it was worth.

Later I was back to Fremont to meet a friend. We walked along the Fremont street sipping the Piña Colada’s we got from 4 Queens.

Called it a night at 3am.

Rewards/Promos used:

1. Groupon 30% off

2. Cosmo free $5 slot play

3. 4 Queens free $5 slot play

4. Agoda.com last minute hotel deals

5. Happy hour

6. DTLV app for offers

#Day 2 Trip report - 10/10/2021 - Sunday

Woke up to the loud Music playing on the Fremont street. After several minutes of procrastinating, packed all my stuff, checked out of the 4 Queens and hopped into the Deuce. The good thing about the pass is the 24 hour validity which expires exactly after 24 hours irrespective of the day it was bought.

I got down at the Fashion show mall stop and the time was around 11am.I checked out few stores and then crossed across towards Palazzo.

I had 2 points of interest to cover - The Venetian grand canal and the Flamingo wildlife habitat. I don’t exactly remember how but I finally made it to the end of the grand canal by following the signs. Then followed the canal towards the Las vegas blvd. The gondola rides and the artificial sky creates an immersive experience of the St. Mark’s square. I was really hungry and I did not plan a breakfast place in advance so I finalized this Mexican place called Cañonita with patio seating next to the canal. The place looked appealing with good reviews on Google. I had to wait for about 20 mins to get a seat. The food was moderately priced. I ordered fish and chicken tacos with rice and beans ($17) which could be mixed and matched paired with a mimosa($13). Both the food and drink was good.

I walked out of the Venetian and into the Flamingo Hotel. The Flamingo wildlife habitat is at the rear side and different birds and fishes, flamingos being the highlight.

It was around 2pm and time to checkin into VDARA. My preferred route was to cross to the other side and walk all the way through the Cosmopolitan towards its checkin desk exiting from the valet zone towards exit. You can see the monorail overhead as you walk towards VDARA. The queue was very small and didn’t take much time to reach the front desk. There is an option for mobile checkin but next trick wouldn’t work on it. I was greeted at the front desk and I explained that I have a reservation there for one night. I had a $20 note sandwiched between my ID and CC just before reaching there, which I handed over to her. She noticed it instantly and returned it back saying - let me first check if something is available. She made few calls to confirm the availability of the rooms and told me she has VPS or something. I didn’t know what it meant, So I thanked her and handed the $20 tip and left with the keys. I got to the 29th floor and room 21. As I entered the room had a fridge, Kitchen, dining table and a secondary restroom. Straight ahead was the hall with a sofa and a TV. After pulling the automated curtains and blinds up, was the view of ARIA and highway on both the sides and Luxor and Mandalay bay at distant. To the right was the bedroom, with another TV, same view and an attached bathroom. Let the pictures do the talking.

I had made a reservation at Hell’s kitchen at the Caesar’s palace a month back and I thank myself for that. I was able to get the table an hour before the reservation time at around 2pm. I ordered the Lobster Risotto ($30) and their signature Smoke on the blvd drink ($19) . Both were amazing. The pics and videos attached. For the main, I ordered crispy skin salmon ($39) which was not the best but okay. For desert I tried the Sticky toffee pudding. If i had to choose again, I would just try the apps - mainly the Lobster Risotto and Scallops and skip the Entree. 

Today was the day to start using my 3 day Go city pass which I purchased on discounted price of $105 from Groupon. It included various attractions plus 1 premium attraction ( I chose the free Horseshoe bend and optional Antelope Canyon X tour for $75 extra). My first Go city pass attraction was the Linq high roller and zipline. Unfortunately the zipline was not available until 8pm but I got my tickets for 11pm. At the high roller I was able to get the ride instantly after a 15-20 min wait in queue. Definitely worth watching the city from up. The entire ride takes 30mins. I was back at VDARA decided to try the pool for some time to relax the body. I spent 20 mins in the heated pool and 30 minuted in the Jacuzzi and I really enjoyed it.

With few minutes of my Bus pass remaining, I got into the Deuce which took me to the downtown Fremont street. My next stop was the Therapy lounge on Fremont and I arrived there around 6:30pm to know that the happy hour was just over. The mixologist asked me about what type of cocktail I liked to have and I replied - something gin based. She invented a new drink and when I asked what it was called, she asked my name and said lets call it that 🙂. To eat, I ordered their signature Red velvet chicken and waffle. Both were amazing. It was funny I liked the waffles more that chicken, it was that well made.

At 7:30pm I headed to the next cocktail bar called the Oak and Ivy in the Downtown container park where all the stores are designed like/to be like a container. If you download the DTLV app you get few bogo coupons for this bar. I got a seasonal egg white cocktail and it was delicious. 

I had to make a last cocktail stop for the day in downtown. You guessed it right, it was The Underground speak easy lounge at the mob museum. This is a secret bar with the entrance on the rear side of the museum. I struggled finding the entrance at first but eventually found the staircase headed down. When you reach the door, you have to say the password at the gate to get in. The password for the week is shared on their facebook page which changes every week. The guard asked me if I was a cop and let me in when I denied. I ordered their signature cocktail called the Underground old fashioned which comes hidden in a book. A must try ! They had so many unique and seasonal cocktail which I wanted to try but couldn’t. The Go city pass also gives free access to the mob museum.

For dinner with my friend I had a table reserved at Mon Ami Gabi. We ordered the special off menu New Zealand Oysters, baby goat cheese and the Trout.

I called it a night and returned back to VDARA at 11pm. I could not do linq zipline as I was very tired and I had the Horse shoe bend and Antelope canyon tour the next day early morning at 5:30am.

Rewards/Promos used :

1. MyVegas VDARA $89 exclusive weekday rate coupon

2. Go city 3 day pass from Groupon with 30% discount.

#Day 3 Trip report - 10/11/2021 - Monday

I had to wake up early for the Antelope Canyon X tour at 5:40am. I checked out of VDARA and kept my luggage at the Bell desk, informed him that I will pick it up in the evening and tipped him. The 3 day Go-city pass ($130) lets you take one premium attraction ( Helicopter strip ride, Antelope canyon x, Bryce canyon, Skyjump, Grand canyon, Legends in concert) plus all the other attractions if time permits so I found it worth it. The Antelope canyon x is optional in the Horseshoe bend tour and costs $75 extra.

I walked to the pickup point at the Bally’s north entrance and the bus was there to pick me up on time. It’s a long 5 hour journey to Antelope canyon X and you will see beautiful landscapes on the way. The driver made couple of stops for breakfast and lunch. We finally reached there around 1pm. Another bus took us to the final location where the walking tour starts. You get around 45 minutes to explore this slot canyons. The guide took us through 2 regions - the south and the north. The slot canyons make a perfect spot for photography and you can get stunning pictures. The lighting in some places bring out the natural red orange hues in this natural beauty which is a treat to the eyes.

We left at around 2pm and reached our next spot - Horseshoe bend at around 2:20pm

This is a small 15 minute trek from the drop off point. Once you are there you are greeted with a beautiful view of the horseshoe bend. The river reflects beautiful blue green colors as if it is made of glass and perfectly compliments the color of the canyon. I was able to get a nice panorama using my DJI mobile 3 gimbal. There are fenced and unfenced areas that you can access at your own risk.

We left at around 3pm and let my body get some rest during the return 5 hour journey. We reached Vegas at 8:15pm, and to my surprise it was super windy and cold. It also rained sometime back. 

I quickly crossed towards the other side and got inside Bellagio. I walked through Bellagio to the front dest to check-in. Here again I was ready with my $20 sandwich. Now here was a good news and a bad news.  I handed the sandwich to the front desk staff and she saw the bill. She was very friendly and asked me if there was any special occasion for the stay, I replied my friends birthday celebration. She checked in the system for available rooms and then handed me a book with the picture of the room I was getting assigned. It was a premiere King fountain view room. I was very happy, but here was the bad news. The weather wasn’t so good that day and the fountain was closed. They had no estimate of when they would open it. Anyways I walked to VDARA to get my luggage, this time using another way which connected Bellagio and VDARA internally which was very convenient specially due to the windy and cold weather. Got the bags from bell desk and came back to my room. The room was beautiful and had a very royal feeling. Opening the automated curtains exposed the mighty Bellagio fountain view. 

I needed to eat something so I decided to checkout some restaurants within Bellagio as going out in the rain was not a good idea. It was late around 10pm and most of the restaurants were closed or about to close. Finally found one asian restaurant called Noodles open. I checked the reviews on google and they didn’t look good. I had no other option so decided to try it. They were in a hurry to close and admitted me inside on the condition that I was ready to order right away. I took a seat which was something like a bar area. After waiting for a long time I got hold of someone to take my order.  The Schezuan fish Entree ($30) came out very oily and salty. If I had to rate it, I would rate 2/5 and would never come back again. Later I played few games on the slots, initially lost but finally recovered and left with little less than what I had invested. Called it a day and went to bed.

Rewards/Promos used:

1. Go-city 3 day pass from Groupon

2. Bellagio 2 nights comp room

3. $25  Konami freeplay at Bellagio

4. Amex MGM $60/$100 cashback on $300/$500 spend

#Day 4 Trip report - 10/12/2021 - Tuesday

It was still windy in the morning but it was sunny which brought some hope. I looked out of the window and the Bellagio fountain was still not on. I decided to check the pool area and it was closed too but the staff told it would reopen as soon as the wind stops. I decided to check some of the attractions until then. The eiffel tower was closed as well because it is closed Tue-Wed. The NYNY roller coaster was closed as well due to weather. I decided to check the Mandalay bay pool  and walked from NYNY to Mandalay bay via Excalibur and Luxor.  The pool was open but they wouldn’t let me in to even  heck unless I had a reservation here. I could have shown the reservation email of mandalay bay which I had cancelled later but I let it go. 

I was supposed to spend the rest of the day with a friend. I had the Bellagio 2-1 buffet reward from MyVegas which was going to use for lunch but after hearing so many bad reviews I decided to try something else. The Wynn buffet was closed but I thought eating at one of the restaurants in wynn would be a good idea. We decided to meet at Jardin at Wynn. The crispy Jidori chicken milanesa was delicious. I came back to Bellagio after lunch to find the pool open. Spent some time in the pool and jacuzzi which wasn’t too crowded. Also checked the Bellagio conservatory. When we reached the room, to our surprise the fountain was on. I played the fountain channel on tv for the music and watched the fountain from the window. We opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed the moment.

Next on the plan was the strip night Helicopter flight from Maverick helicopters. Just a week before the travel I was able to grab the complimentary Maverick reward. I bought the second seat using the $85 reward. So I got 2 for $85 which was a very good deal. You can find various deals on Groupon for a little more but I found Maverick to be very professional. Plus the pickup and drop is included in their package which makes it a sweet deal. The pickup van came to pick us up at sharp 6pm. Once at the Maverick office near the airport, we had to provide few details and wait until 6:45pm. Our pilot introduced himself and guided the group of 6 to the helicopter. The photographer took a picture and then we boarded the helicopter. I would suggest to either take the front seats or the ones to the left for better view. But sometimes pilot decides based on the weight. The flight was very short but the view of the strip was beautiful. I have done helicopter night rides with doors open and they are double the fun. But this one was with doors closed. We landed back in 12-15 minutes. We were dropped back to our hotels one by one. 

We enjoyed the fountain one more time in the dark and it was amazing.  I had a special plan to celebrate my friend’s birthday, So I had made a reservation at Wynn’s Lakeside at around 10pm. We reached there and I requested for a seat outside. The host was luckily able to give us one. I had no idea they had both inside and outside seating considering the name. The menu consisted of Hawaiian based food items. We ordered the Grilled tiger shrimp and Charred octopus which were around $28 each. Both were very tasty. For Entrees we ordered King crab pasta and Spicy lobster bucatini which were around $58 each and good as well. We were able to see 3 lake of dream shows between 10pm to 11pm. We also got a small complimentary cake with a candle to celebrate the birthday.

Rewards/Promos used :

1. MyVegas Bellagio 2 nights comp 

2. MyVegas Maverick comp flight

3. MyVegas Maverick $85 flight

4. MyVegas Bellagio 2-1 Gelato

5. Amex MGM cashback

#Day 5,6 Trip report - 10/13 -10/14/21 - Wed,Thu

Today I had Grand canyon South rim tour planned. I decided to skip the west rim after reading the reviews about its commercialization. Although I would like to visit it another day. I got a deal from Groupon for South rim day tour which cost me around $60. After checking out from Bellagio I kept my luggage at the Bell desk and headed to Aria Tour lobby from where we were supposed to be picked up at 7:20am. 

The bus was late and picked us up at around 7:45am, then picked other passengers from Excalibur en route. We saw lake Mead on the way. The journey was very scenic. The bus stopped at Subway for breakfast and again for lunch later. The lunch was included in the tour and we had few options to choose from pizza to salads at pizza hut. We reached our destination at around 1:30pm and the first point was Mather point. The South rim is said to have an elevation of 7000ft when compared to West rim which has 4000ft and North rim which has 8000ft. The mighty Grand canyon was a treat to the eyes and we could see the North rim on the other side of the very deep valley. The next stop was at Grand canyon village which had few shops for buying merchandise. We started our return journey at 4pm and reached Vegas at around 9pm with one stop on the way.

I had to checkin into Park MGM so I went to the hotel checkin desk. There was a queue and it was moving very slow. I had to wait for almost 30-40 minutes. Finally when I reached I tried the $20 trick but failed. The receptionist told me they did not have any upgrades. I still handed her the tip and left. It could be possible that they didn’t have anything available because of the Lady Gaga concert the next day. So It was just a waste of time for me.

Next I called Best friend restaurant at Park MGM to get a reservation and they asked to to just walk in. I reached in 10 mins at around 10:30pm but they said the kitchen was closed now. I was disappointed as even the timings on Google said they close at 11pm.  Anyways I decided to go there next day. 

So I went to the Juniper lounge which I heard has good cocktails. I wanted to try their signature drinks like the “birdie” and “No judging”. I tried the No judging first where they put the mint leaves on fire and it was amazing. Unfortunately they did not have the birdie but I got another one which had a cotton candy which was good as well. Hats off to the bartender. Videos are attached.

The next day, Thursday, was my last day in Vegas and I wanted to cover whatever was left out. I checked out the Park MGM pool but did not like it. I saw Primrose next to it and decided to eat my breakfast there. After some waiting I got a table in the patio. I got some coffee and Mushroom spinach ($20) omelette which was delicious. I spent some time playing slots with some initial losses and later winning it all back.  

I reserved my Wynn buffet online with prepay option for 12pm slot. I was able to get the table instantly by avoiding the queue. The Wynn buffet had similar options as Bacchanal but there was a huge difference in taste and quality. All the seafood was fresh. And all the other stations did not disappoint. I spent some time on slots in Wynn as well. 

I was back at the park and in the evening I decided to go to Cosmo’s Chandelier bar for their signature drink - We are all mad here. Mixed the liquids together to see the color change. Yes I mixed them in wrong order but I guess its fine 😅 There is a dried pineapple with it and a label that says “EAT ME”. Guess what the Label that looks like a sheet of paper is edible too ! And I accidentally found it. I rushed to Best friend at Park MGM to use my myVegas reward. I ordered the Kimchi fried rice ($17) and Chicken wings (free).

Finally It was the time for what I was eagerly waiting - Lady Gaga Jazz and Piano concert at the Park theatre. The concert started at 8:30pm and her performance was mind blowing and inspirational. I had a flight to catch to DC later where I was going to see Trevor Noah perform.  While I was at the airport waiting for my flight I remembered what an amazing time I had here in Vegas. And I have already started planning for my next trip from NY to Vegas. 

Rewards/Promos used :

1. MyVegas Best friend free appetizer.

2. $25 Konami freeplay

3. $50 Park MGM freeplay (Error)

4. Amex MGM cash-back.

5. Groupon discount on Grand canyon South rim.