This was our second trip to Vegas and it was nothing like the first. Last time we were constantly on the go trying to squeeze in every last attraction we could find. This time was more mellow and we actually felt like we were on vacation.
We went from January 11 to 15 with Allegiant Air. The flight was pleasant like always and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. Both times I flew with them they played little games with the passengers to get us excited about going to Vegas. They had a raffle, told jokes periodically, and the pilot regaled us with stories about Vegas and its history. I have been told that Allegiant’s flights are not always like this. It probably depends on the mood of the crew at the time. I also suspect they are going to make more of an effort to entertain you going to Vegas than Denver.We arrived in Vegas shortly before 9pm and proceeded to get our bags. Again there were no problems and our bags were one of the first off the plane. The weather was a tad chilly (10 degrees) but certainly a nice change to the minus 20 degree weather in Cranbrook. We went to line up for a cab but there was no wait and we got a cab right away. Last time we went we had to wait almost an hour in that line. The cab fare was $10 but the cab driver tried to swindle us and told us it was $13. We weren’t about to be taken advantage of and refused to pay any more than the meter said. The driver gave up quickly and took the $10 (needless to say we did not tip him).We stayed at the MGM Grand for the first time. The lobby was beautiful and spacious but that was to be expected staying in a hotel of that class on the strip. Having arrived so late there was not line up at the front desk. We had two reservations for two couples which were supposed to have only one bed in each room but they had two. So the clerk offered us a free upgrade to their newly renovated West Wing where we would each get a king size bed. We jumped on the offer and happily went off to our rooms. The walk to the room took forever as we had to go to a completely different section of the hotel. When we finally got there we all became uneasy when we entered the hallway. It was very dark and small and it had an old drop ceiling. We began to regret our decision to take the “upgrade”. We divided and went to our separate rooms to investigate. We both spent no more than 10 seconds in our rooms before heading right back out and agreeing that we should go back to the downgraded rooms. The rooms were very dark and smelled kind of musty. They looked old to me but the clerk told us that they were modern. I stole a quick look out of the small window to see a parking lot and nothing more. The blinds were hard to open and it is no wonder why with that view. We took the long journey back to the front desk and asked to be downgraded. The clerk was very nice and admitted that you either love or hate those rooms…and more often than not people hate them. She put us back in our old room category and offered us each a $14 drink voucher for the Rouge Lounge in the hotel. We headed off to our new rooms. These were much easier to get to and we were there in no time. However, much to my dismay our room was not made up and I had to go back down to the desk to request a new room as close to our other party as possible. Thankfully, the hotel was not too busy and we were able to get another room only a few doors down from them. These rooms were like a breath of fresh air compared to the old ones. They were large and bright with a huge window overlooking the beautiful neon strip. There were four pictures of movie stars in elegant gold frames in each room to complete the ambiance. The beds were very comfortable with down feather duvets and pillows that make you excited to go to sleep. And sleep is just what I did shortly after getting to the room. The other members of my party went to get started losing their money at the slots but I was exhausted after a full day of travel and passed out fairly quickly.
The next few days were spent wandering around Vegas. We went and saw the new City Center which was being built the last time we were in Vegas. I am sad to say that it did not wow me. It was definitely modern but when compared to all of the amazing architectural masterpieces in Vegas, it fell short in my books.One of the nights we attended the Tournament of the Kings at Excalibur. It is a dinner theatre where they put on a show set in King Arthur’s Court. The show was quite entertaining but the food was nothing to write home about. It didn’t bother us too much because we got the tickets on sale at the Tix for Tonight booth and all of us were very happy with the show. We just went to the food court afterwards.
Last time we didn’t have enough time to go to Fremont Street but this time we made a point of getting to see it. We caught the double decker Deuce Bus at Planet Hollywood for $7 round trip each. The ride was a long one because of all the stops. At every stop there would be 20 – 30 more people wanting to get on so it took a while. We eventually got there just in time for the light show which was amazing. It was nice to finally see it in person. It is something that needs to be seen with one’s own eyes to be fully appreciated. We didn’t spend much time in Fremont afterwards. Being the old part of Vegas it is kind of scummy and none of us felt all that comfortable. So we took our pictures of the bright neon signs and went back to the bus. The way back was the bus ride from hell. It took us almost 2 hours to get back due to some construction on the strip. By the end of the ride we all felt quite ill and were ready to pack it in for the evening. But I am still glad we went and got to experience Fremont in person.
On our last night there we went and dined at La Provencal in the Paris hotel. The food was wonderful and not too expensive. We paid roughly $18 per plate which is a bargain in Vegas. For desert we went to a little cafe not far from the entrance where I had the most sinfully delicious chocolate mousse filled tart I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. It was called La Fuille D’Automne and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Vegas. You will not be disappointed. It was so good I got another to take back to the hotel.
The day to go back came far too soon. Our flight wasn’t until 3:30 so we checked out of the hotel at 11 and left our bags with the porter while we spent our last few hours gambling away all of the money we had left…which was not very much at that point.The journey back was uneventful. Wait times were not too bad and security checks were quite speedy. All in all the vacation was quite relaxing and uneventful in a good way. Just what the doctor ordered to cure the winter blues. I just might be able to hold out until spring now…maybe.
