Judy went to a conference in Scottsdale, AZ so I tagged along to familiarize myself with the area and blog about my findings.
I recently changed to an Alaska Air Visa card that has the Washington State University logo (I went to college there way back when.) As part of their welcome package, they sent me a $50 companion fare coupon as well as two boardroom passes. We put those to use getting to Phoenix. With the companion fare coupon we saved about $250. We also availed ourselves of the Alaska Airlines boardroom passes, which worked out very nicely since our flight was delayed about an hour.
The flight itself was good. It takes about 3 hours to get from Seattle to Phoenix. Not much to report there.
Upon arrival, since we had only carry-ons, we headed directly to the rental car shuttle. That took us to a huge rental car area. There were several rental car companies represented there. We rented a car from Enterprise through our website and paid just a little more than if we would have used the shuttle from the resort ($30 per person each way). There isn't much within walking distance of the resort (in the summer heat especially) so with a rental car, we were able to enjoy more of what the area has to offer.
The metropolitan area is quite expansive and, for the first couple of days we managed to put about a hundred miles a day on the car just sight seeing, shopping, and dining. The driving was not too bad, though. Most of the time we were on the freeways and most of the places we went to were on arterials that ran about 45mph. The traffic has been fairly light (compared to Seattle) for the most part, but we have avoided rush hour.
There is public transportation (buses and light rail) in the metropolitan area, but our resort is outside the area served by it, so we weren't able to give it a try this trip.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Food!
If you love to eat, Vegas is the place for you!
Every resort has several places to dine. Unfortunately, we couldn't hit them all :-) Be did hit a few, though.
We like to keep our breakfasts simple, mainly just oatmeal. We were able to find a little place in the food court there that had oatmeal for $1.50 a bowl...sweet! We usually got a couple of bowls of oats and split a glass of orange juice which brought the total for both of us to $5.
For people who have dietary restrictions such as ours, we recommend Maggiano''s Little Italy. We usually go to the one in Bellevue when we are home. In Vegas there is one in the Fashion Show Mall. If you have special diet needs, the Sous Chef usually comes out to talk with you and prepares something to meet those needs. Of course, if you have no special diet and can eat with reckless abandon, this is an excellent place as well. The portion sizes are huge and there probably will be leftovers which they will box up for you. The lids for the boxes have reheating instructions!
Up until this trip, my favorite fajita place was Armadillo's in Toronto (yes, Canada). Now it is Diabolo at New York, New York. We wound up there because we were handed a coupon for a free margarita. The margarita was a traditional one on the rocks, but it was very tasty. We also ordered a frozen mango margarita (not free, but worth it) which was fantastic. We do well at Mexican restaurants with our diet restrictions and this place is no exception. As you may have figured out, we ordered fajitas. They arrived quickly and were very tasty! The wait staff was friendly and service excellent. I highly recommend this place.
Every resort has several places to dine. Unfortunately, we couldn't hit them all :-) Be did hit a few, though.
We like to keep our breakfasts simple, mainly just oatmeal. We were able to find a little place in the food court there that had oatmeal for $1.50 a bowl...sweet! We usually got a couple of bowls of oats and split a glass of orange juice which brought the total for both of us to $5.
For people who have dietary restrictions such as ours, we recommend Maggiano''s Little Italy. We usually go to the one in Bellevue when we are home. In Vegas there is one in the Fashion Show Mall. If you have special diet needs, the Sous Chef usually comes out to talk with you and prepares something to meet those needs. Of course, if you have no special diet and can eat with reckless abandon, this is an excellent place as well. The portion sizes are huge and there probably will be leftovers which they will box up for you. The lids for the boxes have reheating instructions!
Up until this trip, my favorite fajita place was Armadillo's in Toronto (yes, Canada). Now it is Diabolo at New York, New York. We wound up there because we were handed a coupon for a free margarita. The margarita was a traditional one on the rocks, but it was very tasty. We also ordered a frozen mango margarita (not free, but worth it) which was fantastic. We do well at Mexican restaurants with our diet restrictions and this place is no exception. As you may have figured out, we ordered fajitas. They arrived quickly and were very tasty! The wait staff was friendly and service excellent. I highly recommend this place.
Tix-4-Tonite - Discount Show Tickets
Of course we wanted to catch some shows while we were there. They tended to be a bit pricey, but we found a discount ticket vendor. They sold vouchers (more on that later) at good discounts on the day of the shows so there is no advance purchase there. They have several locations on The Strip. We went to the one in the Fashion Mall (right across from a Starbucks!).
There can be a long line there, but they have a VIP pass to bypass the line. They have two types of VIP pass. You can buy an annual pass for $25, or a free daily pass for people who bought tickets the previous day. For the free pass, you will need to bring the tickets from the previous day's show and an endorsed brochure (they will endorse the brochure and explaine it all to you...they want you to come back :-)
I mentioned vouchers earlier. They don't actually dispense tickets. They will give you a voucher which you will then need to take to the box office for the show you are going to see. That is potentially a second line you will need to stand in. I had to stand in line for 90 minutes for a Cirq du Soleil show, but for another show, I could just walk up to the counter at the box office.
They also have specials of up to 50% off for meals at select restaurants. Because of our dietary restrictions, they didn't work out for us, but they looked like great deals.
We saw three shows while we were there:
First we saw “Defending The Caveman” at The Excalibur. It was a hilarious one-man show. It was part entertainment and part marriage counseling. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has some adult language (not much compared to other Vegas shows, though.)
Our second show was “Mystere” a Cirq Du Soleil show at Treasure Island. I had been avoiding them because I thought I wouldn't like them...boy was I wrong! This is a fantastic show. It is great for all ages. How can one describe a show like this? The performers were all highly skilled and the show had acrobatics, humor, audience participation, and even some just plain silliness :-)
Lastly we saw George Wallace at The Flamingo. I had seen him several years before on Comedy Central. His humor has a few rough edges and there was some adult language and themes, but we both enjoyed it. During the show he honored pastors who were in the audience, showcased an amateur singer (she was excellent!) embarrassed people who came in late or left early, and gave away some gifts. afterward he stayed around to sign autographs and chat.
There can be a long line there, but they have a VIP pass to bypass the line. They have two types of VIP pass. You can buy an annual pass for $25, or a free daily pass for people who bought tickets the previous day. For the free pass, you will need to bring the tickets from the previous day's show and an endorsed brochure (they will endorse the brochure and explaine it all to you...they want you to come back :-)
I mentioned vouchers earlier. They don't actually dispense tickets. They will give you a voucher which you will then need to take to the box office for the show you are going to see. That is potentially a second line you will need to stand in. I had to stand in line for 90 minutes for a Cirq du Soleil show, but for another show, I could just walk up to the counter at the box office.
They also have specials of up to 50% off for meals at select restaurants. Because of our dietary restrictions, they didn't work out for us, but they looked like great deals.
We saw three shows while we were there:
First we saw “Defending The Caveman” at The Excalibur. It was a hilarious one-man show. It was part entertainment and part marriage counseling. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has some adult language (not much compared to other Vegas shows, though.)
Our second show was “Mystere” a Cirq Du Soleil show at Treasure Island. I had been avoiding them because I thought I wouldn't like them...boy was I wrong! This is a fantastic show. It is great for all ages. How can one describe a show like this? The performers were all highly skilled and the show had acrobatics, humor, audience participation, and even some just plain silliness :-)
Lastly we saw George Wallace at The Flamingo. I had seen him several years before on Comedy Central. His humor has a few rough edges and there was some adult language and themes, but we both enjoyed it. During the show he honored pastors who were in the audience, showcased an amateur singer (she was excellent!) embarrassed people who came in late or left early, and gave away some gifts. afterward he stayed around to sign autographs and chat.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Acey Deucy - Getting Around On The Strip
There are two handy bus routes that run on The Strip. One is a double-decker that stops at several places on The Strip and takes people to Fremont Street. It is called The Deuce. The fare at the time I went was $3 for a one-way journey or a 24 hour pass for $7. The fare can be paid on the bus but it is cash only and the exact fare is required. This is an easy way to get around but it can be crowded at times.
The other bus is the Ace Gold Line. This is a new "bus rapit transit" route that has fewer stops on The Strip than The Deuce, but it goes farther afield. It also goes to Fremont Street and beyond to the Premium Outlet Mall. It also stops at the Convention Center and has several stops in common with The Deuce. You need to buy your ticket/pass before you board. There are ticket machines at most (if not all) of the stops. The price is the same as The Deuce and are valid on both buses. Since you have your ticket in hand, just board through any of the doors. The boarding process is much faster than The Deuce.
You can find out more about these buses at the transit website:
www.rtcsnv.com
A monorail serves the resorts on the East side of The Strip as well as the Convention Center. It is more expensive than the buses, but at the times I observed it, less crowded. Since it doesn't have to contend with traffic, it is faster than the buses. The North end of the monorail is at the Sahara resort and the South end is at the MGM Grand. Since the stops are at the back side of the resorts, it is a bit of a hike from there to The Strip, but quite manageable.
Some of the resorts have free transportation linking them to other resorts. I rode on the trolly between Treasure Island and Mirage. I also rode on a monorail type train between The Crystals, Aria, & Bellagio (it was quite nice!) I have heard that there is one between Mandalay Bay, Luxor & Excalibur, but I haven't personally verified it.
Of course, The Strip is walkable. We walked from the Fashion Show Mall to the Excalibur one day. It was a bit of a time commitment, but traffic was so bad that we didn't take longer than the bus did.
The resorts, at the time I went, had free parking. This would make it easy for someone who is staying offThe Strip to come in and play or catch a show on The Strip.
For those of you that are a bit more transit adventurous, there is a bus (Route 108) that stops at the airport and connects with the Ace and Deuce buses (its fare is lower than those buses so additional fare would be required for transfer.
The other bus is the Ace Gold Line. This is a new "bus rapit transit" route that has fewer stops on The Strip than The Deuce, but it goes farther afield. It also goes to Fremont Street and beyond to the Premium Outlet Mall. It also stops at the Convention Center and has several stops in common with The Deuce. You need to buy your ticket/pass before you board. There are ticket machines at most (if not all) of the stops. The price is the same as The Deuce and are valid on both buses. Since you have your ticket in hand, just board through any of the doors. The boarding process is much faster than The Deuce.
You can find out more about these buses at the transit website:
www.rtcsnv.com
A monorail serves the resorts on the East side of The Strip as well as the Convention Center. It is more expensive than the buses, but at the times I observed it, less crowded. Since it doesn't have to contend with traffic, it is faster than the buses. The North end of the monorail is at the Sahara resort and the South end is at the MGM Grand. Since the stops are at the back side of the resorts, it is a bit of a hike from there to The Strip, but quite manageable.
Some of the resorts have free transportation linking them to other resorts. I rode on the trolly between Treasure Island and Mirage. I also rode on a monorail type train between The Crystals, Aria, & Bellagio (it was quite nice!) I have heard that there is one between Mandalay Bay, Luxor & Excalibur, but I haven't personally verified it.
Of course, The Strip is walkable. We walked from the Fashion Show Mall to the Excalibur one day. It was a bit of a time commitment, but traffic was so bad that we didn't take longer than the bus did.
The resorts, at the time I went, had free parking. This would make it easy for someone who is staying offThe Strip to come in and play or catch a show on The Strip.
For those of you that are a bit more transit adventurous, there is a bus (Route 108) that stops at the airport and connects with the Ace and Deuce buses (its fare is lower than those buses so additional fare would be required for transfer.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Room
Our room faced away from the strip and overlooked a golf course, the convention center, and the mountains in the distance. It was one of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in.The resort charges a $15 per night (plus tax) "resort fee". Since that is a mandatory fee, I feel it should be included in the base rate. This fee covers wireless internet access, pool towels, and a daily newspaper.
I highly recommend this resort.
Walgreens, The Hidden Gem
There is a Walgreens drug store along The Strip between The Venetian and The Palazzo. This is an excellent place to save big bucks on snacks and bottled water.
The Venetian
After a quick shuttle ride from the airport, we were delivered to the grand entrance to the Venetian hotel. This hotel along with its sister, The Palazzo, have 7,000 rooms! This is a sizeable complex.
I will be honest with you, the first thing I noticed when I got inside was the air quality. The casino is in the same area as the check-in desk, so the smokey air wafted through the area. Don't let that discourage you, though. Once we got off the elevator near our room, the air was fresh and clean and the noise of the casino was gone. The air quality in the room was excellent.
The front desk people as well as the concierge were very helpful. They were able to help us with all of our needs in a friendly manner. They were really a joy to work with.
If you go to this resort, take some time to look around and notice their attention to detail with the artwork and decorations. It is also fun to take a gondola ride (and much less expensive than in Venice!) The gondoliers will also serenade you during your journey.The shopping is shared between the Venetian and the Palazzo and it is huge! There are all sorts of stores (high end as well as souvenier) and restaurants. You can lose yourself in there for many hours.
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