TR - 30/5 to 6/6 30th Birthday

Background - 5 of us travelling - C %26amp; M, L and Me all at Grandview, S at Tropicanna, ages ranging from 25-40. M %26amp; S only boys. Purpose of visit - well any excuse really but it was C%26#39;s 30th. M had been once before (worked a convention didn%26#39;t see anything of LV) and I had in 2002 for a couple of nights at the end of a round the world trip (i.e I was skint and didn%26#39;t really %26#39;do%26#39; vegas), but in reality we%26#39;re all really first timers!. We%26#39;re all really, really low rollers (I%26#39;m not sure we could technically be classed as rollers even! lol)

Apologies for the length and the varied memories! I think the drinking may have errorded parts of my memory! And as for the spelling....my spell checks failed I%26#39;m afraid (both mine and the computers! lol!) This website and all the information proved to be invaluable so thanks to everyone! We had a rough outline itinery planned before the holiday (I%26#39;m in the process of being made redundant so had lots of time on my hands to investigate!) and we%26#39;d pre booked Grand Canyon tour, Voodoo Lounge for Dinner and Mystere tickets), other than that it was pretty flexible after the first couple of days.

I%26#39;ll post as a reply!

TR - 30/5 to 6/6 30th Birthday

Day 1 - Friday

Up at 5.45am, jumped train to Gatwick with C, M, L, check in a breeze and flight left on time (Virgin Direct). Seats fine (C is 6 foot 2 and had no problems fortunately) and trip uneventful - good service and not rowdy, though unfortunately no sleep as far too excited. Arrived 30mins early and security was the quickest I%26#39;ve seen it. No queue for the taxi, stupidly forgot to say no tunnel (doh!) , but not too bad. Checked in - really nice appartment (1 bed, L %26amp; I were sharing the sofa bed - luckily it was huge and really comfortable, with lots of pillows down the middle:-)). I was more impressed with the Grandview that I%26#39;d expected to be and avoiding the timeshare people was a breeze - one simple no and that was it all week (we did see them showing lots and lots of people around however).

Despite all the grand talk of hitting the strip immediately, we all crashed out for a couple of hours before eventually dragging our bums out of bed and into the shower. Now we hadn%26#39;t hired a car - L hadn%26#39;t wanted to and we knew we would really need it for the first few days, so could play it be ear once out there (plus we all wanted to drink for the first few days holiday). Rang S and found out he%26#39;d arrived (flown from Heathrow via Detriot, 3 hr changeover again no problems), so arranged to meet him at the Mandalay. We caught the 117 to the Southern Transit Centre, and then the Deuce - took about 45mins to the Mandalay Bay and about $2.50 for the CAT (for 24hrs and 50c for the Deuce).

Collected Steve, stopping to take numerous pictures of MB, Luxor, Tropicanna, NY NY, wandered around MB (really liked it) and went for dinner at Giorgios (?) in MB Place. Food was actually really good - expected it to be pretty bland given it wasn%26#39;t that expensive and instead it was full of flavour. S had a the pork and I swear I%26#39;ve never tasted pork that good before! We had a bottle of wine, lots of bread and a main course each - incliding tip etc I think it worked out just under $40 each. We suddenly realised our bodies thought it was 7am in the morning and having been up for way too long, grabbed a cab back to GV.

Fell asleep immediately and woke up 3hrs later - lay there trying to convince body to go back to sleep....it wasn%26#39;t having any of it!

Day 2 - Saturday

We were all awake by 7.30 (or in my case 2am), so showered and grabbed the bus back into town, collected S and just slowly wandered up from Tropicanna to the Bellagio, lots of photo stops on route. Got the Bellagio at 10ish, no queue and was seated immediately - obviously had the champange brunch (note to Brits - Memosa%26#39;s are actually Bucks Fizz not some new cocktail that we%26#39;ve never had before:-)). The food was excellent - oh my god the best french toast filled with chocolate and banana%26#39;s and oh my god the desserts...wow! Would definitely recommend this to anyone as a must in Vegas (well to be fair there are lots of musts!). The waitress kept the champagne flowing, so much so that we all decided to swap to memosa%26#39;s in an attempt to ensure we could walk in a vaguely straight line. We then had a little gamble (BlackJack) at $10 tables and for a while I was actually up at the Bellagio (and very excited about it!)....and then I lost it (well it was only $10)! However our first bit of LV gambling, so we were all pretty excited (and of course typsey!) By this time it was nearly 12, so decided to wait to watch the fountains - excellent though without a doubt they%26#39;re nicer at night when lit up.

At this point M %26amp; L were covered in Blisters (I was feeling pretty smug as I%26#39;d made sure I%26#39;d worn my shoes in!), so a %26#39;quick%26#39; stop at the Miracle Mile shops for new shoes for them. And apparently 2 new dresses for me and 2 new pairs of shoes (ok I went a little demented in the shoe shop). Anyway, eventually collect everyone (well more to the point they dragged me away) and jump on the deuce and then a bus to get to the Premium Outlet Centre downtown. Mixed thoughts about this - some shops were great, others were pretty bad - overall an ok experience and some great bargains (oh and 2 more pairs of shoes...2 skirts and top)...oh dear oh dear! Got a cab back to GV via Tropicana. Showered and changed - L felt rough still suffering jet lag, so stayed behind. Stupidly decided to wear one of the new pairs of shoes (this became a recurring theme that I didn%26#39;t learn from all holiday - feet were crippled but fortunately no blisters!) Went into NYNY - which was incredibly busy and in our humble opionins an absolute dive - hated it with a passion - loved the outside and thought inside was a total disappointment. We decided not to eat here, let alone come back. Collected S and checked out the MGM Grand - decided to eat at MGM Grand Cafe as we only wanted a light bite. Had ok meal - philly steak sandwhiches and a bud, whilst nursing very sore feet! Trainers where with the Lions and the Lions were actually moving (sort of!) so watched that for a while, had a brief flutter on the tables, but then headed home as 1) I%26#39;d still only had 3hrs sleep in 48hrs and 2) we were up very early the next morning!

TR - 30/5 to 6/6 30th Birthday

Day 3 - Sunday - C%26#39;s Bday

Up at 5.30am, stopped at Southpoint for a muffin (oh my god it was to die for and huge!) and grabbed a cab to MB Tour Lobby - lots of cabs at Southpoint (In fact I don%26#39;t think we had any problems getting a cab from there all holiday). We%26#39;d booked via www.lvgct.com for the West Rim Plane %26amp; Skywalk tour - I think it was $180. I%26#39;m aware of the various thoughts on the South being so much better , however not everyone%26#39;s budget stretched so this was a compromise and let%26#39;s face it we have nothing like this back here! (I%26#39;d actually done the South via car in 2001). It was actually with Papillion/Scenic tours and was an excellent day. Everything was on time and we didn%26#39;t feel rushed at all. The plane over the Hoover Dam etc was excellent as were all the people we came into contact with. Now M had decided he was going to propose to C today and possibly on the Skywalk...I had a fake ring (the actual ring was being adjusted back home - all unknown to C), which I had to get to him before we went through the scanner at the Skywalk. Obviously lots of panic as to whether the scanner would pick it up - it didn%26#39;t! Well off we go...now I get vertigo however it%26#39;s nothing compared to M%26#39;s! So he made it as far as the first photo place and then legged it back onto ground...no proposal here then! I did make it all the way around and posed for the photo%26#39;s, however I was pretty much holding someone%26#39;s hand the entire time.

Now the skywalk bulidings aren%26#39;t really finished yet and you definitely feel that they could work on this some more - however I still thoroughly enjoyed it (as did the rest of our party with the exception of M!) and would recommend it to others, the view is pretty cool etc, with caveats however! From there we went off to the next stop for lunch and had a couple of hours wandering around - again really beautiful. M wandered off with C and proposed at Guana point (which essentially meant he proposed next to a giant poop scoop!) She was delighted - though slighty worried that he%26#39;d propose with such a naff ring - luckily he explained it was just temporary and the proper one was back in the UK! Obviously lots of delight all round on their great news, and on her 30th!

We then caught the plane back - the journey back was awful and I apologise if there were any fellow TA%26#39;s on the plane - I unfortunately lost it after the first %26#39;drop%26#39; and became a jibbering wreck as it was that bumpy - apparently due to the thermals, cliffs and hot air....whatever it terrified me! It really was bumpy. Now it turns out that one of the Managers of Scenic was on the plane and congratulates the pilot for a great landing stating %26#39;well practice makes perfect%26#39; and he responded stating %26#39;yeah not had many of those before%26#39;....you can just imagine our faces - we all cracked up laughing and were delighted not to know that whilst still in the air! When back at MB, stopped at the eyecandy (or similar) lounge for some delicious champagne cocktails to help C %26amp; M celebrate. Back to GV to relax and shower before heading out to the Rio.

Got to the Rio just in time to see the new parade in the sky - well if scantilly clad women and men, singing (ok) and dancing (not so great) are your thing, this is fine. It struck us of a bad caberet act - no doubt once it%26#39;s been on for longer it will be more polished. The people in the floats really didn%26#39;t seem to do anything, more the dancers on the floor. After a couple of songs, we got bored and headed up to Voodoo. Well it was a glass lift (I think it was on the %26#39;outside%26#39; but given I had my eye%26#39;s tightly shut I couldn%26#39;t say for sure!), which essentially finished M for the day. The reasturant is on the 50th floor and the lounge the 51st. Our table was on the 2nd row in (so to speak) but the views were great and it was very easy to walk outside to see the views (Poor M wasn%26#39;t going anywhere nor looking outside). We got there for 7ish to to see sunset etc. Note to females - It get%26#39;s pretty breezy up there so wearing a dress or skirts not such a good idea (and apologies to the girl standing behind me outside...I was concentrating on keeping the front of the dress down for a photo I kinda forgot about the back.....red faced me!) The views were absolutely brilliant and I far preferred them to the Stratosphere.

The Meal - A round of cocktails (had the witchdoctor - brilliant), absolutely fantastic steak and mixture of side vegetables, really really excellent bottle of wine (not an expensive one just delicious), nice breads and we shared a couple of deserts. Great service as well and an absolutely brilliant meal. Came to about $90 each I think.

The Lounge - Checked with M if he was ok to stay, then wandered upstairs - a brilliant band were playing - they started off more jazzy/slow and then as the night progressed moved onto more rock/pop etc. They were absoultely brilliant. Outside the music was a livelier more house, R%26amp;B, etc. We%26#39;d contemplated getting the $60 open bar package however we%26#39;d left it to late (by the way we%26#39;d tried to sort this out at another Harrah%26#39;s concerige and were told it wasn%26#39;t possible) - well in retrospect I%26#39;m so glad we didn%26#39;t. Ordered two G%26amp;T%26#39;s and one Vodka Diet costing $30 inc tip - and my god they were strong - that did one round did us for the remainder of the night! There were plenty of seats so we had a table (but not table/bottle service) and it gradually filled up. However it was pretty cold courtesy of the a/c and taking pity on M we finally left there after 11 - would definitely recommend it to anyone! A great venue, amazing food, mixed crowd, brilliant views etc.

Had a flutter at the Rio (Roulette I think - the only time I did all holiday), then caught the free shuttle back to Paris and went for some gambling and a few %26#39;free%26#39; Vodka Diets. I really liked the inside of the Paris, having walked in and mocked the ceiling (well it%26#39;s not exactly hogwarts is it!) I couldn%26#39;t believe how well it worked and despite having been ready to call it a night at 11.30, I was still going strong at 1.30! I then spent the rest of the holiday thinking how clever these celings were and I humbly apologise to the Paris! Lots of 21/BJ here at the $10 tables and I think I came away even (possibly $20 up - I%26#39;d had a few and it feels like a long time ago now!).

Day 4 - Monday

Ok already felt like we%26#39;d been here a week and we needed a chill day- crashed by the pool all day, went to South Point in the evening, had the buffet (was ok nothing too special but was also very cheap) awful gambling (down about $30 I think). Went bowling instead..turns out I was even worse at that!

Day 5 - Tuesday

We were recovered (a late start today) and raring to go again. L%26#39;s Dad happended to be in Vegas (very random!) and took her back to the Grand Canyon to do the helicopter and boat trip - again with Scenic/Papillon I think - she said it was awsome! We sorted out car hire and collected the car (some mid sized SUV apparently (it was huge for the 5 of us) with absoultely no power whatsoever!) and collected S from Tropicanna. Parked up at Treasure Island (we did a mixture of Valet and self parking for the remainder of the holiday - no problems at all - it really came down to what sign we saw first as to which option we choose). Went to Fashion Show Mall and proceeded to become demented again, especially in Abercrombie %26amp; Fitch (aside from the incredible disappointment that I couldn%26#39;t get the Jeans I wanted!) Only 1 pair of shoes this time however!

Checked out The Forum Shops - loved the entrance and escalators, however the further back we walked the more %26#39;tacky%26#39; it started to feel - the talking statues were (imho) awful! Went to the Cheesecake Factory - 4 slices of cheesecake please....oh my god! Think we managed 1/2 a slice each (and felt totally stuffed) - this is quite possibly the best cheescake I%26#39;ve ever had! Went a little nuts in MAC (I was collecting some items for a friend who%26#39;s getting married shortly) - great fun!

Dropped S off and headed back to change - we did spend most of the time travelling on the I-15 rather than The Strip and this definitely saved us time as The Strip is incredibly slow moving past 10amish. Collected S and L on way back in and drove to Downtown.

Wasn%26#39;t too sure what to expect from D/T but actually really liked it and was really impressed with the Fremont Experience. D/T is definitely a different experience and one I%26#39;m really glad we did - it was nice to see a slightly different slant to Vegas. We watched one show on the street, then went into the Golden Nugget - they had a bar (it was pratically empty) up stairs, with lots of seating outside - so grabbed ourselves some drinks and settled in to watch the next show. The second one wasn%26#39;t a patch on the first one, so I%26#39;d definitely recommend sticking around to watch a couple if you%26#39;re not that impressed by the first one!

Wandered around the Golden Nugget looking for the infamous shrimp cocktail....finally realised we should be in the Golden Gate (doh!!!!) so headed off there. I liked the Gate - all dark wood and dark (but in a nice way). Gambled for a while, probably made $20 last 30mins or more, before walking away with nothing (something I%26#39;m very good at apparently!). Headed back onto the Strip - L%26amp;C wanted to go to Hooters (why I%26#39;m not entirely sure), so we stopped there - hated it, nasty looking place, really poor service in the restaurant and awful food - left there quickly with no gambling. Went back to MGM and gambled for a while (L came away a $100 up, which absoultely made her holiday and proceeded to turn her into a gambling %26#39;addict%26#39; - coming from the girl who didn%26#39;t want to gamble once all holiday!). I think I came away neutral, possibly $20 down, however courtesy of several drinks I%26#39;m not too sure! Finished off the night with a little flutter at Tropicanna at the $5 tables then M drove us home

Day 6 - Wednesday

C drove today, first stop Stratosphere (no glass lift whohoo!). M was not going higher than the 1st floor, but the rest of us did. L braved the rides, though only XStream was open (the one that takes you over the edge). When the rides start, the observation deck kind of creaks, which took a bit of getting used to (mainly as I%26#39;m such a wimp). The views were great, but I thought Voodoo Lounge was far better and you could see more of the strip from VL. Then drove to Hilton to do the Star Trek Experience (L and M wanted to do it) - it was $40 without any vouchers etc - the Borg Experience wasn%26#39;t that great - though the 3D was impressive, however the Klingon experince was fantastic (and more what I%26#39;d expected the Borg one to be). Stopped at the Star Trek bar for a very strong drink.

These two trips pretty much wiped out the day, so headed back to chill for an hour or so, before meeting up at Mirage for the buffet dinner. Liked the buffet (though Bellagio was definitely better) and would recommend it, then went to TI to see Mystere. Got there about 9.15 as had been warned about the %26#39;pre show%26#39; - absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend it. Had absolutely no idea what the story line was (is there one?) however that%26#39;s irrelevant the acts are amazing and there is always so much going on. Didn%26#39;t expect to find it funny as well. My only regret is not having seen it earlier in the week, as I would have then loved to see another CDS later in the week. Totally loved it.

From there we went off to check out The Wynn (very nice, no gambling though) and then walked down to The Plazzo. Loved the Plazzo - beautifully laid out, great cocktail service, great dealer and the fact I came out $95 profit probably added to it! Headed back to GV via Tropicanna (came out even I think).

The weather was pretty poor this day - there%26#39;d been rain (probably about 2 drops) and it was incredibly windy and we were cold - the only time we were all holiday.

Day 7 - Thursday

Had a Denny%26#39;s breakfast (French toast wasn%26#39;t a patch on the Bellagio%26#39;s!!!) then headed to Fry%26#39;s, were we all proceeded to go a little mad on purchasing great value electronic goods...oops. Opposite Fry%26#39;s is a larger Borders (my idea of heaven), so check that out and then discover another A%26amp;F - by any chance do they have my jeans (sorry they%26#39;re being discontinued...oh but you can check out the sale items....oh yes 3 pairs at $20 each - woohooo!). C %26amp; M went back to this area (Town Square) later in the day and stated it was by far the nicest shopping area we%26#39;d been to (and let%26#39;s face it by now we%26#39;d done a few!) - it was pretty empty and really nicely laid out, with all the main shops that we%26#39;d seen elsewhere. In retrospect we could have done all our shopping here - and in one day - oh well!

Dropped our various items back at Grandview then drove to Mirage, then went over to check out the Ventian (very nice - didn%26#39;t go on a Gondolla, had planned to but when we got there really didn%26#39;t appeal). Had some Gellato ice cream in %26#39;St Marks Sq%26#39; - very nice and almost as good as the real thing! Then went for a wander whilst C%26amp;M headed over to Tall etc (C has 36inch inside leg and nightmare buying trousers - kinda success however Tall etc is shutting down so not a lot of choice left), L, S %26amp; I wandered down strip, popped into Casion Royale, plaid BlackJack Switch for a while - an interesting variation on a known theme, grabbed a couple of bud%26#39;s ($1.50 each I think?!) then checked out Ceasers (was quite nice, but at this point I think I%26#39;d see a fair few casino%26#39;s and they were merging into one!).

Back to GV to change etc, then back into strip to see the Sirens at TI....well I vaguelly remember the old show and whilst not the best, was def better than this one. Though in comparison to the Rio, TI show was better. We%26#39;d booked (day before) dinner at Mon Ami Gabi so headed down there for 8 - we were inside but with excellent views over the fountains. Great meal (vegetable sides were better than Voodoo Lounge, though the steaks were better at VL), couple of bottles of wine and shared some starters and some desserts. Excellent venue, good food and brilliant service - our server was excellent. Came to about $90 each again I think. I%26#39;d definitely recommend booking - had we not we%26#39;d have not got in for a good 2-3 hrs.

Crossed over to watch the Fountains, then went into the Fontana Bar (no cover, live band - okish), had a couple of drinks, watched the fountains some more. This was a great place to watch them - no crowds which was perfect for photo%26#39;s. Cant say I%26#39;d recommend going to Fontana for any other reason - but then this is why it%26#39;s here! Went for a wander, a little more gambling and drinking, back to Tropicanna, then cab home, shattered!

Day 8 - Friday

Packed (ah the panic of would it all fit - yes and with plenty of space (does that mean I need to buy more??!)), checked out at 10am, drove up to Mandalay, went for a last wander, stopped at the sign for photo%26#39;s, stopped at CSV for some advil etc - they had %26#39;casino played%26#39; cards for 99Cents - no idea if these had indeed been played in actual casinos (though it does say they have been), however they made great small pressies for everyone back home (I might have bought a few and used up the last of the space!).

Collected suitcases, dropped car back (absoulte doddle, very quick and lots of shuttle buses to the airport - I think we were the only ones on it!), checked in to discover that the flight was 2hrs delayed - yawn! There%26#39;s not a lot to do at the airport (especially in comparison to airports back home), so spent the next 4hrs a little bored, but nothing problematic! Fine flight home and managed to sleep a decent chunk of it.

Oh and the suitcase - I was 0.2kg under the weight limit - impressive I feel!

Absoultely excellent holiday and loved every moment of it (with the exception of NY NY and Hooters probably). Favourite Casino - The Plazzo (probably as I won!) or Mandalay Bay, Favourite meal - Voodoo Lounge, Favourite Buffett - Bellagio, Favourite Day - Sunday! Overall with the gambling I think I came out even, possibly a little up, which was excellent and not at all expected! S and L came up, I think C %26amp; M were down (I don%26#39;t think M came out up a anywhere!). Possibly favourite thing to do in vegas - people watch (brilliant!)

Ramdom observations

Taxi Drivers - During the day we seemed to have fab drivers, some really interesting chats ranging from state of housing market, things to see, thoughts on Democratic leadership race, to how come the brits don%26#39;t use the Dollar in the UK (!?!), however the late night cabbies defintely weren%26#39;t chatty (though that could of course be due to our tiredeness!!! lol) and in one instance down right dangerous driving. That said all cabbies were fine overall and were pretty cheap.

Tipping - You will never, ever have enough single dollars for tips on you (apart from on the final day) and despite being organsied, there will be a mad rush/panic to ensure you have a couple of dollars for the cocktail waitresses/shuttle drivers/drinks/dealer/cabbies/valet etc. We always managed to as between us someone always had lots. One thing we didn%26#39;t manage to work out was Valet tipping - do you tip when they take the car or when you collect it? Given it could be two different people, we decided to do both after a small panic! Lol!

Quality of food - value for money (quality) is definitely better than what you get in the UK (especially in the touristy areas back here). We only had one bad meal the entire holiday (hooters), other than that everything ranged from ok to great - mainly great and full of flavour! Obviously the portion sizes are huge compared to back here and the strength of the £ really helps with the value as well.

Blackjack Dealers - Who dealt the cards definitely made a huge difference to the enjoyment and entertainmnet of the game - much more so than the actual winning (or more often losing) itself! We had some brilliant dealers who really engaged with the table and also offered assitance (I know this is in favour of the house etc, but it was well done) and some others who barely spoke a word. There was no real consistency in the casino%26#39;s or locations, just a personal view that having an entertaining dealer was a totally different experience.

Transport - A mixture of CAT, Deuce, (lots of) walking and Car. Found transport a doddle, fairly cheap (especially as 4-5 sharing cabs) and well used to crowded buses etc back in London, so not a problem. Walking can take quite a while, not just due to the distance but the crowds and the way you have to cross (i.e over bridges, directed long way rounds etc)

Sign posts - Vegas isn%26#39;t so great with the singage compared to the UK (it%26#39;s there but you tended to see it when you were in the far left lane, needing to turn right:-) ) - that said navigating around Vegas is really, really easy compared to back home.

Sleep - Jet Lag%26#39;s a git and you wont be able to sleep until you really don%26#39;t have time for it and are far too busy checking out the sights!

ID - None of us got ID%26#39;d until the Thursday night, where upon it became apparent that many of the casino%26#39;s didn%26#39;t accept the UK Driving Licence as ID - not something any of us had ever come accross before - slightly frustrating as had we realised (or indeed been ID%26#39;d before) then we would all have had our passports on us. Murphy%26#39;s law of course that it was the final night!:-)

Things we meant to do and just didn%26#39;t get time - Big Elvis, Maragritaville, serveral of the casino%26#39;s,Mac King. Things I%26#39;d like to do another time - Another CDS show, Prime or similar, definitely stay at a centre strip hotel (we had an excellent deal at GV hence staying there)

Grandview - Lots of building going on, none of it a problem (never heard a thing), car parking - can definitely see it could be a problem - we were always able to get a space, just sometimes a little further away from the appartment. Nice, decent sized appartments (actually pretty big for one bedroom!) and great hot tub!

Hope this helps, as I know I found reading everyone%26#39;s TR%26#39;s great - any questions and I%26#39;ll try to help! Apologies again it%26#39;s so badly spelt and long!!!!

Thanks for writng such a splendid report. You and your friendsa really act like you%26#39;ve been going to Vegas for years, you managed to pack in so much many more and different activities. I find the statues at Caesars to be very lame also. : )

so much mny more? WTH? so many more activities . . . friends, not friendsa!

Wow Georgina you packed heck of a lot in to your trip, thanks for sharing with us.

You must have writers cramp lol.

So when you going again?

Nice report. You packed a lot into your days in Vegas. Rest up now and recover! Slotto

Cheers for the comments - think I%26#39;ve finally recovered, though still definitel miss it!

Not too sure when the next trip will be - torn between discovering new places first and then perhaps return....too many decisions to make!!!