TR 27 May - 1 June: Wynn, Bellagio and Much More

Hi guys - I am back from yet another wonderful trip to Vegas. I will post my trip report as a reply in the coming days when I get round to do the typing.

Things to be covered include -

Hotels: Wynn (Salon Suite), Bellagio (Tower Deluxe King)

Shows: Love, Spamalot, Le Reve

Attractions: Dolphin trainer for a day @ the Mirage, Helicopter trip to Grand Canyon, Ferrari Maserati Shop @ Wynn, Qua Spa @ Caesars Palace, Lion Habitat @ MGM

Restaurants: SW Steakhouse, Terrace Point Cafe, Red 8 and Buffet @ Wynn, Grand Lux Cafe @ Palazzo, Social House @ TI, Olives and Noodles @ Bellagio

TR 27 May - 1 June: Wynn, Bellagio and Much More

Sounds like you did some fun stuff! Looking forward to the TR.

TR 27 May - 1 June: Wynn, Bellagio and Much More

Sounds interesting, can%26#39;t wait for the details!

I am in the process of booking a trip for begining of September. I anxiously await your report as i just today purchased my tickets for Love and am about to reserve the Heli trip to the Grand Canyon what co. did you use.

Oh you did alot of fun things and wish I would have been with you...be sure and post a report when you have time since I will be looking forward to reading the details!

I went with Papillon for the helicopter trip and they were great. I would recommend them to anyone.

Sorry for the delay here is my trip report.

Background: Went with my partner both in mid 20’s. Last visit was Oct 07. Staying two nights at Wynn and 3 nights at the Bellagio. Weather was very nice throughout with blue sky and sun during the day and cooler temperature during the night which was excellent.

Day 1 (Tuesday 27 May)

Arrival

After around 5 hours of uneventful flight from Miami with AA we arrived at the airport at around 5pm. No taxi line and straight to the Wynn for a meter reading of $25. I gave the driver $30 but he wasn’t happy and pulled on faces but I thought I had given him more than enough considering i) he took the tunnel; ii) he didn’t put air con on despite the sweaty weather; and iii) he stopped at the wrong entrance despite us asking him to go to the tower suites one. Generally I find that there are a lot of rude and greedy taxi drivers in Vegas!

Wynn Salon Suite

We had booked the $299 summer upgrade special on Wynn’s website for a Parlour Suite which came with $100 entertainment credit (we used it for Le Reve). Upon check-in we were offered another upgrade of $100 per night to the Salon Suite. We gladly took the offer and headed to our suite with excitement. The suite was massive at 1,800 sq ft and very beautifully and elegantly appointed with a chocolate brown + cherry red colour scheme and black and white marble flooring. It has got a massage room and a powder room on both sides of the entrance; a massive living area with separate dining area that can comfortably sit 6 people, a separate bar area; a work desk; and a TV area in the middle with 2 3-seater couch and a 42” LCD TV. The whole suite had floor to ceiling windows with electric drapes and a strip view (Trump, TI, Mirage, Palazzo, FSM, Lake of Dreams). The bedroom was spacious but relatively small when compared to the bathroom which was about the same size if not bigger than the bedroom! It was as luxurious as it could get for a hotel room with double door entry; double vanities; Jacuzzi tub; walk in shower, wardrobes on both sides and a separate toilet, the area in the middle could easily fit 2 king beds. It was absolutely fabulous! We were very happy but as soon as we entered the bathroom we noticed an overwhelming sewage smell. We had dinner booked at SW Steakhouse (see below) at 8 so we told reception I the way down to look into the problem. When we got back to the room after dinner the problem was even worse (ie we could smell it from the entrance!). We called up again and they sent up engineers and we were told something’s broken and it couldn’t be fixed immediately. So we got a room change to a lower floor. Room key was automatically updated so was convenient. The new suite was exactly the same in size and layout but with a different colour scheme (creamy and lighter tone) which I preferred. The suite was spotless as the other one apart from the fact that the rain shower head didn’t work despite us asking them to look into it. There was also drilling noise from 8am on the morning of our check out. We mentioned these problems to the front desk at check out and they waived the internet charge from our bill. All in all the suite, the service and the amenities (including the exclusive entrance, check in area and pool on the upper level) were top notch and we were very happy with our stay.

SW Steakhouse and the Lake of Dreams

We had tables reserved for 8pm. We asked for a table outside on the patio and we got one right next to the lake after about a 5 minutes wait. The restaurant was quite big with nice deco (casual oriented) and the tables were quite close to each other and you can very easily overhear people’s conservations. Our waiter was a middle-aged man who was attentive but showed no smile on his face throughout which we thought was a bit odd for a restaurant of this category. We had two glasses of champagne to start with and shared the chopped vegetable salad ($16) which was delivered on two separate plates. For the main we had the Porthouse for Two (40 ounces for $96) to share which was delicious (came with potatoes and carrots). We were too stuffed for desert. The bill came to around $200 including tips.

Overall comparing it to Prime at Bellagio with a similar price tag, SW came second in my mind in all categories (service, food quality, ambience; view – Prime’s view of the Bellagio fountain on the patio so much more beautiful) but nonetheless it was an enjoyable meal and the perfect start to our trip.

The Lake of Dreams played every 30 minutes and we caught 3 variations of it. The lighting and the music were beautiful but I wasn’t sure about the images – I just thought it was a bit random and it is not a show that I would come back and see again.

Wynn Casino and Red Card

After dinner we hit the casino. We wanted to join the Red Club and play some slots to qualify for the 50 points for 2 free buffets offer but was told that offer has gone (it now requires 150 pts). Instead they had this fortune wheel for all the new sign-ups with prices ranging from $10 – $10,000 free slot play, free buffet, holiday package and free show tickets. I was lucky to have won 2 free tickets for Spamalot on Friday night which we came to enjoy very much. My partner won $10 free slots play (we had to put in $1 to activate it) which we lost in less than 1 minute. We then played some table games and was just $100 down by the end of the night (Pai Gow and Pai Gow Poker) – overall we found the dealers and pit bosses to be the friendliest at the Wynn (even when compared to the Bellagio and Venetian) and drinks services were frequent and prompt.

Day 2 to follow…

WTF is up with the taxi driver moaning at A $5 tip for a $25 fare??

good report, but why did you tip the cabbie for taking you down the tunnel?

I have stayed at TI and when driven down paradise to spring mountain my cab fair was less than 18.00.

Dont tip when cabbies are rude, don%26#39;t listen or tunnel you.

It also sounds like there was alot of issues going on at the Wynn, I thought they wouldnt have handled the sewage issue better.

I am glad you had a nice trip, thanks for the report.

sounds like your room was nice! Love those upgrades! Glad to hear your thoughts on SW vs. Prime. Looking forward to more!

Day 2 (Wednesday 28 May)

Grand Canyon with Papillon

We booked online well in advance for the Grand Canyon helicopter tour with Papillon. The package was called Grand Celebration First Class for around $330 per person which is an upgrade package that included limousine return transport to / from a special terminal at the McCarran Int. Airport and the apparently newer and better EC-130 Ecostar helicopter. Overall we had a wonderful time and would recommend highly recommend it.

We had pick up at 8.40am from Wynn so we ordered in-room breakfast to be delivered at 8am before we went to bed. They arrived promptly which was good. The limo driver took photos for us before we got in and then he went to NY-NY to pick up two other passengers before dropping us at the special Papillon check-in terminal. Check-in was nice and easy and we had to wait for about 45 mins before getting boarded onto the helicopter. 4 passengers with very comfortable seating (they assign you according to your weights). The pilot was a Japenese girl named Yoshi who was very professional, attentive and gave narration all the way through about the objects down below us (with background music) which calmed my nerves a little bit as I was scared of heights and it was the first time that I had been on a helicopter. The ride was in fact very smooth (was told an afternoon ride would typically be more bumpy due to wind currents) and it was about 45 mins each way to / from the West Rim of the GC. It was a very sunny day and we were able to see everything very clearly including Lake Mead, Boulder City, Hoover Dam, the extinct volcanoe etc. When we got to the GC we descended at the side of the banks of the Colorado River where they served a picnic meal with sandwiches and champagne / soft drinks. We were allowed only 30 mins on the ground to eat + take pictures which was the only thing that we didn’t like about it. I know a lot of people are also of the view that if you bother to visit the GC you should go to the South Rim which is further away (no direct helicopter flight from LV) but is supposed to be much nicer. But for someone like me who didn’t want to spend the whole day away from the strip I thought this was quite a good option.

On the way back we flew over downtown and the strip which I enjoyed as much as the descend to GC itself. We were back at the airport by 12.30 where the limo driver was waiting already. We were back at Wynn by 1pm and the whole trip lasted for less than 4 hours. $10 tip for the limo driver and a $50 tip for the pilot (less than 10% of package cost for 2) which in hindsight seemed a bit too much given the other couple only gave her $5 and she was equally grateful! ; )

Red 8 Restaurant

After freshening up we grabbed lunch at Red 8 – a Chinese oriented restaurant on the casino floor. The food was ok (comparable to Noodles at Bellagio) and everything arrived very quickly which was good as we wanted to hit the pool!

Wynn Pool

It was about 3.30pm by the time we arrived at the pools and the some parts of the pool (towards Terrace Café) were already in the shade. The pools were beautiful! Stunning with all the planted trees, different coloured cabanas which blended together very well. We spent most of the time on the upper floor sun bathing (tower suites residents only) and drinks service was very prompt (the waitress was literally walking up and down every 5 mins). The main pools downstairs were also very scenic. There were two oval-shaped large pools with one at each end connected by a pool passage which I was told was more than 100m long! Pool wasn’t crowded and one could get a chair very easily. There is also the Cabana Bar / casino area with a separate adult pool which had the most sun right up to the end of the afternoon.

Ferrari Maserati Dealership

We then spent some time shopping at the Wynna dn the Fashion Show Mall and we dropped by the Ferrari Maserati Dealership at the Wynn. It was a 2nd hand dealership / salesroom but to enter we had to pay $10 each and no photos were allowed and all cars were fenced off with doors closed. Most of the cars were F430 or the same type of Maserati (forgot model). They had more cars down at the basement including 2 F1 cars (past and present), the Phantom, DB9 and the new Merc CLK (if I remember correctly). There is obviously also a sales shop selling Ferrari products at the exit. I am not a huge race car fan and I got a bit bored after the 4th car and it was not worth the $10.

Palazzo and Grand Lux Café

After several hours of shopping we checked out the Palazzo. The building itself is quite massive even when compared to the Venetian but by the same token it has blocked the Venetian some bit from the strip from its previous prominence. The view will get even more crowded when they have completed the condo in between the two. The inside of the hotel is nice with high end decoration and very high ceiling. The check in area was huge and very tall. It was about 9pm and I was surprised to see no one either checking in or out. It was empty. The casino area was nice and as has already been appointed out before it’s very spacious. The shopping area leading to the Venetian was the part I least liked. It felt like just another high end shopping mall with a lot of people and there was nothing special about it despite the large waterfall.

We then hit the Grand Lux Café and there was no line at 9.30pm not surprisingly. The deco was nice and it looked a lot more expensive than the menu. We ordered Caesars salad (good), the shrimp and clams pasta (highly recommend) and a grilled chicken dish (ok) to share. The portions were BIG! The bill came to around $70 including drinks + tips which I thought was very good value for money.

We then headed back to the Wynn to play some more table games and to enjoy the final night at the suite.

Day 3 to follow…