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1 Sep |
Done with Vegas Vacations
Comments (4) |
I don’t know what it is with me and vacations any more.
This was supposed to be a last fling before Edie begins, in earnest, the preparation for her stem cell transplant. We would stay at the Wynn, see a couple of shows and have a few good meals. Unfortunately this vacation did not live up to expectations.
Not even the Wynn, which I still consider the nicest hotel on the strip, and the only place I would stay in Vegas, fully lived up to expectations.
Maybe it was the holiday weekend, but the service at the pool on Saturday, and the service at the Terrace Pointe Cafe, where we had lunch that same day, was less than stellar. It’s like we were invisible to the people who were serving us. Certainly not what I would have expected from past experience at the Wynn.
But even beyond that, Vegas has become just another tourist trap. Everything is WAY over priced and too congested. It was like we were navigating an obstacle course, dodging people as we walked down the street or in the casino’s, and almost every where someone was trying to hustle you into signing up for something.
Even the food was disappointing. Certainly nothing to write home about. I could easily get as good, or even better meals, for a lot less money at several restaurants in the LA/Long Beach area, and I wouldn’t have to drive 300 miles.
We did see two shows, Danny Ganz and the Beatles Love Cirque du Sole. I didn’t like Danny Ganz at all (Edie did though), and the Beatles Love was enjoyable, but after Jersey Boys, nothing can compare.
So I’ve had enough of Vegas. No more!
If we go anywhere again, it will be to some South Seas tropical island, where there are no crowds, or we’ll just stay home. I can’t think of much I can get elsewhere, that southern California doesn’t offer.
I can even go gambling, if I desire, and best of all, I can still ride my bike every day!
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5 May |
Vegas trip report ‘08 Day to Day Life, Vacations, Wine
Comments (5) |
As we spend our last morning in Las Vegas getting ready to head for home, I can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed in this years trip.
Oh, I don’t know! Maybe I’ve just become too finicky in my old age, and easily disappointed when things don’t meet up to expectations, especially since the Wine Spectator Grand Tour (our main reason for coming to Vegas this year) was great. We got to taste so many top wines you don’t often get to taste, including the 2003 Casanova De Neri, Tenuta Nuova Vineyard, Brunello de Montacino, and the 2004 Joseph Phelps Insignia, just to name a few.
Plus we got to see Jersey Boys, which I have been wanting to see for a long while, and by itself may have been worth the trip [IOW, I highly recommend it], so I can’t complain too much.
But I remember last years trip to Las Vegas, which incidentally was exactly one year ago this weekend, as being so much more enjoyable, and that was principally due of the choice of hotels.
Since the main reason for coming to Las Vegas this year was to attend Wine Spectator Grand Tour, being held at the Venetian, that is where we decided to stay, instead of the Wynn, where we stayed last year.
But from the moment we arrived at the Venetian, to an entranced mobbed with cars, taxis and limos dropping people off, to the private check in area (I booked the concierge level), which wasn’t all that private, to the exorbitantly long walk to get to the room, and then the same exorbitantly long walks back to everything, I just knew I booked the wrong hotel.
Oh I know, you’re probably thinking you don’t go to Las Vegas to stay in your room. You go for the shows, the gambling and the food, which were good, and even though the Venetian is a very nice hotel, with big and luxurious rooms, it’s the overall hotel ambiance that sets the stage for me, and the Venetian just didn’t measure up.
Still the trip was worthwhile, I just believe it would have been even more enjoyable, had we stayed at the Wynn.
Oh well, there’s always next year.