Last weeks trip report - doesn't time fly?!

We are just back from our 4th trip to Vegas. We had a great time – here is a short trip report!

Flew with NWA from Heathrow to Vegas via Detroit home via Minneapolis. Flights were great especially the transatlantic legs. On the way out we had 4 seats for the 2 of us – I saw an unoccupied row of 4 just ahead of us – we had 2 together. I asked the stewardess and she said we could move so we had a really comfortable flight out. On the way home because of the flight plan and tail winds we landed 1 ½ hours early!! I would definitely fly with them again. Flights on time or early and no problems with immigration or making connections. Both airports were really nice too. Lots of places to eat etc.

We had booked Presidential Limos again, unfortunately our driver was not there to greet us. When we called to office she told me that he was at the airport on his way to us. However one of the other drivers called him and he said that he was at least 15 minutes away! We eventually met up with him and he took us to the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign to have our photo taken and a quick trip up and down the strip as well as giving us an extra bottle of champagne. So not too bad really! Going home the driver was on time.

Limo dropped us at the Tower entrance of the hotel for us to check in. Check in was very speedy, no-one else was waiting in line. Alas due to a large convention all the high floor rooms were in use so we ended up on the 7th floor. We didn’t really mind as we’ve had high strip view rooms before. The room was large and clean, the separate shower was nice. Plenty of drawer %26amp; cupboard space with an extremely comfortable bed.

The rest of Luxor was a bit of a disappointment really. The timeshare touts drove us mad to put it mildly. They were everywhere and VERY persistent. For this reason alone we would not stay there again. The hotel was also much darker than we remembered, especially around the sides of the pyramid outside of the gaming areas. It was creepy late at night. The building work didn’t affect us, however only half of the pool complex was open so it meant that it got really busy. In the afternoons there were often no sun-beds available. We hired a cabana on our last day for $125 (on the weekend it is $225) we would not have been happy if we had paid the higher price. In our opinion it wasn’t as good as the cabanas at TI last year. The service %26amp; amenities were poor and the staff not as friendly.

The walkway to Mandalay Bay was quicker than the tram I think! We much preferred the atmosphere there and also the food options. The breakfast buffet at Luxor was not very good, but for a couple of dollars more MB breakfast buffet was far superior.

Brief highlights from the rest of the trip:

Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian – would love to see it again

2 x $25 free slot play at the Venetian due to an offer with the show tickets if we joined the players club – we played penny slots and it lasted all night!!

Meal at Rao’s at Caesars Palace

All in all a very good trip. Disappointed with the Luxor (should have stuck with TI again) but DH wanted a change! It just wasn’t our thing. I’m sure others will disagree and say they love it. If we all liked the same thing then we wouldn’t have such a great choice of hotels, or they‘d be very crowded – lol. Would have considered moving hotels, but we had pre-paid to make the most of an early booking offer. Didn’t spoil the holiday though – we were in Vegas nothing could spoil that . We made the most of it. Probably wouldn’t pay in advance again – it was the 1st and last time. At least if you book direct and pay when you leave you can change your mind before you leave or take advantage of other offers.

Well we’ve got to wait 2 years for the next trip - maybe combined with a road trip in California (unless we win the lottery before then!) That will be for my 40th birthday so we have plenty of time to plan and DH can maybe cook up some birthday surprises!!

See you around on the board, Viv xx

Last weeks trip report - doesn't time fly?!

It sounds like you had a good time even though you didn%26#39;t care for Luxor. I%26#39;m glad to hear you didn%26#39;t allow that to ruin your trip. Sometimes, the only way we find these things out, is to give it a try. Now you know for your next visit. Thank you for sharing :-)

VegasSue

Last weeks trip report - doesn't time fly?!

Sounds like you had a good trip in spite of being disappointed with Luxor. Enjoyed your TR!

Thanks your for your TR i really enjoyed it!!! I%26#39;m flying with NWA next month from gatwick changing at Detroit, Did you have to collect luggage at Detroit and re-check?? Also we only have 2 hours at Detroit is that enough for immigration and connection, i%26#39;m really nervous about missing my connection!! Thanks Kittykim

Hi Kittykim,

We had approx 2 hours between flights too. It was plenty of time. As we got through immigration our cases were already on the belt. We picked them up and then had to take them through to security and just drop them off again. It was all pretty painless and we had about 1 1/2hrs to walk around the terminal to strtch our legs and get something to eat.

It was all well organised and clearly signed.

Have a good trip!

Viv

Thanks for the TR.

We always fly with connecting flights and never had a problem. Maybe this will show a few of us Brits that it is not the be all and end all of getting direct flights!!

Sorry you didnt enjoy the Luxor, just walking thro it we didnt get the vibe of the place at all and found it to be really dark.

Was thinking of booking with Presidential in Dec, but from reading a few reports lately, think I will look elsewhere.

Hi again Kittykim,

Just thought I%26#39;d mention that we chose our seat allocation on the NWA website well before we travelled which makes check in stress free. When you check in they will check you in all the way through to Vegas - you don%26#39;t need to check your bags in again just pick them up and drop them off at security once through immigration. On the return journey we were again checked in all the way through to LHR, but did%26#39;t need to reclaim our bags at any point.

Thanks so much for the info vegaschick, i%26#39;ve booked the seats on the nwa site already, good job though there weren%26#39;t many available seats left!! I%26#39;ve tried to find info on the luggage allowance but its all quite confusing, i seem to think its 2 bags at 23k per person, do you know if this is correct? (plan to do abit of shopping lol)

Yes baggage allowance was 2 bags at 23kg/50lb per bag per person - so a generous 46kg each.

Flying out the airline wasn%26#39;t very strict, but on the way back when he weighed my case he said ';wow you are lucky - your case is 49lbs. Over 50lbs is a $50 charge!'; Phew...

What we did was take an empty holdall in one the cases on the way out and re-distributed the clothes %26amp; shopping etc so that hopefully neither of the cases were over limit. This way we could also take the holdall which we were sure would be under 23kgs.

good trip report and yes time flies so fast when your out there!

We went to the Luxor last month, first time since it was renovated. I would have had no clue i was standing inside the Luxor if someone would have blind folded me and led me in the door. It looks nothing like it did last year. I honestly do not like it at all. Gone was everything that i liked and in its place was a lot of clubs. Guess thats where the money is right now.

Thank you so much vegaschick, your info is very helpful!!