TR: Palazzo 1/16-19

TR below!

TR: Palazzo 1/16-19

Friday 1/16

Easy flight out of SFO to LAS after work. BART from downtown made it easy to get to the airport on time. I do wish they had more trains than the 1 every 15min.

Took a taxi to the Palazzo and I totally got Tunneled! it was too late by the time I realized it. Ugh. $27! I said something to the driver and he started ranting about this and that. I was alone and didn%26#39;t want to deal with the intimidation so I just paid the man. I know, I know, I should have gotten his tag number and all that but I just wanted to get out of there and get on with my vacation. But I did save my friends from the same fate I called them and told them what streets to take (the clerk at the front desk told me what to say - I%26#39;ve already forgotten the street names, sorry!) and their taxi tab was only $16.

Checked into the Palazzo. It was fast, easy and efficient. I tried the $20 but they had no upgrades available for me. I think it would have been hard in any case, the only upgrade for a room with 2 queens would be a concierge level suite and that%26#39;s quite a price difference. She did give me a room with on a high floor (36) and a view of TI and the Wynn so that was nice.

I opted for purchasing the resort package ($29/day for 2 days). It was a decent deal. I was able to get 2 day passes to the spa (worth $40 each) that I used for myself and my best friend as well as 2 $20 vouchers off $50 for the main restaurants. I used them towards breakfast at Bouchon and a round of drinks at Sushi Samba. Those alone made it worth it. I also got 2 passes to Madame Tousaud%26#39;s, but I never used them.

I hung out in the room - gorgeous as always! Anyhow, I waited for my friends to arrive and played the Star Trek slots near the center of the casino. I never win and I got the bonus! Hooray! I tripled what I original put into the machine when my friends arrived. I printed out the voucher and we headed to the Grand Lux for a late night dinner. Now the sad part. I didn%26#39;t know it but that stupid game prints out TWO vouchers! ';What?'; you say? ';That%26#39;s crazy?'; you say? Well it%26#39;s true - and I didn%26#39;t know it. I walked away from the machine without my cash voucher. So keep that in mind if you ever play that slot. Luckily the casino was able to verify and reimburse me. Whew, that%26#39;s not how I wanted to start out the trip.

Saturday

My BFF and I went for a relaxing morning at the Canyon Ranch Spa. We did the whole aquavanna thing and I have to say we both Qua was better. They are similar in terms of facilities, but Qua seemed to just have a little bit more. For example they offer juice and pretzels and tea service at Qua whereas at CRS you just get cold tea or coffee and fruit. The layout at QUA has better flow and the pool area is at least twice as big and has two more pools. The shower amenities at QUA are also better. We did like CRS steam room better though and of course convenience is a huge factor.

After the spa, brunch at Bouchon. Pricey but worth it in my opinion. I%26#39;m a big fan of their version of the Continental Breakfast. You get eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, choice of pastry, juice AND coffee. It%26#39;s about $26 with tax and tip. But mmmmm delicious and acutally a good value when you think about it.

After breakfast we played the slots a bit, okay alot until it was time to get dressed for a night out. We went to an offstrip restaurtant called Todd%26#39;s Unique Dining. Someone in our party was good friends with the chef so we gave it a go. If you do go - get the short ribs. Amazing is all I have to say. The decor and ambiance is nothing to write about, it%26#39;s in a shopping center. But the food could compete with some of the best on the strip in my opinion. It was full of local regulars which is always a good sign.

After dinner we hit LAX. Good times! I hadn%26#39;t been in the Luxor in quite a while and it looks like they are in the process of remodeling everything from the inside out. After LAX we ended up gambling in Excalibur of all places in search of cheap table games. I ended up playing slots again - up and down, mostly down :P We decided it was time to head home when we noted we were all fighting to stay awake.

Sunday

We had a late start but got things going and went to Hash-house-a-go-go. Also off strip and a favorite. Great food and GINORMOUS portions. If you don%26#39;t have a fridge to bring leftovers home to, please just split an entree. I keep telling myself that and never do and end up wasting food. I got the pork cutlet benedict. It was delish, but I was scared of the size of my cutlet on top. I didn%26#39;t know pork cutlet came in that size, it was the size of about 4-5 hamburger patties, no lie.

After Hash House we hit NyNy for some slots and just made our way back up the strip gambling and walking along the way. This included some shopping at Miracle Mile. Some good deals to be had if you have the $$$ to buy. It was surprisingly sparse of people. Eventually we made it to the Mirage.

The original plan was to change at Palazzo and come back to the Mirage, but we ran out of time before our show (Love) so we just stayed at the Mirage. I went to the show with an armfull of shopping bags and my day clothes on (not ideal :P). We had a quick bit at BLT while we waited for the show. I had the classic burger waffle fires and Mocha Latte shake. I liked the burger but not crazy about the shake. It was way too sweet. I%26#39;d probably stick to the more basic shakes next time. After dinner some more slot time (more losses...sigh) and then LOVE! I came in with no expectations and I%26#39;m glad I did. I enjoyed the show much more that way. It surprised and delighted. I really enjoyed the music, the acts, and the creative visuals that Cirque is known for. Everything melded together very well.

We closed out the night playing at TI and Encore/Wynn so every hotel got a mini bailout deposit from us.

Sunday

Mainly just waking up (painful!) packing up and getting to the airport on time. Palazzo provides a shuttle straight to the airport every 30 min for $6. Since it%26#39;s direct to the airport, it%26#39;s much more convenient than other shuttles. Flight back to SFO was way overbooked. They offered free RT flight, meal vouchers, and a hotel stay in vegas while you waited for the next flight back with a upgrade to first class. The only problem was the next flight wasn%26#39;t for another 8hrs. ouch. I declined and went home as planned. I had a great time as always, but I was very glad to go home.

TR: Palazzo 1/16-19

Sounds like tons of fun. I haven%26#39;t been to Hash House a Go-Go yet, but I will absolutely remember to split an entree and be hungry for that before going.

I played at the exact Star Trek slots at Palazzo. They were fun, but I didn%26#39;t know about the vouchers coming out in two. Why is that? I don%26#39;t know if I ever cashed out with money or just played till I lost, but I thought I quit with $100 once. Hope I didn%26#39;t leave a voucher, gee!

If I had been offered a later flight with all of those deals I would have been really tempted, but mainly if it was MORE than 8 hours difference, like the next day for a flight.

Glad you had a good trip. I really like LOVE also.

Vanilla, sounds like You got quite a bit in on your long weekend! Loved your TR, and appreciate the restaurant reviews, couple of places mentioned that we%26#39;ve always wanted to check out, thanks for the tips!

nice report

I don%26#39;t know Vanilla, free RT, meal vouchers, First Class, 8 hours more in LV? I think I might have taken that deal... Yep, definitely would have jumped on that....

Thanks for sharing your report. Where is the CRS in the Palazzo? Is it physically connected to the Venetian? Aquavanna sounds awesome. One of these days I want to try Qua, but I agree that if I%26#39;m staying at the Palazzo - I%26#39;d rather do the spa thing at the same property.

You should have checked your shopping bags with the bell desk at the Mirage - that%26#39;s one thing that I hate is to carry around shopping bags while dining or playing.

CRS is on the third floor (I think) of the Palazzo. It%26#39;s a separate CRS from the one at Venetian.

Sounds like you had a great time eating, lol. That%26#39;s a win in my head! Sorry you didn%26#39;t do better on the machines.

Love is great, isn%26#39;t it?!!! Glad you enjoyed.

Any pics to share?

And tell me about a machine that prints TWO TITOS? I didn%26#39;t get that one.

Good TR glad you had fun in Vegas.

When I cashed out from the Star Trek game it asked me to create a user name to save my progress so I did. Then when I cashed out it printed one voucher that just had my username. What I didn%26#39;t know was that I actually had to hit cash out AGAIN! Doh! My friends had just got in and we were starving so I didn%26#39;t check to see what the voucher said, I had just assumed that it was the cash voucher like every other slot machine in vegas! :P

PS%26gt; I%26#39;ve definitely had to start up my workout routine as soon as I got back in order to start burning off all the food I ate in such a small amount of time.