Travelers- My mom, 50%26#39;s, me, 30. My mom, occasionally with her sister, and I take an annual Vegas trip every year, but missed out last year due to the craziness of planning of my wedding. Our M.O. is as follows; eat, shop, see a show, repeat. My mom rarely drinks alcohol due to migraines, I like to embibe but I%26#39;m expecting my first baby in November. My mom likes to play the Wheel of Fortunte slot machines until the cigarette smoke hurts her eyes, which is usually 20 minutes maximum. I was staying away from the gambling areas this trip. This trip was all about my mom... whatever she wanted, I wanted her to have. My mom rarely gets to travel and I wanted her to have a blast. We travleled on 6/27-28.
Traveling- Terrible. The worst. My poor mom got SO sick from the wild ride on the way down into Las Vegas that she was ill the rest of the day and most of the evening. :( As soon as I got her off the plane I hoped she would feel better, but the overpowering smell of Cinnabon in the airport made her feel worse. Fortunately, our luggage was waiting for us right away and there was no wait for a taxi. On our return, our flight was about 20 minutes late, and the gate agent kept asking for volunteers to travel at a later time because they were only going to allow 27 people instead of 30 onto the plane for ';balance'; due to the high heat. My mom was already nervous given her bad experience on the flight over, so I loaded her up with Dramamine and she did perfectly. Both flights were blissfully free of passenger noise and disturbances. I will say that security personnel in Vegas are the most rude I%26#39;ve encountered. The ';rules'; seem to change based on the person you deal with, for example a man was yelled at because he put his shoes inside the plastic bin instead of outside, which I had never known was a rule (and wonder if it even is). I%26#39;m very protective of my mom so I try to be very alert and get her organized and taken care so she won%26#39;t be hassled... if she had been yelled at like that I would%26#39;ve come unglued and likely thown out.
TR- Venetian, Celine, Phantom, Delmonico's, LOOOOONG
Venetian-- This was our first time staying here, as we typically stay at Paris. From the airport, it was just shy of $14 for the fare. The check-in line was not very long at 1pm. I asked if we could stay in one of the upgraded rooms, and I was told yes, for $45 extra a night. I declined, and was sent to the Venezia tower and was put in a location away from any construction noise per my request. I%26#39;m not sure if it was because of my request, but I kid you not, it was at LEAST a 10 minute walk to our room from the front desk. Excellent signage made it fairly easy to find, and by the time we checked out, we could navigate quite well.
My mom and I were blown away by the size of our room, which was a bella suite (2 queen beds). True, a lot of people moan about how shabby and old the rooms are, but we were not at all dissapointed. Though my bathroom at home is bigger, bathing in the midst of the gold and marble was pure heaven. The bathroom was amply stocked-- excellent soaps, etc., two terry robes, huge shower with two extra jets that my mom really appreciated. With the exception of the notepad being scribbled on from a former guest, and the guest directory book that was outdated and written on that should%26#39;ve been replaced, housekeeping was perfect. When we returned to our rooms in the late afternoon, the room was sparkling clean. At night when we returned, we had turn-down service and a generous-sized chocolate waiting for us, and we noticed that all of our towles and glasses had been replaced again. The beds were very comfortable, and there was an extra pillow in the closet as well as a blanket.
The only that thing that irritated me about the room was the TV. It is in a low cabinet so it is hard to watch tv from bed, and the channels were snowy and very limited. There was an abundance of foreign-language channels that came in clear as a bell, however. I know I could%26#39;ve paid more for a superior TV experience, but I was not in Vegas to watch TV!
I love the Venetian decor... it was really amazing. My mom and I had to stop out of the way of foot traffic a few times to gawk at the ceiling. Everything from the light fixtures to the art was stunning. We went to the shops in the square and weren%26#39;t terribly excited about them... its fun to look around, but none of the stores appealed to us. I was admiring a sketch of Elvis from one of the vendors when I noticed he had a sketch of the characters from the movie Tombstone, my brother%26#39;s favorite film (weird, why do so many guys love this movie?) and it was only $23 so my mom snapped it up as a gift for him. I think it should hang in his bathroom. :)
My mom was lucky in her gambling ventures this trip, particularly in the Venetian. I didn%26#39;t want to be in the casino near so much smoke (neither did she) but early in the morning before breakfast the casino was totally dead so I agreed to walk through it quickly while she played. As luck would have it, her first ';pull'; gave her the chance to spin the wheel, and I must say, I LOVED watching her face light up as she chanted along with the machine, ';WHEEL.... OF.... FORRRRRRTUNE!'; I think she landed on 250, so I insisted she cash out (I%26#39;m really cheap with gambling). She was as happy as a clam.
In general, I was really, really happy with my stay at The Venetian. I would like to note a couple of things for travelers: the staff is VERY nice and professional. Every staff member we passed made sure to greet us and say hello. We never got lost because there was always someone nearby who was more than eager to help us. The room-service person I spoke to on the phone was SO gracious and polite, and the woman who brought our food was equally as nice (the food was hot and tasty, too!). I was worried about the flowery smell many people complain about on this board. As I mentioned, my mom was sick from the plane, and strong smells set off both of our migraines. Neither of us noticed any kind of flowery, perfumey smell... I%26#39;m not saying it doesn%26#39;t exist, but we did not have any issues with it at all. I will definately stay here again.
TR- Venetian, Celine, Phantom, Delmonico's, LOOOOONG
Food-
*** I had planned to surprise my mom with Mon Ami Gabi on the day of our arrival before seeing Celine, but we spent a lot of itme in the room resting because she was ill, and her stomach couldn%26#39;t handle rich food, so I called and cancelled our reservation. :( I was bummed, but again, this was my mom%26#39;s trip, so I didn%26#39;t really mind.
Grand Lux Cafe- We ate here twice, and the service was the polar opposite for each. The day of our arrival we ate here for a late lunch. It is our tradition to have a club sandwich when we travel to get our stomachs adjusted to eating at odd hours and overindulging. Our server was friendly, attentive, and our food appeared so quickly it was like magic. It was very standard, but that%26#39;s what we wanted. The day of our departure we ate here for breakfast. Sllllooooooow, annoying service! Our server took forever to show up to get our drink over, then we waited forever for him to come back with our coffee/tea, and then our food took a while too but it wasn%26#39;t overly long. My mom had the brioche French toast and I had a bagel and hashbrowns. My mom commented that her food was hot, tasty, and superior to her breakfast at Bellagio. The indifferent service got the server an indifferent tip, as I noticed he was happily attending another table of men that he was joking around with. Though they may be a sister restaurant with The Cheesecake Factory, there is no comparison in my mind.
Bellagio Cafe (not sure of the name)- This is a Vegas tradition. My mom loves flowers so we always eat breakfast at their ';coffee shop'; so she can admire the decor. The theme was some kind of state fair... with a ferris wheel and ';cold'; air balloons. The flowers were truly amazing, and I got some great pictures. Anyway, we were seated immediately (a first at this place) but the service was slow. We waited a long time for our coffee/tea to arrive, and even longer for our food. My mom had French toast (her favorite) with berries and I had a side of fruit and an English muffin. Everything was very good and our server was very nice. We like the ambiance there for some reason, though the food is typically okay and the menu is a tad limited.
The forum shops at Caesar%26#39;s-- Okay, had to mention this... Mom and I wanted a little treat before we saw Celine, so we stopped at a gelato place that also sold hot dogs, etc. We tasted the ice cream before we bought it, and it was good, BUT GOOD LORD, $11.50 for two TINY little plastic cups... I mean DIXIE cup size! My face must%26#39;ve tipped off the cashier to my shock because she looked at me and tried to reassure me that the price was correct. RIP-OFF.
Delmonico%26#39;s-- We had reservations at 5pm before seeing Phantom. We were seated and our server took our drink orders-- we started out with water thinking we%26#39;d order something else later, we didn%26#39;t. My mom wanted to try the Caesar salad for two, so I agreed, though raw garlic is not something I enjoy. Our server made the salad for us and talked a little bit about what he was using for the dressing. It was very, very good salad. My mom and I both ordered the shrimp/chicken linguine. It was rich, tasty, and filled with lots of succulent pieces of shrimp. It also had sundried tomatoes which are a pregnancy favorite of mine. Although it was good, we could not finish but 1/2 of our plates. The richness of the sauce made ordering dessert out of the question. Two entrees and two salads came to about $100 not including tip. Pricey, but we were okay with it. The service was attentive, calm, not pushy, not hovering, just the way I like. Though I liked this restaurant, I don%26#39;t think I will return considering the other choices in Vegas. We did notice that as we left, the restaurant was very full, but the neighboring restaurants (B%26amp;B, David Burke, and Valentino%26#39;s) were very empty. Perhaps because it was Thursday and only 6:30pm.
Celine-- I%26#39;m not a fan of Celine%26#39;s, but I%26#39;m not nauseated by her, either. I think her voice is outstanding, and I%26#39;m a sucker for some of those indulgent, cheesy ballads that she sings. My mom likes Celine, and many of her friends had seen her show, so she said she%26#39;d like to go before her show ends in December. I bought tickets in the rear orchestra, which were centrally located and provided an excellent view. The theater was packed. Celine%26#39;s show was quite good-- her voice is perfect and she sang almost every song that hit the radio, including a couple of French numbers (yawn) and two or three that were unknown to me and bit dreary, in my opinion. Celine really sings her butt off from start to finish (maybe literally, she%26#39;s like a size zero) and talks very little-- she pauses only to thank the audience several times for their enthusiasm, which was very gracious, I thought. The theater is very nice, and we had seen Gloria Estefan there a few years back when Celine was on vacation. We had seats MUCH further back that time and were still able to see quite well. It was a very enjoyable evening, and most importantly, my mom had fun.
Phantom of the Opera- This was the highlight of our trip. My mom and I had both seen Phantom in San Francisco (my mom once, myself twice) about 8 years ago. My mom LOVES the movie. The main thing she wanted to do in Vegas was see this show, so I got the best tickets I could find. I was so pleased with our seats-- so many people recommended ';cheaper'; seats for a better view, but I couldn%26#39;t disagree more. We sat in row L, which was close and directly beneath the chandelier-- for those that are familiar with this show, you can imagine the thrill of sitting directly beneath the chandelier, wow! The show started promptly at 7pm and went full-force into the story. The performers were SO good... I was amazed. The Phantom really stole the show, and rightly so. His voice and acting was so moving and so superb. There were ';fireworks'; thrown in for added effect, which was exciting, and the pace was fast so it never lagged. I will say that this show was superior to anything I have seen in NY on Broadway, it was THAT good. Maybe it was my pregnancy hormones, but when the Phantom cried, *I* cried. My mom tried not to laugh (I%26#39;m so not a softie) and handed me Kleenex. We both loved it. My mom took her Wheel of Fortune winnings and bought a really pretty music box from the boutique that depicts the Phantom and Christine on the gondola.
Shopping- Woah, did we SHOP. Or at least my mom did. We always liked the shops at Aladdin so we went back, and its now called the Miracle Mile. I%26#39;m not sure what%26#39;s so miraculous... they haven%26#39;t finished refurbishing it yet, and it was very apparent. The shops were the same. My mom loves the Dept. 56 store so it was worth it for her. What really blew us away was how much the Fashion Show mall had changed since our last visit. So many new stores, and it looks like it had a major face lift. We wished we had skipped the Miracle Mile and went straight to Fashion Show. I was happy to find the ABC store where I found big bottles of water for $.99 and my mom found some much needed Dramamine for the ride home. I%26#39;ll remember that place for next time.
Taxis- Because of the heat and my mom%26#39;s sensitivity to it, and the fact that I%26#39;m pregnant, we decided we would take cabs everywhere. My mom and I are geographically challenged, so even with a map we%26#39;re pretty clueless about where everything is. We took a cab to Bellagio and walked accross the street to Planet Hollywood which was no big deal. But leaving Planet Hollywood we weren%26#39;t on the side where you can catch a cab, I guess, so we started walking towards the Venetian. While it wasn%26#39;t TOO far, the heat was in full force and the sidewalks were totally packed with people at 11:30am. We dropped off our packages and limped back to the taxi line and asked to be taken to the Fashion Show Mall. The driver was really shocked and informed us (in an arrogant way) that it was directly accross the street. I ignored him and got out of the cab, and the taxi attendant told us that if we wanted a ride we could have one, but I didn%26#39;t want to go anywhere with a driver who felt he was doing us a favor, even if he was right (we always tip well, anyway). So I asked him for directions and he pointed us in the direction of the mall so we walked it. Mistake. I was so hot and tired by the time we got there I had to take another break with ice water and some nachos. :) Poor me. Anyway, all of our cab rides were quick and well worth it. Our return trip to the airport was fast and the fare was about $13.
Nice trip report sounds like you and your Mom had a blast. I think that is great. Only 3 sleeps unitl my trip!!
Good Luck All!!!
Bump
Thanks Hotbeef! We did have a blast, and I hope you do as well.
What a great trip! Sounds like you had fun with your mom, but too bad she got sick. You really packed a lot into 2 days. BTW the cab driver was a Jerk!! I%26#39;ll be going with my daughter in about 3 weeks, can%26#39;t wait! Thank you for taking the time to write a trip report.
Juwel, thank you, and have a blast with your daughter. It truly is a blessing to have my mom with me on these fun trips. Yes, it was a blast to go to Vegas with my friends when I was single, but there%26#39;s something to be said about a good ol%26#39; G-rated trip with your mom. :)
Hi Tina! Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your report, and that every mother should have a daughter like you!!!
I just saw your last installment to your TR.
Okay, I%26#39;ll just have to read someone else%26#39;s tomorrow morning with my coffee.
You are an AMAZING daughter. I bet your mom is already talking of her return trip with you. Just like you, I also made sure my mother had the time of her life. Just makes you feel good inside. It%26#39;s called a mitzvah ! You are definately going to heaven now !
Thank you so much for taking the time to write.
