Hi, this trip report will be shorter than normal, since I put my dining experiences on another Forum. And since the main focus of this trip report was dining, I didn't do a lot of anything else. Anyway, I left on Thanksgiving morning from Dallas Texas to Las Vegas. I arrived about 10:00am, and went to the Alamo bus stop. There was an Alamo guy at the bus stop telling people that a few delayed flights all arrived at the same time and the lines were long, so we could go to National Car Rental, and they would honor Alamo reservations, since Alamo and National have the same parent company. (I didn't know that) I was told that since I was a Quicksilver Alamo customer, that there would be no wait, and I could take the bus. Quicksilver was a breeze, and I was out in my Mitsubishi thing in no time. Different from previous rentals, this car had a CD player, and a remote control for door lock and unlock. I went from Alamo to the strip, and headed north. Traffic stacked up at Tropicana, and I had to wait through about 4 cycles to get through. I finally made it to Fatburger and had one of my favorite Thanksgiving meals. After a wonderful lunch, I headed on towards the DI. It took about 25 minutes to get from Fatburger to the DI because of gridlock traffic. I remembered why I hate Las Vegas on holidays and weekends. Check in at The Desert Inn was smooth and I got a nice room in the Augusta Tower. After a very short nap, I got up and watched the first half of the Cowboys football game on TV. About halftime, I rushed downtown to the ghost town they call downtown. I decided to check out RaceRock and see if they had football on TV. Against management wishes, the bartender had the football game on one of the TVs that was out of view for most people. I watched the rest of the game from there. I had a couple of overpriced beer that they only serve in cans. A couple of people had draft beer, but they were in plastic cups. I can understand themes and virtual reality, but serving my overpriced beer in a can or plastic cup is STUPID. Racerock gets a F in my book for planning, although the bartender was very good. Racerock has an excellent variety of racing stuff to see, not unlike the Hard Rock has music stuff to look at. Just for kicks, I had parked my car in the parking garage behind the Racerock, and the garage was just about empty. The area out front was sparkling clean because there was more security patrol than pedestrians passing by. Oh well, Las Vegas put the screws to Bob Snow with MSS, and it looks like the same thing for Race Rock. They will suffer a painful death. They should have stuck to their earlier plans for joining the Sahara. After the game, I got my car out of the garage for $3 and drove to MSS and valet parked. I went to the brewpub and had a nice TalkVegas meet with the gang. The beer, the food and the freinds were all great. Afterwards I dropped about $40 in the machines and headed back to the DI. Still tired from the long day, I took another short nap. I got up about 11pm and took a shower and caught a cab to Paris. Boy, that was a mistake. I shouldn't have taken a shower. I probably was an outcast. Here I was, a clean, well groomed, white, American, male, that likes female companions. I also have no tatoos, no body piercing, and I believe in God. I believe that rules and laws were made for everybody, not everybody except me. I think I was the only one in that place with all of those traits. I'll silently tolerate the various alternative lifestyles when people choose them for themselves. I'll openly express my views of them when they go to great lengths to advertise these abnormalties. Anyway, I think Paris will get an even worse reputation if they don't do something about it. So much for the patrons. The casino was easy to get around in. The french signs did nothing for me. The slot club booth had rude people in it. The mall had some kind of cobblestone rocks that were not pleasant on the feet. The sports bar was closed, so I had a few drinks at Gustavs Bar, where the bartenders were friendly, and I won a little at video poker. I then headed back to the DI and took another shower.


[This message has been edited by JMT (edited December 05, 1999).]

Day two started with yet another shower. The showers there have great water pressure. And women would love the scales in the bathroom. I guess that I am about 200 pounds, plus or minus a little. The scales read 140 on me the whole time. And the bathroom had a phone by the toilet. What gives here? If I run out of toilet paper, I guess I'm supposed to use the phone. Don't ask me.<vbg> Anyway, I went to the Sahara for a little VR racing. I ran two times, winning both times, and the crowds were so big, and the people were driving as crazy as they do in thier real cars, so I left. As I was playing some 25 cent deuces at the Sahara, I noticed something interesting. I saw a cocktail waitress with her tray of drinks go into the womens restroom. I would have believed this at Paris, but Sahara oughta be better than that. My GUESS is that she was union employed with designated breaks and not allowed to leave her tray in the normal bar area to take a bathroom break. Either that, or she works part time at Paris. I was a little early, but I went on into A Little Off The Top for a haircut. Laura cut my hair and gave me an excellent and well needed massage. And she was looking good the whole time. She had long blonde hair, a black and green teddy, and black go-go boots. I left feeling good and looking good, and headed down to the Rio. I went to the Titanic exhibit, and enjoyed it. It took about 20 minutes to snake through the line to get in. The self guided tour is very well planned and full of interesting info. After checking out the gift shop, I headed to the All American Bar and Grill for lunch and had yet another great hamburger. After lunch as I was walking back to the car, I saw a sign that said the Play Rio cards have changed, so I got a new card, and new comp policy pamphlet, which I haven't looked at very closely, although I noticed that it has a revision date of 8/99. From there, I headed to the Hard Rock to clean out my slot club account. I got a dinner comp at AJs steak house, and thanks to Randy, I learned that my remaining points were gift shop items at 1/3 value. I had several hundred dollars to burn, and the weaker value made it easier to buy Hard Rock junk. I had so much stuff and so little suitcase room, that I eventually shipped my dirty clothes home. I went back to the DI and got ready for dinner. I went back to the Hard Rock, had a nice meal at AJs, and finished shopping at the gift shop. Afterwards, I went to the Flamingo Garden Bar, had a few drinks, hit quad aces on the double bonus machines, and went back to the DI.

Saturday, I slept late, and got up in time to have lunch at Star Canyon cafe, which was about the best lunch I have ever had in Vegas. With time to kill, I went to the WOW superstore and messed around a while, eventually coming out with a Bernadette Peters CD that has a couple songs that are also on Smokey Joes Cafe, since I was in a SJC mood. I have no idea what I did after that until I went to ghost town (downtown) to have dinner at Binions Ranch. After dinner, there was a mini-TV meet at Flamingo, Paris, Barbary Coast, Flamingo, etc.

Sunday, I was supposed to fly to Phoenix, but found out my training there was cancelled. I decided one more day in Vegas would be approrpriate. After shipping my dirty clothes home through Mail Boxes Etc, I found myself heading towards the strip on Tropicana. In a move against my better judgement, I turned into the MGM self park area. They have some very popular dining options there, so I thought I'd check 'em out. What a zoo, and what aplace for a pickpocket since people are bumpping inot people all over the place. I found myself walking with my right arm and shoulder ready to throw a defensive block. One guy started putting on his coat right when I was walking by, and his stuck arm finally found the hole and his arm punched through and he hit me in the face. I got even<g>, and he will watch more closely next time. Anyway, I hate that place, but the food brought me there. I checked out the Coyote Cafe, Brown Derby, and all the other palces, and decided on Emeril's. That was a pretty good lunch. I went back to the DI and called around for another room for the night. DI wanted $110. I wanted something different and elegant, so I picked the Four Seasons, for $130. I was excited about this, and hurried down there. They have a unique valet service where your valet ticket is good the entire trip, no matter how many times you come and go. Check in was smooth and I was in my room on the 36th floor of the Manadalay Bay building by 1pm. The room was the smallest that they have and looked almost exactly like a Caesars Palace Tower Room. It did not have a jacuzzi. It had two closets with ammenities such as a clothes brush, ironing board, iron, safe, etc. It had a minbar between the two closets, with a coffee maker, snacks, brushed aluminum ice bucket, cork screw, cocktail glasses, snacks, wine, cards, golf balls, and a gazillion other goodies that were not free. The coffee was free. The bathroom was across from the closet through two large doors. There was big dressing area with one sink, lighted makeup mirror, and blow drier, oversized tub, and shower. A seperate door led to the toilet and phone. Good thing there was plenty of of toilet paper<g>. On into the bedroom, there was big dresser with a TV behind the big doors, a desk with 2 chairs and a phone and a Ethernet connection, a comfy chair, King size bed with extra pillows, a phone on one nightstand, and clock radio on the other. When the bellman delivered my bags, he filled my ice bucket, showed me the emrgency exits, gave me a room orientation, and was very helpful. I asked about a steakhouse, and he suggest Charlie Palmer Steak. While checking out the room and the view of the airport, I noticed the line of cars coming in from the south. I remember reading stories of people driving for miles and coming over the top of the hill and seeing the lights of Vegas. I noticed it was a constant line of cars, all afternoon, and all night. Lots of people arriving and very few leaving. I also had an excellent view of the pools of Mandalay Bay and the seperate Four Season pool area. I went downstairs, checked out the hotel area, went to the steakouse, and had a drink at the bar. It was a little more classy compared to what I was used to, but I got to like it real fast. I made dinner reservations, and went to Best Buy to buy a ethernet card for my laptop. I had been wanting a 56K modem for my laptop for some time now, and I wanted an ethernet card for it, ever since I got DSL internet service at home. I had noticed a card for my laptop that does both, so I bought it at Best Buy in Vegas and took it back to try and get it to work at the Four Seasons. Unfortunately, when setting up the network portion of the software, I needed to insert my Win98 disk...which I did not bring with me. So I did not get to try the ethernet internet from the Four Seasons. I just used my old 33.6 modem at $1.00 per phone call. I had one of the best dinners ever at Charlie Palmer Steak, and then went to check out Mandalay Bay again. The check in area is nice. They have a beautiful aquarium that does have sharks in it, along with other sea creatures. There were some bird cages with some really neat and interactive birds inside. I played a little VP in Mandalay Bay, and went back to my room. I had coffee in the room the next morning, and flew home. That's my mini-report, and I'm sticking to it.

Enjoyed your trip report, even if it did make me hungry <g>.

Something happened and the first note got messed up with the Charlie Palmer Steak review. The correct first day of my trip is now up as the first note.

Joe, I wasn't impressed with the Paris hotel either. I thought it was just me. We were pretty tired when we got there and I thought maybe another day, in another light it might not be so bad. We didn't play anything while there so I can't say I lost anything. It was wall to wall people and the smell got to us too. Now I have three casinos I won't go back into, Rio, NYNY and Paris. I do want to stay at DI and Four Seasons sometime though.

Good report as usual. Noticed you're drinking coffee now instead of Dr. Pepper?

Jan in AZ

JMT,
Thanks for the report on your travels in LV. It sure was a suprise to see you at Main Street Station, and I am sorry we missed you at The Flamingo on Saturday night.
So...when's the next trip...or is that a secret too? [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]



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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

Jan, my hair stylist says that all she has ever heard about Paris is negative regarding the people in there. She was hoping some of it would be positive because she is impressed by the outside, but all of her customers are reporting abnormal, unclean, and undesireable people on the inside.

Sure, it's all relative, but it's not for me.

Lee, I'm looking at December 14th for a few days, but right now I have no hotel reservations and am leaning towards not going.

Joe,
Well, we won't be seeing you in Dec. that is for sure.
I guess I was a little blinded to some of what you seen in Paris. As you know a great deal of my time in the place is spent at the bars! <s> I do dislike the crowds of people and some of the pushyness of the crowd. A few could discover the wonders of bathing or even deorderant. But hey, I could be describing NY city too! LOL
My major complaint with Paris is the heavy themeing of the joint. It creats too many gawlkers and makes it hard to move around. The coblestone walkway is something they should have left out too. How would you like to have to work on your feet on that type of flooring?



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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

Joe --

I enjoyed Paris for the most part on my one, brief, pass through. I didn't have a problem with the clientel; maybe you hit on a bad day, or maybe I hit on a good day!

The one complaint I do have, however, was the Eifel Tower. I can't remember what I paid to go up, but I know it was too much for what I received. The top of the tower was a small, cramped area, where you get a great view, but not better than the view you could get at other places (Voodoo Lounge, Strat) in more comfortable surroundings. And now I understand that they are raising the price! Not something I would do again.

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Mark L. in NJ

Hi Joe,

Enjoyed your trip report. Man, can you eat!
I almost see similarities in your descriptions of eating establishments with a certain former member of the Prodigy Classic
Las Vegas BB! (vbg)

You impression of Paris interested me. My visit there earlier in the week before you arrived was not unusual. I walked around in there quite a bit, and gambled just a little,
but nothing struck me as undesirable in there. Perhaps that was just another day and time.

Good to have your impressions of the various
restaurants. As a man of many tastes, you managed to get around very well.

Yours is the first description of the new Four Seasons Hotel at Mandalay Bay that I've seen. It appears the high rating they have received from AAA is warranted, right?

As for those phones in the bathroom, they're better for receiving calls than making them.
If you're in there for whatever reason it's convenient not to have to run out among your friends to answer the phone!

Dick-So. Calif.

Dick, My visits to Paris were evening hours, around 11pm. Maybe that's when the normal people leave, and the undesireables arrive. The sports bar was closed, so I guess they know when to leave too.<g> The best thing about Paris is the view from outside, as far as I am concerned. I sure didn't feel confortable inside.

The Four Seasons was interesting to me. I checked in on a Monday around noon, on a day when many hotels and car rentals were sold out. I couldn't even legally keep my rental car from Alamo an extra day. I was told in a round about way to just steal the car for the day, because they couldn't extend my contract. The room was almost exactly like the Palace Tower at Caesars, without the jacuzzi. I thought I saw a Palace Tower room without a jacuzzi once, but I have since read that they all have it. I have seen about 4 or 5 Palace Tower rooms, yet I haven't stayed in one. The biggest difference is that it had more brown and earthtones in the decor, it only had one sink in the bathroom, and it didn't have the toilet thing with the sprinkler system for the lady.

So I kept asking myself, why is this a 5 star hotel, and Caesars is not, since the Palace Tower rooms would probably score a couple of points higher. It turned out to be a lot of little things, and I almost didn't realize it until I was gone. When I pull into the valet, I am met by a valet man, and a bellman. When I walk through the doors, there are bellmen to open the doors for me. The wooden staircase off from the lobby rivals the Titanic. There are phones, notepads, and pencils all over the public areas. The public restrooms are sparkling clean, with real towels to dry your hands. There are 3 large elevators for the 6 floors of the hotel. The check in desk is never crowded. There are 3 times as many concierge people as front desk people. The concierge area has a variety complimentary newspapers to choose from, and send your choice to the room every morning. The public areas are spotless and remind me of the Golden Nugget North Tower check in area with more wood and less marble, and no gold. I saw absolutely NO children. I already mentioned the valet ticket thingy, good for the entire stay. ALL employees are perfectly mannered, yet they are not automatons, and their politeness doesn't seem fake. The Charlie Palmer Steak bar and steakhouse compliment the hotel perfectly. I wonder if the other dining choices are equally attractive. There is very short upscale shopping mall (maybe 4 stores and the spa) between the front entrance and the elevators, although it is done in style and not agressive. There is nice warm fireplace and comfy couches off from the lobby. To ge to Mandalay Bay, you take the elevator up to the casino level, and it open up into a small pleasant lobby with couch, chairs, table, phone, pencil, pad, etc. You then Enter the casino through a small door that locks behind you and requie the room key-card to get back in.

None of those things on an individual basis would make it 5 stars. Would Caesars be that way if they only had 6 floors of rooms? Maybe, maybe not. Fact is, they don't have 6 floors, and the lobby is a rat race on a good day. I guess a summary would be that they handle elegance well, they pay attention to detail, and they take care of the business travelers needs. On the other hand, Caesars (which I like alot) and the other major hotels, are all a big fantasy. The rooms are nice, but the people don't care if you have a nice stay. They don't care if you stand in line to check in, they don't care if you wait 30 minutes for valet service, they don't care if you have a problem with your room. And I think that is what makes it 5 stars, and that's why it's the only one in Vegas. I don't think Four Seasons could maintain it's rating if it had 4-5 thousands rooms to fill. I think that they know thier niche, and hit it perfectly.

On that other little comment you made, I was doing extremely detailed reports long before "you know who" arrived, and I think Cyn was before me. I remember how we would overdo some details just to get one up on the other...for fun, and it kinda developed from there. Let's just make sure you understand that I am flattered that he chose a style similar to my previous existing style, although I despise his sympathy scams, his flattery scams, and the use of his experiences in money making scams.

Joe, let me just say, yes, I DO understand.

I quite agree that earning the 5 star rating
is weighted a lot on the little things and the attitude and caring philosopy of the hotel staff. There is a Ritz-Carlton Hotel
here in Laguna Niguel, CA. which has been rated 5-stars for many years. Those things which you cited are all evident at the Ritz-Carlton as well. They make you feel special,
as though you're their only customer.

A short story to illustrate that feeling:

About 12 years ago my wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary by staying one night at the Ritz-Carlton. Even though it was expensive, and is only 12 mile from our home, we just wanted to see experience their
hospitality. We were efficiently checked in upon our arrival, and while doin so, I happened to mention to the desk clerk that it was our anniversary. Just to the one person. When we were taken to our room by the Bellman, upon leaving, he simply said
"Happy Anniversary". We went to dinner, and
the cocktail waitress and the waiter both wished us happy anniversary, and brought us a complimentary dessert. When we got back to our room, there was a basket of fruit and
candy there. Those things really made a favorable impression on us, especially since
we had (I thought) downplayed the event.

Dick-So. Calif.

Joe,

Nice report. I just got home from a christmas party with crappy food and that Fat Burger sounds REALLY good.

Even tho I've stayed at Mandalay Bay twice, for some reason I've never walked over the the Four Seasons area. Is there any gambling over there? Bar tops or anything? Interesting about Alamo and National. ON my October trip, I was working on getting into a Caddy. The guy kept trying to talk me into a Park Avenue. He mentioned that they had CD players and the Caddy's didn't. We had taken some CD's in hopes we'd have one but went with the Caddy anyway.
You compared the Four Seasons with Caesars. I'd think it would compare more with the DI.

jm

Jeff, I don't know that you can get to the Four Seasons (without a Four Seasons key card), unless you go around to their entrance on the south side. No gambling, and not a lot to see unless you are a guest.

The Caesars reference comes mainly from the floor plan of the room I had which strongly resembled a Palace Tower room. You're right, that the DI is probably closer to a 5 star resort than Caesars. They do a few little things to go above and beyond the minimums. It is my opinion that the biggest thing they do to promote class is that they don't hide behind a theme.

I thought you were gonna get motorcycles in October. What happened there?

Joe,

We did rent a Harley in October. PIcked it up Saturday morning. Met Walt & V and headed to Stateline with them in their car. Pulled over half way there and got V on the bike. She kept whipping me yelling, "Faster, Faster!". [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] Rode the Desperado then Walt & V headed back to Vegas while Patti & I went into California. We rode the bike to the TV meet at TR's then downtown for dinner at Pasta Pirate. Went out to Red Rock the next morning on the bike.

I kept my rental papers folded up in my pocket in case I needed them. I put my gas receipts inside these papers to turn in to them. When I returned the bike, I handed the guy my rental papers. He quickly stuck them into the shredder saying he'd get rid of the extra paperwork with my credit card. The lot guy got a good laugh when I told him he'd also just shredded the gas receipts!

jm

JMT: Thanks for the report. I was especially interested in reading about your stay at the Four Seasons. I

JMT,

Enjoyed reading the report. Looks like you ate your way through Vegas this time. If I ever need a restaurant review, I'll know who to contact.

Where are the abnormal, unclean and undesirable people in Paris all coming from?

Would enjoy seeing you in Dec. if you decide to make the trip.

Beth

V, I thought it was when Ed Rey had a room in the Palace Tower, it did not have a jacuzzi. Since it was my first Palace Tower visit, I was taking in much more info than I could remember, so I could easily be mistaken. Or they might have added them since??????????

I meant to check the bed, but somehow forgot. It might be the same as Bellagio. The bed at the DI was very hard...like sleeping on plywood. The bed at Four Seasons was very nice. It was really hard in the sense that I didn't sink into it, and it didn't bounce, but it was comfortable to on because it somehow absorbed initial body weight. Really nice.

Beth, I won't know until next Monday if I will be out in Vegas the next day, Tuesday, the 14th for a couple of days. Let me know where you'll be...just in case. Right now, it looks like I won't go.

Howdy Joe! As usual I love reading your reports and wish I could have been there with you. You have given the most detailed info I have seen on the Four Seasons. It sounds like a class place that has found it's niche and will be successful in it.
Next time you are there, see if you can steal the scales from the room. I'll buy them from you<G>
As always, you got around and gathered some great info that everyone can use.
Hope we can hook up in early 2000 in Las Vegas.


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John
Moderator Dining Forum
john@talkvegas.com

JMT,
Great TR.Your idea of Thanksgiving dinner is right up my alley as long as you bring one of those scales from 4 Seas.with you<G>.I kinda know what you mean I think with Paris.I went to Disney World once and didn't know it was a "Special Day" that day!!! "HELP ME".Sounds like a good trip otherwise.I would like to try the DI.a lot.It always impressed me? It sounds like the $ Seas.lives up to what they advertise.

Hope I can get to town in Jan.Had to watch the Rodeo here on TV.Not like being there.I miss my LV.Thanks for a great and informative TR.BTW are we getting LV Calenders this year?????<VBG>. Bob NY

Joe, you made some interesting points about what distinguishes a 5-star hotel....I loved my stay at Caesars in October, but it did take 3 tries to actually get into my room. I opted to play a little VP the first time when I saw the length of the check-in line, but the room wasn't ready after I spent 20 minutes in the check-in line about 3 pm, and I had another 15 minute wait to actually get my key about 4:30 pm.....on a Sunday afternoon. I hate to think what the lines would look like on a Friday.
BTW, did you happen to notice the brand on that scale....it sounds like something I could really use. [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Days-E, I really hate the check-in process at Caesars. Get them to tell you your room number, and go up and bribe the maid. A $5 tip will save you a lot of time and maybe a little money.

Joe, you have a good idea there, but I know my room will be ready this time<g>. I get into town about 3 pm and will "start" the check-in process, but I don't plan to go anywhere near the room until I've been over to the Orleans for a show and dinner. [img]http://www.talkvegas.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]