With our January 24, 2014 Vegas trip fast approaching I can’t help but find myself getting excited. Leading up to each trip I always try to loosely plan out things I want to see and do. Here’s what I have planned this time around, I guess you could call it, old and new again.

O’Sheas

The new O’Sheas, after being closed for over a year and a half it has reopened and from the sound of it better than ever. I’m really looking forward to drinking an Irish beer in this dark stained wood casino.

Flamingo

For this trip our new hotel to stay at is the Flamingo, yeah I’ve wrote bad things about this hotel in the past but this time around I have high hopes for their newly updated FAB rooms. They look great from the pictures and for the price at $26 per night just couldn’t be beat. Well not so fast, they now add an $18/night resort fee but overall still a FABulous deal.

Last time we stopped in the Flamingo it was absolutely hopping with a surprisingly younger crowd. Maybe it’s the Jimmy Buffet “casino” that’s doing it, whatever it is I’m looking forward to staying and playing here.

Downtown: Downtown Grand and Container Park

The Downtown Grand  opened in late 2013, noted as the first new hotel to open downtown in 30 years, this off Fremont Street, former part Lady Luck Casino looks great from the pictures. On paper this place sounds like a winner though early reviews suggest otherwise. From what I’ve read gaming is less than stellar with poor video poker and black jack odds and slots tighter than a hungry boa constrictor, never the less I am eager to see for myself.

Downtown Container Park opened in November 2013, personally I’m not a shopper or remotely interested in shopping but this unique idea sparks my curiosity enough to go check it out. Located on Fremont Street, kiddy corner from El Cortez Hotel Casino, is the new 34 outlet style mall made up of all steel prefab shipping containers, some even stacked three tall.

To be honest I’ve never been a fan of downtown, but I’m starting to have a change of heart. With so many improvements going on, better video poker odds and lower table game minimums than the strip plus an overall fun atmosphere I foresee myself spending more time in this forming, much improved, playground.

Cirque du Soleil

Show selection for this trip was an easy one, we are seeing Zumanity at New York New York. Simply could not pass up the fantastic deal we got from MyVegas.com, $53 (tax included) + 4k in MyVegas points for TWO tickets. Zumanity will be our 4^th Cirque show and I’m sure it won’t disappoint.

Tip: Have a Facebook account? Play MyVegas.com and earn REAL points

We had a GREAT trip, here are my REVIEWS

Zumanity

Best Cirque du Soleil show ever? No, but it was truly enjoyable. I’ve seen KA, Mystere, and Zarkana, all of these share commonality. Zumanity the edgy side of Cirque is well… that. Unlike other Cirque shows where sitting a little farther back is better, Zumanity is intimate so sitting closer is a plus. Nudity, profanity, sexuality, yes all here. In bad taste? Well that’s subjective. Sitting in the front row was an elderly (late 70’s/early 80’s) couple. I kind of watched them to see their reaction and from what I saw they held hands, laughed, and enjoyed the show along with everyone else.  

If you’re easily offended or prudish choose another Cirque show otherwise buy a ticket and enjoy the show.

Tips: The stage was small as was the theater itself. The best seats are definitely surrounding the stage. Get a drink before you enter the theater, but ask for it in a cup, yes they let you bring it in.

Flamingo 7101

First time stay review of Flamingo Fab room 7101. First, the new FAB rooms aren’t new and they’re not old, they are partially remodeled. Floor (all wood except bathroom), wall coverings, shower liner, bed (Pillows and Linens), TV (SMALL), and ottoman lounger thing all new. Bathroom (toilet, vanity, mirror) and dresser old.

Check-in/out was easy and pain free. Elevator entrance location now very convenient as they put in a new entrance to the Linq/Quad. The room was large! And bed very comfortable. Our view was of the courtyard. For $26/per night this was an absolute fantastic deal. I have no complaints, well worth the price. I would definitely consider staying here again as the value to comfort ratio is substantial.

Note, Flamingo has a taxable $18 / night resort fee which I hate.

Mirage 9011

3^rd stay at the Mirage and yet to disappoint. Room is large and very comfortable though the king size bed was showing signs of wear as fixed impressions were noted. Otherwise everything was perfect. Mirage is, in my opinion, one of the best options for the money it’s neither high nor low end, it’s just right. It does however have one of the highest resort fees in Las Vegas at $25 per night. The pool, when open, is fantastic!

Downtown Grand, a nice addition to downtown

Hats off to this cool new boutique hotel casino in downtown just off Fremont Street (short easy walk).  It kind of reminded me of a small Cosmopolitan because of artsy deco everywhere. The small casino floor has a good feel and layout. As a new club member we were given a random amount of FREEPLAY starting at I believe $5.  Offerings include a variety of eats and places to grab a drink.  Though we visited during the day the vibe was good, I can imagine the Downtown Grand being a fun place to hang out during the evening/weekend. I definitely would consider staying here on a future stay. We didn’t gamble a whole lot but the little we did we broke about even.

Container Park

SO COOL! From the moment we walked in security was abundant and eagerly greeting guests. With multi-level container shops around the perimeter, Children’s play area in the middle, and a stage at the end with live entertainment there is fun for everyone. Containers are made up of various retail shops and a vast variety of eats. I wish I would have known, I wouldn’t have eaten before arriving because there were some serious good smells here. Prices in the retail shops and on the menus seemed very reasonable. So come hungry and enjoy, what this place has to offer!

 O’Sheas

O’Sheas, O’Sheas, O’Sheas, I so much wanted to like you. It all looked so promising walking in from the Linq. I don’t know what it is but something is missing. The OLD O’Sheas was cheesy with character. Food court in the back, dirty beer pong tables with pictures of cheap beer and people laughing and playing. O’sheas was a 24/7 party.

The new O’Sheas, as you walk in has a longer bar on the right with Video Poker and a smaller bar on the left without. Not a single slot machine in the joint but plenty can be found right outside in the Quad. In the middle of O’Sheas sits several table games. On the side with the smaller bar is a small stage and 4 (I think 4) beer pong tables, somewhat oddly placed.

We went twice and never seen anyone play beer pong. First visit we sat at the bar and played video poker. Our second visit, during the evening, a band was playing. The band sounded good, it wasn’t terribly crowded and I would have loved to sit and gamble something, anything but the little they had was all taken….opportunity lost?

I will give it some time and let them work out their kinks. I’m sure they will tweak things and come back strong, I hope anyway.

The Pub – I hate to complain but….

I’ve stayed at both Aria and Monte Carlo and have walked the connecting hall many times expressing my desire to try The Pub out. So when I saw a buy one, get one beer flight through MyVegas I immediately “bought” it and looked forward to visiting on our next trip. With my wife and me both a little hungry and a lot thirsty it was time. Signage advertised $1 sliders, perfect we thought and headed in. But it was all downhill from there.

Our waitress approached and was fake and uninterested from the time she made contact. We ordered our beer flights picking out some of their more popular options and six $1 sliders (was told offer was no longer valid but was honored). After a while the flights and sliders arrived. Sliders were awful with burger cold and buns hard and more disappointingly several of the beers were lifeless (lines were being worked on). I can’t express enough how bad this waitress was. I could have dealt with the flat beer and cold sliders but this waitress’s demeanor was horrid, by far making a bad experience much worse.

To be honest I tweeted about my experience and the Monte Carlo immediately responded requesting more information which I provided. 2 days later the manager on duty during our visit responded directly to me apologizing for our service, food and drink experience. She extended an offer to replace the flights and a free appetizer during our next visit. I will take her up on that offer and update my post.

The Sugar Factory at Paris

View from Table

Bought a $40 Groupon for $20 before our trip to Las Vegas. Inside dining is bland but the outdoor seating is wonderful mainly because of its location across from the Bellagio fountains. My wife ordered $17 Sugar Factory Club sandwich with fries and I ordered a small Sugar Factory salad $6 and French Onion soup $10. We both ordered PBR’s $3 each (I like PBR, don’t judge). Food was good, sandwich was large and could easily be shared for lunch. Salad and soup was the right size, I ate it all. So all is good right? No, service was awful! Waiter plopped down two cans of beer with no glasses and didn’t even ask (maybe because PBR’s?). He was less than interested when we arrived, cared less when we were there and unapologetic when he entered the wrong order for my wife as she asked for wheat instead of white bread causing me to almost finish eating before hers arrived. Food/location Good, Service bad! Given the right conditions I MIGHT try The Sugar Factory again.

Le Burger Brasserie

Bought a $40 Groupon for $20 before our last trip to Las Vegas.  Le Burger Brasserie is located just off the Bally’s casino in the mall connector to the Paris Casino. This is a casual dining, sports grille kind of place. Both my wife and I had their $17 Burger (we selected chicken burger) and Brew combo with an order of $6 onion rings. Portion size was adequate for dinner. Waiter was attentive even though he was busy he was playful in nature. While we were eating my wife asked me if I thought the chicken burger patty was made fresh or frozen, so we asked. Our waiter with a smile said frozen but followed with the fact that they just hired a new chief and the new chief was appalled at the use of pre-made frozen chicken burgers and assured us fresh chicken burgers will be used in the future. We didn’t ask but I highly suspect the onion rings were frozen as well. Somewhat surprising for a place that offers a $777 Kobe Beef and Maine Lobster Burger. 

Overall, I would not hesitate one bit to buy another Groupon and come back.

Filed under: Fun, Gaming!, Informational, reviews, Tips, Trip Planning, Trip Report | Tagged: Container park, downtown grand, Flamingo, Las Vegas, Le Burger Brasserie, LV, Mirage, Monte Carlo, myvegas, o'sheas, Paris, Review, Sugar Factory, The Pub, Trip, zumanity |