This is my first time posting a trip report but had some great experiences with MyVegas redeeming so figured I would share.
2/23-2/28 2013 Suncoast and the Mirage
Overall I had a great trip which ended with me a winner this time (hit 4 deuces on 4 occasions as 25c at Orleans, Gold Coast, and Suncoast. Then hit 4 aces on the Triple Bonus plus game at Suncoast for 1200 quarters, and finally hit four aces on a $1 machine playing Double Bonus Poker at the Mirage! Wish I could say I left with all that, but I was able to leave with enough that all my purchases were covered with profit and still had some extra to throw in the gambling jar at home.
Didn’t do much but eat, drink and gamble this trip as the weather was chilly and we decided against our trip to valley of fire, which we will have to visit in September. 5 nights seemed to fly by with out any major items in the itinerary but Vegas is never long enough, so I will go back to the planning stages for our next one. Here is a quick summary of what we did differently from our previous trips that I will be sure to remember for future trips. I did not include our usual favorites that didn’t disappoint which include: In N Out, Sunday Bruch Buffet at Silverton, and another great experience with Alamo booking the economy and walking away with a new fusion!
Positives:
1. MYVEGAS: Mirage room (merged 2 offers) worked great, food rewards fine and even used a $50 monte carlo comp at Starbucks to stock up on snacks for flight home (could use this coming in to stock up on breakfast foods next time).
2. The D: Finally signed up for a card and played a bit, hit the 4OK progressive at the bar and like that they offer the same video poker points for full pay double bonus poker as they do for NSUD and BP. Sigma Derby always fun and like the new escalator that goes directly upstairs.
3. Southwest: Had only flown Spirit in the past but finally go fed up with limitations on reward flights. This was our first reward flight through southwest, used earlybird got front row on way in and 7th row on way back. Like the free bags checked, free snacks on board and they even sent out free drink coupons prior to my trip. The standard seats on Southwest are MUCH roomier than spirit where we had to book big front seat or would be miserable. Also like that when they offer a sale they discount points as well so even for booking a reward flight you can take advantage of a sale.
4. Suncoast: First time staying here actually booked here and Orleans in case we didn’t like it. Love the fact that you get a nice size mini fridge, very spacious room overlooking golf course, and nice size bathroom. Same stiff bed and awful pillows but they are on par with goldcoast and Orleans.
5. Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars: Only checked this out because while attempting to redeem my free Bellagio buffet the mlife system was down! Very glad we did, despite the high $31 price tag for lunch the quality of food made this worthwhile. Loved the sliders, shrimp was great quality, personalized plates for lasagna, Great tasting brisket from the carving station, as well as many other dishes I have never heard of that tasted great. Oh and the crème’ Brule at the dessert station was awesome!
Negatives:
1. Airport: Flying a larger carrier such as Southwest means we need more time to get through the lines at the airport. Where we could show up an hour before our flight with Spirit and still have time to spare, the hour and a half we had for Southwest left us only 5 minutes to spare before they began boarding the plane. Not a deal breaker just something to remember for our next trip.
2. BOYD casino pillows: Need to remember to bring my own pillow next time I stay at one of these hotels. The bed is firm but tolerable but I can never get a complete night sleep on these awful pillows they provide, thank god for the Mirage which has excellent bedding for out final nights on this trip.
3. Bellagio Buffet: We finally used out free buffet the final full day we had when they had their systems up and running again, and while it was good I did not think it was as good as what I was expecting. My review of this is coming after eating the new buffet at Caesers so it is probably not even fair to compare the two, but I know that I would not pay regular price for the Bellagio buffet at lunch, perhaps they bring out the good stuff for dinner.
4. No More $1 Frozen margaritas at Casino Royale! Still a great deal with the $1 Mich’s but it was bummer to see these were gone, I still speculate if they even had booze in them though…
5. Coffee: We got smart for this trip and bought a Keurig mini with a Kohls 30% of coupon prior to our trip. This will be our travel pot I guess. I have endured the average coffee provided in the rooms at the BOYD casinos but usually ended up going downstairs for a better cup. We decided we didn’t want to mess with that and packed our own. Thankfully we did this as the Mirage is one of those rooms without coffee pots, so we were set. Also if we stay at Suncoast in the future we will have that mini fridge so I could even have flavored creamer instead of using the powder!
2/23-2/28 2013 Suncoast and the Mirage
Overall I had a great trip which ended with me a winner this time (hit 4 deuces on 4 occasions as 25c at Orleans, Gold Coast, and Suncoast. Then hit 4 aces on the Triple Bonus plus game at Suncoast for 1200 quarters, and finally hit four aces on a $1 machine playing Double Bonus Poker at the Mirage! Wish I could say I left with all that, but I was able to leave with enough that all my purchases were covered with profit and still had some extra to throw in the gambling jar at home.
Didn’t do much but eat, drink and gamble this trip as the weather was chilly and we decided against our trip to valley of fire, which we will have to visit in September. 5 nights seemed to fly by with out any major items in the itinerary but Vegas is never long enough, so I will go back to the planning stages for our next one. Here is a quick summary of what we did differently from our previous trips that I will be sure to remember for future trips. I did not include our usual favorites that didn’t disappoint which include: In N Out, Sunday Bruch Buffet at Silverton, and another great experience with Alamo booking the economy and walking away with a new fusion!
Positives:
1. MYVEGAS: Mirage room (merged 2 offers) worked great, food rewards fine and even used a $50 monte carlo comp at Starbucks to stock up on snacks for flight home (could use this coming in to stock up on breakfast foods next time).
2. The D: Finally signed up for a card and played a bit, hit the 4OK progressive at the bar and like that they offer the same video poker points for full pay double bonus poker as they do for NSUD and BP. Sigma Derby always fun and like the new escalator that goes directly upstairs.
3. Southwest: Had only flown Spirit in the past but finally go fed up with limitations on reward flights. This was our first reward flight through southwest, used earlybird got front row on way in and 7th row on way back. Like the free bags checked, free snacks on board and they even sent out free drink coupons prior to my trip. The standard seats on Southwest are MUCH roomier than spirit where we had to book big front seat or would be miserable. Also like that when they offer a sale they discount points as well so even for booking a reward flight you can take advantage of a sale.
4. Suncoast: First time staying here actually booked here and Orleans in case we didn’t like it. Love the fact that you get a nice size mini fridge, very spacious room overlooking golf course, and nice size bathroom. Same stiff bed and awful pillows but they are on par with goldcoast and Orleans.
5. Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars: Only checked this out because while attempting to redeem my free Bellagio buffet the mlife system was down! Very glad we did, despite the high $31 price tag for lunch the quality of food made this worthwhile. Loved the sliders, shrimp was great quality, personalized plates for lasagna, Great tasting brisket from the carving station, as well as many other dishes I have never heard of that tasted great. Oh and the crème’ Brule at the dessert station was awesome!
Negatives:
1. Airport: Flying a larger carrier such as Southwest means we need more time to get through the lines at the airport. Where we could show up an hour before our flight with Spirit and still have time to spare, the hour and a half we had for Southwest left us only 5 minutes to spare before they began boarding the plane. Not a deal breaker just something to remember for our next trip.
2. BOYD casino pillows: Need to remember to bring my own pillow next time I stay at one of these hotels. The bed is firm but tolerable but I can never get a complete night sleep on these awful pillows they provide, thank god for the Mirage which has excellent bedding for out final nights on this trip.
3. Bellagio Buffet: We finally used out free buffet the final full day we had when they had their systems up and running again, and while it was good I did not think it was as good as what I was expecting. My review of this is coming after eating the new buffet at Caesers so it is probably not even fair to compare the two, but I know that I would not pay regular price for the Bellagio buffet at lunch, perhaps they bring out the good stuff for dinner.
4. No More $1 Frozen margaritas at Casino Royale! Still a great deal with the $1 Mich’s but it was bummer to see these were gone, I still speculate if they even had booze in them though…
5. Coffee: We got smart for this trip and bought a Keurig mini with a Kohls 30% of coupon prior to our trip. This will be our travel pot I guess. I have endured the average coffee provided in the rooms at the BOYD casinos but usually ended up going downstairs for a better cup. We decided we didn’t want to mess with that and packed our own. Thankfully we did this as the Mirage is one of those rooms without coffee pots, so we were set. Also if we stay at Suncoast in the future we will have that mini fridge so I could even have flavored creamer instead of using the powder!
