Gollygal and Hubby Part 2

The next 4 nights were at the Las Vegas Hilton. I am of the mind that I would like to stay in as many different places in Vegas as I can. So staying here was new to us. I found it a strange stay. So before departing the Strat we went up the Tower to watch the brave crazy folks do the sky jump. Whooo, seeing it from up there and seeing them step off is probably scarier than seeing them come down from the bottom! I am curious, has anyone here done the jump?

Then went over to The Orleans to get tickets for that night for Sinbad. (ACG 2 for one Showroom) Then went to the buffett Sunday Brunch. MRB 2 for one...and as much champagne as you can possibly drink without looking foolish. I did quite well and hope I did not look or act foolish. Found the food quite good. I always think this place can be really wonderful one trip and not so much the next. Time to go check-in at Hilton. Used the little parking lot to the east of the hotel....near the elevators. I had known about this little gem before, and Sinow has mentioned it also as a nice place to park. Not as far as the self-park. This place was dead. Checked in and got a central room, I think, on the 23rd floor facing west. Older room, but not bad for the price. Sad part is that you could see the closed Sahara, the empty Fountainbleu, and the skeleton of what that thing was supposed to be. (forgot the name) Anyway, this place was QUIET. I never heard or saw another soul in the hallway....ever, except housekeeping. The whole 4 nights we stayed there. Did see folks in the elevator, but never in the hallway.

This is the one thing that really intriqued me about the Hilton. There was a flyer in the room that said you could "go green" and forgo housekeeping and you would recieve a $10.00 voucher for food or drink anywhere in the hotel. Just dial the number, give your name and room number and you would not get housekeeping the next day and would recieve the voucher under the door in the morning. So I called the number to find out about it. Was not sure about it, so called to ask. Do you get towels, etc? I called and asked what it was all about.....and this is what she said. "You don't get NUTTIN'" So I replied, "I don't get nuttin'?" "That's right, you don't get nuttin'....no trash out, no bed making, no new soap,....nuttin'!!!" How about towels? Yes, upon request, you can get towels. So I asked her how she and the housekeeping department felt about this? (Are they loosing their jobs.....are they being downsized......they are losing hours and tips.......) And she told me that they were not allowed to discuss it. But they sure did not sound happy about it. A sign of these horrible economic times. And if there exists a brand of toilet paper that is thinner, and scratchier and cheaper, the Hilton has not found it yet. Yikes!! OMG! It was truly terrible. The tissues, too. When we went out to get our snacks etc for the room, also bought some good soft TP to use. So if you are going to stay there, be warned.

The breakfast buffet was just so-so. Powdered eggs.......I was in the military, so I know. Actually it was less than so-so. Got a big coupon for dinner at Benihanna. Thought we would use that for our anniversary dinner. I had not been in a long while and Hubby had never been. Expensive, but fun. It was quite good. Casino was empty, until the convention people started to come in on Weds. An older, quieter, better dressed crowd. Played the full-pay VP at the sportsbook while Hubby watched the rest of Monday Nite Football. Put in a hundy and left with a hundy. Wandered to what used to be the Star Trek casino. Still has the space theme. They put in a little dance floor and it looks like that is where the conventions have their receptions. Sat down to play some Nickle VP, 50 cents a hand, and what do you know??? I got a ROYAL! My second one in 2 months! Second one in my whole life. At the 5 cent machine...again! Not complaining!! Was shocked and still am. I guess I can afford to go buy some more TP!!

OK More later! Thanks for hanging in!!

Sounds like a great time. I agree on the rooms at the Hilton they are a little bit tired but clean. I like playing the VP there also in the Sportsbook. As far as the $10 no housecleaning coupon, they have the same thing at the M Resort. Makes it nice to go downstairs for a couple of cups of coffee and doughnut on them. I never thought about the reduction in the Maid force due to the coupons. Now I feel sort of bad about it. I did get the coupon at the M and went in the hall and got soap and towels they never said a word.

I agree about Benihanna's being a great place to celebrate an occasion. I like the food there too. A few years back my wife and I were on a team of 10 people and we won the $50,000 first prize in a Hilton Craps Tournament and split the winnings. My wife and I each got $5,000. We all went to Benihanna's and ordered drinks, lobster ect.. till we could barely walk out of the place.

RaaaJaaa

Thanks for sharing. I stayed at the Hilton earlier this year. My experiences were vaguely similar. I didn't note the TP then, so it must have been all right by my standards. I had two dinner buffets there - also all right. They served beer & wine then; I didn't imbibe, so no formal review of it.

As for the green credits, all I had to do was hang the designated hanger on the door and housekeeping would stay away, except for dropping off the credit. Perhaps the procedure has changed between now and then. My view is in the short run it's a win-win - the housekeepers are thrilled to have a room they don't have to clean and I'm thrilled to have the certificate. In the long run, hours and/or positions may have to be reduced. I'm OK with it; I think a lot of resources and time are wasted cleaning rooms that aren't very dirty. So why not reward those that recognize this?

Sorry for the diversion. Please continue.

That's a good point. In the light that my husband had just gotten laid off of a very good job, I was sensitive to the loss of income or jobs of the housekeepers. So we only took 2 days "green". A compromise, if you will. Since we were all about "couponing" for our trip, yes, we were thrilled to get a voucher for food and drink there. I don't think we did a thing without a coupon this time. It made us feel better to be in Vegas and unemployed. So I did not mind taking our trash down the hall to the housekeeping cart and getting new trashbags.

Nothing like someone raising their eyebrows at you and wondering why when you just got laid off that you are going to Vegas.

They do not know about coupons. MRB and I had 2 copies of American Casino Guide. And if you are a senior, it gets a little better! So, a lot of folks are not aware that you can have one hell of a time on not a whole lot of money!!

Yes, thanks, Gollygal for your reports so far. It's so far sounding like a nice trip and congratulations on your Nickel Royal!

And yes I'm constantly finding people who have no clue that going to LV can end up being at least a relatively inexpensive vacation if they know how to go about taking advantage of coupons and other promotions going on!

Also, I'm sorry to read about your husband losing his job and I do want to thank you very much for your service to our country!

RecVPPlayer

"Nuttin'" much better than hitting a Royal ......... CONGRATS !!!!!


Rick

Gollygal, thanks for sharing and congrats on royal #2.
You and hubby need to do what's best for you. Sometimes going away for a couple days can do wonders for the soul. You come home refreshed and ready to face your challenges.

Lisa, you wise woman....that is exactly what we did. We wiped the "anxiety slate" clean!! We came back too tired to worry about anything for a couple of days. And now we have a plan, and are following it. Not sure it includes Vegas for a while, but hey, I'm open!!

Enjoying your report.
Question: If you were playing "Nickle VP, 50 cents a hand" that is the same as playing Dime VP, right? Did your royal pay $400?

Duh. Yes, I remember now that it was a machine that had 5, 10 and 25 cent options. So I was playing the big dimes.......I had just got done playing quarters for an hour at the sportsbook and ended up even. Hoping for a big strike. So thought I would change it down next session. Hubby was sitting next to me and he usually has heart palpitations when I play $1.25 a hand. So I toned it down so as not to upset his gentle sensitivities. And was playing dimes....50 cents a hand. And yes, the royal paid $400.00!! I will have to go back and look at the pictures, but I think it was dealt. A memorable moment to be sure