Third trip this year and summer is always my favorite!
Left Austin Wednesday on a 8:15pm flight (delayed to 9:15 due to weather). It was a new strategy for me landing late with the sun down because I usually can't make it to see the Las Vegas lights when I take the morning flight. So glad I did! However, since we were delayed we didn't make it to Mandalay Bay until about 11pm to check in. Luckily only 3 people in front of us. My sister (35) BFF (36) and I (39) were dead set on making the most of no husbands and kids but only ventured as far at Mix Lounge on top of TheHotel. Wow! WHAT A VIEW! Worth the $18 martini. There is a roped off bottle service area in the prime outdoor part of the lounge. At 12:00 on a Weds night it was dead out there. We had already grabbed drinks at the bar when we walked in so I simply told the host that had we known we'd have bought our drinks out there. He let us in since I told him we only planned on staying about half an hour. We truly only wanted to catch that view, take a pic, have a nightcap and go to bed! Within a few minutes people were walking through the ropes that separated the bottle service area and the tiny square of outdoor space everyone vies for to get that sweet snapshot. So glad I didn't get a bottle. I'd have been ticked. We were starving and hit Citizen's in MB. Forgettable but we were exhausted and nothing else was open. Off to bed we go!
Of course, I have the giddiness in me and can't sleep so I get up early, grab coffee, peruse the tables and go pick out our reserved lounge chairs at the beach at Mandalay. The pool opened at 8 I believe and there were already a ton of people there. I snagged three in the front row in front of the wave pool and at the end near the lazy river. Great seats!! Worth EVERY cent. We also rented an umbrella for $50. Oh man, having that shade was the best decision. We stayed out til 3 and being able to have at least our faces covered extended our pool day exponentially. We had some lunch in the poolside cafe then decided to check out Moorea Beach Club, the adult only, optional pool party scene. No cover for ladies, great music, everyone was dressed. LOL. Had we known that there was no cover AND we would have had a lounge chair AT NO COST we'd likely have not rented what we did, but honestly, I didn't feel like sucking my gut in the whole time at the pool. I love EDM but my brain also needed a break. For the first time I would rather hear kids screaming and having fun in the wave pool (since they aren't mine) than constant dance party. I listen to that 24/7 anyway. SUPER NICE bartender there named Danny. Got the refillable MBay souvenir insulated cup with discounted refills. It was totally worth it and I have a nice new cup. Hung out a bit there then went back to familyland. When I say familyland I am not kidding. KIDS EVERYWHERE. The lazy river was so packed with tubes and kids we didn't even set foot in it. That wave pool though, so fun no matter how old you are. The BEACHSIDE CASINO...ugh, wasn't open. Only on Fri, Sat, Sun. Total disappointment. We'd have switched spa/pool days had I read that online. So, still, 3pm on day two and still no gambling. I'm almost in convulsions.
We clean up and head out for the evening. Starving, we head to Monte Carlo because I'm not kidding, Brand has the most delicious, creamiest mac and cheese ever! We were there for happy hour and it hit the spot. We also got the hot rocks and sliders. Just the perfect little trio of apps and drinks before we hit the tables for a bit. My mission in life is to eat every mac and cheese offered and I just had this one in July. Just had to go back it's that good. We gambled a while. They have Caribbean Stud and I'm sorry, that is the most fun game if you're looking to play a long time and order a lot of beverages. We had a blast and left up. Couldn't find it anywhere else during the trip even though a site I came across said Bally's had it. Nope. Back to Mandalay Bay and played a few hours of blackjack. Oh, the grind. Played a few fun games, aka bad odds, lost a couple hundy and called it a night.
Ahhhh, spa day has arrived!! Grabbed some breakfast at House of Blues/Crossroads with my POV twofer. Oh, man, what a meal!! DELICIOUS! I had The Vegas and sis had the Bacon Avocado eggs benedict. Sadly, they server enough food to feed 4 people and I was really disappointed to leave more than half on my plate. Delicious nonetheless.
The Spa at Mandalay - I'll leave my details for this in the another post but it was a disappointment. Service was definitely not good. My masseuse, however, was amazing! Still, it felt good to loosen up and use a bunch of products that I don't have.
We spent a few hours at Bally's and played Blackjack Switch. Our dealer was so dang nice that we never left. She gave us 4 decks of cards to take home. Her name was Noni and she's been there 35 years. That was a fun game. I never play anything but 3-2 blackjack or craps but this trip I decided to change it up and have some fun. Headed back to MB to clean up for the night and headed over to Cosmo. We had reservations at STK at 8:30. On a Friday night we were hoping for celeb spotting. Maybe Robin Thicke since he was playing the next night. No luck. AMAZING meal. Filet cooked perfectly. Sides of asparagus, corn pudding (OMG, just do it!), and of course, mac and cheese. Delicious wine and a hot crowd. So hot that I'm fairly certain 95% of them haven't had kids yet. Great for people watching, not great for self esteem if you are weak in that area. I am not, but I was truly amazed at how hot some people can be. We didn't hang at Cosmo much after. Tables way too crowded, too expensive and just wasn't feeling it. Of all places, we went to Luxor. It was great! Played $10 blackjack for a loooong time. Attentive waitress. Nice dealer. Awesome 80s-90s music at the bar. Headed back to MB around 1. Sis and BFF wanted to go to bed. I did not. I cannot believe I did this but I played a slot. For the first time in over 10 years I put $100 in a $5 Top Dollar machine because my sister said it was so fun. Fun and slot do not even go together in my book. Holy crap. It hit $400 on my third spin. Cashed out and went to bed. Put me even for the trip. Headed back to room and packed for departure.
Grabbed a coffee and headed to airport. 9:15 departure on a Saturday morning piece of cake. Boarded a gorgeous new 810 Southwest plane. Soft lighting, streamlined overhead bins. Roomy. Until next time!!
Hoping to make one more trip when Allegiant fires up in a couple of months. That'll make four this year.
Damn, I love this place. Sorry so long.
Left Austin Wednesday on a 8:15pm flight (delayed to 9:15 due to weather). It was a new strategy for me landing late with the sun down because I usually can't make it to see the Las Vegas lights when I take the morning flight. So glad I did! However, since we were delayed we didn't make it to Mandalay Bay until about 11pm to check in. Luckily only 3 people in front of us. My sister (35) BFF (36) and I (39) were dead set on making the most of no husbands and kids but only ventured as far at Mix Lounge on top of TheHotel. Wow! WHAT A VIEW! Worth the $18 martini. There is a roped off bottle service area in the prime outdoor part of the lounge. At 12:00 on a Weds night it was dead out there. We had already grabbed drinks at the bar when we walked in so I simply told the host that had we known we'd have bought our drinks out there. He let us in since I told him we only planned on staying about half an hour. We truly only wanted to catch that view, take a pic, have a nightcap and go to bed! Within a few minutes people were walking through the ropes that separated the bottle service area and the tiny square of outdoor space everyone vies for to get that sweet snapshot. So glad I didn't get a bottle. I'd have been ticked. We were starving and hit Citizen's in MB. Forgettable but we were exhausted and nothing else was open. Off to bed we go!
Of course, I have the giddiness in me and can't sleep so I get up early, grab coffee, peruse the tables and go pick out our reserved lounge chairs at the beach at Mandalay. The pool opened at 8 I believe and there were already a ton of people there. I snagged three in the front row in front of the wave pool and at the end near the lazy river. Great seats!! Worth EVERY cent. We also rented an umbrella for $50. Oh man, having that shade was the best decision. We stayed out til 3 and being able to have at least our faces covered extended our pool day exponentially. We had some lunch in the poolside cafe then decided to check out Moorea Beach Club, the adult only, optional pool party scene. No cover for ladies, great music, everyone was dressed. LOL. Had we known that there was no cover AND we would have had a lounge chair AT NO COST we'd likely have not rented what we did, but honestly, I didn't feel like sucking my gut in the whole time at the pool. I love EDM but my brain also needed a break. For the first time I would rather hear kids screaming and having fun in the wave pool (since they aren't mine) than constant dance party. I listen to that 24/7 anyway. SUPER NICE bartender there named Danny. Got the refillable MBay souvenir insulated cup with discounted refills. It was totally worth it and I have a nice new cup. Hung out a bit there then went back to familyland. When I say familyland I am not kidding. KIDS EVERYWHERE. The lazy river was so packed with tubes and kids we didn't even set foot in it. That wave pool though, so fun no matter how old you are. The BEACHSIDE CASINO...ugh, wasn't open. Only on Fri, Sat, Sun. Total disappointment. We'd have switched spa/pool days had I read that online. So, still, 3pm on day two and still no gambling. I'm almost in convulsions.
We clean up and head out for the evening. Starving, we head to Monte Carlo because I'm not kidding, Brand has the most delicious, creamiest mac and cheese ever! We were there for happy hour and it hit the spot. We also got the hot rocks and sliders. Just the perfect little trio of apps and drinks before we hit the tables for a bit. My mission in life is to eat every mac and cheese offered and I just had this one in July. Just had to go back it's that good. We gambled a while. They have Caribbean Stud and I'm sorry, that is the most fun game if you're looking to play a long time and order a lot of beverages. We had a blast and left up. Couldn't find it anywhere else during the trip even though a site I came across said Bally's had it. Nope. Back to Mandalay Bay and played a few hours of blackjack. Oh, the grind. Played a few fun games, aka bad odds, lost a couple hundy and called it a night.
Ahhhh, spa day has arrived!! Grabbed some breakfast at House of Blues/Crossroads with my POV twofer. Oh, man, what a meal!! DELICIOUS! I had The Vegas and sis had the Bacon Avocado eggs benedict. Sadly, they server enough food to feed 4 people and I was really disappointed to leave more than half on my plate. Delicious nonetheless.
The Spa at Mandalay - I'll leave my details for this in the another post but it was a disappointment. Service was definitely not good. My masseuse, however, was amazing! Still, it felt good to loosen up and use a bunch of products that I don't have.
We spent a few hours at Bally's and played Blackjack Switch. Our dealer was so dang nice that we never left. She gave us 4 decks of cards to take home. Her name was Noni and she's been there 35 years. That was a fun game. I never play anything but 3-2 blackjack or craps but this trip I decided to change it up and have some fun. Headed back to MB to clean up for the night and headed over to Cosmo. We had reservations at STK at 8:30. On a Friday night we were hoping for celeb spotting. Maybe Robin Thicke since he was playing the next night. No luck. AMAZING meal. Filet cooked perfectly. Sides of asparagus, corn pudding (OMG, just do it!), and of course, mac and cheese. Delicious wine and a hot crowd. So hot that I'm fairly certain 95% of them haven't had kids yet. Great for people watching, not great for self esteem if you are weak in that area. I am not, but I was truly amazed at how hot some people can be. We didn't hang at Cosmo much after. Tables way too crowded, too expensive and just wasn't feeling it. Of all places, we went to Luxor. It was great! Played $10 blackjack for a loooong time. Attentive waitress. Nice dealer. Awesome 80s-90s music at the bar. Headed back to MB around 1. Sis and BFF wanted to go to bed. I did not. I cannot believe I did this but I played a slot. For the first time in over 10 years I put $100 in a $5 Top Dollar machine because my sister said it was so fun. Fun and slot do not even go together in my book. Holy crap. It hit $400 on my third spin. Cashed out and went to bed. Put me even for the trip. Headed back to room and packed for departure.
Grabbed a coffee and headed to airport. 9:15 departure on a Saturday morning piece of cake. Boarded a gorgeous new 810 Southwest plane. Soft lighting, streamlined overhead bins. Roomy. Until next time!!
Hoping to make one more trip when Allegiant fires up in a couple of months. That'll make four this year.
Damn, I love this place. Sorry so long.
