Time for the annual gathering of the 4 Polish princesses! My 3 sisters and I meet up every May in Vegas – no husbands, boyfriends or kids allowed! This is our 22nd year!!!
CAR RENTAL - One sister got there 2 days ahead of us and picked up the rental car (Alamo $127.95 all in for an economy for 1 week – I think this is the most we’ve ever paid for a car). $10 to the lot attendant got us the full-sized Impala that we really wanted. Had a little trouble the 2 weeks before the trip with the new Alamo website. It wouldn’t allow her to do the pre-registration and also said the coupon we were using was not available anymore. She had to go to the counter at the rental center, but our quoted price and coupon were honored (still didn’t have to present any coupons). It’s always been Alamo’s policy to have any additional drivers present when you pick up the car – but in the past they never enforced it. This time they did. Our extra driver wasn’t arriving until the next day, so they had to make another stop at the rental counter to get her registered when she arrived.
OTHER TRANSPORTATION – We took the shuttle to Orleans one day. It now leaves from Bally’s (by the door next to the sports book – you have to walk through the shopping area – no signs are posted). We also took the shuttle to the M Resort from the Fashion Show Mall – it doesn’t run that often but the schedule is listed on their website. The shuttle leaves from just outside the Forever 21 store. Go out the side door of Forever 21 and walk to the left. Turn the corner and walk 10 feet up a gravel/dirt path – the shuttle picks you up right on the street at the end of the path.
HOTELS – The first 2 sisters to arrive stayed at M Resort for 2 days over the weekend (comped). They absolutely loved their room – lovely and modern. 2 of us stayed at Bally’s for 2 nights (comped). Got put in the north tower. The room was a little worn, but nice and big. We had the best view we’ve ever had in over 20 years of visiting Vegas. We looked directly out on to the Eiffel Tower, overlooked the Paris pool and off to the right we had a glimpse of the Bellagio fountains. My other 2 sisters were staying at Paris for their remaining 5 days (all comped). We moved over to Paris for our final 3 days later (all comped too).
SHOWS – I was supposed to have 2-4-1 Donnie and Marie tickets with my Bally’s room offer. Registration didn’t know anything about it and said just charge the tickets to the room and they probably would take care of it then. Went to the ticket office at Bally’s to figure out what to do and they said we had to go to the Flamingo box office. Sooo over to the Flamingo we go. Their box office said I should have called earlier to reserve tickets as the offer is only good for floor tickets and you have to order them over the phone – can’t get them at the box office (I didn’t know any of this or where all these rules were listed). She also mentioned that the show had been cancelled all the previous week, so they were trying to accommodate all those cancellations. Extremely frustrating, but the lady at the box office was very patient and took care of us in the end. Long story short – we ended up using a 2-4-1 offer for the military during their military appreciation month. Both my sister and I are retired AF vets, so we ended up with a table in the balcony. I had lots of points from a summer promotion, so I was able to pay with points. I wasn’t thrilled with sitting in the balcony but they turned out to be pretty decent seats (the tables are in the first row of the balcony). And because of the cancellations the previous week, it was the only seating with 4 seats together. Whew! The show was FANTASTIC!!! I was never a huge Donnie or Marie fan, but they are very talented and have a great rapport with each other. They did many songs together and also had lots of individual songs. They were not above poking fun at themselves, their previous fame and each other. Highly recommend. (I lost my glasses at the show and went back a half-hour later and they had them waiting for me).
We also saw the LA Comedy show at Bally’s. I got tickets on EBay (Vegas4locals) for about $10 each. We had a full house on a Tuesday night – we thought the show was just o.k.
Three of us watch Survivor, so the night we got there we had to watch the finale. We all wanted Cochran to win and he sure did. We had birthday cake while watching – our niece is a baker and she always makes a special cake for my sister. It was Vegas themed this year and quite possibly the best cake I’ve ever eaten!
FOOD – Our first night we took advantage of Caesar’s Entertainments Military Appreciation month and had 2-4-1 burgers at the Le Burger Brasserie between Bally’s and Paris. Excellent burgers and their onion rings are awesome too. My sister picked up the check with her points.
We had a late lunch one day at Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast. We got there just before they closed for the break between lunch and dinner. I can’t remember the names of the dishes but they were all really good. One fried rice dish with pork and shrimp. Another noodle dish with chicken and vegetables. Prawns with walnuts (my favorite). That was our initial order and then we saw them delivering a big plate of green beans to another table so we ordered that too. Way too much food but it was all delicious. Another sister picked up the check with her points! Would definitely eat here again.
We ate at the Paris buffet once for breakfast and another day for lunch (2-4-1 for military appreciation again). Paid with points both times. The best things we ate: the hand carved bacon, beef bourguignon in individual cast iron skillets, pork belly with apples and cinnamon in individual iron skillets and of course, the nutella and hazelnut crepe (oh yeah, and those cranberry rolls too!)
The buffet at M Resort is probably our favorite buffet. 2 of us had comp buffets and we earned 2 more free ones by putting 400 (they’ve since upped it to 450) points on our cards for a free dinner buffet. We went early, 5pm’ish, so there was no line at all. My first plate was filled with a variety of salads – what a selection! I especially loved the kale and parmesan salad, tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, and a vegetable pad Thai
I’ve been playing the MyVegas game online and I got the reward for 2 free Bellagio lunch buffets. While 2 sisters were golfing, the other sister and I had lunch. Great buffet. I was disappointed there wasn’t a line though because the comp comes with a line pass – we only got to bypass about 8 people. I guess I was stuck on salads this trip because the best thing I had at this buffet was a spinach/bacon/goat cheese salad. It was worth going back for seconds!
GOLF – 2 of my sisters are avid golfers – in fact it’s their prime reason for coming to Vegas! They had a Groupon for the Callaway golf course on the strip. They used this as a warm-up for their rounds the next few days. Even though they got their fairly early, the Callaway center was ridiculously crowded – it took them longer to get around the 9 hole par 3 than a normal round of 18. The next day included a round on the Mountain Course at Angel Park (they really love playing here). The final round was at the Stallion Mountain course off Flamingo. They were a little worried about getting that last round in as the winds kept getting stronger every day, but they persevered! Many pars and “awesome” shots were had by all.
OTHER STUFF - I had another MyVegas comp for the Vodka/Caviar tasting at the Petrossian bar @ Bellagio. This is something I would never do otherwise, but I thought it would be interesting. It was terrific! I thought maybe we’d just get champagne instead of the vodka, but they only give you one glass of champagne to replace the 3 tastes of vodka to we stayed with the vodka. None of us are big vodka drinkers, so 3 tastes was plenty to share (and one sister doesn’t drink at all). The samples of vodka included one made from wheat, one made from grapes and one made from potatoes. The caviar included samples from Sweden, France and Poland. The vodka was served in small chilled flutes. The caviar was presented on mother-of-pearl spoons accompanied by buckwheat blinis, toast points, egg yolk, egg white and chopped red onion. We really enjoyed the whole presentation.
We also took a trip out to the Valley of Fire. It’s about an hour drive northeast of the strip and is absolutely gorgeous. We’d previously been to Red Rock and I’ll admit we were pretty disappointed with it. Valley of Fire was just what I had hoped it would be. Stunning scenery and many opportunities to take pictures and hike. It was pretty warm, so we skipped the hiking part. We took the freeway there and then did a more scenic drive back. It was a great way to take a break from all the glitz of Vegas.
Mani/Pedi – We went to the salon at Paris and had manicures ($40) and pedicures ($70). They automatically add a 20% tip. I really enjoyed the pedicure, but I had to go back and have my manicure redone after 2 days because the polish was chipping off. They reapplied the polish with lots of apologies. They don’t let you use points directly in the salon so I went to the Total Rewards booth and had them give me a $110 voucher instead.
GAMBLING – I wish I could say I saved the best for last, but that is so not the case. This is the worst gambling trip I’ve ever had. My best gambling day was the day we left. I only gambled for 20 minutes and I was down $20. The other days were much, much worse. The other sisters fared a little better, but no one had a winning trip. I did get my gambling in though. We gambled at: Bally’s, Paris, Gold Coast, Orleans, M Resort, Bellagio, Palms and Flamingo. I played slots, video poker, 3-card poker, blackjack, paigow and bingo. I had freeplay at Orleans, Palms and the M Resort.
I did get a royal - but it was on pennies!
CAR PACKING – I HAVE to give a shout out to my sister Nancy. We would be so lost if we didn’t have her to pack up the car. We were all leaving fairly close to each other so everything had to get packed in the car at the same time. We had a Chevy Impala (because the trunk is fairly large), but it still takes a herculean effort (and just a bit of magic) to get it all in. In the trunk, she packed: 2 sets of golf clubs w/their travel bags, 2 large suitcases, 1 small suitcase and 5 carry-on bags. It was a wonder to behold!!!
THE END – Other than tips, I didn’t pay for a room or a single meal and I still have plenty of points for my November trip (and I just got the new Caesars Visa card w/free buffet of buffet passes). My mani/pedi and Donnie & Marie tix were paid for with points. We even flew in on free Southwest tickets. Now, if I could just get that gambling thing on the right track . . .
Thanks for reading!
- Linda in TX
CAR RENTAL - One sister got there 2 days ahead of us and picked up the rental car (Alamo $127.95 all in for an economy for 1 week – I think this is the most we’ve ever paid for a car). $10 to the lot attendant got us the full-sized Impala that we really wanted. Had a little trouble the 2 weeks before the trip with the new Alamo website. It wouldn’t allow her to do the pre-registration and also said the coupon we were using was not available anymore. She had to go to the counter at the rental center, but our quoted price and coupon were honored (still didn’t have to present any coupons). It’s always been Alamo’s policy to have any additional drivers present when you pick up the car – but in the past they never enforced it. This time they did. Our extra driver wasn’t arriving until the next day, so they had to make another stop at the rental counter to get her registered when she arrived.
OTHER TRANSPORTATION – We took the shuttle to Orleans one day. It now leaves from Bally’s (by the door next to the sports book – you have to walk through the shopping area – no signs are posted). We also took the shuttle to the M Resort from the Fashion Show Mall – it doesn’t run that often but the schedule is listed on their website. The shuttle leaves from just outside the Forever 21 store. Go out the side door of Forever 21 and walk to the left. Turn the corner and walk 10 feet up a gravel/dirt path – the shuttle picks you up right on the street at the end of the path.
HOTELS – The first 2 sisters to arrive stayed at M Resort for 2 days over the weekend (comped). They absolutely loved their room – lovely and modern. 2 of us stayed at Bally’s for 2 nights (comped). Got put in the north tower. The room was a little worn, but nice and big. We had the best view we’ve ever had in over 20 years of visiting Vegas. We looked directly out on to the Eiffel Tower, overlooked the Paris pool and off to the right we had a glimpse of the Bellagio fountains. My other 2 sisters were staying at Paris for their remaining 5 days (all comped). We moved over to Paris for our final 3 days later (all comped too).
SHOWS – I was supposed to have 2-4-1 Donnie and Marie tickets with my Bally’s room offer. Registration didn’t know anything about it and said just charge the tickets to the room and they probably would take care of it then. Went to the ticket office at Bally’s to figure out what to do and they said we had to go to the Flamingo box office. Sooo over to the Flamingo we go. Their box office said I should have called earlier to reserve tickets as the offer is only good for floor tickets and you have to order them over the phone – can’t get them at the box office (I didn’t know any of this or where all these rules were listed). She also mentioned that the show had been cancelled all the previous week, so they were trying to accommodate all those cancellations. Extremely frustrating, but the lady at the box office was very patient and took care of us in the end. Long story short – we ended up using a 2-4-1 offer for the military during their military appreciation month. Both my sister and I are retired AF vets, so we ended up with a table in the balcony. I had lots of points from a summer promotion, so I was able to pay with points. I wasn’t thrilled with sitting in the balcony but they turned out to be pretty decent seats (the tables are in the first row of the balcony). And because of the cancellations the previous week, it was the only seating with 4 seats together. Whew! The show was FANTASTIC!!! I was never a huge Donnie or Marie fan, but they are very talented and have a great rapport with each other. They did many songs together and also had lots of individual songs. They were not above poking fun at themselves, their previous fame and each other. Highly recommend. (I lost my glasses at the show and went back a half-hour later and they had them waiting for me).
We also saw the LA Comedy show at Bally’s. I got tickets on EBay (Vegas4locals) for about $10 each. We had a full house on a Tuesday night – we thought the show was just o.k.
Three of us watch Survivor, so the night we got there we had to watch the finale. We all wanted Cochran to win and he sure did. We had birthday cake while watching – our niece is a baker and she always makes a special cake for my sister. It was Vegas themed this year and quite possibly the best cake I’ve ever eaten!
FOOD – Our first night we took advantage of Caesar’s Entertainments Military Appreciation month and had 2-4-1 burgers at the Le Burger Brasserie between Bally’s and Paris. Excellent burgers and their onion rings are awesome too. My sister picked up the check with her points.
We had a late lunch one day at Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast. We got there just before they closed for the break between lunch and dinner. I can’t remember the names of the dishes but they were all really good. One fried rice dish with pork and shrimp. Another noodle dish with chicken and vegetables. Prawns with walnuts (my favorite). That was our initial order and then we saw them delivering a big plate of green beans to another table so we ordered that too. Way too much food but it was all delicious. Another sister picked up the check with her points! Would definitely eat here again.
We ate at the Paris buffet once for breakfast and another day for lunch (2-4-1 for military appreciation again). Paid with points both times. The best things we ate: the hand carved bacon, beef bourguignon in individual cast iron skillets, pork belly with apples and cinnamon in individual iron skillets and of course, the nutella and hazelnut crepe (oh yeah, and those cranberry rolls too!)
The buffet at M Resort is probably our favorite buffet. 2 of us had comp buffets and we earned 2 more free ones by putting 400 (they’ve since upped it to 450) points on our cards for a free dinner buffet. We went early, 5pm’ish, so there was no line at all. My first plate was filled with a variety of salads – what a selection! I especially loved the kale and parmesan salad, tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, and a vegetable pad Thai
I’ve been playing the MyVegas game online and I got the reward for 2 free Bellagio lunch buffets. While 2 sisters were golfing, the other sister and I had lunch. Great buffet. I was disappointed there wasn’t a line though because the comp comes with a line pass – we only got to bypass about 8 people. I guess I was stuck on salads this trip because the best thing I had at this buffet was a spinach/bacon/goat cheese salad. It was worth going back for seconds!
GOLF – 2 of my sisters are avid golfers – in fact it’s their prime reason for coming to Vegas! They had a Groupon for the Callaway golf course on the strip. They used this as a warm-up for their rounds the next few days. Even though they got their fairly early, the Callaway center was ridiculously crowded – it took them longer to get around the 9 hole par 3 than a normal round of 18. The next day included a round on the Mountain Course at Angel Park (they really love playing here). The final round was at the Stallion Mountain course off Flamingo. They were a little worried about getting that last round in as the winds kept getting stronger every day, but they persevered! Many pars and “awesome” shots were had by all.
OTHER STUFF - I had another MyVegas comp for the Vodka/Caviar tasting at the Petrossian bar @ Bellagio. This is something I would never do otherwise, but I thought it would be interesting. It was terrific! I thought maybe we’d just get champagne instead of the vodka, but they only give you one glass of champagne to replace the 3 tastes of vodka to we stayed with the vodka. None of us are big vodka drinkers, so 3 tastes was plenty to share (and one sister doesn’t drink at all). The samples of vodka included one made from wheat, one made from grapes and one made from potatoes. The caviar included samples from Sweden, France and Poland. The vodka was served in small chilled flutes. The caviar was presented on mother-of-pearl spoons accompanied by buckwheat blinis, toast points, egg yolk, egg white and chopped red onion. We really enjoyed the whole presentation.
We also took a trip out to the Valley of Fire. It’s about an hour drive northeast of the strip and is absolutely gorgeous. We’d previously been to Red Rock and I’ll admit we were pretty disappointed with it. Valley of Fire was just what I had hoped it would be. Stunning scenery and many opportunities to take pictures and hike. It was pretty warm, so we skipped the hiking part. We took the freeway there and then did a more scenic drive back. It was a great way to take a break from all the glitz of Vegas.
Mani/Pedi – We went to the salon at Paris and had manicures ($40) and pedicures ($70). They automatically add a 20% tip. I really enjoyed the pedicure, but I had to go back and have my manicure redone after 2 days because the polish was chipping off. They reapplied the polish with lots of apologies. They don’t let you use points directly in the salon so I went to the Total Rewards booth and had them give me a $110 voucher instead.
GAMBLING – I wish I could say I saved the best for last, but that is so not the case. This is the worst gambling trip I’ve ever had. My best gambling day was the day we left. I only gambled for 20 minutes and I was down $20. The other days were much, much worse. The other sisters fared a little better, but no one had a winning trip. I did get my gambling in though. We gambled at: Bally’s, Paris, Gold Coast, Orleans, M Resort, Bellagio, Palms and Flamingo. I played slots, video poker, 3-card poker, blackjack, paigow and bingo. I had freeplay at Orleans, Palms and the M Resort.
I did get a royal - but it was on pennies!
CAR PACKING – I HAVE to give a shout out to my sister Nancy. We would be so lost if we didn’t have her to pack up the car. We were all leaving fairly close to each other so everything had to get packed in the car at the same time. We had a Chevy Impala (because the trunk is fairly large), but it still takes a herculean effort (and just a bit of magic) to get it all in. In the trunk, she packed: 2 sets of golf clubs w/their travel bags, 2 large suitcases, 1 small suitcase and 5 carry-on bags. It was a wonder to behold!!!
THE END – Other than tips, I didn’t pay for a room or a single meal and I still have plenty of points for my November trip (and I just got the new Caesars Visa card w/free buffet of buffet passes). My mani/pedi and Donnie & Marie tix were paid for with points. We even flew in on free Southwest tickets. Now, if I could just get that gambling thing on the right track . . .
Thanks for reading!
- Linda in TX
