Vegas 2011-The Room

One of the things I want to include in our blog is a critique of the hotel room/services.

The Orleans is an older hotel located off the strip, compared to new huge resorts on the strip, it is lower in cost as well. I liked the freedom of being away from the strip and all it's traffic.

Our room on this trip is. Non-smoking King Deluxe. The room smelled & looked spotless. The paintings on the wall are New Orleans scenes.




The fleur de lis wallpaper was a nice touch.

The furnishings while clean, should really be updated. The TV is old(not HD). There were mostly just basic cable channels.





There is a separate sitting area with a comfy sofa, chair & coffee table. The bath was sufficient with a pocket door. The bed is comfortable. Our room had a beautiful view of the snow topped mountains.

My critique of The Orleans Casino restaurants :

Courtyard Cafe~ The portions are large, the service was a little on the slow side. I had the 3 course special, (meatloaf, mashed piraña, gravy, steamed veggies), (chicken noodle soup), (apple pie) - all was tasty except the veggies which were rubbery. Hubby ordered the Cobb Salad which was huge and very good! Both dishes were approx. $10.

Don Miguel's Mexican~ I ordered a California Chicken breast sandwich with avocado & provolone cheese, it was a little on the dry side. Hubby ordered

The Prime Rib Loft~it's located on the 2nd floor, service and food were both good, not great, just good. I ordered the Filet topped with a crabmeat sauce & garlic mashed potatoes. Ron ordered Sirloin steak with baked potato. Dessert was apple pie ala mode, which we shared. The pie was definitely large enough for two.





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Location:The Orleans Hotel

Vegas 2011- Day 6

After a yummy breakfast at The Courtyard, our final day in Vegas was spent making "donations" to the casino and relaxing.




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Vegas 2011 -Day 5

After our usual coffee & breakfast in our room, we left for our big day in the mountains.....

We decided to spend today exploring Red Rock Mountain. The drive was beautiful, they do not exaggerate when they call it Scenic Drive.





With it's beautiful red peaks covered with snow, Red Rock is God's creativity at it's best. The park charges $7 per car to drive a 13 mile scenic trail through the mountains. It includes several picturesque areas to stop.

We were greeted with light snow flurries at the one of the highest elevation stops.




Each stop had hiking trails and we chose a trail that lead towards one of these pretty peaks.




We returned to casino for the remainder of the day.

Supper was at Roma's Deli & Restaurant. It remains our favorite Italian restaurant in Vegas. It's a small intimate place & their food is always made fresh. It's a deli during the day and a restaurant at night.

Location:Red Rock Mountain

Vegas 2011 - Day 4

I slept like a baby following my massage. We awoke to temps in the 40's, windy and watched snow falling on the mountain tops from our hotel window.








After our coffee & breakfast in our room, Ron headed to his Horse Racing Championship while I spent the morning in the fitness center.

The hotel provided Mexican food for lunch today, the guacamole was my favorite.

I scheduled a relaxing 25 minute Vitamin C facial at the spa today. I arrived early for my appointment so I could enjoy a steam bath and relax in their jacuzzi prior to my facial.

As for Hubby's day, his Championship ended today. Unfortunately, he didn't get enough points to be a finalist. I feel badly for him but, he had a great time just the same. He won his entry fee (1000.00), our lunch & drinks were provided and the hotel was practically free. He thoroughly enjoyed the tournament.

We ate supper at the Hash House inside the Imperial Palace.







I ordered a portabella mushroom sandwich, it was huge and really tasty, Hubby ordered his usual Cobb salad which was good & very fresh.


After much debate we decided to see Human Nature instead of the Blue Man show and we are so glad we did! I can easily say it was the best Vegas show I have seen. The group consists of four guys from Australia. Their accent were unnoticeable when they sang, but when they spoke it was undeniable.







They sang all the greatest Motown hits with excitement and heart. Their music is so good that people were dancing in the aisles (including Moi). It was a great night!

Location:The Show

Vegas 2011-Day 3

We are both not big breakfast eaters so breakfast was a tiny bowl of raisin bran in our room this morning.

I took advantage of the hotel's fabulous fitness center again while Hubby went off to his Horse Racing Championship. I did 20 mins on the elliptical followed by 30 mins on the bike. Afterward, I did arm work. If I keep this up I may actually lose some pounds this trip.

By the time I returned to our room, showered & dressed, it was time to meet Hubby for lunch. Lunch was Italian sausage with pasta & steamed Veggies.

After lunch, it was Spa time, YAY! I have two days of spa services scheduled this trip. Today was a deep tissue full body massage with lavender aromatherapy ! OMG I felt so relaxed and pampered. She worked my injured knee muscles & I swear she did a far better job than my Physical Therapist ever did. I usually request males because of the strength thing , but she was fantastic.

My massage was followed by a steam bath and jacuzzi spa. Mmmmmmm.

Tonight is Hubby's poker night, so we hung out at the casino. We ate at casino Mexican place,
Hubby had a dish with chicken, mushrooms, beans & rice with flour tortillas while mine with ranch chicken breast with fresh avocado slices & topped with provolone cheese.

After supper Hubby went off to his poker frame while I relaxed the rest of the evening.


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Vegas 2011 -Day 2

We woke really early this day, still had not adjusted to the new time zone. We drank coffee from our in-room maker & ate cereal we bought at the grocery.

Around 8am, Ron headed to his tournament and I headed to the gym. I did 20mins each on the treadmill, bike, stairmaster & elliptical. I also did some weightlifting. It was 10:30 when I returned to our room.

After a refreshing shower, I met Ron @ 11:30a for lunch provided by the hotel. Afterwards, I headed back our room for a short nap.

We had supper @ the casino Courtyard Cafe restaurant. Ron ordered the Cobb salad (it was enormous), I ordered a three course special,, chicken noodle soup, meatloaf, veggies & apple pie. We shared the soup & salad, after eating a small portion of mine, I passed it to Ron who devoured it. We brought most of the salad along with the pie back to the room for later.

After supper, we drove to the pinball museum. We played some machines, some from 1969, analog displays, 5 balls for a quarter (the good ole days). I played retro centipede & MsPacman video games.

Afterward, we walked along the strip to my favorite, the dancing fountains of Bellagio, we go here every trip to Vegas and it still takes my breath away.

When we returned to our hotel, we donated to some slots before retiring to our room, exhausted.


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Vegas 2011-Day 1

It's 7:30am and we are sitting @ the Southwest concourse waiting on our 8:35 nonstop flight to Vegas. We left our home @ 5:00am to drive to Randi's where we will leave the truck for the duration of our trip.

Ron's brother was kind enough to drive us so we didn't have to pay the high airport parking rates. I have always liked to get to the airport at least 90 mins prior to department. Less rushing=less stress in my book.

I stopped for a hot sausage/egg poboy at one of the lil restaurants, it was passable but overpriced like everything else at airports.

Our plane took off on time, as I looked out my window the city had a hazy look. Our flight was good until we got close to Vegas, then we hit quite a bit of turbulence. It was really cloudy, then the clouds cleared just in time for us to have a beautiful view of the Grand Canyon & Lake Meade.












Here is another view of Vegas from my window~










My new kindle came in really handy on the flight. I read through my new Grisham novel to pass the time.

We made no real plans for today. Ron registered for his tournament while I unpacked & took a nap to cure my touch of jet-lag.

During the evening we ate Mexican food at Viva Mercados, 3553 S. Rainbow Blvd, Chinatown, Las Vegas, NV 89103. Their bean dip was delicious, I really enjoyed the fideo. I had fish tacos, I only ate the insides & a taste of the beans & rice ( diet reasons) Ron ordered grilled chicken tacos and could hardly eat half before he was full.

We swung by Walmart for a few things then headed back to our hotel. We played some slots & called it a night early because Ron wanted to "prepare" for his tournament .








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Location:Airport/Flight/hotel

What to do in Sin City?? 2011

We have been to Las Vegas many times, while there are somethings I always like do; walking the strip and visiting the  "old vegas" each time I go.  I try to add new ones each time, so far my list this time includes:

1. Bellagio Fountains~The dancing fountains are a top favorite of mine, it's so beautiful and I never get tired of watching.
2. The Blue Man Group @ Venetian~~This show has been on the top of my list for a while, it would be great to finally see it. If you have seen this show, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
3. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area~~I realize it will still be a little cool for hiking, but I think if I leave early, I can get there when it will be warm enough to enjoy a short one.  If not, there is a 13 mile loop I can drive around.
4. Spa Day~~Of course no lady can visit Vegas without visiting a spa for a luxurious massage and treatment.
5. Italian Restaurant~~Italian food is a MUST during any trip to Vegas. The Roma was recommended by my former coworker and friend Sharron and is now our FAVORITE.  It's a deli during the day but at night it is transformed into a intimate, delicious Godfather-type restaurant
6. The Pinball Museum ~ I know this one probably sounds a little strange to most people, its 10,000 sq feet of pinballs machines ranging from the 1950's to 1990's and you can play them!

There is a good chance that I won't be able to do everything I plan because of weather.  Whichever is missed will be on my list the next time :)

Planning Vegas 2011

Well, today we finally booked our hotel for Vegas.  After much deliberation we decided to stay off the strip at The Orleans.  Ron won a $1000 seat at a Horse Racing Tournament.  Because of his entry in the tournament they comped our room for two days, and reduced the price on the remaining days along with a food comp.  The Orleans is NOT one of the newer casinos but they do give better comps than the bigger ones we have stayed in.  It does make me feel at home with all the fleur de lis and Mardi Gras decor everywhere

Our airline of preference is always Southwest,  we got really good prices today and I like not having to pay the luggage fees.  We also got a rental car from less than $200 for the week.  What I normally do is book the rental car and monitor the Internet to check for lower deals, if I do, I cancel and book the lower price.  So the Hotel, Air and Rental Car are all done!

Now it's time to plan some fun things to do!  While we always enjoy doing the strip, this time I plan to venture out of the city limits!

Where to start

My husband and I share a love for traveling.  We are both retired now and totally plan to spend our children's inheritence on travel.  We have been on 6 cruises and been to Vegas more times than I can count, we were married there! 

I thought it would be really nice to start a blog to record our trips.