I%26#39;m new here, but I really gained a lot of info by reading the forums and reviews, so I figured I%26#39;d give back a little. Thanks for all of your info that most likely helped me plan our trip!
We%26#39;ve both been to Vegas numerous times and have stayed at several places, but the Strat was recommended for value.
Airport:-----------------------------------------------------------------------
While the airport is always busy, we have never had any issues with either arriving or departing here. Baggage claim was a breeze, as was picking up our rental car.
Hotel: The Stratosphere------------------------------------------------
I was a little worried about how our stay would be as I%26#39;d seen such mixed reviews. Check-in was alright. We arrived around 11:30am and dropped the car off with valet. Hiked through the casino with our luggage. The check-in/out kiosks were not working, and we ended up waiting in line around 20 minutes. However, once we got to the front desk, the process moved quickly. Didn%26#39;t mind paying for the $5/day resort fee as we knew we%26#39;d be seeing a show and most likely using the laundry. Location wasn%26#39;t a big deal as we rented a car for our stay and planned on driving everywhere, since I%26#39;m impatient and don%26#39;t like to wait for mass transit. LOL.
We stayed on the 10th floor of the Premiere Tower. The room was a decent size and very clean. Enough drawer/closet space for us. The walls are thin, and we heard every arguement and ';make-up'; session between the couple next door. That was the one issue we had with our room. The only other thing that bothered us about the hotel was that room service wasn%26#39;t picking up the trays that were left in the hallways in a timely manner. Twice we came upon broken glasses that were left by doors. Not so safe.
We ate at 3 of the restaurants in the hotel in addition to room service. Roxy%26#39;s Diner was fun with the singing waitstaff, the food was alright, but it seemed to take forever to get it. Their shakes are supposedly their claim to fame, but I wasn%26#39;t overly impressed. Perhaps it was just an off day for them. The Courtyard Buffet was good. We ate during brunch and they had a wide selection of both breakfast and lunch food items. Mama Illardo%26#39;s Pizza on the second floor was alright for a quick bite, but nothing to write home about. We really did enjoy room service, which we ordered twice. The portions were large and quite tasty (we ordered a Tower and an American breakfast one day, and a continental breakfast and an omelet the second time around). The only thing we wouldn%26#39;t recommend was the omelet. It wasn%26#39;t prepared very well. We did got to Fat Tuesday in the Mall area a few times and enjoyed their frozen beverages.
The casino was enjoyable and we did well for ourselves there. Drink service seemed to be almost non-existent most of the time. A lot of the machines were being moved around and there were renovations being done in the main casino area, but there wasn%26#39;t much noise and it didn%26#39;t make it unpleasant. The band playing in the lounge at night was fun to listen to from the casino floor.
We saw Bite during our stay and thought it was a good show for the 2-for-1 deal we got. The music was enjoyable (we like rock) and the actors/dancers did a good job. The story was pretty much every vampire story ever written, but hey, it killed a couple hours for us and it was affordable and enjoyable.
I didn%26#39;t feel as though the immediate area by the hotel was seedy. It was as you got a little closer to the Souvenier Mall or just past the Boston Pizza joint in the opposite direction that it got a little creepy.
Dining (Other than the ones listed above):---------------------------------
We ate at IHOP by the Strat when we arrived for a late lunch...hubby reminiscing about an ';amazing'; breakfast he had there a couple years ago. While the wait staff was friendly and the service was fast, I found the building itself to be a shambles...not clean and the decor was shabby. Wasn%26#39;t impressed with the food either. Won%26#39;t go back again.
Later that night we went to the Golden Nugget for the buffet. It was pretty decent! They had a wide variety of food, and their dessert bar had us drooling before we even sat down. LOL.
The following day we traveled to the Outlets in Primm. Just had pretzels at Wetzel%26#39;s Pretzels for a snack. They were pretty yummy.
The next night we ate at the Ellis Island Brewery %26amp; Casino restaurant. For appetizers, we had the chicken fingers %26amp; mozzarella sticks. Chix fingers were ok, but the mozz sticks were the size of large eggrolls and scrumptious. I had the infamous $4.95 steak dinner (which is not listed on the menu, so ask for it!). Fabulous. The meat was tender, the fixings were delicious. Hubby opted for the $8.95 steak and shrimp, which he enjoyed as well.
The following day after a room service breakfast, we ate at Nathan%26#39;s at the NYNY. I love Nathan%26#39;s, but it%26#39;s just not the same as actually having a hotdog in NY. LOL. We also hit up the Manhattan Pretzel stand while at the NYNY...buttery goodness.
For dinner, we called the Strat concierge and had them recommend a decent Italian restaurant with a relaxed, but not completely casual dress code. He offered us Battista%26#39;s Hole in the Wall, behind the Flamingo. We both had eggplant parmigiana, with salad, the house red wine and cappucino. I thought it was excellent. Hubby is Italian, so he%26#39;s hard to please and didn%26#39;t much like their red sauce.
Exhibits/Shows:------------------------------------------------------------------
I was really excited to get to see/do some things I hadn%26#39;t been able to on previous trips to Sin City.
(See Bite above in hotel section)
Popovitch Pet Comedy Theater at the Alladin V Theater:
Both hubby and I love animals, so we were curious to see this show. Basically all of the animals are rescued from humane shelters and coached to do things that they normally love, then they do it before a live audience in almost a mini-circus type setting. It was a cute show, however the seating really wasn%26#39;t beneficial. It was all one level of seating, so seeing the mice and cats on stage was tough if you were in behind 100 other people. The souvenier photos were cute.
Titanic Exhibit at the Tropicana:
I%26#39;d already seen a version of the Bodies show in my hometown (which I highly recommend if you like science), so I opted to see the Titanic exhibit. It was pretty amazing seeing how well some of the ship and it%26#39;s objects have faired over many years. You could only imagine how huge it really was. The climate controlled promenade deck room wasn%26#39;t working very well during our visit. It just seemed breezy. The ';iceberg'; was pretty awesome and the grand staircase was gorgeous. I do have to say that the hike to the opposite end of the hotel from the parking garage was not unexpected, but it seemed to take at least forty minutes!
Shopping:--------------------------------------------------------------------
We found some amazing deals at the Outlets in Primm. If you%26#39;re in Vegas for more than 3 days, really want to do something offstrip, and you have a car, I recommend driving the 45 minutes on the interstate. The mall itself was practically empty and all of the employees were extremely friendly and helpful. I was surprised to find actual outlet store prices, too, not like the marked-up then marked-down prices we have at the outlets in CO.
The Desert Passage at Alladin felt like a typical mall with a few higher-end store mixed in. We really only window shopped here before our show.
Bellagio Shops - I like to look at things I%26#39;ll never be able to afford...that pretty much sums up this whole place. LOL.
Ceasar%26#39;s Forum Shops -
How many casinos have the same blue painted sky ceilings?! We like to browse and shop here. They%26#39;ve got a wide variety of shops, and the statues are always fun to look at. Two words...Cheesecake Factory. Yum.
Oh my, I feel as though I%26#39;ve been rambling. Probably not the most organized reviews ever, but hopefully someone will take something good away from it.
Vegas 11/6 - 11/10
It was a good report, gave information on places a lot have not seen before so thank you!
As to the painted sky ceilings in Vegas, it started with the Forum Shops, the rest copied theirs. (serioulsy!)
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