Trip report my first post!

Been reading this forum forever, and finally decided to join. Just returned from another trip to Vegas; had a great time and thought I would fill you all in.

Biggest disaster.....renting a car from Alamo. No problem with them, but the Alamo lot is off of McCarren property and after not sleeping for what seemed like 24 hours; it was difficult to locate the lot to return the car. Perhaps it was the massive hangover.....we kept ending back on 215 or 15! Kind of funny now, but at the time, we were in a panic.

Stayed at Mandalay Bay May 29-June 2. Never made it down to the pool before 11:00am or so and we never had a problem with lounge chairs. They appeared to be taken, but we just kept asking and quickly found two without a problem. We thought the pool area was great.....as were the drinks.

First night had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi...everyone here knows the story on that restaurant...it didn%26#39;t disappoint! Love that place, although our waitress was moderately cranky. Not sure why, but I have had better service.

Second day was gambling...lost too much at MB, so went downtown. Golden Nugget was a blast. Played BJ and ended up winning $400. When we left there, my brother was up $800 at a craps table. Second night, ate at Mix. We loved this restaurant...awesome view, outstanding service and the food was great. The Barramundi was excellent as was the peppercorn bison. Melted in your mouth. We went into the lounge area for an after dinner drink, then went down to RumJungle. Didn%26#39;t stay long there; we felt kind of old......we%26#39;re in our 40%26#39;s. Back to the Golden Nugget for more gambling.....broke even.

The Golden Nugget is a hoot...the only thing missing is Ann-Margret. Strong drinks, fun tables. Biggest letdown....dealers seemed to be slightly burned out. Perhaps because they%26#39;ve been doing it since the GN opened. Left there slightly drunk and still had some money in our pockets, so it was a success.

Day three...spa at Mandalay and pool. Spa is nice. I didn%26#39;t think they had a whole lot of free weights, but lots of cardio. Nice steam room, etc. No problem getting lounge chairs again...we just kept asking ';are these seats taken'; and they never were.

Lunch at Burger Bar...yum. Back for a nap...now we%26#39;re on a three day drinkfest and we need a nap before we go out for the night. Have a friend who lives in Vegas....met him at dinner at DelFriscos. Phenomenal meal. Quite pricey....but it%26#39;s an event; not just dinner. Spent several hours there; everything was excellent. Beefsteak tomato appetizer, steaks, great wine list. Went in to the cigar lounge afterwards. Men ordered cigars; all had after dinner drinks and we listened to a great piano player. It is not cheap; but worth it. Count on spending $100 a head with drinks and wine.

Headed back to Mandalay....my local friend is a member of the Foundation Room, so we got on the other side of the velvet rope and went up. It%26#39;s very nice, the view surpasses Mix, (it%26#39;s just a different angle) and it%26#39;s quite charming. We were there Wednesday night and it was not real busy...and we were there till 2:00am. I understand Monday nights the public can get in for a cover and it%26#39;s busy then. Went down to the Coral Reef bar (I think)...drank some more, ate at the 24 hours cafe, drank some more, gambled too much more, lost even more money, then called it a night. Maybe I should say morning. Packed, brushed our alcohol coated teeth, and drove around in a circle looking for Alamo.

I can%26#39;t wait to go back!

Bottom line...we loved MB. No kid problems, no lounge chair problems, no bed bug problems.

Sorry if this is too long....it%26#39;s my first post!

Trip report my first post!

Nice report.

I like MB... even though the gambling there is awfully tight!

Trip report my first post!

That was great Dee Dee. BTW, trip reports are never to long. Thank

Thank You Deedee. It is nice to hear some positive things about the Mandalay Bay once.

Great report. Sounds like a great trip!

DeeDee -- I enjoyed your trip report, definitely not too long! :-)

Great trip report- I was glad to hear about the lounge chairs at the pool. I%26#39;m staying at the hotel at mandalay bay and I%26#39;m a little worried about not getting to the pool earlier enough to secure chairs. Did you need reservations for the mix?

Excellent trip report and you reported on a number of things that all might not have seen before.

We ate at Del Frisco%26#39;s last time we were in Vegas, don%26#39;t know why people on this forum don%26#39;t talk it up much!

Dee,

I was at Mandalay Bay on those exact same dates! How funny is that? I%26#39;m glad you had a good experience there. Unfortunately, I did not. Isn%26#39;t it funny that people staying at the same hotel on the same dates can have such differenct experiences?

petrietwo,

I was also at MB on those dates and had a very hard time getting chairs. The first time, I got down to the pool at 8:45 and there were no seats available. The second (and last time), I got down there at 7:50 since they open at 8, and there were already at least 200 people in line. So, if you want a seat, I would advise you to get down there early, as people start lining up at 7 am.