Niki
05-14-2008, 04:15 AM
Final part of the Vegas trip.
Food - I realize that Vegas is a mecca for food. I just haven't experienced it. For the most part, I didn't think the food was very good. I have some good food, but more mediocre than not. I guess I'm just cheap. I didn't want to spend good gambling $ on food. I was really suprised that all of the restaurants seemed to close at 10 p.m. I would have expected them to stay open late, just like the casinos. Guess not. The best food we had the entire trip was at the Buffet at the Bellagio. This was a pricey buffet, but the offerings were fantastic. There were different stations where chefs were cooking things fresh. Great salads, pastas, chinese, steak, seafood, soup, sushi and awesome desserts. We went at lunch. Well worth the extra $. Horrible buffet was at the Las Vegas Hilton. We got it free, or I would have been really miffed. Except for the salad, the entrees weren't edible. I have never thrown away so much food. Even DH, who eats just about anything, wasted food. As he was born in a third world country, wasting food is a crime to him. This food was so bad. If you also get this comped, I suggest you skip everything except desserts. For as bad as the other food was, the desserts were heavenly. DH had a really good danish. I went straight for the chocolate. There was a chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce, a flourless chocolate cake and chocolate pie. I did not wast a single bite. I wanted to lick the plate. I wouldn't pay for this buffet, but it is still worth it for free or at a discounted rate for just the desserts. Canters Deli was good, and open late. Not Perry's Deli, my Chi-town favorite, but it will pass. The family restaurant at New York New York was OK too, but really greasy. Total heartburn the next day. The family restaurant at the Gold Coast Casino had a great steak deal. For $11 I got a big, tasty Porterhouse steak, soup or salad, veggies, baked potato, good bread and a draft beer. This was the best deal we had the entire trip. I would go there again and again. Great bang for your buck. Slots-O-Fun had 99 cent hot dogs that are huge. There is a Philippino grocery with prepared food around the corner from the Stratosphere that was worth a stop. As we didn't want to spend alot of money on food, we decided to pick one nice restaurant to go to. We chose Isla, run by chef Richard Sandoval. I had looked forward to this all week. Also, I am a tequila fan and that is the specialty here. All but one of the reviews were good, so we went. Big Mistake! The shrimp and scallops in the appetizer were tiny, like you would get from a can. The entrees were covered in sauce and really salty. I ordered chicken mole. There was more mole sauce than chicken. When I think gourmet, I think spice, not salt, to enhance the food. Usually sauces are not the main part of the entree, merely an accompanyment. Not the case here. And the food was pretty pricey. Close to $100 for mexican food worse than Taco Bell. The portions were small, too. We passed on the $13 guacamole that came in a cup you would use for soup. Really tiny. Never, ever go there. Ever.
Spa - We went to the spa at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the Las Vegas Strip. Checking in, I was given a nice little bottle of Candy Cane lotion. Nice touch. Before I start gushing about how much I loved this place, I'll get the complaint out of the way first. I'm a size 12 and losing. When the girl took me back to the locker room, there was a robe in my locker. The girl showed me the locker, said it was mine, then said, 'Oh, we need to get you a bigger robe. Here we go. This should fit." This made me immediately self-conscious about my weight, which I already am. I was embarrased and my face got red immediately. We waited about 10 minutes to get checked in and fill out the forms and waiver. One would think that if the robes had sizes, they could have sized me up and put the proper size in my locker before I got in there, and before she had to point out to me that I'm a fatty. I got over this little set-back s soon as I saw DH and we were led back to our joint masssage room. When I booked for DH and I they asked if we wanted to joint room, so I said yes. We didn't upgrade the package, but they said we could have it anyway. We each had massage. Originally we had booked the sport massage, thinking that we would need one after golf. My therapist told me that it was a stretching exercise more than massage, so I went with a deep tissue. It was heavenly. I would totally recommend it. This was the best spa massage I have ever had. I will go back here next year. The special suprise was yet to come. After the massages, we were led to the quiet room where a section had been saved for us. There was a bottle of champagne and a box of spa chocolates for each of us. All this, even though we had declined the upgraded couples package. They said they had given an upgrade for free. Enjoy. The champagne was good, as were the gourmet chocolates. We drank the champagne, ate some of the chocolates and relaxed. They had a nice little book to sign, so I read some of the entries. Seems like little upgrades like this are quite common. The room was great. The massage was awesome. I can't wait to go back.
Food - I realize that Vegas is a mecca for food. I just haven't experienced it. For the most part, I didn't think the food was very good. I have some good food, but more mediocre than not. I guess I'm just cheap. I didn't want to spend good gambling $ on food. I was really suprised that all of the restaurants seemed to close at 10 p.m. I would have expected them to stay open late, just like the casinos. Guess not. The best food we had the entire trip was at the Buffet at the Bellagio. This was a pricey buffet, but the offerings were fantastic. There were different stations where chefs were cooking things fresh. Great salads, pastas, chinese, steak, seafood, soup, sushi and awesome desserts. We went at lunch. Well worth the extra $. Horrible buffet was at the Las Vegas Hilton. We got it free, or I would have been really miffed. Except for the salad, the entrees weren't edible. I have never thrown away so much food. Even DH, who eats just about anything, wasted food. As he was born in a third world country, wasting food is a crime to him. This food was so bad. If you also get this comped, I suggest you skip everything except desserts. For as bad as the other food was, the desserts were heavenly. DH had a really good danish. I went straight for the chocolate. There was a chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce, a flourless chocolate cake and chocolate pie. I did not wast a single bite. I wanted to lick the plate. I wouldn't pay for this buffet, but it is still worth it for free or at a discounted rate for just the desserts. Canters Deli was good, and open late. Not Perry's Deli, my Chi-town favorite, but it will pass. The family restaurant at New York New York was OK too, but really greasy. Total heartburn the next day. The family restaurant at the Gold Coast Casino had a great steak deal. For $11 I got a big, tasty Porterhouse steak, soup or salad, veggies, baked potato, good bread and a draft beer. This was the best deal we had the entire trip. I would go there again and again. Great bang for your buck. Slots-O-Fun had 99 cent hot dogs that are huge. There is a Philippino grocery with prepared food around the corner from the Stratosphere that was worth a stop. As we didn't want to spend alot of money on food, we decided to pick one nice restaurant to go to. We chose Isla, run by chef Richard Sandoval. I had looked forward to this all week. Also, I am a tequila fan and that is the specialty here. All but one of the reviews were good, so we went. Big Mistake! The shrimp and scallops in the appetizer were tiny, like you would get from a can. The entrees were covered in sauce and really salty. I ordered chicken mole. There was more mole sauce than chicken. When I think gourmet, I think spice, not salt, to enhance the food. Usually sauces are not the main part of the entree, merely an accompanyment. Not the case here. And the food was pretty pricey. Close to $100 for mexican food worse than Taco Bell. The portions were small, too. We passed on the $13 guacamole that came in a cup you would use for soup. Really tiny. Never, ever go there. Ever.
Spa - We went to the spa at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the Las Vegas Strip. Checking in, I was given a nice little bottle of Candy Cane lotion. Nice touch. Before I start gushing about how much I loved this place, I'll get the complaint out of the way first. I'm a size 12 and losing. When the girl took me back to the locker room, there was a robe in my locker. The girl showed me the locker, said it was mine, then said, 'Oh, we need to get you a bigger robe. Here we go. This should fit." This made me immediately self-conscious about my weight, which I already am. I was embarrased and my face got red immediately. We waited about 10 minutes to get checked in and fill out the forms and waiver. One would think that if the robes had sizes, they could have sized me up and put the proper size in my locker before I got in there, and before she had to point out to me that I'm a fatty. I got over this little set-back s soon as I saw DH and we were led back to our joint masssage room. When I booked for DH and I they asked if we wanted to joint room, so I said yes. We didn't upgrade the package, but they said we could have it anyway. We each had massage. Originally we had booked the sport massage, thinking that we would need one after golf. My therapist told me that it was a stretching exercise more than massage, so I went with a deep tissue. It was heavenly. I would totally recommend it. This was the best spa massage I have ever had. I will go back here next year. The special suprise was yet to come. After the massages, we were led to the quiet room where a section had been saved for us. There was a bottle of champagne and a box of spa chocolates for each of us. All this, even though we had declined the upgraded couples package. They said they had given an upgrade for free. Enjoy. The champagne was good, as were the gourmet chocolates. We drank the champagne, ate some of the chocolates and relaxed. They had a nice little book to sign, so I read some of the entries. Seems like little upgrades like this are quite common. The room was great. The massage was awesome. I can't wait to go back.