For the initial time, we drove to Vegas vs flying. We saw some appealing country, some of which we'd seen previously and some for the first time . Part of the motivation was to simply compare the time and hassle factor between driving and flying from our home area. The 11-hr road trip took us through western New Mexico, northeast Arizona, I-40 west through Flagstaff, and then north to Vegas from Kingman on US 93. I'll just reiterate what many have claimed here about US 93 rough road conditions between Vegas and Kingman; the southbound lanes on the return drive home seemed particularly worse than the northbound lanes, FWIW. Patchy and cobbled in a lot of spots most of the way on that return leg..memorably so. We persevered :)
Battery replacement: On Monday morning, we visited the Bellagio buffet and to gamble a bit. We had parked our car on the 4th / top floor of the parking garage. Upon return, we heard that familiar clickety-click thing when attempting to start the car. It could have been one of many problem sources, but we assumed the battery was faulty first ( horses vs zebras, etc.). We called AAA and they had the battery diagnosed and replaced and on our way within an hour and a half. That was a win in our book..despite the short term frustration. Stuff happens, and this could have been a trip buster if the problem source had been more complex ( towing, mechanic diagnosis/ labor, expense, all accompanied by repetitive foul language, etc).
HOTELS :
PARIS: We stayed 4 nights comped at Paris in a Pool View 2- queen room ( # 682) in the Bordeaux tower . This was a good base room and very comfortable with decent maid service on the days we requested it. The room offered appealing and contrasting color palettes and overall decor, along with a decent pool view. There was a large walk-in shower with a bench seat ( no tub in this room). We enjoyed this base room and stayed all four nights.
FONTAINEBLEAU (FB) : We received a 4-night comped room offer from FB with $300 free play attached. We gambled here for two half-days during our previous Feb. trip that didn't involve a large amount of coin-in during that visit. Regardless we assume it was enough to help generate the offer; OTOH, is FB management realizing they need mid / low rollers to fill gambling seats and rooms? This place is simply gorgeous throughout , provides great service in all categories, and was simply a pleasant place to lodge for 3 nights. We stayed in a Mountain View 2-Queen Bleau room ( # 3959)..it was luxurious with a huge soaking tub and a walk-in shower in the bath along with a large trough sink atop the vanity. The clothes storage closet in the entryway was more than adequate for two for a multi-night stay. All lighting had digital control with dimming options.
Via tier match to FB Gold during the early part of the trip prior to the actual stay, we could have upgraded to a Noble suite ( was available at check in on Sunday the 5th), but we like the two-queen setup ( my wife snores loudly on occasion..and I'm worse) and none of their suites offered anything beyond a single King sleeping arrangement. We had a nice floor to ceiling window view of the Sphere and a spotted array assortment of north Strip props and beyond ( Wynn and Encore, High Roller, etc.) and could see Mandalay Bay on the distant horizon in the evenings. Luxurious room and amenities here and the place is immaculate. We often left here between 5 - 6 am in the mornings and there were crews buffing the expansive floor surfaces and restocking multiple flower arrangements in close proximity to the lobby area. If future comp perks from FB materialize, we'd absolutely stay here again.
NOMAD: We double booked Nomad and FB , with mid-range RC's and FP offered for a four night comped stay at Nomad.. Once again we stayed in a Salon Double suite on the top floor (#32-31). We've lauded and stayed in this room type several times and it remains as one of our Vegas favorites, particularly considering the service levels here. We'll see if the announced upcoming brand change to a new flag will reduce this boutique hotel into an also-ran among Strip lodging
options.
TIER MATCHING : We matched CET Diamond Plus to Wynn Platinum, and subsequently Wynn Platinum to FB Gold. We also matched CET Diamond Plus to MGM Gold ( limited 90 day period upgrade).
The Wynn Platinum tier offers free self-parking ( not valet), $150 birthday dining credit, $100 spa credit, comped Holland America cruise for two, and buffet line access among other perks. The cruise and spa credits don't interest us, but certainly will apply for others. This tier match is valid through Jan. 31, 2025.
FB Gold tier provides $150 dining credit, $150 spa credit, comp suite upgrade to Noble suite if available, 2PM late checkout when available, comped resort fees, comped self parking and valet, priority line access, and other perks. The tier upgrade from this promotional match ( sign up / match by June 2, 2024) is valid through Dec 31, 2024. We were able to use the free valet several times during our stay and paid no resort fees on the comped stay offer. We'll have to wait until the next trip to redeem the dining credit ( week processing time from match).
We also matched FB Gold to Unity Icon but I haven't studied all the offered Icon perks partially because they're a bit vague on the Mirage website. Waived resort fees are one perk. Their tier perks from matching have apparently been reduced quite a bit compared to previous history.
DINING: Typical for us, MGM breakfast brunch buffets were a large part of our dining ( paid for via RC and/or MyVegas discounts). Wicked Spoon, again ( $47 pp, $102 per visit w/ taxes and fees) was the top buffet for quality and variety among the MGM buffets. MGM had some sort of room charge / RC computer glitch on Wednesday AM and we couldn't utilize room charges. We left and returned to Nomad to report the problem; they gave us an additional $100 RC amount above the base stay offer. The problem was corrected by 1 PM the same day. Stuff happens and now and then visitors just have to shuck and jive on Vegas trips...raise hell when justified, etc.
Additional dining venues were In-N-Out Burger (2x), Bavettes @ Park MGM ( still excellent including that pie), America at NYNY, Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen @ Linq, and we snacked at the Bellagio Patisserie ( gelato). The food at these venues were all pretty good because we largely knew what to expect from previous trips.
GAMBLING: I played 3:2 blackjack at TI, Boulder Station, and El Cortez. FB table minimums are out of our bankroll limits for the most part..didn't play there. I had an overall profit of a few hundred bucks after all the sessions and losses.
Overall, we had about $900 in free play among MGM, CET, TI, FB, and South Point properties.
Slot and progressives play was like pulling hens teeth..we hopped all over including South Point, Boulder, El Cortez, FB, and multiple Strip props. My best results among 9-line progressives (25 cent denoms) were at FB and Paris; next trip it could be anywhere else, though. :)
Observations: There were a lot of windy days during this trip, particularly on Sunday (5th). Otherwise , the weather temps were very enjoyable , particularly in the early am hours.
After having AAA membership for several years, it was a huge benefit to us on this trip because of the bad battery situation. That was a win.
If time permits for the next trip, I think we'll try the road trip route again after this inaugural tryout. Avoiding the car rental, baggage drag back and forth, flight delays, and associated time requirements of flying weren't missed at all this trip. Despite a longer total time for transportation to Vegas, it was liberating in a few ways. We'll see.
Enough already..
