Overall, my experience at Vdara had quite a few high points and a few issues; most were temporary involving the opening of a new place. Some however are major design flaws that will not be easily corrected. I will start with the good...

I was one of the first hotel guests to arrived after the VIP Ribbon Cutting. When I pulled up to the front entrance, I was met by 15 valets and bellmen standing there waiting for me. I almost felt assaulted by the service. I would continue to get almost overwhelming attention my entire stay. I checked my bags as check-in was scheduled for noon and proceeded inside. The big wigs were still mulling around and the media were being led on tours. I managed to get a handshake in with MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren. At noon, we were told check-in wouldn't start until 1 PM. 5 years building it but apparently they needed an extra hour to get things ready! I used the time to find a spot to plug in the laptop and used the FREE (a shocker!) Wi-Fi to post the first set of pics. By the time I was done, the rooms were ready and check-in started. During my check-in, the key making system went down for a few minutes then once I got to the elevator, the first one was not working. Both issues were quickly fixed. The room floors were actually quite different than the lobby as they are dimly lit with subdued colors. A couple of cool features before even entering the room: door bells, electronic 'Do Not Disturb' signs and locks that just require the key to be waved past it.

The rooms are actually condos with a kitchenette/dining area are you walk into the room. It has a sink, microwave, combo fridge/mini-bar, Keurig coffee maker and the dining area was a small table for two. The living area and bedroom are separated by the media center and desk which is equipped with 2 large flat-screen TVs and a connection center with HDMI, USB, VGA, RCA and S-Video ports. It is furnished in the same modern/retro style of the lobby with mostly beige and dark brown colors accented by a few pieces of hideous green. The bathroom is quite big with high end fixtures, separate shower and a very large tub. The one big downside is only a single sink on the vanity. A couple of other cool features of the room include motorized blinds and a small locking closet which is something I haven't seen before.

Now for the bigger issues I encountered that will not be easily remedied... The room itself was great and I would stay again in a heartbeat if it weren't at Vdara. Despite my mistaken belief, Vdara is a completely stand-alone building. It is not attached to either ARIA or Bellagio. To get to ARIA, you will need to walk out of the front door and across the porte cochere which is only a couple hundred feet but still not fun at 2AM in February. The connection to Bellagio is even worse. After you walk down a short glass hallway in Vdara, you are deposited outside in a covered walkway that is 30 feet above a loading dock with utility pipes running overhead. $8.5 Billion building City Center and this is what connects the 2 crown jewels of the MGM business? Someone dropped the ball big-time on this one. The other major issue is a lack of basic amenities at Vdara itself. Once again, I get they are relying on ARIA to provide many amenities but not being able to get a cup of coffee in the morning at a 1,500 room hotel is ridiculous. There also isn't even a simple gift shop. Forgot your toothbrush or want a candy bar? Walk your ass over (outside) to ARIA or Bellagio. There also a lack of dining options with only 1 restaurant on-site and it is high-end. Bacon and eggs was going for $22!

No doubt staying at Vdara will feel much less isolated once the rest of City Center opens but leaving a key piece of the puzzle as a stand-alone building is a mistake and won't be cheap to fix though not impossible. This is an epic fail on par with the Aladdin Strip access disaster. The bottom line is Vdara is exactly what it is billed. If you are interested in staying at a very nice hotel with great service that is non-smoking and non-gaming then the issues of access may not be a problem for you and actually might sound appealing. If you are looking for a classic Vegas hotel, then it is probably the last place you want to stay.

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The second night of the trip I moved over to the Orleans and got there around 1 PM. There was only a short wait of about 10 minutes at the front desk. It was a double on the 15th floor very close to the elevator. Since my last stay a few years ago, the rooms have been "refreshed" with new linens and draperies but definitely not completely remodeled. Never the less, the room was in pretty good shape. They are on the larger side for a standard Vegas room and has a seating area with a small couch and coffee table. I always love having a couch but in this case the downside was that the TV was little small and far away to watch it. Similar to other Coast Casino hotels, the bathroom is located at the back of the room and there is no closet, just a rack in the bath. A unique feature of the Orleans room is a small window in the shower area that actually opens, All in all, the room was decent enough with no real complaints though I preferred the room I had the night before at Palace Station especially considering was $5 cheaper.

As one of the largest locals casinos, the Orleans has a decent collection of restaurants, most of which skew towards the cheaper ends of the scale. There is a decent food court, a large buffet which was slightly better than average, the dreaded TGI Friday's as well as a still 24 hours coffee shop plus a couple of nicer places. The lunch buffet was nothing out of the ordinary but did have a good selection and everything I tried was fresh and tasty. A late-night room service burger while also nothing spectacular, arrived ridiculously fast which was nice after the problems the night before at Palace Station.

One of the reason I choose the Orleans was because I wanted to catch a Las Vegas Wrangler game; the minor league hockey team who plays at the Orleans Arena. The game was entertaining enough though not NHL quality but certainly priced right at $38 for a seat right on the glass and just about every other one was $8. Being a small arena, every seat is a good one. As a bonus, it was Dollar Beer Night which made it a hell of a bargain for an evening of entertainment. They should definitely be marketing more to the Strip as an option if one of the dozens of Cirque Du Soleil shows isn't your idea of a good time.

Staying at the Orleans, I got the feel that it is like the MGM of the locals casinos. It has everything every other one has, just more and bigger. Plenty of rooms, many restaurants and a giant casino. If you want to try staying at a locals place, it's a great way to go plus its only a short hop down Tropicana to the strip. The room was nicer at Palace Station but otherwise Orleans has much more to offer.

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I arrived around 6PM and check-in was fast with there actually being more clerks than people waiting. I have noticed less front desk staff at many places these days so this was a nice surprise to start out the trip. In a matter of minutes I was up in my room on the 16th floor of the tower. For only $30 a night, the room was incredible. It looks freshly remodeled in the past 6 months with all new furnishings including a nice sized flat panel TV and marble counters in the bathroom. The.. shower had a nice, high "rainshower" head with good pressure. One note, there was only a shower stall, no tub in the bathroom. Not a problem for me but might be for some. The whole room was in great shape and quite clean with no stains or burns anywhere. I couldn't have been happier with the quality especially at the rock bottom price.

Several times in recent posts I have discussed the issue of the dying coffeeshop and the Stations are at the forefront of movement. I got to experience the new Coco's replacement when I had a late room service meal a little after 11 PM. I pressed the button on the phone for room service and the it rang at least 25 times before I hung up. I tried again with the same result. After waiting a few minutes, once again no answer. I called the operator and she said that room service was available from 11PM to 11AM so they should have answered and she would connect me. Still no luck. I called back the operator who puts me on hold for a minute before finally finding someone at Coco's to answer the phone. Hardly stellar service! If I wasn't looking to make a point, I wouldn't have made that much of an effort and simply would have been pissed off and went with another option. To their credit; once I did place my order, it arrived quickly and was pretty good but the whole experience underscores my point that there is no way an outside establishment will treat the casino customers as well or offer the value as an in-house place would.

The following morning, I was in the casino playing a little Keno when out of the blue I was approached by a slot host who asked if I would like a buffet comp! It was good for anytime and for up to week with no points coming off your account. In all of my trips and all of the hours playing in a Vegas casino, that has NEVER happened to me. It happened once at an Indian casino in So Cal but never in Vegas. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked. It is precisely that type of stuff the casinos need to get back to if they ever want to fill all those new rooms coming online in the next few months. Kudos to Station for that move. I used the comp for a lunch buffet that was above average in quality but short on quantity. There just wasn't a really large selection of items especially compared to some of the other locals buffets around.

All in all, I was very happy with my stay at Palace Station. You just can't beat a freshly remodeled room for $30. Aside from the issue with room service, everyone else I dealt with was great with fast service at the valet and front desk plus the unsolicited comp while only playing quarter keno was an added bonus. Considering its location close to the strip and just off the freeway, it definitely is a decent alternative to a Strip place if you are looking for a good deal on a room.

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Yesterday, Las Vegas lost one of the greatest characters to ever grace its landscape, Bob Stupak. The creator of the Vegas World casino in the 70s which morphed later into the Stratosphere, left a permenant mark on the city's skyline and history. Born in Pittsburgh and self-dubbed the "Polish Maverick," he placed his first bet at age 8.Running craps games in the army, he learned that he could make a nice buck because "people were prepared to gamble a little if they had a chance to win a lot." He bounced around the world for a while developing a PT Barnum-like flair for marketing but always had a love for Las Vegas. He finally moved there in the 70s opening a restaurant, gambling museum then Vegas World in 1979. Here he would begin to truly make his mark on Las Vegas. When he realized the Strip ended at Sahara, a quarter mile south of his casino, he took it upon himself to declare the Strip has "officially" been extended. He went to great lengths to get people into his casino in often classic fashion. Vegas World was known for the utmost in gimmick marketing, sometimes ending him up in hot water with the Gaming Commission. Though things like no-craps craps and late-night TV ads selling vacation packages and dealers wearing old-western bowties that read "He's Bob Stupak. He's Polish!" the casino was like no other.

While living in Australia, he got the idea to build the Stratosphere and never gave up on the dream. He knew people were drawn to tall buildings and set out to build the tallest one west of the Mississippi River. When first proposed; people said he was insane, that planes would crash in it. Persistant as always, Stupak was undeterred. Despite having to take on investors that would eventually drive him out and force the place into bankruptcy, his vision was achieved and Stratosphere remains one of the must-see atrraction in Vegas and an icon that can been seen from anywhere in the Vegas valley.

Stupak's personal life was as colorful as his professional one. He once bet a million dollars on the Super Bowl and was an accomplished poker player if not so much for his skill as his bravado. He would incessantly tempt fellow players at side bets on virtually everything, typically in huckster style. He once bet anyone in the poker room that he could do "between two and three hundred push-ups." Everyone rushed to bet the skinny Polish guy. Once he got on the floor, they quickly realized he never said "between 200 and 300 push-ups." They quickly paid up! He ran for political office on several occasions, though never won and was quite the ladies man. He almost died in 1995 when he wrecked his motorcycle and completely crushed his face. The traffic investigator when he arrived on scene couldn't imagine anyone living through the accident but Bob managed to pulled through. In 1999, he proposed a Titanic themed casino on the Strip with a complete replica of the ship serving as the hotel, sadly the Las Vegas city council shot down the idea. There was also a very charitable side to Stupak with large donations particularly to the neighborhood surrounding the Stratosphere. To say it isn't the best part of town is an understatement and Bob wanted to help the residents. He employed many of them when the Strat first opened and built a community center and park in honor of his father which is a jewel in the middle of a pretty rough neighborhood.

Rest in peace, Bob. You made a legendary place in the history of Las Vegas and your legacy will never be forgotten!

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For the final two nights of the trip, I moved over to a Monaco Suite at the Monte Carlo in anticipation of the wife's arrival later that day. I worked it out that after spending 3 nights with Mom, I would fly her back to Orange County to look after our pets as Lisa flew out for the last two nights. I managed to keep them both happy while not having to do it at the same time! It worked out well and I will do it again for my trip in December.

Check-in at the Monte Carlo was painless with only a very short line and I was up to the room in a just a few minutes. Amazingly enough, we weren't looking at a wall for once! Though far from the best view in town being on the 6th floor overlooking valet, anything was better than the previous 3 nights. The Monaco Suite is a really a mini-suite with 1 and a half baths. It wasn't priced much more than a regular room and it was well worth the extra money. Since we enjoy hanging out in the room, having the seating area and extra bath was definitely nice. The room itself was nice enough though hardly 5-star luxury. The furnishings were in good shape and everything was clean except for some of the dirtiest windows I have ever seen. More on that in a second... There was a flat screen TV but bafflingly there wasn't HD programming. I can't fathom the stupidity of spending the money for new Hi-Def TVs then not provide HD! The TV also wasn't really big enough to enjoy from the bed. They made up for it by having a very comfortable couch. The bathrooms, like the room itself, were also in good condition but both toilets were fairly difficult to flush, which was odd. The master had a combo shower/whirlpool tub but we just used the shower.

Overall, we were both very happy with our stay at the Monte Carlo. I have never had a very high opinion of the place since it opened back in the 90's. It was one of just three places on the strip that I have never stayed since there is nothing to really draw you there and the casino has never been very good. However; between the room, a surprisingly fun casino (if you aren't looking for serious gambling) and a decent selection of restaurants, we didn't leave the place all that much the entire time we were there. I sold the Monte Carlo short and it turned out to be a nice mid-budget place that might be a better option than something like Luxor or TI especially once City Center opens next door in Decemeber.

A very interesting incident happened on the first day at the hotel. As I mentioned earlier, the windows were terribly dirty. Lisa was poking around and discovered to both of our surprise that the window fully opened! I don't think I have ever seen a window that opened in a Vegas hotel so we were both shocked. Since it was a smoking room, we decided to leave the window open to air out the room. No more than 10 minutes later, the phone rings and its security telling us that we have to close the window as its obviously a safety hazard. No problem. We close it then as we always do when we leave, hang the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door as we head down to the pool. We are in the pool for about 30 seconds before lightning rolls through and they close the pool. We head back to the room to find that they ignored the DND sign and busted in to put a stop plate on the window so it didn't open anymore. It was almost as if they were scoping us out and waiting for us to leave to get into the room. The speed at which they acted was breath-taking! I'm sure if I called them for something, they wouldn't have been so speedy. It definitely gave us a good chuckle. It also served as a reminder that we are just "guests" in the hotel and its THEIR room and they will enter as they please.

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The first night of my stay was at New York-New York. I received an email offer about 3 days before we left for $44 a night. We were supposed to have been in the standard Skyline room but when we checked in at 11:30 PM, the gave us a free "upgrade" to a "Park Ave. Deluxe." The room was located on the 3rd floor near the food court elevators and when we got in the room, I swore the window was a fake. There was not a single ray of light to be seen, even from above. The next morning, we find out it wasn't fake but looked directly at a wall 3 feet away. By far the worst view I have ever gotten in Vegas. We probably would have been happier without the "upgrade!" No big deal though as we were only going to be there 12 hours. Other than the view however, the rest of the room was decent overall. It is an older room that is still in relatively good shape but don't expect a flat screen with HDTV. There wasn't any major stains or burns and all the furniture was good as well. The room is a little on the small size but I guess there wanted to continue the New York theme to the rooms! The bed was comfortable enough with no sagging though the pillows could have been better. The bathroom is very run of the mill with only 1 sink but the combo shower/tub had very good water pressure.

As for the rest of the hotel; the place has a decent collection of restaurants, most of which are quite affordable including a big food court and an ESPN Zone. There are several good bars and clubs including the Times Square Bar which started the whole "Dueling Pianos" rage that every hotel now seems to have. It is definitely entertaining enough, especially while sucking down free drinks and slow-playing video poker at the bar. The location is also very good. Located feet from MGM's front entrance and just across from Excalibur and the tram to Luxor and Mandalay Bay, there are plenty of other options within a short walk. There are a few definite negatives against the place... The casino is pretty terrible as far as good games go. The pool is amongst the smallest in Vegas and as mentioned previously, the rooms are hardly the lap of luxury. All in all, NY-NY serves its niche pretty well. If you are looking for a younger crowd and want to party all weekend and want a room that is a step up from bargain, it is a great choice. If you are looking for a luxurious romantic weekend getaway, there are far better choices in town.

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Just back from the End of Summer trip and there is quite a bit to post! I will start getting room pics and maps up tomorrow but I wanted to post a few tidbits from the trip. I would have done it real-time but had remote access issues. Mom and I spent the first night at New York-New York and then moved over to Venetian (actually the Venezia Tower, there is a difference!) for the next two and the luck of the draw as far as the view went couldn't have been worse at both places! At NY-NY, it was hands down the worst view out of a window ever Vegas or otherwise, despite Venetian's best effort to beat them.

New York-New York

Venetian

I like a decent view and sometimes will even pay a premium for it. However, I'm not that anal about it and generally don't mind whatever I get but being handed this back to back even after mentioning how bad the view was the first night is almost ridiculous! To top it off, in order to provide such an amazing view at the Venetian, we were the furthest point humanly possible from anything! Miles and miles of walking ensued during those 2 nights. The final 2 nights were with Lisa in a suite at Monte Carlo. The view was hardly spectacular but at least it wasn't staring at a wall!

Another nugget of awesome from the trip was a billboard that is along Industrial not far from Trump.

Apparently he is the angry, Old Testament God and not the newer, kinder "Jesus" God! You got to love Vegas. No where else can you see an advertisement looking for budding pornstars a mile away from one condemning all the city's visitors to death, I'm just bummed it's not prominently displayed on the strip or on one of those street blimps! Now that would be priceless. Much more to come in the next few days...

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I have to give props to the guys over at MGM/Mirage for coming up with innovative ways to part you from your cash even in this tough economic environment. First, they started the latest hot trend in bargain dining, the "All-Day Buffet." For one low price, you can gorge yourself from morning to night thus insuring that you never even leave your hotel. It started at the Excalibur Buffet, which I wouldn't eat a single meal at let alone three, but the idea has now spread all over town from the locals joints up to the higher-end places.

The gurus at the MGM Grand have now come up with another way to keep you captive in their hotel. They recently introduced the "Prima VIP Privilege" program. Basically, you post $500 to your room account at check-in which you then use for food, drinks and entertainment. In exchange, they bestow upon you a bevy of goodies and perks. You get VIP Check-In, free suite upgrade, 2 for 1 entrees at most restaurants and 2 for 1 drinks at most bars. VIP Access to Studio 54 and Tabu, 1 round-trip limo to another MGM property and some others goodies. It sounds like an awesome deal. The catch? If you don't use the $500, no refunds. You lose what ever is left over. Therein the lies the pitfall of most "good" Vegas deals like this. The casinos are marketers second to none and while the offer is 100% legit, you have to work to get your money's worth out of it and they know most people simply won't do it. For every guy who get the maximum value out of it, 5 will leave $100 in their account on the way out the door.

Offers like this have made "working the Vegas deal" a science onto itself. Casinos work non-stop to get people in the doors. Everything from 2 for 1 coupons in the magazines to fully comped suites for the best players. For those in the know and are willing to put in a little effort, working these casino offers can be quite lucretive. For example, the "Prima" deal can be a nice windfall if you plan on eating most of your meals at MGM, going to their shows and partying at their clubs. For a 3 or 4 night stay, $500 is pretty easy to spend and scoring those added free perks along the way on as a bonus makes it a great deal. You just need to plan for it going in otherwise you will find yourself leaving money on the table. Learning these little insider tips on how casinos work have saved me literally thousands of dollars over the years. Looking back on my first couple of trips, I laugh at some of the foolish things I did with my money! Two great sources I use for finding the best deals in town and how to take advantage of them are the Las Vegas Advisor and the weekly LV Review-Journal column, Player's Edge. Both are worthy resources that everyone who is going to Vegas should have bookmarked. In the case of the LV Advisor, the membership is the best $50 I ever spent. It can pay for itself tenfold in a single trip. And no, they don't pay me to pimp for them!

Click Here for more details about MGM Grand's Prima program.

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I just spoke with the Director of Hotel Operations at Vdara, the 1st piece of City Center scheduled to open, and was told my reservation for opening night of October 1st has been cancelled and they are now delaying the opening until December 1st, 16 days before the opening of the rest of City Center.

Booking a room on the opening night of a hotel is always fraught with risk. Most usually don't hit their targets and if they do, it's usually with a "soft opening." So I was kind of expecting this to happen though was hoping that it wouldn't be delayed. She was very apologetic and comped me 2 nights once they do open. I used one of them for the new opening night of Dec 1st.

Updated: 08/03/09 4:00PM

Just to add a little more detail about our conversation... She mentioned the reason for the delay was Vdara is relying on the rest of City Center to provide many of its amenities. Since it will not be opened for 2 and half months after the planned Vdara opening, they would not be able "to provide their guests a complete experience." So instead of going with the "soft" opening, they decided to push it back closer to the December 16th opening of the rest of City Center while still giving themselves 2 weeks to work out any kinks. It also seems to me that it is convenient reasoning if they aren't quite ready to open the place. It makes sense from a PR stand-point. There is way too much at stake with this whole project to risk starting off with bad press if you can just as easily give yourself 2 months to get everything right.