Tuesday 29 August
Our flight from Edinburgh to London was on time and after transferring over to terminal 3 by bus we proceeded to security and were astounded that there was absolutely no queue whatsoever. We have never ever seen that area look so deserted! Had a sandwich and a cup of tea and proceeded to our gate for our flight. Just as we were about to board Jim's boarding pass showed up that he had been preselected for a security check. He was taken off to a designated area and had to wait for ages before being scanned and swabbed. When we eventually got on board we discovered that the plane was only half full and during the flight loads of people were lying across 3 or 4 seats. As we were in the bulkhead seats where the armrests are stationary we couldn't take advantage of that. Landed 20 minutes early and cleared passport control very quickly and didn't have too long for our luggage to come through.
Transferred over to terminal 1 where we caught the Palace Station free shuttle from the airport to our hotel. Checked in, unpacked and went for a quick session on the slots with no luck at all.
Wednesday 30 August
Woke early as usual, had showers and went for our regular breakfast at the McDonald's across the street.
Walked up to the Money Tree to purchase our reduced fare 30 day bus tickets ($32.50 each). Caught a couple of buses to the Smart & Final and Walmart on Charleston to buy various items then returned to our hotel. Had a late lunch at the buffet and paid most of it with half points as it's "My Generation" Wednesday (total $4.98). Collected our free Starbucks coffee on the way back to drink in our room. Caught the SX (Sahara Express) up to Red Rock casino to take part in their my generation slot tournament as for some strange reason it had been cancelled at the Palace Station. Didn't do well in the tournament but we enjoyed playing lots of different slot machines as it was 10 times points day. Caught the bus back to our hotel and played more slots there to finish off the night.
Thursday 31 August
Woke quite early again today and had our usual breakfast over at McDs. Travelled to the Las Vegas Advisor's office to pick up a Members Reward coupon book for our son's friend who will be arriving in a couple of weeks. Then caught a couple of buses to Sam's Town and visited the Walmart there before going for a late lunch at the Sam's Town buffet with a 2 for 1 coupon (total $8.65).
We then played $10 got $10 free play on the slots with a LVA Members Reward book coupon - total profit $17.12. Caught the BHX then the SX bus back to our hotel. Rested then played in the casino for a while.
Friday 1 September
Had breakfast then sat outside McDs to get some sun as we have no pool to lie beside. Video-called our son back home for an hour then set off for Fremont Street. Called in to a few souvenir shops and casinos before making our way up to Main Street to catch the 106 bus to Texas Station.
As there is no pool at the Palace Station the only other options if we want to use a pool are Texas Station or the Palms. Had a late lunch in the buffet there with a 2 for 1 LVA Members Reward Book (total $9.73). We then went to registration to ask about the pool. She issued us with room keys to get access and when we found the pool we were a bit disappointed as it was very small 😕.
Don't think we'll be back! Caught the 106 and the 119 buses back to our hotel - relaxed and gambled in the casino at night.
Saturday 2 September
Had breakfast then caught buses to Fremont Street again and called into the 4 Queens to see if they would allocate Ross a nice room for his 30th birthday trip. The very helpful member of staff also put notes into both our bookings for rooms near each other in a quiet part of the hotel. We managed to get the free city Wi-Fi outside the 4 Queens area but further up Fremont Street we couldn't access it so popped up to the Plaza where we know we can get a good Wi-Fi signal in the lobby. We then caught the Deuce to the Burger King near the Stratosphere for a late lunch then returned to our hotel.
Played the 5pm session of bingo but no luck unfortunately. Gambled in the casino at night and actually had some luck on the slots for a change.
As you can see from these photos we are very low rollers betting 20c, 15c or 10c.
Sunday 3 September
Had breakfast then caught a bus up to Decatur and visited the Ross shop, TJ Maxx and the Dollar Tree. We then caught the bus to the Palms where we had a pool pass from the Palace Station. Unfortunately we were not allowed in with our backpack. They did say that we could check it in with the bell hop but we decided that, judging by the music we could hear, the pool was aimed at young people and would probably be too noisy for us. Instead we caught the 202 bus westbound right to the end of the route to visit the Grand Canyon Parkway Center. There are various stores there including Kohls, Payless Shoes and Target. We had a wander round them and as we were getting hungry by this time we decided to eat at the cafe inside Target. We both had pasta dishes - I had chicken alfredo and Jim had meat feast. We both enjoyed them very much.
Caught a couple of buses back to our hotel and played the 5pm session of bingo again (no luck). Gambled in the casino at night.
Monday 4 September
Had breakfast then caught the SX and the 109 to the Boulevard Mall on Maryland Parkway. Visited Sears and various other stores inside the mall. There was lots of activities for children including a miniature train and Sea Quest.
We then caught a bus back to Sahara and visited a Dollar tree and a Smith's before catching the bus back to our hotel. Ate a Subway meal in our room whilst watching the US tennis open. Played the 5pm bingo session again and someone called bingo on the hot ball number for $770 but unfortunately it wasn't us. Gambled in the casino at night and we were in profit for a change thanks to a few good bonuses.
Tuesday 5 September
Had breakfast and caught the SX then the SDX to the Bellagio to film and take photos of the conservatory.
Caught the free tram to the Monte Carlo to see what changes have taken place so far. Quite a lot of the casino has been cordoned off and the buffet is now closed plus all the shops on the way from the tram to the casino are no longer there. Caught the Deuce up to the Venetian and walked through to the Palazzo to film their display which wasn't as spectacular as usual.
Caught the 119 bus back to the Palace Station and had a late lunch at the buffet. Gambled in the casino at night.
Wednesday 6 September
Had breakfast then caught the bus up to Red Rock.
Took part in their my generation slot tournament but didn't score very highly. Played some slots then went to the cinema to see Dunkirk for $4 each (My Generation offer). It was a very good film but very harrowing. We then used a 2 for 1 coupon for a late lunch at the buffet ($10.91 ACG coupon). Caught the bus back to our hotel and I took part in the seniors slot tournament after earning 50 points. We then went to the players club to get bingo vouchers for half points to use later on tonight and our free cup of Starbucks. Relaxed in our room and watched the tennis until it was time for the 9pm bingo session (no luck as usual). Gambled in the casino after bingo.
Thursday 7 September
Had breakfast then visited Walgreens to buy throat spray and sore throat lozenges as I have developed a sore throat. Caught the Deuce to Bonneville and then the 106 up to Texas Station. We decided to give the pool there another chance. We were the only people there apart from one other man. We lay for a while then Jim got chatting to the other guest. After a while we caught the buses back to our hotel and decided just to have a Subway for our dinner. We ate it in our room then relaxed until it was time to leave to see our free show from playing the myvegas game on Facebook. We caught the 119 to Treasure Island and walked along to the Mirage and into the Beatles Love theatre.
This is about the 7th time we've seen the show and every time we see it we notice something different. It is an amazing show.
Caught the Deuce then the SX back to our hotel and gambled in the casino.
Friday 8 September
Had breakfast then bought water and cough sweets as I've now developed a bad cough along with the sore throat. Gambled a little bit in the casino this afternoon as we are going to the airport tonight to meet our son off his flight and accompany him to his hotel Downtown, the 4 Queens. There was a heavy shower of rain whilst we were playing slots but it didn't last long and then the sun came back out. Went over to Pizza Hut for some pasta and bread sticks for an early dinner and ate them in our room. Set off for the airport in pouring rain with thunder and lightning. We knew our son's plane was running about an hour late but the landing time kept getting put back. He texted us after the plane landed and was taxiing to the gate. There was a long queue for passport control and eventually he appeared with his luggage. We took the shuttle over to terminal 1 and caught the 108 to Bonneville and then the Deuce to Fremont Street. He checked in and we went up to his room with him. We then took him to Walgreen's for water and Coke before saying goodbye. We caught the buses back to our hotel getting here at 12.45am.
Saturday 9 September
Had breakfast then travelled to Downtown to meet up with our son. Took the HDX to Sunset Station and had a late lunch at the buffet.
Walked over to the 99c store and Walmart and did some shopping before catching the HDX bus back. Left our son at his hotel and travelled back to our hotel. Rested then gambled in the casino at night.
Sunday 10 September
Had breakfast then sat in the sun for a while before playing our $10 through for a spin for points. Jim received 3,000 and I received 1,500. Returned to our room and I did some laundry. Jim went Downtown to meet up with our son and bring him back to our hotel. We ate at the buffet and then played the 5pm session of bingo. Hung out in our room for a while then played the 7pm bingo session but we had no luck today. We all caught the SX to the Strip and waited until our son caught the Deuce back to Downtown then we caught the SX back to our hotel. Gambled in the casino at night and strangely won a progressive of over $21 playing 10c a spin.
Monday 11 September
After breakfast we went Downtown to meet up with our son. Caught the WAX bus to Hooters and we all played $10 get $10 with the LVA Members Reward book. We then walked along to the Luxor and we each redeemed a myvegas reward for a dinner buffet.
We had a brief look round Mandalay Bay before catching the SDX back to our hotels. Gambled in the casino at night.
Tuesday 12 September
After breakfast we met up with our son again and travelled down to the Luxor again to redeem another myvegas reward - a lunch buffet.
We then took the tram to Excalibur and walked over to New York New York so that our son could redeem another myvegas reward - a cocktail at the Chocolate Bar. That turned out to be a $5 voucher which got him an apple flavoured shot. We then walked through to the Park to show him the T-Mobile Arena
before catching the tram at Monte Carlo to the Bellagio where we were just in time to see a fountain show. We crossed over after that to walk round the shops at Bally's then caught an SDX.
We got off at the Wynn and said goodbyes to our son who was heading back to his hotel and then to the Stratosphere later tonight to meet up with his 3 friends who are arriving tonight. Gambled in the casino at night.
Wednesday 13 September
Had breakfast then caught the SX bus up to Red Rock to go to the senior $4 movies. We chose the new Reese Witherspoon film called Home Again. We both enjoyed it and played a few slots afterwards so that Jim could have 2 sessions on the slot tournament instead of one. No big scores today unfortunately. Caught the bus back to our hotel and went for a dinner buffet and paid with half points. Played the 9pm bingo session with half points but needless to say we didn't win. Gambled in the casino at night.
Thursday 14 September
Had breakfast then took the 119 bus over to the Tix4tonight at the Fashion Show Mall and booked to see the show Tenors of Rock at Harrahs for tonight. We then made our way to Harrahs to exchange our voucher for actual seats.
Had a look round the Linq area and liked the look of Gordon Ramsay's Fish and Chips outlet so we decided to eat there later on. Returned to our hotel and later on caught the bus back to the Linq to eat. We had some Total Rewards points earned through the now defunct Social Rewards program so we used them to pay for our meal. We bought the fish & chips combo for $14.99 each which includes 3 pieces of pure white battered fish with a good helping of chips (fries) plus 2 dips from a choice of 5. Also included was a soft drink which you helped yourself to. There were a few tables and seats inside plus some outside. We really enjoyed our meal.
Sat in the race and sports book in the Linq until it was time for our show. The theatre was by no means full and we were offered the chance to move to seats further forward but declined as we knew it would be loud plus we had a good view from where we were.
We weren't overly impressed with the show and would have liked to hear them singing more harmonies. We enjoyed their version of Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera - all members of the group come from a musical theatre background appearing in the West End of London in various shows including Phantom, Jesus Christ Superstar, Matilda, Les Mis etc. They performed a reasonable version of Bohemian Rhapsody and Desperado (Eagles) but we felt that they were sometimes screaming the lyrics when it came to the rock songs. Their encore was an AC/DC number so we left to catch our bus back to our hotel. Gambled in the casino at night.
Friday 15 September
Had breakfast then went to find the sales office in our hotel to see if we could get a quote for our May 2018 vacation like we did for this visit. The chap that we had dealt with in the past no longer works there and the gentleman that we spoke to explained that he really only did group bookings but invited us into his office to see what he could do for us. His first words were that the Electric Daisy Carnival was now on in May so those dates would be very pricey. In the end he said to leave it with him and he would contact the hotel manager and try to get a price for us. We've to e-mail him in October. Time to maybe look elsewhere to stay - somewhere without a resort fee as it has increased twice since we were here in April! Caught the 119 bus right up to Aliante Hotel (50 minutes in the bus) and went in for their lunch buffet ($9.73 total ACG 2 for 1 coupon). We had to finish by 3.30pm as the dinner buffet on a Friday is a Seafood buffet as you can see from the photos I took just before we left. I really like the carved watermelon - someone is very talented
Had a walk to a nearby park then caught the bus back to our hotel. Gambled in the casino at night.
Saturday 16 September
Had breakfast and caught the 119 bus to Ellis Island. We both played $10 through and I received $10 free play (ACG coupon) and Jim received $20 free play (LVA Members Reward Book). When we had finished we were $32.67 in profit. Walked up to Bally's then through Paris and just down from the Arc de Triomphe we came across a pig being roasted on a spit - only in Vegas!
We walked on to Planet Hollywood and eventually found the Earl of Sandwich outlet and asked about using Total Rewards points there. The answer was yes so we decided to eat there later. Crossed over to the Bellagio to look at the new Autumn display and we thought it was the best Autumn display we have ever seen. The peacocks are just stunning!
Went back to the Earl of Sandwich and ate our meal.
Returned to our hotel and packed one suitcase and took it over to the 4 Queens and popped it in our son's room so that we only have one suitcase to take over tomorrow when we check out of the Palace Station and move to the 4 Queens for our last 4 nights. Gambled in the casino at night and the slots were really cold - don't think we hit any bonuses all night 😢
Sunday 17 September
Had breakfast then packed our other suitcase ready for checking out. Caught the SX then the Deuce to the 4 Queens and checked in. Our room in the upgraded South Tower was still being cleaned so we waited in registration for the short while it took to be ready. Its quite a nice room but we can still hear quite a bit of noise from Fremont Street. The bathroom has the strangest basin that we have ever seen. We never did figure out how to fill it with water as there was no plug or anything else to stop the water from draining away 😣 The shower was one of the best we have had as it had an additional two jets of water further down to ease an aching back 😁
Called into our son's room to collect our other suitcase and he came back to our room with us to see it. We then all went over to see if we could find the rooftop pool at Binions which we are entitled to use. Lovely view from the pool deck and we left our son there to get some sun.
We had planned to have the dinner buffet in Main Street Station but when we got there the queue to get in was a mile long so we decided just to get a Subway in our hotel and eat it in our room as we have a coffee/tea maker in our room. We also have a safe and a fridge which was a pleasant surprise. Relaxed in our room and the noise from the stage next to our hotel became apparent - horrendous! As we have no internet access in our room we decided to walk up to the Plaza for some internet time on our kindles. We passed many weird and obscene performers on the way up and the noise was deafening from both the light show and the sound stages - we must be getting really old as we just want some peace and quiet. Gambled in the casino at night then tried to get some sleep with little success. The noise from the stage went on until 1am then we couldn't sleep because the person in the next room had their television up really loud all night. I had ear plugs which I put in half way through the night but they didn't even help.
Monday 18 September
After a sleepless night Jim called in at registration to talk to them about the noise in the room next to ours. She told him that he should have phoned down during the night and security would have knocked on his door to tell him to turn off his TV. Luckily he is checking out today so we might get more sleep tonight. Went up to the McDs in the Plaza for breakfast and to use their internet. Spent some time on the pool deck in Binions then returned to our room to experiment with the walk in shower with power jets. Before we showered Jim went down to registration again as the tv is still up at full volume next door. Eventually security came and turned it off - peace at last! Whoever had been in the room obviously departed and left the TV up on a high volume - inconsiderate person 😠Walked up to MSS and had their lunch buffet with a 2 for 1 (LVA Members Reward Book and redeemed the remaining points on my card - total $7.63!).
Got picked up at 6pm for our Maverick night Strip helicopter flight (free courtesy of playing myvegas) and taken to just south of McCarran airport.
It was an amazing experience but we were a bit disappointed that we were sat in the middle 2 seats at the back.
This is a photo of the free souvenir photo we received from playing myvegas.
Gambled in the Fremont Hotel and the 4 Queens at night.
Tuesday 19 September
Had breakfast then took the SDX down to the Bellagio to film the conservatory with the camcorder. We then walked up to the Linq area and wandered about before redeeming the last of my total rewards points in Gordon Ramsay's Fish & Chips. This time we had one helping between us.
Walked up to the Wynn and caught the SDX back to our hotel. Gambled in the California Hotel and the 4 Queens at night.
Wednesday 20 September
Had breakfast then wandered round a few souvenir shops before catching the SDX then the SX over to the Palace Station to use up all our points to play bingo. Even though we both had electronic machines we still couldn't win. We sat at a normal table but we could have relaxed at these reclining chairs whilst playing if we had wanted to!
Caught the SX to the Stratosphere and met up with our son and his friends. Our son has decided that he was going to do the Sky Jump off the top of the Tower so we watched him getting all rigged up in his harness then went out to the viewing area to film him. We don't know how he was feeling but we were a bag of nerves waiting for him at the bottom. All went well and he said after the initial moment of stepping off he enjoyed it.
We then said goodbye and went back to Downtown and had dinner in the Fremont Hotel buffet with a 2 for 1 (LVA Members Reward book - $16.73). It was steak night so we both enjoyed a well cooked steak. Our son and his friends were booked to fly on the Fremont Street Zipline at 7pm but they were running late. As we were going to surprise our friends who were arriving tonight from the UK staying in the Monte Carlo we couldn't hang around to see them unfortunately but he later told us that the zipline was a doddle compared to the Sky Jump. Caught the SDX and met up with our friends at registration - they were surprised and delighted to see us. We helped them with their luggage up to their room and chatted for a while before catching the bus back to Downtown.
Thursday 21 September
Had breakfast, showered and packed our suitcases. Checked out and caught the WAX bus to the airport. Our flight left about 30 minutes late.
Managed to watch 3 films including The Boss Baby, which I found really funny. Got a little bit of sleep despite the man in front reclining his chair as soon as we were in the air. I hate it when people do that - you have little enough room to eat your meal anyway but with his seat reclined I couldn't even stand my bottle of wine upright 😖Transferred over to terminal 5 and caught our flight up to Edinburgh.
When we return next May we are considering trying out a new hotel as we don't think that there will be a pool at the Palace Station by then. We quite like the look of the California as it has recently been remodelled and it has no resort fee which is a big benefit.
We also discovered that if you are on Fremont Street and are having difficulty logging onto the internet with the free city wi-fi you could always just pop into a Boyd hotel i.e. Fremont, California or Main Street Station where they provide free internet access in their casinos.