TR Mar 15 - 19 Not too Long

I travelled with my brother, sister in law and friends of theirs who are a couple. Left on Thursday night after hour long delay waiting for a boost as our plane had no power. Little worried about that but oh well. Then as we were about to land, landing gear down and you know you are going to hit the runway, the plane suddenly veers back up and flys away from Las Vegas. Finally the captain comes on, apologizes and explains that the controller had the planes too tight? Hmm, not sure if that means we were close to crashing into someone else or what. Anyway, go through and pick up luggage and proceed to the car rental shuttle. I had reserved a vehicle earlier on-line. Got to Hertz and waited about an hour in line before getting our vehicle. Two women at the counter were trying to rent a vehicle, wanting to pay cash but didn%26#39;t want to use their credit card for ID. Not even sure if they had a credit card but they held everyone up forever it seemed. Thought it was rude and just stupid of them.

Anyway, finally get the vehicle and leave - going the wrong way and get lost. Finally find our way and get to the Imperial. This is first time I%26#39;ve stayed here, but missed the Cearsars $180 deal by a day I think. My brother had some kind of deal where it ended up being $90 per night Thurs, Fri, Sat. at the Imperial and they like it there. I hope that is the first and last time there for me. The room itself was perfectly fine and the location is great. The casino was not lucky for me which was okay too, but it stunk. The smell was horrible. Too smokey and musty. I have been a non-smoker for 7 weeks but I honestly think had I still been smoking it would still be too smokey. The elevators were unbelievably slow, and if you can imagine, the drinks are served in plastic glasses!! eek! So, that%26#39;s where we get the saying - you get what you pay for.

We drove out to Primm on Fri morning to do some shopping at the outlet mall there. Unfortunately, it wasn%26#39;t as good as I thought it was when I was there last July. However, it was a nice drive and Primm has some nice little casinos and is just a nice well kept little place. We then went to the Premium outlets and did a ton of shopping there. I really like that mall. On the drive back we were on a street where there were a couple blocks of homeless people and their little cardboard homes and such.....always so very sad to see - wish that people did not have to live that way.

We went to the Rio on Friday night and WOW, I love that hotel. I think I%26#39;ll try to stay there next time. There just seemed to be so much going on all over the place there - jugglers and dancers and the parade thing on the roof and the bartenders that do the fancy bottle flipping. It was just so exciting and just a happy place to be. It just had a great feel to it. Would like to see Prince as well maybe next time. We had the seafood buffet there and although it was good, certainly wouldn%26#39;t rave about it and most likely would not eat there again.

Also, on Friday went to the Wynn and thought it was very beautiful. Landscaping is gorgeous and casino is very nice and classy. Didn%26#39;t get a chance to see much else. Sat was spent pretty much at Bellagio - pretty lucky on slots there as usual, then Cearsars and Forum shops. Sat night was the Spice Market Buffet at the Planet Hollywood/Alladdin. As usual, this was the best buffet we had as far as buffets go. Not much luck in the casino. A lot of fun on the strip that night as it was St. Patricks day and I have never seen so much green in my life. It%26#39;s just fun to see all these adults having such a great time - no holds barred. I think that%26#39;s the thing I like about Las Vegas the most - people just have so much fun and silliness. Somewhere in there, we also ate at the Paris brunch buffet as recommended so often on this site. I must say - for sure the best breakfast/brunch I%26#39;ve ever had.

Finally saw the TI pirate/sirens show and thought it was super cheesy. Liked the old one way better. Also, finally saw the statues at Ceasar Palace and have to say that%26#39;s a little out-dated as far as technology goes.

We did not get to any shows this time. Three nights is way too short, especially with a flight/rental delay.

Best drinks were at the Wynn and Bellagio.

What I would do next time:

Minimum four nights and not a weekend - way too busy.

Rent a vehicle again for sure.

Get a show or two in.

Not shop as much - need to stop wasting that precious time.

Stay off strip at Rio or I also really like the Orleans.

Wanted to get to Red Rock Canyon to sight-see and also see the Red Rock Resort - next time.

Someone had a post about the casino smells and I think some of them for sure pump in something. The mirage was nice if a little over-powering. Bellagio has a nice smell as well as the Wynn. A lot of the stores in the Forum also had smells. I think it Abercrombie and Fitch, the smell was so strong I had to leave after walking in just a little ways - yuck. And MGM has a good smell too.

So had a great time as usual and can%26#39;t wait to go back again

TR Mar 15 - 19 Not too Long

Glad you had fun. Thanks for the TR!

TR Mar 15 - 19 Not too Long

Thank you for taking time to write a TR

Sorry the IP smelled!

Glad you enjoyed the Rio!

and thank you for saying the MGM smells good, lol

Thanks for writing TR. It%26#39;s funny (or maybe not) but when I flew into LV in December I had the same thing happen. We were just about to land and the plane jerked and went into a steep climb. The pilot made some joke about giving us more time so we could finish watching the movie. I looked out the window %26amp; saw another plane coming in on another flight path. It was a close call. I don%26#39;t think 3/4 of people on the plane had a clue.

We ended up landing safely %26amp; I promtly went about losing my money right on schedule.

Thanks for writing and sharing the details of your trip with us. I have to agree with you-the Rio seafood buffet just isn%26#39;t worth it. You are going to love Red Rock Canyon and Red Rock Station. If you have the time you really should head out to Valley of Fire. It is farther away than RRC but it much much bigger and nicer.

You did manage to accomplish a lot in a short trip.