Please ADD your own Las Vegas Trip Report. Date of Trip: April 06, 2008 to April 11, 2008 Hotel Stayed At: WYNN & SKYLOFTS Report by: KTINCA <> From: CALIFORNIA

This trip had to be special. When you go to Las Vegas 3-4 times a year this isn’t easy.
I spent a great deal of time trying to make it so, but ended up with amazingly few plans.
It was our anniversary and we were renewing our vows, but my wife was taking care of those arrangements. It was her turn, I arranged the last ceremony 5 years ago.
After our anniversary last year, I had to make this year special.

It seemed the stars were aligned against us. I wanted our anniversary dinner to be at Alex, but they are closed on Tuesday night.
I tried to find a show that would be special, or one we hadn’t already seen; but we picked one of the rare weeks O was dark. I would have booked almost ANYONE at Ceasars. But Bette just finished her 1st run, Cher doesn’t start until next month, and Elton was on a break. So I couldn’t make any show reservations.
I wanted to try and stay at the new Palazzo, but these clowns couldn’t get their act together and open a hotel that could guarantee the experience I was looking for.
So this was the best I could do.

Sunday April 6th
We took a slightly earlier flight than usual and arrived around 10:30am. Of course on Sunday morning the cab line is around 20 minutes long so we got to Wynn around 11:30.
It was quite crowded and check-in was slow. I also noticed there wasn’t anyone handing out lemonade or Iced Tea like usual. My wife made our normal room request: upper floor, golf course view, as far south as possible. For those who haven’t been to Wynn, being on the south end also gives you a view of the pool. Unfortunately there were no rooms available for a couple of hours. But due to our polite request (and maybe the $20 tip) the clerk went into the back to check with a supervisor and magically found us a room on the 58th floor, which was already clean.

Up to the room we go, to wait for the fridge and our bags to be delivered. And most importantly to sit and gaze out the windows. This is my wife’s favorite view in Las Vegas, and possibly the world. She finds the view of the golf course, with its greenery, to be incredibly relaxing. To her this means; “We’re on vacation, there are no cares here”.
She will often spend the first hour of our stay at Wynn just looking out the window.
On our last stay in October, due to the construction noise, we had to stay in a room with a strip view. I’m so glad she could have her view back this trip.

We decided on the Country Club Grill for lunch. We don’t eat lunch often in Las Vegas, but when we do I think CC Grill is becoming our first choice. I think I want to keep going back to try different things on the menu. This time I tried the strip steak with mushroom salad and it was incredible. It really is a salad with some steak, and not a steak with salad on the side (I know a terrible description, but try it anyway). My wife had French Dip, which is not really a sandwich, but she knew this having had it before. With 2 Iced Teas the total for lunch was $57.

My wife decided she wanted to spend some time this afternoon at the pool, so I went to the racebook to check on my races. I had handicapped a few races on the plane and ended up placing 3 bets. I stayed and watched a couple of races, including my last bet which was not a success. My 3 horses finished 1st, 2nd, & 3rd, with both my losers being beat by the favorite. This resulted in a net loss of $3.
This would turn out to be fairly typical of my gambling this trip. A series of small wins or losses, without anything really meaningful.
I then played VP for about half an hour, getting one 4OAK and registering a small win.

I went back to the room around 3:30, and to my surprise my wife was there.
“I thought you’d be at the pool at least another hour?”
“I couldn’t stay, we were attacked by bees.”
My wife went down to the pool and sat in her favorite section. After about 30 minutes, and before she even had a chance to take a swim, a swarm of bees emerged from a bush right near her. Of course everyone in the area ran for their lives, leaving all their possessions behind. Pool staff converged, but all they could really do was cordon off the area and call for exterminators.
So my wife moved to another section and waited. After awhile the swarm moved to another part of the pool area, and she was able to sneak back, grab her stuff, and beat a hasty retreat.
BTW: The only allergy my wife has is to bee stings.
So much for her quiet afternoon at the pool.

We never make plans for our 1st night in Las Vegas, so we decided to walk over to TI for some Pai Gow Poker. Played for a couple of hours. She won a little, and I lost about the same, but it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening. Around 10pm we decided to get a bite at the coffee shop.
There’s nothing wrong with the coffee shop at TI, but then again there’s nothing right with it either. A hot turkey sandwich, a BLT, and 2 Iced Teas came to $30 without tip.

I’m starting to believe that casino coffee shops are the worst values in Las Vegas. It doesn’t matter if it’s at TI, Terrace Pointe Café at Wynn, or Center Stage at MGM. I think they are all over-priced for what you get, coffee shop food at restaurant prices.
If I pay $50 for lunch at Country Club or even $150 for dinner at Delmonicos at least I feel I am receiving value for my money. JMO.

Back to Wynn for some VP before calling it a night.
After we retired I turned off the AC, and we were trying to sleep, I noticed a loud humming sound. So I looked around and found it was coming from the honor bar. It wasn’t really loud enough to prevent us from sleeping, but it was surprising because we’ve stayed at Wynn ½ dozen times and never really had a problem with our room.

Monday April 7th
As usual in Las Vegas I wake up first. At Wynn I have a routine. I sneak downstairs to allow my wife to sleep a little longer. I usually grab a cup of coffee near Tableau and read the paper, then maybe a little VP, and a walk outside to check on the weather.

Today is our pool day. So around 8:30 I went back upstairs and found my wife already up. Coffee and Danish by the pool for breakfast, and a couple of $14 Pina Coladas
for lunch. This is our idea of the perfect Las Vegas morning!
I stay until around 1pm, and as usual my wife wants to stay a little longer.

After getting dressed, I decide to call hotel maintenance and see if they can fix the noise from the honor bar fridge. The lady I talked to said that she will send someone up. But in a few minutes she calls back and says, “I checked with engineering and they say it isn’t the fridge, but probably the cable box attached to the cabinet. So we will send someone up to take care of it.”
In a few minutes a technician from Cox Cable comes in. He said that this has been happening a lot, and that he will have to replace the box. He takes care of the problem, and says that if you hear any noise at night to call tomorrow, that someone is there everyday until 5pm.
My first thought was “If this is a common problem, why don’t they just replace the boxes in all the rooms?” My second thought was “Wow, pretty impressive that Wynn has a representative from the cable company there all the time.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be pissed off or impressed, lol.

Our plans were to spend the evening at Gold Coast, but we decided to check out Palazzo first. We spent an hour walking around, checking out the shops and reading the menus at the restaurants. My wife liked the indoor waterfall, and the public areas were nice but didn’t exactly sweep us off our feet. We definitely prefer the atmosphere of Wynn. I had heard that the casino had some 9/6 JOB, but we didn’t see them, so we saw no reason to stay. A couple of the restaurants looked interesting, so I’m sure we will visit again.

The Gold Coast is our favorite off-strip property, and many trips we will set aside a night for dinner and gambling there. Played some Pai Gow Poker for a while, with my wife winning a little and a small loss for me. Around 7:30 we walk over to The Cortez Room for dinner. On the door is a sign stating they would be closing at 9:30pm for cleaning.
We didn’t think much of it at the time. What can I say about the Cortez Room; certainly one of the best values in town. Great food with old-fashioned ambience and service, and all at a very reasonable price. One Prime Rib, 1 NY Steak (salad & sides included) and 2 Iced Teas came to $40.

Unfortunately, as we are dining we find out that The Cortez Room is closing. Well, it’s actually sort of moving. The space they have been occupying all these years is going to be used as part of the casino. The Cortez Room is moving into the Arriva space, and Arriva is being eliminated. But the booths and furnishings are not moving with them, so the atmosphere will certainly not be the same. And all of the employees will not survive the move. Our waitress, who had only been working here for 5 years, was becoming a victim of seniority.
While everyone was friendly and upbeat, this somewhat put a pall on our evening. Another of the places we love was disappearing to make way for the new Las Vegas.
At least we had the chance for one last visit, and to say goodbye.

My wife decided that due to her success on penny slots here our last visit ($252 win) that we had to search for a “fun machine”. So she found some penny video WOF. I don’t play slots, but I invested $10 to keep her company. At least it did last me about 20 minutes. In the meantime she is doing well and a little ahead. Then she gets 4 spins, and kept hitting “extra spins” on the wheel. When it was over she had made 28 spins and won over 1300 credits ($13). Less than 10 minutes later she spins again, and this time winds up with 32 spins, adding another $12. When I was finally able to drag her away she had turned her $5 into over $60. So she ended up winning at VP, Pai Gow Poker, and even the slots. I guess this means we’ll be going back to Gold Coast again next trip.

Tuesday April 8th Our Anniversary
Breakfast at Tableau. We couldn’t imagine starting a special day in Las Vegas any other way. We had to start with my wife’s favorite mini-beignets. She absolutely loves the homemade lemon curd that comes with it. I had the duck hash and she had an asparagus frittata, along with coffee the bill came to $49. A nice relaxing beginning for our day.

My wife had an appointment for a massage and was spending the afternoon at the spa, so I headed to the poker room. They didn’t have an $8-$16 game going, so after a short wait I was able to get into a $4-$8 game. Played for over 3 hours without anything really exciting happening. I did make one mistake, costing myself a bet when I misread a hand and lost to a higher kicker (amazing how long we remember our mistakes). I had a pleasant afternoon, and ended up $135 ahead.
I left around 4pm to get dressed for our ceremony.

This time our renewal ceremony was at Little Chapel of the West. We were pleased with the chapel itself, small and picturesque and perfect for our needs. They did a beautiful job on my wife’s bouquet, lavender roses that matched her dress perfectly. And of course there are the pictures on disk and the dvd of the ceremony, all part of a modern wedding.
No guests, just the two of us in a quiet ceremony.

We had 8pm dinner reservations at Alize, but we had to go back to Wynn just to drop off the dvd, pictures, and flowers. We didn’t realize that they were going to give them to us right after the ceremony. The last time we renewed our vows, 5 years ago, we had to go back the next day to pick up the pictures. We forgot how much technology has progressed in the last 5 years.

Dinner at Alize was a very nice experience. The Wynn concierge had requested a table with a strip view and it was waiting when we arrived. And my wife noticed that we were given menus that read “Happy Anniversary”.
I cajoled her into trying the 5 course tasting menu. My wife is adventurous when it comes to spices and seasonings, but there are some items that she doesn’t even like to try.
She doesn’t like the texture of escargot, so I had to make sure this was not included. And she prefers not to eat duck or rabbit, due to the imagery of baby ducklings & bunnies. So we don’t do tasting menus often. But she enjoyed this one very much.
The courses were well timed and not rushed, and each course was explained in detail. The dessert was a balanced trio that was not part of the regular menu, and with coffee capped a memorable meal. And of course the view enhanced the experience.
The total with Iced Teas & coffees (no wine) was $220 before tip.

Wednesday April 9th Moving Day
We sleep in late. Today we are switching hotels.
Originally I had booked Palazzo for our last two nights. But because of all the bad reports, and the fact that the pool was not yet open, I cancelled our reservations there. But after stressing out the Palazzo situation I didn’t want to take any chances. And we were already at Wynn, and I didn’t want to end our trip by “moving down” so my options were obviously limited. So after watching every day, and admittedly some lucky timing, I was able to book a one bedroom skyloft at MGM for an incredible rate.
But I decided that I wanted it to be a surprise, so I told my wife that I booked a Tower Suite at Mirage. We’ve had that suite before, she enjoyed it and loves the pool at Mirage.

Shortly after 10am I called our concierge at Skylofts to find out when our suite would be available, and to arrange transport. She replied that our suite had been cleaned but that she needed ½ an hour to have it inspected. So pickup was arranged for 11am.
My wife overhears this conversation and is surprised that Mirage is sending a car to pick us up. I tell her that because the Mirage suites are not renovated yet they are sending limos for their guests.

Just before 11, I call for our bags to be picked up. Downstairs as we are waiting for our bags I tell my wife, “I had to cancel our reservations at Mirage. I heard that the rooms are pretty bad there right now, so I booked us at MGM. I know you were looking forward to the pool at Mirage, and I hope you won’t be too disappointed”.
A bellman then asks “Can I help you?” “Yes. Were waiting for a car from MGM.”
“Your name?”
“Certainly Mr. T, this way please. I’ll make sure your bags are taken care of”.
And we are led to the Maybach. This is a NICE car.
It’s not a large limo, but perfect for 2 passengers. My wife is still swallowing her displeasure over losing Mirage in favor of MGM. But the Maybach certainly helped.
As the ride to MGM progresses her disappointment is obviously dissipating.

When we pull up at MGM our concierge is awaiting us. She introduces herself and escorts us through the hotel lobby and to the VIP lounge. She explains the lounge services, and shows us our elevators and how to use the key card to gain access to our floor. She calls ahead and when the elevator doors open at the 29th floor our butler is waiting. We all then proceed to our suite.
The concierge says, “We have you listed for a suite with a strip view, and we will have one ready in a couple of hours. But we have this suite ready now. It is exactly the same except it has a view of the airport and mountains. You can relax here and move when the other suite is ready, or keep this one if you prefer”. We then enter suite 52.

The butler now takes over, and we are led into the living room. The first things you notice are the windows. They are the entire length of the living room and office, and are 25 feet tall. The view is of the airport, so I ask, “Is there noise from the planes?” The concierge replies, “No, the suites are completely soundproof. And the 2 sets of drapes when lowered keep out all light.” “What do you think of the view? Is it acceptable, or would you rather wait for the strip view suite?”
I look at my wife and we have one of those husband/wife communications that don’t require any words. So I say to the concierge “We’ve been to Las Vegas many times and really don’t need the strip view. I just wanted to make sure that my wife didn’t have to stare at the Hooters sign all night. I think we would rather stay here and get settled in right away”. So we were given the keys, and check in was completed in our dining room.

Before I start a description of the suite there is one thing I don’t want to forget. As we walked in we couldn’t help but notice that at the end of the long dining room table there was a beautifully decorated 8” cake, with a card made of sugar that read “Happy Anniversary”, along with 2 place settings.
You think they really didn’t suspect that we would keep this suite?

There will now be a fairly long and boring description of our 1 bedroom Skyloft, those not interested can skip it. This is mostly for my wife, who wants to remember many of the details.

You enter the suite and the guest bathroom is on the right, directly in front is the stairway. You walk just past the bathroom and turn to the right, and you then have the living room on your left and the dining room on the right. The butler starts our tour in the dining room. The dining room table is rectangular maybe 3-4 ft wide but 8-10 ft long, and is in the center of the room. There are six very modern comfortable chairs. On the right wall is the wet bar (stocked) and with all needed accessories. The back wall has the expresso machine/coffee maker. There are 5 different jars of coffee beans, a number of different teas, and all needed condiments. The butler instructs us on machine usage. Next to this is the fridge, which is stocked with various beverages, water & beers.
“If you have a beverage preference, let us know and we will have it added”.
And next to this is a 32’ TV for this room. There is also a wall control for the lighting, music and TV in this room.
In the middle of the dining room table is a rectangle tray containing 3 bowls of fruit, at the moment strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries (later also boysenberries). These are never empty. They are checked numerous times during the day and refilled.

On the left is the living room. On the far wall are floor-to-ceiling windows 25ft high, with sheer and heavy velour drapes that come down from the ceiling. And in front of the window in this room is a ledge to sit on and enjoy the view. The back wall has mirror tile, and a 6ft sofa with a coffee table. On the other side of the coffee table, arranged in a conversational setting, are 2 large, very comfortable chairs. Behind the chairs is the living room TV. This is probably around 60”, but is much taller than wide, and with a very modern design. And most importantly next to the sofa is a table, which holds the notepad that controls everything in the suite. The butler of course tries to instruct us on the notepad’s functions, but this really comes down to practice, and trial & error.
This notepad controls the climate, lighting, drapery, TV, and music in the entire suite.
On this wall is also the entertainment system to play dvds and cds. From here you can play videos through any of the suites TV’s and music throughout the suite.

Past the TV is the office. It’s not very wide (maybe 6 feet) and around 10 feet long. And the windows are at your back. There is an 8 ft formica-like surface desk and one chair. The butler shows us the fax machine. We have our own fax number assigned for the duration of our visit, we may give out this number, and we have unlimited use of the fax machine. At the end of our stay the number is changed for the next guest. There is of course internet access, a phone and stationary. The stationary consists of envelopes, and paper embossed with the Skyloft logo and the heading which reads: Mr. Ktinca, In residence until April 11, 2008. There are also fax cover sheets, similarly engraved, and a set of business cards, all with phone & fax numbers in use for our 2 night stay.
My wife was both impressed and a little disappointed that her name wasn’t included. I’ll have to make sure to put in a special request, if there is ever a next time.

Next we are escorted upstairs. To the left is the bedroom. As you walk in there is a large comfortable chair with an ottoman and reading floor lamp. And then nothing but about 10 feet of glass wall. Remember this is a loft not an entire 2nd floor. So if you are lying in bed you are looking at a glass wall, and then further away out the suite windows. The bedroom was actually a little smaller than I expected. The center has the bed, and in front of the bed is a bench. There are nightstands, with shelves on each side of the bed. The mp3/alarm clock is on one side. And on the HUSBANDS side is the phone and another notepad to control the entire suite (that’s how you know it’s his side, lol).
In the far corner is 32” TV, and on the wall another outlet for the entertainment system.
BTW: We only used this system once, in the bedroom, to view the dvd of our wedding ceremony.

On to the bathroom. It is good sized, with a separate room in the corner for the toilet. Along the left wall is the vanity, with 2 sinks and grooming areas. Actually for this type of suite the vanity was rather plain. My wife was a little surprised that there was no seating area to apply makeup. And though there was a portable makeup mirror, it did not include a lighted edge. Seems a little silly to be nit-picking, but there wasn’t much in this suite that anyone could complain about. Behind the vanity was a huge mirror that almost covered the whole wall. And directly between both sinks, in the mirror was a TV screen, around 12” in diameter. Across from the vanity is the infinity tub. VERY DEEP, and not actually jetted. Instead there is a system that makes “champagne bubbles”. The water overflows the main tub, and bubbles are created on the outside. A unique and relaxing experience. On the wall at the end of the tub is another 32” TV.
BTW: The bathroom TV’s are the only 2 on the same control, so they are not independent and both show the same station. The bathroom has its own wall-mounted controls for the TV’s and for lighting settings.
Behind the tub is the shower. The shower is 10-12 ft long (about 5ft wide) and at the end is a wall of glass. Remember this is a loft, From the shower you can see downstairs, and across through the window outside (of course you are on the 29th floor). And anyone downstairs can see you, so you have to remember to use the do not disturb light.
In front of the glass wall is a bench, as the shower doubles as a steam-room. In the middle, on the ceiling is the rainfall fixture, and on the shower wall at body level are 4 nozzles to direct spray. Also a mounted hand held fixture. The overall effect is amazing.
Of course the butler showed us how to use everything, but later it was again trial & error.

At the end of the vanity, to the left is the walk in closet. IMO this is an incredible waste of space. It is only about 4 ft wide, but it is 15ft long, and much larger than a hotel guest would ever need. The closet has 4 full-length mirrors. Near the entrance is a 4 ft section to hang clothes, next a slightly larger area with drawers and a cabinet for the safe, and then another section of drawers. In addition to 4 shelves, there a 7 full sized drawers. We did like that there was a good-sized clothes hamper, and of course slippers and robes.

Our tour of the suite over, the butler offered to unpack our bags, which we declined, so he made his exit.
While this was our 1st experience with a hotel butler, I can’t imagine my wife ever allowing anyone to unpack for her. We’ll never be that sophisticated.

A few comments about the Skyloft and the service, and then I will get back to the narrative portion of this report.
Little things: All the light controls in the suite, but there wasn’t a separate light switch for the stairwell, which would have helped.
There is no clock of any kind downstairs.
I really appreciated that there were enough wastebaskets. There was one under the bar, in the office, and in the powder room, downstairs, and in the bathroom & bedroom upstairs. As anyone who stays in hotels knows, the maids are trained not to throw anything out unless it is in a wastebasket, and then most places only give you 1 or 2 baskets.
My wife absolutely loved that the Voss bottled water comes in real glass bottles.
In addition to the 5 normal pillows on the bed, there is a “pillow menu” with 15 different types, from which guests can make additional choices.
SERVICE: It really is the little things. There is no feeling like the belief that people actually care, and are doing their best to provide an outstanding experience.
Example: There is a bowl in the coffee cabinet with sugar & sweeteners. It had the usual blue, pink & yellow choices. My wife and I prefer pink with our coffee. So we used it all up. The next time someone came in to refresh our suite (someone comes in 3-4 times a day) not only was there more pink packages in the bowl, but an extra dish with only those packages was added.

While my wife unpacked, I had to try the shower. I’m not into baths, so this special shower was my indulgence.
Then we decided to check out the pool to see what was open. I had reserved a cabana for the next day, but cancelled when the concierge found out the river was not going to be in use. To us the rest of the MGM pool area is pretty blah and wasn’t worth going out of our way for. Three pools were open, but we chose not to stay.

One of the things my wife wanted to do this trip was go see Toby Keith’s, so we decided to try it for lunch. So we took the monorail (a 1st for us) to Harrahs. We enjoyed Toby’s, as the song goes, “It’s our kind of place”. We loved the fried Macaroni & Cheese, and she had a burger and I had BBQ Beef sandwich. With 2 Iced Teas lunch was $38. We will be back.

After eating we felt like a walk, so we decided to head to Bellagio and check out the Conservatory. But on the way Bill’s beckoned and we stopped to see Big Elvis. We hadn’t seen Pete in a couple of years, and were happy to see he is doing fairly well. We always enjoy his show, and it’s nice to see him moving around so well. I checked out the VP machines, but the JOB is now 7/5, so there was no reason to stay.
The Conservatory was nice, but we’ve seen it so often in spring and fall, that it doesn’t have the “ooh & ahh” effect on us anymore.

So it was back to enjoy our suite. My wife took a soak in the tub, while I watched TV and learned how to play with all the controls.
We had a bottle of champagne that my wife’s parents had delivered to Wynn on our anniversary that we hadn’t got to yet. And amongst the amenities with our suite were free on demand movies. So our evening was spent watching “Juno”, and having champagne and anniversary cake for dinner.

Thursday April 10th
We slept in until after 8 again. This is amazing for me. I can never sleep in late in LV. I go downstairs, and would have surprised her with coffee, but I couldn’t figure out how to use the #*&! fancy machine. D*mn $2000 coffee machine is too complicated for this poor city boy. Give me a Mr. Coffee any day.
After she wakes up to take care of her helpless husband, we have a light breakfast of fruit and, what I must admit is very good coffee.

The plan today is a picnic at Lake Las Vegas. We have never been there, and it’s been on my to-do list for some time. Considering this was a romantic trip, this seemed like a perfect time. So I had arranged for a limo to pick us up at 11am to take us to the lake.
So I went downstairs to Witchcraft and picked up a couple of sandwiches. I knew there were restaurants at the lake, but thought that a picnic would be more romantic.

Of course we couldn’t have the Maybach for this, so the concierge arranged for a limo from CLS. The driver was an older gentleman who was doing this part time to supplement his retirement. He knew the area well, and took us on a nice tour of the lake. After the tour he dropped us off at the Ritz-Carlton, so we could walk around amongst the shops and have our picnic.
The little village-like shopping area was quiet this early, but we did a little window- shopping. The area reminded my wife a little of Carmel.
We walked through the casino just to look around, but found no reason to stay or play.

We couldn’t really find a place to picnic. Even though it is a lake, there isn’t really any grass in the public areas. But we found a couple of tables outside of a bar that wasn’t open yet and had our lunch.
We had a pleasant couple of hours, and I’m glad we got to finally see it. The Ritz-Carlton looked nice and I could see staying there for a couple of nights. But only to relax in a peaceful setting, I wouldn’t really consider it visiting Las Vegas.
On the way back, I had the driver stop at the Las Vegas sign and take our picture. Not considering ourselves tourists we have never had a picture taken there.

Returned to our suite and tried to decide what to do for dinner. You are able to have dinner served in your suite from 5 of MGM’s restaurants, but the selections are limited and nothing appealed to us. Besides, you can’t spend all your time in the suite. So I went downstairs and walked around looking at menus. We decided that we wanted something different, so we would try Shibuya.
I called the concierge and requested reservations. I also requested reservations for breakfast the next morning in the Mansion Atrium at 10am.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Steam Room (just like little kids, we had to try everything in the suite) and watching another movie. “27 Dresses”, it seemed appropriate for our anniversary trip.

At Shibuya we were led to the Teppanyaki section, which had 3 grill tables seating 10 each, and one larger table for groups. Our table only had a couple of ladies who were just finishing their meal. So we thought that we might have to wait for a few more guests to be seated. But our order was taken right away, and a chef came over and started cooking just for the 2 of us. It wasn’t showy, but the presentation was nice, and the chef personable. I had the Prawns and my wife had the Filet & Prawns, we had sides of Chicken Fried Rice & Shrimp Fried Rice. Dinner also included an appetizer, soup and salad, and a very nice dessert trio. With 2 Iced Teas the total was $159.
Dinner probably should have taken around an hour, but we actually stayed an extra 20 minutes or so. Others had joined our table and conversations ensued. Three people on the other side of our table ordered Lobster. So the live Lobsters were brought to the table for their approval. We are not lobster lovers, but according to the others at our table the best way to prepare lobster is to grill them alive. Instead of boiling them first and then putting them on the grill. Shibuya follows the preferred method, and this my wife wanted to see.
So we tarried over our dessert and watched the chef prepare dinner for the others.

I think we may have played a little VP in the casino, and then it was upstairs and we lounged around and watched another movie. We don’t watch movies very often at home, so this is actually a treat for my wife.

Friday April 11th
I was able to sleep in until almost 8 again. This is great for me. Our flight home was leaving at 2:15pm, so the limo was picking us up at noon to take us to the airport.
My wife did most of the packing so we would be ready, and at 9:55 the butler came to escort us to the Mansion.
Breakfast at the Mansion is not the type of thing we normally would do, but my wife figured we may never have another chance, so we should take advantage of it.

The Mansion Atrium is incredibly impressive. It has a huge courtyard, there are fountains and large flowerbeds, and trees both planted and in pots. Of course there was plenty of natural light from the atrium roof 5 stories up. The mansions themselves are 3 stories and all have balconies that face the atrium. In here you had no idea you were in Las Vegas.

The dining area has 5 tables, but during our meal we were the only guests. Needless to say the service was exceptional, but to our relief the staff did not hover, and we enjoyed a very peaceful breakfast. I had Smoked Salmon and a bagel, and my wife had a frittata. Afterwards, I requested a banana in cream and was brought a large bowl that must have had at least 3 bananas. Fortunately my wife offered to help. With coffee breakfast came to $76. I highly recommend this if the opportunity presents itself.
Breakfast took about an hour, and then the butler was called to escort us back.

We are now getting ready to leave and my wife decides that she wants to bring her bridal bouquet home. So I take the bouquet to the concierge desk and explain that we need a way to get this home on the plane, and ask for some type of box. He takes it and disappears down a hall, a few minutes later he returns holding what look like a cake box emblazoned with the huge MGM lion symbol in gold.

Sadly a bellman comes for our bags right before noon, signaling our vacation is about to end. The Maybach is loaded, and it’s off to the airport.
When we arrive at the Southwest baggage counter an amazing thing happens. The Maybach pulls to the curb, and an SWA clerk leaves the counter, opens the small gate and comes over to our limo to pick up our bags. He takes our boarding passes, and leads us to the counter and checks us in. In the meantime everyone in line is staring at us. And yes, I did give him a $10 tip.
Everyone in town knows this limo. I could really learn to love this car!

So I spend an hour in the airport with this huge cake box from MGM that has everyone wondering what was so good that we had to bring it home. A few brave souls actually asked, and there were some interesting reactions when they found out it was a wedding bouquet instead of something to eat.

Final Thoughts, Opinions & Conclusions:
Wynn suits us very well. In our opinions it is easily the best overall property on the strip.
We can be comfortable there, and there can be no higher accolade for a hotel.
We did notice that there were more children there than normal. Still far less than at other hotels, but there were actually about 10-12 at the pool one day.

The Skyloft was amazing, but what really stood out were the little things. The amenities and the incredible service are what we will really remember.
Some things were just so impressive they almost defy description:
Like the Mansion Atrium.
Or the fact that every time you enter the Skyloft lobby everyone stands.
The fridge and the fruit in the dining room are replenished at least twice a day.
The 1st night the turndown maid left a box of chocolate truffles in the living room---
The box is 4”x3” and is made entirely of chocolate, and the top is white chocolate, with SKYLOFT spelled out in milk chocolate along with the skyloft logo. And yes, we brought it home.
In many ways the Skyloft may be the best value on the strip. But we are obviously not sophisticated enough for a butler.

I can’t remember the last time we went to Las Vegas for 5 nights and didn’t go to a show.

Gambling was a total non-factor this trip. I figure we pretty much broke even. Not that it mattered. This was still one of our most expensive trips, but also one of our best.
I spent more on tips this trip than on hotels for some of our other visits. But it was worth it. When you tip that much it means you received excellent service.

I’m so happy that I could surprise my wife in such a nice way. Life is about making memories and this trip will be one of ours.

KTINCA <> - CALIFORNIA    4216

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