Please ADD your own Las Vegas Trip Report. Date of Trip: January 16, 2010 to January 19, 2010 Hotel Stayed At: ORLEANS Report by: KTINCA <> From: CALIFORNIA

This trip was for my parents. When Bette Midler announced that she would be closing her show the end of January I thought of my parents. They had never seen her show and I knew they would love it. I had been trying to think of something special for their anniversary and this seemed perfect.

Unfortunately January was not good for us, especially for my wife who was going to have a tough time getting time off from work. But Bette’s show wouldn’t wait, and after 60 years we couldn’t really move their anniversary. So we made it happen. We had to use the MLK holiday weekend, and go right back to work as soon as we returned, but we made it happen.

Saturday 16th
Our flight took off a little late, but made up a little time and arrived around 2:15pm. For those who care, I had printed our boarding passes 24 hours in advance and received A30-33. For our flight back I used Early Boarding and we got A22-25.

Our driver from Presidential Limo was waiting and helped with our bags. The women were given their roses and there was champagne on ice for our ride. And because we were playing tour guide we stopped at the Welcome To Las Vegas sign for photos. It had been a couple of years since we had been to the sign, and we were very impressed with the job they did adding the parking.

Then it was on to Orleans. We don’t go to Las Vegas very often during the winter, so I really didn’t know how busy this holiday weekend would be. But I didn’t want my parents to deal with the crowds on the Strip. They are still mobile but having to navigate through throngs would be a little difficult and tiring for them, so I decided on Orleans and it turned out to be a great choice.

The only problem we encountered was arriving at the hotel. Our limo pulled up and there was no one to help with our bags. I mean this isn’t Wynn or Four Seasons. How many people do you think take limos to Orleans? You would think after a couple of minutes a bellman would have noticed. And it’s not like a lot of people are checking out and need help at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon. So we had to lug our 4 bags ourselves.

I wasn’t expecting much on Saturday afternoon of a Holiday Weekend, but the clerk was quite helpful and found us very nice rooms. A renovated room on the 20th floor, not too close to the elevators for us, and a 14th floor room with a great view of the Strip for my parents, per my request.

We know exactly what we are going to get in a room at Orleans, a good-sized comfortable room. They remind me of Bally’s although slightly larger. We usually get a renovated room, which are on the 21st and part of the 20th floors. But like most LV hotels the renovations are just cosmetic and the regular rooms are just fine. The renovations include new carpets, couch & chair, large flat-screen TV (no HD channels) and a small dresser. There is no additional charge for these rooms. The bathroom is large, there is no door between the toilet and bath/shower room and the dressing area/closet, just the one pocket door to the room. And of course you have the famous window above the tub, which in our case gave us a Strip view. My only small ongoing complaints; the toilet seat does not stay up. I know many women would love this but it is a PIA. And Orleans has the oldest and noisiest fridges in Las Vegas.

Strip views. With the possible exception of certain rooms at Mandalay Bay or TI, strip view rooms are vastly over-rated. Most of them really only include a few hotels due to location or angle. Anyone who’s been to Eiffel Tower and Alize or Voodoo Lounge will tell you that the view of the strip is really better from further away. The view of the Strip from the right room at Rio or Orleans, encompassing the whole Strip is truly magnificent, especially at night. I’m so glad my parents had the chance to experience this.

After a short rest it was time for a tour of the hotel, which ended at the Wizard of Oz machines past the food court. My Mom has never gambled but I wanted her to try these machines, so I put in a $20 and made her sit down. To my mother a slot machine still has a handle to pull and reels to spin, and you have to keep feeding coins in. Of course we had to show her what to do, but she got the chance to try bonus rounds, hear the sound effects and see the amazing graphics. Slot machines sure have changed! And of course she won, turning my $20 into $30 after 15-20 minutes so naturally we made her quit a winner.

So it was on to dinner at Big Al’s Oyster Bar. We’ve been here many times and never had a bad meal. The portions are huge, so my wife & Mom both had a cup of chowder and then split a pan combo. I had Shrimp Scampi and my Dad had Gumbo. With Iced Teas the bill was $55.78 after using a 20% off coupon received at check in.

The Orleans Showroom is an excellent small venue and tonight we were seeing Frankie Avalon & Bobby Rydell. Orleans specializes in these types of shows. We’ve previously seen Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, and the Righteous Brothers there. But my Mom was surprised by the stadium-style seating, and asked if the Bette Midler show tomorrow night would be the same. Because of course the last time she saw a show the rooms had long tables and booths, and came with 2 cocktails, lol.

It was an interesting show. Bobby’s voice is much better than Frankie’s, but then again it always was. Unfortunately he can’t do much with it anymore. Frankie has a little more power and range. They sang a few numbers together and one set each. The use of video and old clips was well done. IMO the most interesting segment was a duet with Frankie and Don Everly’s son featuring Everly Brothers songs. Of course most of the audience remembered and appreciated the music. And how can any of us really not like a show that ends with “Now it’s time to say goodbye to all our company. MIC. See you real soon KEY. Why because we love you…..”

10pm, our first night in Las Vegas, and we were all wiped out. So we called it a night.

Sunday 17th
Today was our day to see a few of the sights on the strip. So we met at 8:30 and headed to Tableau for breakfast. This is our favorite place for breakfast in Las Vegas and we wanted to share it. There have been a few changes to the menu that we aren’t crazy about. My wife’s favorite mini-beignets are gone, and the Kobe Short Ribs & Eggs aren’t on the current menu, but it’s still wonderful. We spent a very pleasant 90 minutes enjoying the food, atmosphere and company. Eggs Benedict $21, 2 White Chocolate & Orange Bread French Toast $32, Elk Hash $22, 3 sides Bacon $21, 4 coffees $16, total $121.07. And yes it’s worth every penny.

We took a walk out to the pool and amazingly enough not only were a few people enjoying the sun, but about ½ dozen were actually swimming, because after all it was a balmy 53 degrees. Not only that but Wynn had a lifeguard working, freezing on her raised chair.

I wanted to play a little at Wynn just to put a few points on our cards. So we put in ½ hour, they played my wife’s favorite nickel video WOF, a new game for my Mom to try, and I made a few dollars playing VP.

Then we walked over to Palazzo to look around and over to Venetian to see St. Marks Square. By now it was a little past noon and time to rest for a while. So we picked up some gelato and waited for the 1pm show in the square. In the meantime we watched everyone interacting with the living statue, always fun especially watching the kids.

A couple of Opera singers, a jester, and a lady who does sleight of hand; is it just me or is it more interesting watching those in the audience than the show itself?
After the show we walked through Venetian and caught a cab to Bellagio, and on to the Conservatory for a few pictures. We rarely go in the winter, so this is the first time in many years we got to see the Chinese New Year decorations. It was all right, but I’m sure my Mom would have enjoyed the spring butterflies more.

Then it was back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. Because I had handicapped a few races on the plane yesterday, I placed a couple of bets and then went up and watched the races in our room. I love this about Orleans! The eight channels on the TVs in the rooms that get the feeds from the different tracks shown downstairs.

Dinner was at Prime Rib Loft. That wasn’t the original plan, we were going to go to the Cortez Room but we couldn’t get early reservations, they didn’t have anything before 6pm. I was a little disappointed, but also kind of happy to hear that the Cortez Room is doing well. My parents really liked Prime Rib Loft. The atmosphere is quiet, the service good, and it’s hard to not like the prime rib dinner, especially for the price. Iced Teas $3, 4 Orleans Cut Prime Rib (10oz with potatoes) $14 each, side Broccoli $5, side Mushroom Caps $6, total dinner for 4=$82.16.

We took my parents to Caesars to see Bette Midler. We had just seen her in August so we walked next door to Bellagio to see O. This worked out perfectly, both shows started at the same time, but Bette’s is longer so we had plenty of time to pick them up afterward.

It was a joy to see them after the show. They absolutely loved it, and not just her singing, they were impressed with the entire production. Maybe we’ve seen so many LV shows that I’m a little jaded. But not so jaded that I can’t appreciate their enthusiasm. We then walked over to Bellagio for dessert crepes at Jean Philippe Patisserie, the perfect ending to our evening.

Monday 18th

Breakfast this morning was at the Orleans buffet. We got there right after they opened at 9am so there was no wait. But the buffet there is very popular with both guests and locals, so it filled up quickly. Of course the fact that it’s only $5.49 with the $1 players club discount certainly has something to do with it. The buffet is pretty basic, but my parents had plenty of choices, even if my Dad couldn’t have lox this morning. I’m not much for buffets, and certainly don’t take advantage of the “all you can eat feature”. I had an omelet, some bacon, a banana, and a couple of mini-desserts. But we had a very nice server and spent a leisurely 90 minutes talking over breakfast.

Today was the ladies spa day. It worked out perfectly because it had rained through the night and would rain most of the day, so it was a great day to spend indoors. Their massage appointments were for 1pm so we got there a little before noon. My wife was very happy that her favorite masseur Aaron was available and could provide her treatment. My Mom absolutely LOVED Qua, with all the different facilities. So they spent the entire afternoon, having a light lunch, and leaving around 5pm.

My Dad and I had planned to spend our afternoon at the Caesars race-book. We had handicapped the card at Santa Anita and were looking forward to a day of races. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans. LA was hit pretty hard by the storms and the races at Santa Anita were cancelled. So this left us with Golden Gate, for which I hadn’t prepared. So it was an afternoon of small bets and little success. I only lost $47, but it seemed a lot worse because I was only betting $4-$6 on the races I bet. Fortunately my Dad had looked at a few of these races in advance and did a little better than I.

Dinner tonight was at BB Kings. We didn’t have time to go back to our hotel so we just took a cab to Mirage. We had almost 30 minutes to kill, so we played some machines. They played penny slots and I found a quarter 8/5 JOB machine. And I got what I think was my only 4OAK of the entire trip making cab fare. We did very little gambling this trip, and took a lot of cabs. So that’s the way I classified my wins, as making cab fare.

I was really undecided as to where to have dinner on our one free evening, either BB Kings or Casa Di Amore. Both provide dinner and entertainment, and I knew my parents would enjoy either. In the end I chose BB Kings because in 2008 I took my Dad to CDA for his birthday.

It was a very good choice. We spent more than 2 hours over dinner and listening to a 3-man blues band. We tried a few unique dishes and enjoyed everything. We really liked the fried pickles, which were new to all of us. If you’re looking for something a little different in Las Vegas I recommend dinner here. Diet Coke $2.50, 2 Iced Tea $5, Fried Pickles $8, Potato Skins $9, BBQ Pork Sandwich $11, Cajun Carbonara $18, Smothered Chicken $15, Classic Wedge Salad $9, Margarita $7, 2 Coffee $8, 2 Banana Bread Pudding $14, Total with tax $116. And believe me when I tell you this is more than you really need to eat, but we wanted to try things and we also wanted to drag out our meal because of the music.

We went back to Orleans and finally had a chance to play the machines a little. So my wife got to play a little WOZ for an hour and we both played a little VP.


Tuesday 19th
We had an early flight so breakfast was at the coffee shop. We really like the Orleans coffee shop. The food is easily as good as most of the Strip Hotel coffee shops or cafes, at a fraction of the cost. Which is why you never see locals at MGM Studio Café, or Luxor etc. but you do at Orleans.

The airport was not crowded and our 8:50am flight home was about 2/3 full. And then it was back to the real world.

This was a very different trip for us. We don’t really like Las Vegas in the winter, and of course we did get some rain. Without mornings at the pool and walks on the strip at night it’s just not Las Vegas to us. We couldn’t really show my parents what we love about Las Vegas----the leisurely pace. The fact that we can get up in the morning, go down to the pool, and then finally start our day at 2pm.

This may sound strange, but I also don’t like sharing our Las Vegas trips. I don’t mind going to a meet one day, or meeting friends for dinner or a drink. But I really don’t like saying “We will see you for breakfast at 8:30” and then having to plan for it. This trip was for my parents, and it was my idea not theirs. And I really enjoyed spending time with them, but it wasn’t like we were taking a trip to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas belongs to my wife and I. It’s where we go to spend time together. It’s where we go to renew or vows, both literally and figuratively. So I owe my wife a trip to Las Vegas. Our next trip will be one where she can rest and relax in luxury.

Why Orleans? Because I know my parents and I know Las Vegas. Cost wasn’t really a factor, because this was a special trip. The only other properties I considered were THEhotel and Wynn.
The suites at THEhotel would have been very convenient. My Dad doesn’t sleep through the night, and this would allow him to wake and go into the living room without disturbing my Mom. But I’ve been to Mandalay Bay on the weekends before, and I knew they wouldn’t be comfortable there. The music is too loud, and there are too many young people who are also too loud. Wynn might have been a safer choice, but I couldn’t be sure about the crowds there either on a Holiday Weekend.
Orleans was the right choice. The rooms are comfortable enough. The hotel itself is big enough to convey the feeling of Las Vegas, but not crowded. And it’s a place where my Dad would feel comfortable going downstairs by himself at 3am if he couldn’t sleep. We spent time at Venetian, Caesars and Bellagio, and the size and crowds there were very tiring and almost overwhelming for them.

Location. As I have said many times---in Las Vegas location should not be a primary factor in your choice of hotel. I took two people I care about, both in their 80’s, and we stayed off the strip and still saw everything we wanted to see. You will also notice that with the exception of Caesars and Bellagio we didn’t spend any time at all in the center of the Strip. My parents aren’t looking for cheap drinks or bad gambling, so there was no reason for us to visit Harrahs, Flamingo, Bills, Casino Royal, O’Sheas, Ballys, etc. So being in the middle of the Strip would not have been best.

Of course I spent more on cabs than most. But again understand, it really doesn’t make any difference if we would have stayed at Orleans, Wynn, THEhotel or even Bellagio. We still would have taken cabs anywhere we went. It only made a few dollars difference in the amount of the fare.

I can’t really put all that I gained from this trip into words. Traveling with my parents at this point in their lives was special, and a little challenging and even painful. But I’m very glad that we could share the experience. I’m sure I will cherish some of the memories later.

I’m not really sure when our next trip will be. We normally go in May, but family commitments might take precedence this year.

In many ways my LV Trip Reports are like a journal of our lives. Unlike my other Trip Reports, I wrote this one mostly for myself. But maybe others will pick up an idea or two for a future trip.

KTINCA <> - CALIFORNIA    4616

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