Las Vegas

First trip of the year to Vegas. Here for some personal business and decided to stay at the Las Vegas Hilton.
I think the LV Hilton had a high occupancy rate for the weekend because NASCAR was in town. On top of that, my rate was a screaming $55/night. How can you beat those prices? The combination proved helpful as I was given an upgrade to the "Resorts Club" level. The room comes with a HP printer and free internet. Ideal for those who'd like to print out directions or there for some work. It is becoming standard that hotel rooms come with plasma/LCD TVs so I won't mention it. :D Overall, a very spacious room and easy to entertain a goup of five people if you wanted. It was very nicely decorated with a view of the Wynn golf course and had an oversized oval bath tub in the bathroom. The toiletries were a different sort than I'm used to seeing at Hilton hotels. Not sure if they are the same soap but in a different bottle. When I checked out, I asked the Front Desk person how I can be upgraded again. She was very nice and told me it depended on room occupancy and the timing of my check in. The later the better apparently. I think combined with my Hilton status, I have greater opportunities to get to this room. Good thing to know as I'm coming back in a month.

It was a pretty tame weekend, didn't do much gambling. I guess I'm getting old these days, just stuck with drinking and eating. I've determined that I like the buffet at the Las Vegas Hilton. Not so much for grandness but simplicity and reasonable prices. It also helps that I get it for free. :) They have alot of grilled meats in the buffet, I would say that the chicken (fried and bbq) is a good choice. The steak was a little tough depending on when you grabbed it. The prime rib and beef ribs were good (I was suprised about the beef ribs). Of course, since it is the weekend, champagne brunch was the theme and the champagne was palatable. A pleasant surprise since free house booze typically isn't good and requires massive amounts of orange juice to compensate.


My most memorable meal was at Postrio. Another Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Vegas, there are two total (Vegas and San Francisco). I didn't have much expectations for the restaurant because of my experience with his "cafe" restaurants but wanted to eat at one of his signature restaurants to see what the deal was all about. I've never been to Spago in Beverly Hills so this is my first experience with his cuisine at this level. I must admit, I was very impressed. After meandering through the Venetian Canal Shoppes, we came across the restaurant in St. Mark's Square. The outside of the restaurant is the cafe version where you sit in the "outside." The dining room is inside and the decor is very modern and dark. I had the roasted duck, it was cooked to perfection. The skin was crispy and light like a true Chinese roast duck. It came with an Asian slaw that was also very good and complemented the duck very well. A note of warning for those with peanut allergies, the restaurant uses peanut oil to fry. I believe you can ask for a substitute oil for most entrees. For dessert I also had the raspberry souffle, it was very good. A little too tart for my taste and parts of the souffle was a tad chewy but it was still a very good experience overall.