Las Vegas
Went out to Las Vegas on United Airlines for a timeshare promotion. As a HGVC owner, they are fairly consistent with wanting me to come out to Vegas. For this particular trip, I am staying at Trump International. I usually prefer Elara but the Trump location is beginning to win me over. In booking, the HGVC folks were giving a complimentary upgrade to two bedroom suite if you booked a one bedroom suite. For $99, I was not going to quibble and I was also getting a $100 dining credit at Buca di Beppo. Clearly, the political climate has not made the hotel very popular if these are the things they are throwing out to get people to come.
Similar to Park City, the configuration is a two room lock out. The two bedroom configuration is made of one studio and one one bedroom suite that shares the same foyer. In some ways, it is nicer to have this type of configuration but it also is a little dividing if you had a large group that wanted to stay hangout in the living room. One interesting feature is that the windows have a gold film and is apparent at night when the lights are on. You can't see outside unless you turn off the light. I wonder if that makes it hard to see into the room? Otherwise, the room is nicely furnished and tastefully elegant. I like the sub zero/bosch/wolf appliances. Not that I'm going to do heavy cooking but it was impressive. Also, the one bedroom suite has two full bathrooms. It is particularly a nice feature if you are traveling with a large group.
After landing into McCarran International Airport, went to see if I could check in. The room wasn't available so the luggage was left and off I went to Tom's Urban. Last year, I had had brunch at this eatery in New York New York and was not impressed with the service. I received a gift card from management after posting a Yelp review and decided to have lunch while waiting for the room to be available. This particular visit was improved but the time between appetizers and entrée was a little too long. Otherwise, I enjoyed the pop tart, mac n cheese, chile verde omelette, and the brownie cookie s'mores dessert.
The next day, hung out at the pool in the morning. The reviews from friends and family led me to believe that the pool area was mediocre. In my opinion, it is a good pool with nice amenities. I even like it more than the SLS pool. If you are expecting mega water complexes like MGM or Caesar's, then yes this is a mediocre pool. If you are looking for a place to lounge, an Olympic size pool to swim in, this is a good pool. There is an attached café/bar that you can order food and drinks and the wait staff is also pretty good at asking if you want anything.
For lunch, went to Aria to eat at their buffet. I've been to the hotel a few times but usually to grab pastries. I enjoyed the carvery station and the coconut macarons are awesome. It was actually a relatively priced well. Overall, good food at a good price. I think I was full for the next 24 hours from that meal.
The next day, I ate leftovers for breakfast as I wasn't too hungry. Given the lack of pot holders, I would venture to say that the oven is hardly ever used and that the pots/pans might see action for the random heat up of food.
After spending the morning in the pool, went out to the owner's update meeting and ended up killing my afternoon off. Afterwards, went out to Bucca di Beppo because they gave us a $100 gift card. I haven't been to one in over a decade. Plenty of leftovers, the restaurant wasn't busy despite being made for large groups. I don't know why it isn't busier, probably due to the location inside Bally's. In walking to Bally's, I did notice a Giordano's location which is interesting to me. One, because it is outdoors which in Las Vegas heat makes a deep dish pizza as appealing as walking barefoot. Two, I didn't think they would expand outside the Chicago area.
After dinner, went over to the Wynn and had dessert at Jardin. I had seen on Insider Video on Facebook the flower pot cake and decided that I would definitely try on this trip. I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed the cake as well as the maple bourbon butterscotch pudding with this amazing almond bacon brittle.
Similar to Park City, the configuration is a two room lock out. The two bedroom configuration is made of one studio and one one bedroom suite that shares the same foyer. In some ways, it is nicer to have this type of configuration but it also is a little dividing if you had a large group that wanted to stay hangout in the living room. One interesting feature is that the windows have a gold film and is apparent at night when the lights are on. You can't see outside unless you turn off the light. I wonder if that makes it hard to see into the room? Otherwise, the room is nicely furnished and tastefully elegant. I like the sub zero/bosch/wolf appliances. Not that I'm going to do heavy cooking but it was impressive. Also, the one bedroom suite has two full bathrooms. It is particularly a nice feature if you are traveling with a large group.
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| Trump International Las Vegas 2 bedroom |
After landing into McCarran International Airport, went to see if I could check in. The room wasn't available so the luggage was left and off I went to Tom's Urban. Last year, I had had brunch at this eatery in New York New York and was not impressed with the service. I received a gift card from management after posting a Yelp review and decided to have lunch while waiting for the room to be available. This particular visit was improved but the time between appetizers and entrée was a little too long. Otherwise, I enjoyed the pop tart, mac n cheese, chile verde omelette, and the brownie cookie s'mores dessert.
The next day, hung out at the pool in the morning. The reviews from friends and family led me to believe that the pool area was mediocre. In my opinion, it is a good pool with nice amenities. I even like it more than the SLS pool. If you are expecting mega water complexes like MGM or Caesar's, then yes this is a mediocre pool. If you are looking for a place to lounge, an Olympic size pool to swim in, this is a good pool. There is an attached café/bar that you can order food and drinks and the wait staff is also pretty good at asking if you want anything.
For lunch, went to Aria to eat at their buffet. I've been to the hotel a few times but usually to grab pastries. I enjoyed the carvery station and the coconut macarons are awesome. It was actually a relatively priced well. Overall, good food at a good price. I think I was full for the next 24 hours from that meal.
The next day, I ate leftovers for breakfast as I wasn't too hungry. Given the lack of pot holders, I would venture to say that the oven is hardly ever used and that the pots/pans might see action for the random heat up of food.
After spending the morning in the pool, went out to the owner's update meeting and ended up killing my afternoon off. Afterwards, went out to Bucca di Beppo because they gave us a $100 gift card. I haven't been to one in over a decade. Plenty of leftovers, the restaurant wasn't busy despite being made for large groups. I don't know why it isn't busier, probably due to the location inside Bally's. In walking to Bally's, I did notice a Giordano's location which is interesting to me. One, because it is outdoors which in Las Vegas heat makes a deep dish pizza as appealing as walking barefoot. Two, I didn't think they would expand outside the Chicago area.
After dinner, went over to the Wynn and had dessert at Jardin. I had seen on Insider Video on Facebook the flower pot cake and decided that I would definitely try on this trip. I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed the cake as well as the maple bourbon butterscotch pudding with this amazing almond bacon brittle.
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| Jardin Flower Pot cake dessert |
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