LGA-CLE-LAS (United )
Embraer RJ145 + B737-800
I didn’t like LaGuardia very much. I only saw the United Terminal, but it all felt very cramped, the check in area was very narrow, and signage was poor for security and boarding gates. Thankfully, we didn’t have to spend much time at the airport. There was time for a quick Danish pastry before it was time to board the small Embraer which would take us to our connecting flight in Cleveland. I’d been on this type of plane a few times before thanks to FlyBe, and while there can be limited headroom, and crucially, limited storage space, I’ve found them pleasant planes due to the lower passenger capacity, which makes everything to do with boarding, luggage etc, that little but quicker.
Not that it made much difference today to be honest, as our baggage was checked through to Vegas, and we had a 3 hour wait in CLE for our onward flight. CLE seemed a pleasant enough airport, spacious, with a good selection of dining options around the central terminal area. We set up camp at a corner table overlooking the runway, and watched the world go by for a few hours. I started watching ‘The Hangover’ on my Android tablet, but it was time to board before the film concluded. We got a nice surprise once on board, we were in Premium Economy. I’m not sure how that happened, I don’t remember choosing seats for this flight, so we must have been assigned these seats automatically. The only logical reason I could think of that we had got these seats, were that we were among the first to check-in – we had done so some hours earlier in LGA – I could be completely wrong of course!!
I never imagined that a few extra centimetres of legroom could make such a difference, this 3.5 hour flight to Vegas was very comfortable compared with previous experiences of flying in Y. It also helped that there was only M and me in our row of three seats, so we left the middle seat empty. Drinks service was frequent, and as with USAir from BRU, served with a smile. Having checked on Seatguru, it seems this plane was a ‘Continental’ plane, as it had DirecTV at every seat – there was nothing on worth paying the $7 for though, so I finished ‘The Hangover’ and watched some episodes of ‘Extras’. The seat had a decent recline and adjustable headrests, so I could have easily slept on this flight had I chose to, but when changing time zones, I think it’s best just to power through!
Arrival at LAS was uneventful, though the journey from the gate to baggage collection and exit was loooong –walking+shuttle train!! Baggage came along the carousel pretty quickly (Phew! We had heard nightmares about US carriers and baggage from connecting flights etc!), so we were straight out into the very short line for a taxi. Tripadvisor had informed me that money could be saved by avoiding the ‘tunnel’, so I specifically asked for ‘no tunnel’, to which the driver kindly obliged. We were staying at the Flamingo, and including tip, the fare came to $20, which was reasonable enough. The Flamingo isn’t the fanciest Vegas hotel by a long shot and is certainly showing its age, but its centre-strip location appealed, as did the price - £82 total for four nights!! The queue for check-in was long and slow (this appeared to be the case throughout our stay, at pretty much any time of the day!), and even though I had signed up for the players club, it wasn’t clear whether I could use the quicker, preferred check-in line for Gold members or not (my card didn’t state what my membership level was). M had already started queuing in the regular line, and I didn’t want to risk being turned away from the quicker line and having to start queuing form the back again, so we waited it out in the regular line. I was keen to try the much vaunted $20 dollar trick to get an upgrade. I figured if it works, fantastic, it not, well I haven’t lost anything! It did work!! The girl at check-in was very friendly, and I placed a $20 bill on top of the desk when asked for my ID and credit card, asking with a smile “Are there any upgrades available?” She smiled back, took the $20 off the desk with my ID and CC, and said “Absolutely, I’m sure we can work something out for you”. We had booked a bog-standard room (well, what else for £20.50 per night??!) and for the extra $20, we were given a luxury room (I think they’re called the renovated FAB Luxury rooms) on the executive level – which is the top floor of the hotel, with floor to ceiling windows and strip view – lovely!!
Our room
Room with a view!!
How was Vegas? If I had to sum it up in one word, that word would be ‘hot’! Too hot in fact, especially for a fair—skinned Welshman like myself. Summer at home is when the rain slows down a little bit – not this searing 100+degree heat!! It was great fun though, and totally unique!
As a quick summary, the first day was a complete washout from my perspective. We had a quick walk up and down the centre strip area, then went to the buffet – big mistake, as I seriously over indulged on the desserts – could barely walk afterwards, absolutely no room left in my stomach for alcohol, and as it had been quite a long day, I ended up in bed by about 11pm – talk about epic fail!! The next few days were better though, and while I quite enjoy a game of Texas Hold’em, huge casinos were a completely new concept for me, and I was rather overwhelmed, so gambled very little during my stay. The best night was easily Wednesday night. We caught the Deuce to the Stratosphere, going to the top of the tower for the views and a couple of the thrill rides – which was great fun, then getting back on the Deuce onwards to Downtown and The Freemont Street experience. This was fantastic, and in my opinion, was a much better night out than anything we experienced on the strip. Live music, the video show overhead every hour, and a very friendly vibe to go along with the frozen margaritas from plastic glasses shaped like American footballs! This was quite an alcohol filled day/night, as we had been drinking frozen margaritas for several hours that afternoon – the $1 ones at the Casino Royale a popular bargain it seemed, along with happy hours at TI and Flamingo (the ones at the Flam were the best, the top of the glass twisted in sugar – very yummy for those with a sweet tooth like me!) If there was one night which came close to being a ‘The Hangover’ night, it was this one, culminating in M using my phone to film me rugby tackling a poor guy in a Smurf costume – I might post the video on here if I get enough requests!!
Earlier in the day, there was also a very amusing conversation at a restaurant in Planet Hollywood. Our waitress was showing us to our table and asked “So where are you guys from?”
Me: Wales
Waitress: Wales? That’s Wales as in um….?
Me: as in the country in Europe – its part of the UK.
Waitress: (surprised) Oh!!.....I was thinking more like the Ocean!!
Yes folks, that’s right, she though that we lived with, or possibly inside, a Whale!!
Pre-trip, I think the city I had researched most was Vegas, reading tons of trip-reports etc, and every one seemed to contain loads of drinking, gambling, great food, shows, pool parties, nightclubs etc, and upon leaving, and even now, I’m a little disappointed with my experience of Vegas. I had read that it was best not to make a strict itinerary etc in Vegas, due to the ‘party’ type nature of the place However, as a first time visitor, I think I would have been better off with some kind of action plan. I didn’t enter into a poker tournament, didn’t experience the free booze while gambling, didn’t go to a nightclub, and didn’t even sample a burger at In-N-Out which was a shame as I wanted to compare it with Five Guys.
I think the heat was partially to blame. I genuinely didn’t like the dry desert heat, so being in the sunlight for more than a few minutes during daytime was out of the question. It also makes me pretty grumpy if I’m honest, so with the exception of the night spent on Freemont Street, I never really got into the right ‘Vegas’ mood. Will I return? Absolutely – I am not done with you Las Vegas, though the next visit will be at a cooler time of year, I’m thinking November maybe!!
Freemont Street
One thing I did get right though was the centre-strip hotel choice, that’s where all the action is. I would never want to stay South of say the MGM Grand, or North of the Wynn/Encore. We visited Mandalay Bay and the Luxor, and they were absolutely deserted. Honestly, more atmosphere on the moon is the cliché which comes to mind. The same was true for North strip hotels such as Circus Circus and the Strat – much too far away from all the action.