As I'm still a little jetlagged, I'll do this in stages...
BA275 Club World LHR-LAS
In a fit of organisation, I'd booked this flight 11 months out, realising that availability was going to be sparse during the Stratford Sports Day. And so it crept up on me, meaning that, after the excitement of the Olympics opening ceremony, and the pleasant realisation that we weren't actually going to get it all horribly wrong, I ended up leaving no time to actually pack. So, a last-minute rush ensured I was good and tired for our first long-haul from T5.
The Olympic committee very kindly avoided planning any major events at Wembley or Eton Dorney that morning, so getting down the A1 to T5 was a breeze, as was the valet handover (the valet services at LHR are great value for longer stays, and it's hard to justify paying double just to get to ride in those pods to the Business car park, however fun they are...) Valet always seems wrong, though, even for someone whose relationship with a car is little more than "it's just a box on wheels".
T5 was... Empty. It dawned on me that we were going against the Olympic flow, but it's normally much busier than this. Mind you, the dire warnings of transport meltdown we'd been fed for the previous three months had kept everyone away from central London for the last few days, meaning that I'd felt Wiggins-like on the cycle section of my commute in from King's Cross (platform to desk in E1 in 18 minutes is unheard of!) so I suppose this follows. Fast Track was genuinely fast, and we only had to wait seconds before getting through security (well, several hundred seconds, but that's still not bad).
If landside was a ghost town, airside resembled Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday afternoon (with less litter and better shops). Connections or twirlies? We may never know. So, being sadly statusless these days (thanks for pulling LCY-CPH, BA!) but gladly in possession of CW BPs, we opted for Galleries North, which was pleasant but busy, but offered great people-watching spots, and a pretty impressive range of buffet-style food. OK, it's not Vegas-style king crab legs, but decent light meals for when you're on the move. And, of course, those air travel staples: ginger ale, crackers and cheese.
We got itchy feet, and decided to head to the T5B lounge instead (we were due to depart from T5C), stopping off at itsu for some sushi (MrsStut had ordered the VGML and we had had poor previous experience of it. And yes, I know fish isn't a VGML, but there is rarely a close enough fit...) The train there works fine, but there's an awful lot of slow escalators to get up and down there. The welcome at the T5B lounge was less than stellar ("You've been to another lounge." "Yes, yes I have." "Hmm.") But it was worth the trek over here - quite a lovely place to wait. Roomy, calm and quiet (at least in the early afternoon), big, comfy chairs, and just as much food as in T5A. Plus big chunks of cheesecake. I like the buttery biscuit base...
However, this isn't a timesaver - T5B to T5C is barely quicker than from T5A. We decided that, due to being sat apart, boarding early was a good way to try and arrange a swap (and we had decent seats to swap into). So we joined the gate lice, and boarded in the first half-dozen, through the well arranged priority queue, in, greeted by name (nice touch) and, upstairs to out my favourite little enclave. I do like a 747.
Now, here comes the rant. The cabin crew could not have been friendlier or more helpful. They immediately saw we were sat separately as we boarded and told us they would sort it out. In fact, there were three groups split up upstairs, and more downstairs. Chatting to them, this happens on a regular basis, and they're used to sorting it out (particularly on full flights like this). The FA figured out a complex series of swaps that basically came down to one person being asked to move to an equivalent seat, which they were only too happy to do, and resulted in everyone sitting together. Now, I know the BA board have done this debate to death, but this is a daft use of the cabin crew's time. The seating policy is an uncomfortable halfway house and is in dire need of a review.
So, sat together, we could enjoy the flight. My first time on NGCW (it was all blue curves and fan-shaped dividers last time I graced this cabin) and it's rather impressive. The use of space is as clever as it always was, and anything that avoids a wedgiebed is good in my books. The dividers give a bright air to the cabin, although they do seem to have a few hard-to-clean parts. A minor complaint that the cover on my seat was annoyingly loose, but nothing that some velcro-fiddling on my part couldn't fix. I was practically force-fed orange juice until take-off by the excellent crew, but the cabin's focus was all on the couple opposite, who had got chatting to a few others on board. It turns out that they had decided, on the spur of the moment, to fly to Vegas to get married. They were given a couple of bottles of champagne on landing, too, which was a nice touch.
Food was... Well, quite a surprise. CW did go through a very rocky patch. I know mainstream airline catering is never going to be as good as on the ground, but I'd expect an M&S ready meal rather than an ASDA smart price one. I don't know if it's thanks to the little exercise with Heston Blumenthal, but the food was really rather good. Started off with some Forman's smoked salmon (nice Olympic link here - the Forman smokehouse was on the Olympic site, and resited across the canal as a result, with a new restaurant that offers great views - plus, their salmon is excellent). I opted for steak as the main course, served with some decent asparague, and was again pleasantly surprised. Again, I don't expect rare meat on a plane, but I've had some shockingly awful steaks on board planes in the past. Perhaps ordering them is a triumph of hope over experience, but I was rather pleased to find hope winning for once. Top marks to BA, this was quite a turnaround.
The VGML, however, was a vindication of experience over hope. The itsu sushi was excellent, but grilled veg with some obscure grain and a rock-like gluten-free bun is not a meal fit for CW. Particularly not when you serve the same grilled veg up later on, too.
AVOD worked well, and was the usual mix of half-decent films and a selection of TV programmes. I ended up indulging my short attention span with an assortment of comedy programmes, before settling down to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (which was far better than the mostly poor reviews suggested). The rest of the flight was occupied by the important business of organising playlists on my iPhone (which failed to keep its charge, despite being plugged in - I know it doesn't charge up, but doesn't it run either?) And we'd barely finished dessert before finding outselves in the middle of a desert.
This was the apparently spangly new T3 at LAS. Immigration was impressively painless (at least for those who'd managed to get off the plane relatively early) despite being stuck behind someone whose passport was full (why do they do those sub-queues anyway?) Baggage reclaim and customs were rather impressively easy too. All looking good so far, now just to get some cash out and grab a coffee before heading into town...
...or not. No ATM in sight. Oh well, let's head upstairs to the Starbucks. Closed. So, let's ask the information desk about an ATM. The answer "oh, there'll be one somewhere". Perhaps near the slot machines at arrivals? No. Oh well, let's try and change some money at Travelex. Hmm, no. Oh, but someone knows where the terminal's sole ATM is located! Yay! It's a bit of a walk, over by domestic arriavls, hidden behind a wall, but here we are and... Well, being the only ATM, it's run out of cash. Thankfully, the taxi dispatcher easily finds us a CC taxi who willingly whisks us off and we're headed for the tunnel before I have a chance to ask for surface streets. Oh well, at least we're on our way...
(We were apparently quite lucky to find taxis at T3, there's been an ongoing problem with them, due to the current, sporadic nature of flights. None of the drivers know when to go to T3, and the airport won't help them. So sometimes you find the rank empty, and other, you'll find it overflowing. Ask a driver about it, I'm sure you'll hear many, many details...)
And here it is! The Vegas strip, lit up in dazzling neon, just as the evening begins, looking dizzying through dehydrated contact lenses and jetlag...
stut
Aug 15, 12, 5:38 am
Las Vegas: Mandarin Oriental
OK, it's definitely a First World Problem, but choosing a hotel in Las Vegas seems to be up there among a series of near-impossible choices, like selecting a mobile phone tariff. However, after much deliberation, we picked the MO, as the 'calm retreat' air it gave off, together with its mid-strip location, fitted the bill nicely. As did the rather excellent rate we got (which put it on a par with the Wynn and Bellagio).
It was my first visit, but not MrsStut's, and some would say that you should stay in a casino hotel for the full Vegas experience. Perhaps, but the MO is steps away from several casinos, and to be honest, coming from a country where there are slot machines in every takeaway food shop, perhaps gambling doesn't hold the same thrill for me.
First impressions of the place were... Well, great, frankly. Arrival, luggage portering and check-in were seamless (I never saw a queue the whole time I was in this place). The lobby is at the top of the hotel floors in this tower block, with express lifts up there, and gives great views of the strip. However, the lift could have transported us to Hong Kong or Singapore, such was the atmosphere - right down to a pervading jasmine-type perfume. Slick and polished throughout, as was the oriental-style service (right down to the two-handed document passing).
Despite the cheap rate, we were given a high-floor room with a strip view, facing NE towards Planet Hollywood and Paris. Wow! The room was stylish, spacious and very comfortable, and pretty quiet, considering the volume of noice coming from the Hawaiian Marketplace opposite (actually, we were glad for a little noise - to remind us where we were!)
View at night:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7782605360_a5f361d64b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stut/7782605360/)
View during the day:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7765821370_1a4fdd5324.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stut/7765821370/)
The swimming pool is on a terrace on the 3rd floor, with a poolside café and a series of cabanas for those wanting to splash some cash about. Definitely full-service here, as an attendant will ensure you are properly set up with towels, parasols, etc, at the location you need. The daytime sun was far too much for my Scottish skin, even with the factor 30 slapped on, so we restricted our swimming and jaccuziing to the evening, where the already calm pool was beautifully relaxing.
I did really appreciate the location, too, although it's frustratingly badly connected to surrounding walkways. You can get to the Aria, Cosmopolitan, Monte Carlo, New York New York, Bellagio and Planet Hollywood (if you really want to) in 5-10 minutes.
Only disappointment was a few minor service issues - in other hotels, I wouldn't blink at them, but I'd have expected better here. The bath plug didn't work properly, and they failed to manage to fix it (or acknowledge that they hadn't) during our stay. There was also one morning where the cleaning had been abandoned halfway through, and was only completed, with fairly bad grace (implying I had left a DND sign up) on request later on. Not enough to mar an excellent stay, but rather disappointing. I look forward to their response...
As for what we did there, well, what happens in Vegas...
Las Vegas: Alamo Car Rental
Never tried Alamo before, but the price was right, so why not? Although we wanted a convertible for the PCH, it seemed sensible to get a 'normal' car for LAS-LAX (with decent air-con) and swap it at LAX, particularly as we were staying there anyway.
Got a cab out to the consolidated rental car centre just south of McCarran (great idea, that - the layout works really well) to be confronted with a rather long queue for, well, just about everybody. A queue monitor was keen to get people to use the automatic check-in machines, but I knew from reviews there was no chance with a foreign driving licence, and this was confirmed. Took a good 20 minutes to get through, which was too slow, and got the hard sell when at the front. My rate was conditional on pre-paying fuel, so I went with that, although as it turned out, we only used just over half a tank (still, the rate was really rather good).
The usual "but you can upgrade for $20 it's so much better" spiel took place, and, predictably, this was because they were out of not only the the Intermediate I'd booked, but also the Standard. So, as a "special offer, this weekend only", it was a Full-Size: pick any from the row (a new experience for me!) - we ended up with a Chevrolet Impala, a car I've no idea about, but worked pretty well for motorway driving. And it made me smile when I was later told to "take the 110 to the 105".
Arriving at LAX, late at night after dinner at friends', well, it made me glad I knew the area pretty well after doing a lot of work out here a few years ago. Finding the car rental returns is never easy here, and the area never feels the most salubrious. But we got there, and were checked in in no time.
Los Angeles: Radisson LAX
OK, I should have read the reviews. But it was cheap and convenient, and a very quick stop. After visiting some friends in Hollywood, we took the 110 to the 105, dropped the car, grabbed a shuttle and walked from T1 to the hotel (pretty much the hotel's only advantage is its walkability to the terminal).
Now, I'm not sure if it's the hotel that's changed or my perceptions. I last stayed here on the way back from New Zealand, in 2002, where I'd been in backpacker hostels of varying quality. So it seemed pretty good, particularly with the views of the runways - always a bonus. However, this time... Particularly after the MO, it felt as if the hotel had barely been maintained since my last visit. Staff were friendly enough, but the room smelt damp, the paint was scuffed and stained, power sockets were hanging off the wall... Not impressive. The bed was comfortable enough, and the shower decent, but there's little, other than the views and location, to recommend this place.
Oh, and the new televisions seem to have a default volume that is VERY LOUD. Which is great when your neighbour starts playing video games at midnight... Thank goodness for the rather good 3M earplugs supplied in the BA amenity kits...
Los Angeles: Alamo Car Rental
Despite years of being in them when I didn't particularly want to be, I still love airports. There's something about them - I could sit there and watch people all day long. So, waking up in a fairly grotty hotel in LAX, the only thing to do was to get the shuttle to the TBIT, and get some breakfast up on the balcony to watch people checking in. I'll never understand why we both enjoy this so much, but I know never to turn my nose up at free entertainment. Surprisingly decent bagels, too...
So, shuttle to the Alamo/National lot, and another 15 minute queue to get the papers, and off to find the convertibles! Which wasn't easy, as the layout seems to follow little logic. But we found them, and it became quickly obvious that it was either a Sebring or a Mustang, and you had to 'tip generously' to get the latter brought out. Never driven a Sebring, so went to give it a try, but the top wouldn't go down with the luggage we had, which was annoying. So, caught a newly-manoeuvred Mustang out of the corner of my eye and we pounced (a second later and we'd have missed it...) And off we went to Santa Monica and the PCH!
I know little about cars (I don't drive on a regular basis anyway) but was rather impressed. I'd hired a Mustang from LAX a few years ago and wasn't overly impressed - it handled badly and guzzled fuel. The newer model seemed much better - handled the road through Big Sur admirably, and barely used a tank and a quarter to San Francisco (OK, I'm a pretty relaxed driver, but that was significantly better than last time). So I was pleased with our choice!
The coast road was stunning, I can't recommend it highly enough. Even with a laid-back three days to travel it, there's plenty we missed out (all the better for a return visit...)
Decided to return the car at SFO rather than drive into the city, and that seemed a good choice - we arrived pretty late, but the setup there with the consolidated rental garage and AirTrain works an absolute treat.
Slightly wrong order, but the trip to the Grand Canyon will follow...
zafiragirl
Aug 15, 12, 12:44 pm
Loving your TR so far!
Our first ever CW experience was to LAS last year. We managed to snag upper deck too, and loved everything about the trip.
Grand Canyon... bring it on!
Prospero
Aug 17, 12, 2:53 pm
A lovely report, stut. ^ Looking forward to reading the upcoming installments :)
stut
Aug 22, 12, 2:30 pm
So, let's fill in the gaps.
The Grand Canyon with Scenic Airlines
So, if Vegas hotels follow the mobile phone tariff route, side trips to the Grand Canyon are their partners in crime. Rather like a soft drink cabinet in Walgreens on the strip, there's a bewildering array of options - which bit of canyon, how to get there, where to leave from, who to go with, what add-ons you want when you get there... And then there's the offers and comps and it's enough to make you...
...crave simplicity. So that's what we did - settled on a "does what it says on the tin" trip to the National Park bit of the South Rim. We did want to do some fancy routing that would have us doing Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - Steam Train - Amtrak to LA, but there were too many risk factors (almost all of them belonging to Amtrak) so we opted for a flight to the Grand Canyon, looked for a bus tour with minimum shepherding and lots of time at each, and passed on the helicopter add-ons as we'd be flying there anyway.
And that's how we found ourselves on a minibus heading down the strip at a time when people were just finding their way back at the end of the evening (if, indeed, an evening ever really ends in this city). I figured that a) Scots in midday desert sun end up looking like buffet lobster and b) we'd still be jetlagged and so wouldn't care what the time was.
Scenic Airlines use Boulder City Airport, which is some distance from the Strip, but at this time in the morning, who cares? It all involves a shortish minibus journey anyway. And this journey is impressively short, thanks to the seemingly spasmodic right foot of the driver. The little terminal at Boulder City is very well organised, and we were weighed, checked in, adorned with a green sticker and with a very welcome (and suprisingly decent) coffee in our hands before we knew it. That may be the jetlag, again.
It's quite a slick operation - a decent number of people get processed and out on their range of little Dash-6s in little time:
The seating is 2+1, but the view from the aisle seat is fine (and it was all people travelling in groups assigned to those seats, anyway. You also get a good view forwards:
(The colours on that second photo are slightly altered by the plane window and mist, but aren't a million miles off the truth - particularly the colour of the Colorado River).
The arrival at Grand Canyon airport is similarly efficient to the departure, and is rather reminiscent of a mini version of arriving off some awful charter in a Balearic island in the height of summer. No messing about here - we're driven off to two of the viewpoints immediately, and given exact times of departure, with a decent amount of time at each. And, well, it's rather breathtaking.
What more can I say? The return was similarly well organised, and we were returned to our hotel at pretty much exactly the time promised (and very, very glad we opted for the early morning departure - the sun, as we arrived back at Boulder City, was brutal). We wanted a good, no-nonsense trip, and that's exactly what we got - letting the natural beauty speak for itself. And that it did - in volumes. Well worth it, even if you're not jetlagged.
stut
Aug 22, 12, 2:49 pm
Holiday Inn Express San Luis Obispo
Not an awful lot to say here, as it was little more than a night stop along the PCH. But it fitted the bill rather well (particularly thanks to a little help from IHG F&F).
It was a US-style HIX. These are very different to UK-style HIXes, but very similar (in fact, quite alarmingly similar) to other similar US chains - your Courtyards and the like. Did the job very well - and the front desk couldn't have been more helpful, but I find the sheer uniformity of these places verging on the oppressive. Is there a middle ground between this and full on boutique/B&B? Of course, the upside to the uniformity is the consistency, and that means it works perfectly for stays such as this.
One surprise was the 'welcome gift' for being a PC member. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a paper bag. Thankfully, it didn't seem to contain the products of the GM's home still, but the bags of snacks and bottle of apple juice were equally unexpected.
Breakfast was OK, and free. I'll never get used to eating on paper crockery when not sitting in a park, but a bagel with cream cheese is pretty much always a decent way to start the day.
Front desk staff saw us off well into (the rather laid-back, charming little) town and I had my first taste of what seemed to be an obsession here: petrol stations and prices. By the time I left, I was armed with petrol prices for pretty much every location within a 50-miles radius, and dire warnings of how bad it is up the PCH from now on. I duly filled up on the way out of town...
InterContinental The Clement Monterey
Moving right up the IHG scale, with a little help from Steve Sickel's code, our next waypoint was wonderfully situated right on Cannery Row, partly hanging over the water. A beautiful series of wooden buildings form this pretty new hotel, boasting one of the finest views I've had from a hotel bar.
The welcome amenity was more of a smile than a goody bag, but once again, the front desk staff were utterly charming. The room was great - just the style I like. Spacious (hugely tall ceilings, too), bright, modern and crisp - whites, light greys and greens, and even a little Japanese-style dry garden to keep you calm. Not that you need it - it's blissfully quiet.
My only complaint, having just been at the HIX - it does annoy me when it's the budget hotels where WiFi, printing and breakfast are free, and when it's the upscale ones than nickel and dime you. Yeah, I know why it happens, but it's still an irritant.
Apart from that, though, a great hotel, and very glad to have chosen it. While Monterey boasts a great number of B&Bs, their predominantly frilly style is not my personal taste. And, well, I love the sea, and miss it, living inland as I do... I did regret not downloading any Steinbeck to my Kindle before arriving, though. I kept trying to remind myself to...
GodAtum
Aug 23, 12, 4:18 am
Thanks for your report :) I'll be flying to LV next month and cant wait! Did you walk around the Strip?
stut
Aug 24, 12, 2:36 am
Thanks for your report :) I'll be flying to LV next month and cant wait! Did you walk around the Strip?
I'm sure you'll have a great time!
We did walk around a lot - inside (you need a good sense of direction), outside, and using the free trams and paid monorail (which rarely gain you any time, but it's nice to have aircon). If you're walking outside, you need sun cream and loose clothing - it's seriously hot out there.
There's a bunch of decent offline maps for smartphones you can download - including of the casino layouts - just search for "Las Vegas" and take your pick. I think we made it to quite a selection of Strip casinos - Aria, Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, Ceasar's Palace, Venetian/Palazzo, Flamingo, Ballys, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Monte Carlo, New York New York...
...and also Downtown at Fremont Street. The bus services work OK, but do have that habit (typical of car-centric cities) of taking painfully slow routes, stopping short and having you change inconsistently. That said, it's easy to take the SDX between the Strip and Downtown, although the WAX, which uses the freeway and stops at the Strip and Tropicana, can speed you up an awful lot. The journey on surface streets is interesting though, and shows you a whole different side to the city. Downtown was worth the trip, too - it's a much rawer, less polished gambling/party centre (and the live music is decent).
The SDX also takes you down to the Town Square mall, pretty quickly too, which has a big Whole Foods Market, which helps greatly if you start craving greenery (or have a vegetarian in your party!)
So yes, we moved about rather a lot :) The MO was well situated for it. We were also looking at the Wynn and FS, but felt that they were too far along the Strip (at both ends) to allow us to explore quite so much. And I'm glad we made that decision.
Mrp Alert
Aug 27, 12, 3:20 am
Bravo for an accurate and fun read!
GodAtum
Aug 29, 12, 3:46 am
Thanks for the tips. I'll be taking the bus a lot I think as I have not hired a car. I'm staying in the Bellagio which I think is quite central as well? Did you try the spa at the MO? How was the smoke in the casinos and where the ladies of the night an annoyance along the strip?
stut
Aug 29, 12, 4:32 am
Thanks for the tips. I'll be taking the bus a lot I think as I have not hired a car. I'm staying in the Bellagio which I think is quite central as well? Did you try the spa at the MO? How was the smoke in the casinos and where the ladies of the night an annoyance along the strip?
Yep, the Bellagio is pretty central too - it's also connected to Caesar's, Flamingo and the Cosmopolitan by bridges, and Crystals, the Aria and Monte Carlo by a free tram (as in US tram, not "streetcar"). And the common areas at the hotel/casino are fantastic - just the conservatory was worth the trip alone.
I wouldn't recommend hiring a car just to get around the city, but a taxi may well be cheaper if there's a few of you travelling. The traffic along the strip and onwards to Downtown is painful, and the freeway can be of use for this route, if you don't want to take in the - savoury and less savoury - sights along the way. The WAX bus does help to an extent, but is less tourist-friendly. The full-day tickets are decent value if you're planning on using them a lot. To be honest, though, we only made two round-trips on them the whole time we were in the city (one to Whole Foods, one Downtown).
Can't say the smoke bothered me (as a long-time ex-smoker, I'm still pretty sensitive to it) in most places - the aircon is strong enough to cope with it. If you're stood next to a smoker, you can smell it, but little more. In the older casinos (e.g. the Downtown ones), it's more pronounced, but nothing like, say, a pre-ban UK pub. For one thing, there are so few smokers!
Didn't see much in the way of prostitution on the strip itself, although there was more evident further out of town. Pretty subtle, though. A greater annoyance is the leaflet-shovers who congregate on every corner, but you just keep walking and ignore them, as you do everywhere else...
Didn't try the spa at the MO. To be honest, the pool was relaxing enough for me (particularly in the early evening, when you basically have the run of it - including the jacuzzi).
stut
Aug 29, 12, 4:54 am
First Airbnb Experience, San Francisco
Exchange rates and hotel points are no longer in my favour. Last time I was in SF, I got an incredible $2 for my £, and everything seemed like a bargain. I was also spending 3 nights pretty much every week in Starwood hotels, so you can imagine how easy it all was. This time, not so much. It's an expensive city for hotels at the best of time, and, if Tripadvisor is anything to go by (and it is, once you get past the comedy toys-out-the-pram reviews) there's an awful lot of mediocrity in the mid-range.
I'd known about Airbnb for a while, with some friends who use it for private rooms, but had only just realised you can rent whole apartments through it as well (which suits us better when travelling as a couple) - it seems to have become quite the thing for some consultants I know who work in London during the week, and far prefer using it to staying in some grotty Travelodge near King's Cross (well, many things are preferable to that, but this is preferable and the same price, so it's Braeburns and Jonagolds). So, we had a look and...
...well, the price was right, the location was right, the reviews were gushing and so we thought: why not? The chances of finding some psycho Gunther von Hagens wannabe are pretty slim, eh? So, set up my profile, linked all my social media, contacted the owner, and we were sorted - with an attractive sounding apartment (all to ourselves) near Golden Gate park.
And I couldn't rate it highly enough. I won't go into location details here for obvious reasons, but we loved every minute of it. It was a beautiful upper ground floor flat, in an traditional old stone-and-wood building (on a street full of them), with a load of decent local places to shop eat and drink a few blocks away (as well as the Muni metro). The whole process of booking and arriving was entirely painless. Best of all, though, was being able to enjoy the neighbourhood (the neighbours were friendly and helpful too), and seeing a whole different side to the city.
Based on this experience (and I know it's still very dependent on the quality of an individual property) I am completely hooked on Airbnb. In fact, I've got two more stays pencilled in for later this year...
GodAtum
Aug 29, 12, 6:07 am
There's a bunch of decent offline maps for smartphones you can download - including of the casino layouts - just search for "Las Vegas" and take your pick. I think we made it to quite a selection of Strip casinos - Aria, Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, Ceasar's Palace, Venetian/Palazzo, Flamingo, Ballys, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Monte Carlo, New York New York...
I just found an app called CityMapps2Go looks good with an offline map of a city and GPRS support.
stut
Aug 29, 12, 6:42 am
I just found an app called CityMapps2Go looks good with an offline map of a city and GPRS support.
Yup, that works very well - MrsStut used that on my iPad for the hairier pieces of navigation (mostly around LA).
"Vegas Indoor Maps - Free" is the one that gives you the casino layouts, if you want that level of detail. Of course, it can be fun just wandering and getting lost...
leavingonajetplane
Aug 29, 12, 7:13 am
Great read!
Thanks for sharing. I was at the Clement Monterey last week, and I agree about the service being excellent. My "first-world problems" category complaint was that there was no shower gel!
stut
Aug 29, 12, 9:10 am
VX720 SFO-DFW
Virgin America sounded interesting. But mostly, it was cheap and direct, and as those are two characteristics often associated with me, it seemed an ideal match.
The trip to the airport was... Interesting. Having decided to get the Muni/Bart out there, it transpired that there was a festival on in Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands - which I'd quite like to have gone to, had I had the time...) so the Muni metro was all backed up. So, we squeezed on one and headed to the Bart... Only to discover that there'd been a "one-under" shortly before. Not our day. Still, nice to see the announcements are still guest-starring Stephen Hawking.
But we got there in good time, to find a pretty quiet T2 check-in (at least, for the "priority" queue for those who'd pre-paid luggage - which we had) and a not-too-terrible TSA queue, headed towards the famous nudoscope. Personally, I'm intensely relaxed about the nudity aspect of these (other aspects less so) but, as it turns out, the calibration got all out of sync (according to some overheard conversations), so were were WTMDd anyway. Through in 5-10 minutes: I've had a lot worse.
The pleasant surprise was T2, though. Bright, airy, and some decent places to eat (and more importantly, grab a take-away). And a manageable size, too. Particularly liked the play areas, although they were a little too small for me to go on, which I think was an oversight.
The "Virgin" touch started early as the late boarder announcements kicked off and ended with "and we'd hate for you to miss your flight." Definitely on the border between light-hearted and cheesy, but there's no mistaking what company's involved. To my surprise, we boarded the A320 in two batches (I find the whole 20-zone boarding concept a little tiresome, if I'm being honest) and were on quickly enough. MrsStut was suitably shocked by the size of the carry-ons :)
Inside, well, it's a good first impression. Modern and clean, with sturdy, black leather seats, hard white plastic backing, and a first class area slightly oddly penned off with purple perspex. The purple lighting was a bit much for my eyes, but it did look pretty impressive. The seat pitch is average, but the seat design makes most of it.
Best of all, though, are the IFE and Wifi. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Wifi worked (although they could do with advertising the pricing consistently) - decent responsiveness throughout the flight from my iPad. The IFE is like nothing I've had on a short-to-mid-haul flight before, though - really excellent, and nice to be able to see basic telly channels for free (even if the Olympics coverage on NBC was even more painfully biased than our own on BBC!) The online drink-ordering system was pretty clever, too.
The 3.5 hours passed incredibly quickly as a result, and left me with a great overall impression of the airline. I'd definitely fly with them again.
Arrival was simple, bags were back quickly. And that impressive, infectious politeness was quickly visible...
`X'
Aug 29, 12, 11:43 am
Just an FYI Virgin America flights are VX. Virgin Australia flying LAX-SYD/MEL/BNE are VA.
origin
Aug 30, 12, 4:44 am
A really enjoyable read.
I havent been to Las Vegas for over 10 years. But it was great reading your experiences and how the city has changed.
leavingonajetplane
Aug 30, 12, 6:17 am
Not sure what they were thinking with the first class area, it looks a bit odd the way it's screened off.
MO is a chain I'd love to try one day: I've had a drink at the MO in Tokyo, which left me with a good first impression.
stut
Sep 13, 12, 3:50 am
And time to finish off! My memory is now less than fresh, so apologies if the details are somewhat lighter than before.
Grand Hyatt DFW
For an airport that's so good at getting you terminal-to-terminal airside, it was surprisingly hard to do so landside. But we managed, and were directed off to our hotel - the Grand Hyatt. When I booked it, I knew it was in the terminal complex, but hadn't appreciated to what extent - it's pretty much in the terminal. Sadly, it was too late on to get one of the airside passes they give out and explore the airport (we both love this kind of thing).
However, the welcome was good - well, exactly as you'd expect in Texas - and, on seeing that we'd request a runway view, smiled, upgraded us, and gave us a fantastic room with an outstanding view of what was going on outside.
Very nice hotel - despite the RATHER LOUD AIRCON (hey, it was effective, that's what matters here). Nice, understated rooms, marble floors, half-decent lounge/bar, and a rather spectacular view. This is what I call and airport hotel! Perhaps most importantly for the time of day, a very comfy bed in which to drift off...
Next came a few hours in Fort Worth - the polished but slightly sad Sundance Square area, and the wonderful, brash, fun, Stockyards. They were worth the stopover alone.
OLCI was rather smoother on this one, thanks to the flight being emptier, and we'd already snagged a pair of upstairs CW seats on this flight. Check-in and security were utterly unremarkable, which I always consider a good thing. I remember terminal D as being bright and well supplied, and it didn't let me down. We even found some vegetarian food in the Starbucks there (Texas really is no place for the non-meat-eater). After that, decided to retreat to the BA lounge.
Our expectations had already been set for the small lounge, but I was pleasantly surprised. The lounge-corridor setup is unusual (reminds me of VIE a bit) but the BA one is well done - decent view, good selection of drinks and snacks, free wifi, comfy seats and, best of all, someone who keeps coming round to give you little cakes. The cheesecake was great - I do like the buttery biscuit base...
From there to boarding, which was already looking like quite a zoo, although part of that was due to a strange maze-like kids' play area next to the gate (it looked great fun!), and an adjacent flight leaving at the same time. But boarding was well enough managed, using the full-on hierarchical system that I've never quite got to grips with. At this point, I wasn't really fussed: it meant I could get on quite quickly, and that was good enough for me.
Upstairs on a 747 is always a pleasure, and this was no exception. The crew were, once again, lovely, and manage to relax and settle everyone immediately, with pre-departure drinks flowing. Push-back and take-off were all on time.
I must confess that I don't remember the food. This is generally a good thing with airline food, as I tend to remember only the meals that are outstanding (rare, and usually if I'm lucky enough to be in F) and the ones that are atrocious (much more often the case). This was neither, and followed the fairly standard CW format. MrsStut's food, however, was pretty poor. I appreciate that a VGML is likely to be fairly basic (VLMLs tend to be the equivalent of being waterboarded with cheese - cheeseboarded? - so she tends to avoid) but really: grilled vegetables with rice? Come on, even a big salad would be better than that.
(What made it worse was that breakfast was the same grilled vegetables in a dry roll, in place of the bacon buttie.)
This cabin was in a much better state than the outbound LHR-LAS had been, and I found myself once again enjoying the properly flat beds. As much as I try to convince myself that the often-standard wedgiebeds are equivalent, they really aren't. Can't say I slept a full night (17:50 is a slightly awkward time for a red-eye) but certainly arrived awake enough to drive home, which was fortunate.
Breakfast was OK - the bacon butties are always welcome, but the roll should have been removed by the TSA as a blunt instrument.
Arrival into T5 went... Actually really well. Don't know about outside the UK, but we've had all sorts of coverage of horror stories at UK immigration. I know it was all hands on deck for the Olympics, but now all the incoming passengers were there, I was worried it would go back to its previous state: thankfully, it hadn't. We were through and reunited with our bags about 15 minutes after disembarking (OK, a fair bit of that was on the shuttle from T5C) which isn't at all bad. And so, with such speed, we headed off to the arrivals lounge on a slightly obscured mezzanine level.
First off: showers. There's an impressive bank of them, so no queue at all, which was very welcome. There seemed to be some high-tech allocation system in use, but, despite each shower unit being clearly labelled (purple 4, for example) the attendant insisted on giving us turn-by-turn directions to the shower unit (along here, third on the left, turn right, it's the second one) rather than the number, which was completely confusing mid-jetlag. But it was worth the confusion to have a decent shower... And a decent shower it was. The pod system works very well, and there's nothing like a shower to make you feel human again after a red-eye. The pump drainage is slightly disconcerting when it first kicks in, though!
The lounge itself is well-done - unlike so many arrivals lounges that are tucked away, this one spreads out nicely, and the loungers overlooking arrivals are a nice touch. And had I known what a spread there'd be, I'd have skipped breakfast on board. Wow! Full English, all sorts of cereals and porridge, fresh fruit, fresh pancakes. I've paid through the nose for hotel breakfasts that were worse than this. Good show, BA!
Called the Edward Lloyd (valet parking) people from the lounge, and had about 30 seconds to wait when we reached the pickup point in the short-stay car park. Off and on the M25 in no time, and even it behaved itself for us.
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A rather wonderful holiday, helped along by some excellent flights and hotels. I'm really privileged to be able to travel this way, and am always determined to make the most of it. Man, but it was hard settling back into work afterwards, though...