First TR: SQ SIN-LAX via NRT RT (J) with California / Nevada / Arizona Road Trip
Jun 25, 2016, 10:11 pm
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Day 6 – San Francisco Part 2
The 6th day of our trip, 2nd full day in San Francisco was again a 9am start. We thought it would be a good idea to get our pick of car park spaces so we decide to use the same car park as the day before arriving roughly the same time. We park our car in the exact same spot and begin our walk to Pier 33.
We purchased tickets online 3 months in advance for the Alcatraz tour, one of the worlds most famous prisons. As we walk down the Embarcadero, we pick up some snacks along the way and see some iconic names such as Pier 39. We also see a sign for Bubba Gump, a possible eating option for later in the day. I've eaten at the Bubba Gump chain in Bali, Hong Kong and Manila, I figured it would be nice to add a US city to this list too.
I also remembered to bring my Go Pro with me. Forgot to bring it out with me the other days. So off we go, boarding begins for our departure and the winds begin to hit us full flow in the face.
This is what we are leaving behind.
And this is where we are heading.
After 15 minutes, we approach the island.
Coming close to docking point, I get a moment of excitedness where I am actually about to step foot onto this iconic location. It's also the place where Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery filmed the movie The Rock. This in my opinion no doubt made Alcatraz even more iconic, especially to international visitors.
We disembark and I take a quick snapshot of the boat.
Welcome to Alcatraz Island!
I notice there's some kind of graffiti on the side of the first building we see. Indians Welcome.
We spot some more graffiti linked to the first one.
Amazing. With the prison closing in 1963, none of our group had any idea that Alcatraz Island was part of an occupational protest by native Indians in 1969 lasting for 19 months. Luckily the tour guides are all great and full of information explaining to us the past. I won't go into it too much but for those interested information can be found here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Alcatraz
A quick look at the map before we head indoors. We definitely don't want to get lost here.
Will let the pictures do the talking.
We enter the cell areas listening to the audio tour as we go along.
The escape from Alcatraz. These inmates were never seen again.
This is where one of the chemical missiles were hidden in the Rock movie.
It was a stunning view of San Fran from the island.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As we complete the tour, we are told that this was the menu of the last meal to be served in the prison.
We hop onto the next available boat back to shore and grab a quick 10 minute nap. We spent about 3 hours in total on the island. It was very educational and truly a great experience. If you are a tourist and only get a day to spend in San Fran, do try visit the prison!
Back on shore and a walk from Pier 33 to Pier 39. It's time for lunch so we head to Bubba Gump.
Here was a surprise.
The view from inside the restaurant was lovely. No wind too which was a bonus!!!
Anyone for a smoothie or a fancy drink?
Shrimp and salad!
After lunch, Pier 39 wouldn't be the same without a visit to the local residents.
It was really windy so I didn't stay there long. After this we decide to head back to the car and do some driving around San Francisco. Bonus, our parking for some reason cost $10 only, the day before it was $45. As we initially decided to drive and and park due to the BART cost, this incident added extra value to our decision.
After driving around for 30 mins admiring the views, we reach Lombard Street. Driving up and down these hills is truly a great encounter!
Our last day in San Francisco comes to a close. We have ticked off everywhere we wanted to see and as it's now 4 hours since our Bubba Gump meal, we unanimously agree to eat at In and Out Burger again. This place certainly lived up to the hype. So back to Daly City we go and then back to the hotel where we prepare to pack for the next day drive to Las Vegas.
The 6th day of our trip, 2nd full day in San Francisco was again a 9am start. We thought it would be a good idea to get our pick of car park spaces so we decide to use the same car park as the day before arriving roughly the same time. We park our car in the exact same spot and begin our walk to Pier 33.
We purchased tickets online 3 months in advance for the Alcatraz tour, one of the worlds most famous prisons. As we walk down the Embarcadero, we pick up some snacks along the way and see some iconic names such as Pier 39. We also see a sign for Bubba Gump, a possible eating option for later in the day. I've eaten at the Bubba Gump chain in Bali, Hong Kong and Manila, I figured it would be nice to add a US city to this list too.
I also remembered to bring my Go Pro with me. Forgot to bring it out with me the other days. So off we go, boarding begins for our departure and the winds begin to hit us full flow in the face.
This is what we are leaving behind.
And this is where we are heading.
After 15 minutes, we approach the island.
Coming close to docking point, I get a moment of excitedness where I am actually about to step foot onto this iconic location. It's also the place where Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery filmed the movie The Rock. This in my opinion no doubt made Alcatraz even more iconic, especially to international visitors.
We disembark and I take a quick snapshot of the boat.
Welcome to Alcatraz Island!
I notice there's some kind of graffiti on the side of the first building we see. Indians Welcome.
We spot some more graffiti linked to the first one.
Amazing. With the prison closing in 1963, none of our group had any idea that Alcatraz Island was part of an occupational protest by native Indians in 1969 lasting for 19 months. Luckily the tour guides are all great and full of information explaining to us the past. I won't go into it too much but for those interested information can be found here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Alcatraz
A quick look at the map before we head indoors. We definitely don't want to get lost here.
Will let the pictures do the talking.
We enter the cell areas listening to the audio tour as we go along.
The escape from Alcatraz. These inmates were never seen again.
This is where one of the chemical missiles were hidden in the Rock movie.
It was a stunning view of San Fran from the island.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As we complete the tour, we are told that this was the menu of the last meal to be served in the prison.
We hop onto the next available boat back to shore and grab a quick 10 minute nap. We spent about 3 hours in total on the island. It was very educational and truly a great experience. If you are a tourist and only get a day to spend in San Fran, do try visit the prison!
Back on shore and a walk from Pier 33 to Pier 39. It's time for lunch so we head to Bubba Gump.
Here was a surprise.
The view from inside the restaurant was lovely. No wind too which was a bonus!!!
Anyone for a smoothie or a fancy drink?
Shrimp and salad!
After lunch, Pier 39 wouldn't be the same without a visit to the local residents.
It was really windy so I didn't stay there long. After this we decide to head back to the car and do some driving around San Francisco. Bonus, our parking for some reason cost $10 only, the day before it was $45. As we initially decided to drive and and park due to the BART cost, this incident added extra value to our decision.
After driving around for 30 mins admiring the views, we reach Lombard Street. Driving up and down these hills is truly a great encounter!
Our last day in San Francisco comes to a close. We have ticked off everywhere we wanted to see and as it's now 4 hours since our Bubba Gump meal, we unanimously agree to eat at In and Out Burger again. This place certainly lived up to the hype. So back to Daly City we go and then back to the hotel where we prepare to pack for the next day drive to Las Vegas.
Jun 26, 2016, 4:48 am
#33
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, *A Silver
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2016, 6:31 am
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Jun 26, 2016, 8:20 am
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: FLL -> Where The Boyars Are
Programs: AA EXP 1.7 M, Hilton Gold, Hertz 5*, AARP Sophomore, 14-time Croix de Candlestick
Posts: 18,669
Jul 15, 2016, 7:03 pm
#37
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Thanks, Moomba.
Thanks, Non-NonRev. Appreciate yours and everyone elses kind words. Unfortunately I have been quite busy in the last month which has delayed my next installment. Should be online later today though.
Jul 15, 2016, 8:39 pm
#38
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Day 7 - Arriving in Las Vegas
After a fantastic 3 nights in San Diego and now a further 3 more in San Francisco, it was once again time to pack our belongings and embark on the next step of our journey. This time however the drive would be longer. The distance according to our GPS from San Francisco to Las Vegas would be approximately 600 miles with a drive time of around 9 hours, 150 miles and 2 hours further than the drive from San Diego to San Francisco.
With this in mind, we leave the hotel at 7am and make our way towards Gilroy before cutting across on Highway 152 to get back onto the i5. After a short 10 minute pit stop on Highway 152, we proceed to reach the Interstate in good time.
Our journey took us through Bakersfield. Many years ago I would see this place on maps only, notably on flight routes on aircraft entertainment screens. Once through Bakersfield, the road takes us onto Highway 58 past Mojave where we see lots of wind turbines. No photos sadly as my group were all sleeping, not a bad thing as it meant no pit stops.
Eventually the group awakens and after 5 hours of non-stop driving we take a break in Barstow for what turned out to be a quick 20 minute visit to the outlet only. This outlet didn't seem to excite us so we left and grabbed a bite to eat at Carls Jr and then head towards Vegas.
5pm, we arrive! Las Vegas, I have sure missed you. I used to visit Las Vegas at least 2-3 times a year for conferences and holidays but my last visit prior to this was during Thanksgiving in 2013. Our first choice of hotel wasn't available for the first night so we decide to take one night at a different one before heading to our mainstay hotel the following day.
We check in at The Palazzo Las Vegas and are given a suite on a floor on the late 30's (unfortunately I have forgotten what floor this was exactly). This actually worked out really well for us as this enabled us to explore this end of the strip before concentrating on the other side later in the trip.
The suite given to us could easily fit 6-7 adults. Due to status, we were given an upgrade with a view of the strip. I think our original booking was for a strip view also but the suite may have been slightly smaller.
A room with a view......
My past stays in Vegas have all been at either the Bellagio or Mirage. This suite was certainly a lot bigger and much nicer than those rooms. I can't decide if I prefer this view or the view of the Bellagio fountains though. Each to their own really.
Some shots of the room. The room came with 2 queen beds and a further queen size sofa bed.
The sofa bed and sitting area.
Very spacious and definitely more than big enough for our group of 4. Especially as it was for one night only.
The Palazzo Las Vegas is part of the same chain and complex as The Venetian. This means easy access to the Grand Canal Shoppes that were just downstairs.
You do see the Gondolas inside but like a schoolkid, instead of taking photos and enjoying the moment I rushed outside to get my first glimpse of the strip on foot.
My last stay at Mirage was back in 2011, I wonder how much it has changed since then. Does anyone know if the internet connection there is still poor? I don't mind paying resort fees for extras but only if they work!!!
This is a shot of the Mirage in the background and the side of the volcano. We waited on cue for the volcano show to begin but it never happened. Not entirely sure why and there were no announcements either.
I missed taking a shot of the interior in Grand Canal Shoppes but not inside Caesars Forum. Both I have to admit are similar.
Fountains outside Caesars Palace.
A last quick shot of the day from the Bellagio fountain with Paris hotel in the background.
As the drive took up most of the day, by this stage I was extremely tired.With the time now being past midnight, we head back to the Venetian food court for a quick bite to eat at Panda Express and then rest up for the remainder of the night.
Next day would be a move to the Grand Chateau Marriott followed by more exploring of Las Vegas.
With this in mind, we leave the hotel at 7am and make our way towards Gilroy before cutting across on Highway 152 to get back onto the i5. After a short 10 minute pit stop on Highway 152, we proceed to reach the Interstate in good time.
Our journey took us through Bakersfield. Many years ago I would see this place on maps only, notably on flight routes on aircraft entertainment screens. Once through Bakersfield, the road takes us onto Highway 58 past Mojave where we see lots of wind turbines. No photos sadly as my group were all sleeping, not a bad thing as it meant no pit stops.
Eventually the group awakens and after 5 hours of non-stop driving we take a break in Barstow for what turned out to be a quick 20 minute visit to the outlet only. This outlet didn't seem to excite us so we left and grabbed a bite to eat at Carls Jr and then head towards Vegas.
5pm, we arrive! Las Vegas, I have sure missed you. I used to visit Las Vegas at least 2-3 times a year for conferences and holidays but my last visit prior to this was during Thanksgiving in 2013. Our first choice of hotel wasn't available for the first night so we decide to take one night at a different one before heading to our mainstay hotel the following day.
We check in at The Palazzo Las Vegas and are given a suite on a floor on the late 30's (unfortunately I have forgotten what floor this was exactly). This actually worked out really well for us as this enabled us to explore this end of the strip before concentrating on the other side later in the trip.
The suite given to us could easily fit 6-7 adults. Due to status, we were given an upgrade with a view of the strip. I think our original booking was for a strip view also but the suite may have been slightly smaller.
A room with a view......
My past stays in Vegas have all been at either the Bellagio or Mirage. This suite was certainly a lot bigger and much nicer than those rooms. I can't decide if I prefer this view or the view of the Bellagio fountains though. Each to their own really.
Some shots of the room. The room came with 2 queen beds and a further queen size sofa bed.
The sofa bed and sitting area.
Very spacious and definitely more than big enough for our group of 4. Especially as it was for one night only.
The Palazzo Las Vegas is part of the same chain and complex as The Venetian. This means easy access to the Grand Canal Shoppes that were just downstairs.
You do see the Gondolas inside but like a schoolkid, instead of taking photos and enjoying the moment I rushed outside to get my first glimpse of the strip on foot.
My last stay at Mirage was back in 2011, I wonder how much it has changed since then. Does anyone know if the internet connection there is still poor? I don't mind paying resort fees for extras but only if they work!!!
This is a shot of the Mirage in the background and the side of the volcano. We waited on cue for the volcano show to begin but it never happened. Not entirely sure why and there were no announcements either.
I missed taking a shot of the interior in Grand Canal Shoppes but not inside Caesars Forum. Both I have to admit are similar.
Fountains outside Caesars Palace.
A last quick shot of the day from the Bellagio fountain with Paris hotel in the background.
As the drive took up most of the day, by this stage I was extremely tired.With the time now being past midnight, we head back to the Venetian food court for a quick bite to eat at Panda Express and then rest up for the remainder of the night.
Next day would be a move to the Grand Chateau Marriott followed by more exploring of Las Vegas.
Last edited by Mlee888; Jul 21, 2016 at 12:53 am
Jul 19, 2016, 5:07 am
#39
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CDG
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 1,611
Thank you for posting this report I especially enjoyed SQ12 which I flew on the first leg to NRT a few years back.
Row 96 is great, flew it on ZRH-SIN-FRA last year, there is one detail about 96 A/K people should know about: the seat is narrower than the others by about 20%. It's equivalent to the width of seat 11 or 12 A/K so if you are tall that could be a problem but you got to sleep in the middle seats which I think are the best seats in the house if you can secure 96 A/D or F/K, and usually the back of the cabin is less full than the front so better service.
Row 96 is great, flew it on ZRH-SIN-FRA last year, there is one detail about 96 A/K people should know about: the seat is narrower than the others by about 20%. It's equivalent to the width of seat 11 or 12 A/K so if you are tall that could be a problem but you got to sleep in the middle seats which I think are the best seats in the house if you can secure 96 A/D or F/K, and usually the back of the cabin is less full than the front so better service.
Jul 23, 2016, 10:29 am
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Thank you for posting this report I especially enjoyed SQ12 which I flew on the first leg to NRT a few years back.
Row 96 is great, flew it on ZRH-SIN-FRA last year, there is one detail about 96 A/K people should know about: the seat is narrower than the others by about 20%. It's equivalent to the width of seat 11 or 12 A/K so if you are tall that could be a problem but you got to sleep in the middle seats which I think are the best seats in the house if you can secure 96 A/D or F/K, and usually the back of the cabin is less full than the front so better service.
Row 96 is great, flew it on ZRH-SIN-FRA last year, there is one detail about 96 A/K people should know about: the seat is narrower than the others by about 20%. It's equivalent to the width of seat 11 or 12 A/K so if you are tall that could be a problem but you got to sleep in the middle seats which I think are the best seats in the house if you can secure 96 A/D or F/K, and usually the back of the cabin is less full than the front so better service.
It really was a great choice in the end. The service was excellent and true to SQ standards. As I was flying back with my wife, we actually selected 96D and F but sadly we were unable to take them to no fault of ours or anyone elses. This will be explained in a later post once I get round to posting the pictures online.
Jul 23, 2016, 10:30 am
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Day 8 - Las Vegas Part 2
Before I begin to describe our second day in Las Vegas, I want to retract part of the statement in my last blog where no photos of the landscape were taken during the drive between San Francisco to Las Vegas. It turns out that one of my friends did actually manage to take some shots of the landscape so I thought I'd share a couple of them.
Here's one of the many wind turbines near Mojave. I may be wrong though as I wasn't 100% sure exactly where we were at the time.
The long stretch on the road towards Vegas.
Although I don't have any photos of this, I do love driving into Las Vegas where you can see the city from so far out with the bright lights in the background. I can imagine that some people might find this irritating as it makes Vegas appear closer than what it actually is.
Anyway.......
Onto our second day in Sin City, although granted an extra late check-out at the Palazzo, we decide to leave around 12:30pm and hoped for an early check-in at our next hotel which would be the Marriot Grand Chateau. The reason why we chose this hotel is because of the option for a 2 bedroom villa with easy access to the strip and no casino downstairs. This would be our first experience in a Las Vegas hotel without a smokey atmosphere downstairs. This was also the hotel not available for our first night in Vegas.
Marriot Grand Chateau (MGC) is situated next to Planet Hollywood. It's close to the strip yet very quiet. The drive from Palazzo down South Las Vegas Boulevard took us past The Mirage, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, and Planet Hollywood before turning left onto East Harmon Avenue. The check-in time is normally 4pm. With it being 1pm only, I was hoping some super duper leeway would be given due to my status with Marriot Rewards.
The check-in staff member was great. He wasn't able to give us a room immediately which wasn't surprising considering the time, but he was more than happy to request a high floor corner villa to be cleaned for our party. He said we would be contacted by either email or phone call as soon as it was ready.
MGC doesn't have self parking like the other mainstream hotels on the strip. It's all valet parking only. I suppose for the hotel this is a good thing as it allows them to be in control of who goes in and out of the car park and where each car is parked. At the same time, if something happens to your car then what would happen in terms of liability? The longest we had to wait for the car was 10 minutes. Not bad considering this is normally the time it takes for you to walk to your car from the lobby in a Vegas hotel. Unless you are lost of course.
With this we leave our luggage at the hotel and wait for our car to be handed back to us. With our stomachs crying our for food we get into the car and take a quick 2 minute drive to Aria hotel as we had read good reviews for the buffet there.
The Buffet at Aria lunchtime brunch on a weekend costs $31.99 excluding taxes. I have tried hotel buffets at The Mirage, Harrahs and MGM and sadly two out of three of these were quite poor. On the other hand, I have to admit The Buffet at Aria was a very good choice. Arriving at 1:30pm on a Saturday lunchtime also turned out to be great timing in the end too. At first it was quite worrying as there was no queue to enter the restaurant and nor were there many people inside. The lunchtime rush had been and gone it seemed.
There were many serving stations. Fish Market was smack bang right in the middle with a salad station opposite and then the various international cuisines located around the side.
My only disappointment was the dedicated Asian cuisine station. I was really looking forward to eating some Siu Mai dumplings but the closest they had were Har Gau dumplings. I took one look at these and thought "these don't look great, i'm hoping the rest of the food here doesn't look as bad", needless to say I was wrong, very wrong! Other choices here included classic chinese choices such as char siu buns and special fried rice. Thai and Vietnamese dishes were also available. The pho cooking station was quite popular.
Living in Singapore means it's not often I get to eat traditional UK breakfasts anymore. I took one look here and thought both sausages and bacon are definitely going to be tasted! Nice location for the lasagna....
Maybe this is where the lasagna was supposed to be?
The chicken parmesan lasagna tasted great!
Without pasta there would be no pizza....
The carvery meat counters were great. I haven't had a traditional roast dinner since back in the UK in December 2015. This made up for it.
The beef was super soft and melted as soon as I tried it. Perfect texture. The confusion I had was the gravy tasted more like BBQ sauce.
To go with the roasted meats....
Excellent choice of seafood that included snow crab legs and crawfish!
Needless to say I took advantage of trying as much of this as possible. In small amounts of course.
There was a small selection of sushi and sashimi on offer. I only took this photo so not the full spread. I didn't try any but it did look good.
The cheese and meats selection which is ever so popular in certain European countries that include France, Belgium and Holland.
If you are a dessert lover, then this is definitely the place for you! I will let the photos do the talking but the choices on offer were excellent.
I went for the Oreo cake with 2 scoops of Gelato ice cream on offer.
Overall, this is definitely one of the best buffet meals I have had in Vegas and will definitely come here again in the future.
After dessert I check my phone and notice I had an email sent to me by the hotel around 30 mins after we left. Our room was ready.
We head back to the hotel and are given a room on the floor in the 20's with the last number 25 (that's all I remember). A corner suite with a view of the airport in one room, and the strip in the other.
The seating area in the living room was quite big and very comfortable for our group.
The dining table next to the seating area.
After 8 days on the road, our group decided it was time to take advantage of the facilities in the kitchen that included a washing dryer!
The master bedroom had one queen bed with an ensuite bathroom that contained a hot tub.
The second bedroom had 2 double beds.
The second bedroom had a really good view of LAS airport.
Back to the master bedroom....view of MGM Grand with Luxor and Mandalay Bay in the background. We could also see Excelsior too but couldn't get it in the same shot.
After unpacking we make our way to Las Vegas North Premium Outlet where we would stay until the end of the day to do some bargain hunting.
We head back to the hotel around 9pm and grab a quick bite to eat in the mall at Planet Hollywood. An early night is much needed as the next day we would be heading to Grand Canyon South Rim.
Here's one of the many wind turbines near Mojave. I may be wrong though as I wasn't 100% sure exactly where we were at the time.
The long stretch on the road towards Vegas.
Although I don't have any photos of this, I do love driving into Las Vegas where you can see the city from so far out with the bright lights in the background. I can imagine that some people might find this irritating as it makes Vegas appear closer than what it actually is.
Anyway.......
Onto our second day in Sin City, although granted an extra late check-out at the Palazzo, we decide to leave around 12:30pm and hoped for an early check-in at our next hotel which would be the Marriot Grand Chateau. The reason why we chose this hotel is because of the option for a 2 bedroom villa with easy access to the strip and no casino downstairs. This would be our first experience in a Las Vegas hotel without a smokey atmosphere downstairs. This was also the hotel not available for our first night in Vegas.
Marriot Grand Chateau (MGC) is situated next to Planet Hollywood. It's close to the strip yet very quiet. The drive from Palazzo down South Las Vegas Boulevard took us past The Mirage, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, and Planet Hollywood before turning left onto East Harmon Avenue. The check-in time is normally 4pm. With it being 1pm only, I was hoping some super duper leeway would be given due to my status with Marriot Rewards.
The check-in staff member was great. He wasn't able to give us a room immediately which wasn't surprising considering the time, but he was more than happy to request a high floor corner villa to be cleaned for our party. He said we would be contacted by either email or phone call as soon as it was ready.
MGC doesn't have self parking like the other mainstream hotels on the strip. It's all valet parking only. I suppose for the hotel this is a good thing as it allows them to be in control of who goes in and out of the car park and where each car is parked. At the same time, if something happens to your car then what would happen in terms of liability? The longest we had to wait for the car was 10 minutes. Not bad considering this is normally the time it takes for you to walk to your car from the lobby in a Vegas hotel. Unless you are lost of course.
With this we leave our luggage at the hotel and wait for our car to be handed back to us. With our stomachs crying our for food we get into the car and take a quick 2 minute drive to Aria hotel as we had read good reviews for the buffet there.
The Buffet at Aria lunchtime brunch on a weekend costs $31.99 excluding taxes. I have tried hotel buffets at The Mirage, Harrahs and MGM and sadly two out of three of these were quite poor. On the other hand, I have to admit The Buffet at Aria was a very good choice. Arriving at 1:30pm on a Saturday lunchtime also turned out to be great timing in the end too. At first it was quite worrying as there was no queue to enter the restaurant and nor were there many people inside. The lunchtime rush had been and gone it seemed.
There were many serving stations. Fish Market was smack bang right in the middle with a salad station opposite and then the various international cuisines located around the side.
My only disappointment was the dedicated Asian cuisine station. I was really looking forward to eating some Siu Mai dumplings but the closest they had were Har Gau dumplings. I took one look at these and thought "these don't look great, i'm hoping the rest of the food here doesn't look as bad", needless to say I was wrong, very wrong! Other choices here included classic chinese choices such as char siu buns and special fried rice. Thai and Vietnamese dishes were also available. The pho cooking station was quite popular.
Living in Singapore means it's not often I get to eat traditional UK breakfasts anymore. I took one look here and thought both sausages and bacon are definitely going to be tasted! Nice location for the lasagna....
Maybe this is where the lasagna was supposed to be?
The chicken parmesan lasagna tasted great!
Without pasta there would be no pizza....
The carvery meat counters were great. I haven't had a traditional roast dinner since back in the UK in December 2015. This made up for it.
The beef was super soft and melted as soon as I tried it. Perfect texture. The confusion I had was the gravy tasted more like BBQ sauce.
To go with the roasted meats....
Excellent choice of seafood that included snow crab legs and crawfish!
Needless to say I took advantage of trying as much of this as possible. In small amounts of course.
There was a small selection of sushi and sashimi on offer. I only took this photo so not the full spread. I didn't try any but it did look good.
The cheese and meats selection which is ever so popular in certain European countries that include France, Belgium and Holland.
If you are a dessert lover, then this is definitely the place for you! I will let the photos do the talking but the choices on offer were excellent.
I went for the Oreo cake with 2 scoops of Gelato ice cream on offer.
Overall, this is definitely one of the best buffet meals I have had in Vegas and will definitely come here again in the future.
After dessert I check my phone and notice I had an email sent to me by the hotel around 30 mins after we left. Our room was ready.
We head back to the hotel and are given a room on the floor in the 20's with the last number 25 (that's all I remember). A corner suite with a view of the airport in one room, and the strip in the other.
The seating area in the living room was quite big and very comfortable for our group.
The dining table next to the seating area.
After 8 days on the road, our group decided it was time to take advantage of the facilities in the kitchen that included a washing dryer!
The master bedroom had one queen bed with an ensuite bathroom that contained a hot tub.
The second bedroom had 2 double beds.
The second bedroom had a really good view of LAS airport.
Back to the master bedroom....view of MGM Grand with Luxor and Mandalay Bay in the background. We could also see Excelsior too but couldn't get it in the same shot.
After unpacking we make our way to Las Vegas North Premium Outlet where we would stay until the end of the day to do some bargain hunting.
We head back to the hotel around 9pm and grab a quick bite to eat in the mall at Planet Hollywood. An early night is much needed as the next day we would be heading to Grand Canyon South Rim.
Last edited by Mlee888; Jul 23, 2016 at 9:17 pm
Jul 23, 2016, 11:01 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: FLL -> Where The Boyars Are
Programs: AA EXP 1.7 M, Hilton Gold, Hertz 5*, AARP Sophomore, 14-time Croix de Candlestick
Posts: 18,669
Glad to see this new installment - excellent photos as before.
Did you notice if Aria buffet still has their Tandoori oven? IIRC it serves the only Indian food in Strip buffets.
Did you notice if Aria buffet still has their Tandoori oven? IIRC it serves the only Indian food in Strip buffets.
Jul 23, 2016, 12:51 pm
#44
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 654
Yes the Tandoori Oven and Indian cuisine was still there. I couldn't get a clear shot as it was quite busy with people waiting for fresh naan bread so I left it. Smelled great as well!
Jul 23, 2016, 2:27 pm
#45
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP (probably nothing w/ AA next year :)), Delta Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 405
Awesome TR!! Nice to see a different point of view and your writing style is great.
However, In n Out is the most overrated thing in the world. We've gotten them out here in TX (and I've had it in Cali) and I just don't understand the appeal. It tastes like a fast food hamburger. Slightly better than a quarter pounder from McDonald's if you get it animal style. And the fries are disgusting. I get that everyone has to try it though so not faulting you at all.
Just my opinion. Thanks again for taking the time to write this!
Edit: Also, sometimes it's easy for us who live in the states to forget what we have here in terms of sights and we get so engulfed in going to exotic places abroad (I'm guilty of this). I've lived here my whole life yet have never seen the Grand Canyon or San Diego but I have checked off places like Beirut, Lisbon, Dubai, etc off my list. Kind of sad but nice to be grounded by TR's like this. I'll be planning a trip west soon.
However, In n Out is the most overrated thing in the world. We've gotten them out here in TX (and I've had it in Cali) and I just don't understand the appeal. It tastes like a fast food hamburger. Slightly better than a quarter pounder from McDonald's if you get it animal style. And the fries are disgusting. I get that everyone has to try it though so not faulting you at all.
Just my opinion. Thanks again for taking the time to write this!
Edit: Also, sometimes it's easy for us who live in the states to forget what we have here in terms of sights and we get so engulfed in going to exotic places abroad (I'm guilty of this). I've lived here my whole life yet have never seen the Grand Canyon or San Diego but I have checked off places like Beirut, Lisbon, Dubai, etc off my list. Kind of sad but nice to be grounded by TR's like this. I'll be planning a trip west soon.
Last edited by shgroamer; Jul 23, 2016 at 2:33 pm