avneeshj

CX J is absolutely fantastic. It's definitely the best in terms of sleep comfort. I am surprised that the IFE didn't have anything you were interested in. CX IFE is one of the better ones around I thought.

sfoactuary

Agreed, you're definitely front and center in the middle of the bathroom, and staring at yourself in the mirror. Leaves nothing to the imagination!

Thanks so much for reading! We were actually on neither, it was CX 898 which is the first of the day leaving HKG at 10AM and arrives at LAX at 7AM. Schedule is great if you need to be somewhere that day as we were through immigration/customs by 7:15AM.

I'll cut CX some slack since I had already watched 4-5 of the latest movies on the outbound trip on Emirates, so it could have been slim pickings on any airline at that point.

Agree that CX J really is fantastic. I've never taken a long-haul SQ J flight and am interested to see how that compares.

TravellingBeard

Fantastic trip report...getting ideas for my trip. Curious, not sure if I missed it elsewhere on the thread, but for the plane shots, are you using an SLR, point and click camera, or your cell? I assume for the fantastic Burj Al-Arab shots, you used an SLR. Not sure how discreet I'll need to be on my flights (J to Thailand).

offerendum

It´s normal that people taking pricures. I woudn`t take pictures from other guests (especially I don`t like the pictures when people photograph the Economy from Business - how would you feel sitting in Economy?) otherwise I didn`t see any problem. Often the stewardess takes pictures from us.

TravellingBeard

Thanks, I'll keep the photos inside the cabin to the critical components (wine, desert, and bed)

Big_Foot

I'm speechless. The guy describes some great places including Le Digue
with the most beautiful beaches in the world, but your preferred bit
is a few cabin photos... Tells you something about why people "travel"...

sfoactuary

You got it - on the plane I keep my SLR in my bag, partially since I want to be as discreet as possible with my photos and also because it takes up too much precious space at the seat to leave around.

I have a much smaller point-and-shoot that I use on the plane, and have yet to have anyone make a fuss about it. In general, as long as you aren't using the flash or taking photos of other passengers you'll be fine. And if you're really eager to get cabin photos, make sure you're one of the first to board.

We too often have the FA help us take pictures. The only times when I am a bit more cautious is on US carriers since someone might be having a bad day and decide to throw us off the plane

Different strokes for different folks I guess - for some people a beach is the last place they'd want to go, and for others the flights themselves might be an ideal holiday.

DutchGuy

Thank you for the amazing trip report!

sfoactuary

My pleasure!

sfoactuary

We could have arrived in Vegas on Thursday night and gotten a good night's sleep before the start of the conference on Friday afternoon. But that would have meant shaving a day off of our trip which I was simply unwilling to do.

So instead, I had the ingenious plan to spend 30 hours in transit to Vegas which included arriving at LAX from Dubai at 8AM Friday morning, and then connecting to a Southwest flight to Vegas which would land just in the nick of time.

I was able to check-in for our Southwest flight during our layover at HKG in order to avoid being in the dreaded "C" boarding group, and after an uneventful connection at LAX and short 45 minute flight, we touched down in Vegas. We joined the taxi line that was already 200 people deep, and 30 minutes later were at the lobby of the Mandala Bay hotel.

Our ride from LAX to LAS


With Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande headlining the iHeartRadio concert next door at the MGM, Vegas was already buzzing by early Friday afternoon. The check-in line at the Mandalay Bay was incredibly long, but luckily we were able to use the Invited Guest line which helped reduce the wait time.

Mandalay Bay hotel lobby




We headed up to our room on the 33rd floor, and as the winner of the charity auction, I had been upgraded to a suite at the end of the hall. My wife and I were both physically and mentally exhausted at this point, and with jet lag coming down on us like a ton of bricks, I threw my bags down and jumped on the couch for a quick nap.

Before laying down, I took a minute to admire the gorgeous desert clouds and airport runway views from the room.



It's been at least 5 years since I've stayed at the Mandalay Bay and have to say that the hotel is starting to show its age. The suite is about 40% larger than a standard room, and in the middle of the room was a large couch where I curled up for my afternoon nap.



The king bed was very comfortable, although it had a large wooden frame that stuck out far beyond the mattress and was obscured by the bedding. You probably know where this is going. I'm still wearing the scars of two shin-splintering incidents that left me squealing in pain.



The bathroom featured double vanities along with a large soaking tub. The toilet is in a separate room adjacent to the sinks which is great for privacy, but unfortunately the hotel decided not to put any type of ventilation in there.





With all the wear-and-tear that Vegas hotels get, they tend to age in dog years. Overall, we had a pleasant stay here, but compared to its newer counterparts like the Delano and SLS, the Mandalay Bay is a step below and we would choose to stay elsewhere next time.

I won't cover the BAcon conference itself in much detail, but in case you're interested here's the agenda. The lineup of speakers was fantastic, and I learned so much in just a short 3-day span - everything from how to tell better stories, to technical stuff like SEO and Google Analytics, and even a legal overview to help stay out of trouble.

It was also great to meet Randy and the rest of the House of Miles folks, and to network and chat with many of my bellow BoardingArea and Prior2Boarding bloggers.

And say what you will about these guys, but they know a thing or two about building readership and generating traffic, and were more than happy to share tips.



The evening events were the best part since afterall we were in Vegas, baby! With back-to-back nights of open bars, you better believe that was like a scene from "Bloggers Gone Wild". As for myself, I'd grade my Vegas performance as a solid F given that I was asleep by midnight due to jet lag, and didn't spend any time at the craps tables.

The first night, we headed over to the Linx for a ride aboard the High Roller, which provided some of the best views you can find in all of Vegas.

Views from High Roller at the Linx




The following night's event was hosted at the Mix Bar at the Delano Hotel, after which we joined a couple others for dinner at Burger Bar back at Mandalay Bay where I was able to order my favorite Nutella milkshake.

Views from Mix Bar at the Delano Hotel


Nutella milkshake at Burger Bar


Being jet lagged, we were up at 5AM each morning which left plenty of time to kill before the conference's 9AM start. The first morning we made our way over to Veranda Cafe at the Four Seasons for breakfast. The Four Seasons is connected to the Mandalay Bay via a walkway next to the lobby.





There's no better way to start the day than with a peaceful outdoor breakfast by the pool. Why was it peaceful? Because all the rowdy youngsters were just getting to sleep, and the demographics of the clientele at this hour were, how should I say it, of the older variety.



So we tried our very best to fit in.


This food here is simply amazing, and we ordered up an indulgent feast that included tiramisu croissant French toast and chicken and waffles. It was so good that after wrapping up breakfast around 6:30AM, we went back to the room and it put me right back to sleep for another couple hours.

Tiramisu croissont French toast


Chicken and waffles

sfoactuary

With a couple hours to kill before our final flight home, we made our way over to the American Express Centurion Lounge located near gate D1 in Concourse D at Las Vegas airport. This would be my first visit to a Centurion lounge and was excited to see what the hype was all about.

American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS


All of the bloggers at BAcon were given complimentary access to the lounge, but we also had the American Express Platinum card which would have given us access to the lounge. There was an interesting vertical garden inside featuring the American Express logo.



The LAS Centurion Lounge was unlike any domestic lounge I'd been to. It featured extremely stylish decor, and while many other lounges which can feel like dungeons, this one was filled with natural light. Sundays are one of the busiest days at this lounge, and it was hard to find seating at first.



The lounge is centered around the bar and buffet area, which featured additional restaurant-style seating.



Since people were coming and going frequently, after hovering for a few minutes we eventually scored a comfortable booth with perfect views of the TV in order to keep track of all the NFL action.



The food at the lounge is really top-notch. Each of the Centurion Lounge menu's are curated by a celebrity chef, and Scott Conant takes credit for the menu at LAS. Among the hot food, there was a pasta dish along with roasted potatoes. Having watched Scott critique countless numbers of contestant's pasta on Chopped, I was ready to do the same to him, but the pasta was cooked perfectly and really delicious.





There was also a fancy salad bar featuring things like kale and quinoa, along with a selection of sandwiches.





But this guy absolutely stole the show - an amazing lamb meat pie covered in yogurt sauce. I simply lost control, and couldn't even tell you how many I ate. It's one of the best things I've eaten at an airport, and would have been happy to order this at any restaurant.



There are some international lounges that are worth going to the airport early for, and it's extremely rare to fine a domestic lounge that falls into that category. In my experiences, along with the Emirates Lounge at SFO, the Centurion Lounge at LAS is simply one of the best lounges you'll find in the US, and can't wait for the opening of the Centurion Lounge at SFO in early November!

offerendum

Could shoot myself that I didn`t use the Centurion Lounge when I flew from Vegas

sfoactuary

Sounds like a good excuse to take another trip

offerendum

Of course! We like to do the middle west, perhaps 2016....

flyingbee

Thanks for a great trip report. I usually wait until reports are finished before I start reading but I subscribed to the thread when you first started it - it was certainly worth the wait.