LDW 2011 - Hits & Misses XS/Craftsteak/Wet/MGM
Hi,
Aimed at people from the U.K.
Don't have time to do a full post so, not really a trip report but more general notes I wrote on the flight back.
We did learn alot for our MDW 2012 trip though.
Hits
Craftsteak @ MGM Grand - 2 Visits. Has to be one of the best steak-houses in the world. I wanted to know what eating a $500 steak felt like but, I bottled it and went for the 16oz Ribeye on both occasions. If you avoid the wine list, average bill for 2 is around $350.
Queen Room in Grand Wing @ MGM Grand - 5 Nights. A solid, cheap hotel with good food, entertainment and transport options. Average nightly bill was $100.
Day-time pool parties and drinking - For the older crowd (over 35's) this is the way to go now. Nightclubbing felt second best.
Forum Mall @ Ceasars - 2 Visits. Jaw dropping surroundings. More expensive than London so, only purchased a couple of smaller items.
XS @ Wynn/Encore - 4 Visits. Again, slack-jawed upon entry, excellent outside bar, plenty of places to sit down. Great sound system. Awesome pool party. Best seats in the house are not on the dance-floor but, the day-beds near the outside bar on the route into the club - IMO!
Wanttickets.com - 8 Sets of tickets. Great service, separate line at XS, got in quicker than the V.I.P's - don't tell anyone else about it
Factor 50 Invisible Sunblock spray by Nivea - Saved our lives and gave us a deep, brown tan.
Burger/Snack resturant @ Wynn - Did not catch the name however, this is the one inside the sports betting area. We had two burgers that would make your toes curl.
Daybeds, Professionalism @ Wet Republic (also in misses) - 4 Visits - 'Nuff said really. Well run venue (with caveats as below) great property and setup. Friendly crowd. Isolated idiots, dealt with by the top notch security.
Cuban Girls -
Brazilian Girls -)
People from Chicago - Know how to rock a party
Afrojack & Supporting DJ @ XS - 1 Visit - These guys were the best DJ's of the weekend. Awesome mixing skills on show
Avicii @ Wet Republic (The DJ Not The Event) - 1 Visit - Gave it everything. Long set. Total crowd control.
Dress codes in night-clubs. Definition of U.S "high-end" = European "low-end". Result for us as we could wear almost anything.
Security in all clubs we visited (XS, Wet, Marquee). Tight but polite.
Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy - both legs - Worth its weight in gold.
Hot breeze at night-time - probably overlooked by most, very nice to have this at night time. Not many desert tourist destinations in the middle east have this.
Near Misses
Jet-lag. First three days we awoke at sunrise so, we decided to get the tourist stuff out of the way, before Wet opened at 10am, whilst the town was empty and cooler. This approach killed us on the fourth day so, its a near miss!
Buffett @ Bellagio - 2 Visits - Best buffett we tried, ended up with a hair in my scrambled egg's on one occasion, dealt with professionally.
Marquee @ Cosmopolitan - 1 Visit - Aviici. Great club, out-gunned by the layout, location and general ambiance of XS.
Tram/Monorail System - 8 Visits - Stations too far from the hotels i.e. Wynn/Encore, a tad expensive. Good for the MGM and stratosphere though
American Girls - Too much C4. Friendly. Could only applaud their dress sense. Saw one lady wearing a transparent mini-skirt walking through Encore, will remember the moment forever. Almost a hit on that basis alone.
Misses
Buffett @ Ceasars palace - don't bother!
Fast-track back and security check at Gatwick is on the *floor* underneath the standard lanes, epic fail.
Attempted price gouge @ Wet Republic - Got to the venue and tried to up my minimum by $500 or have my location changed to the worst available. Professionally dealt with by myself and the manager, sorted out in about 2 minutes. The only black mark against Wet themselves throughout the whole weekend. If Wet want to maintain an international clientele, this will need to be fixed permanently, can't have people flying 5000 miles for a party to have this attempted.
Not getting a lilypad for Encore Beach Club on Sunday - *Sigh* Mikey T.
Tiesto @ Wet Republic (The DJ not the event) - Club was rockin at 11am, DJ Turned up at 4pm when people were already leaving. Don't know if this was the DJ's fault or the circumstances, not really on if you were a Tiesto fan.
Will.i.am @ XS (The DJ not the event) - 1 Visit - Can't mix, was using pre-queued CD's, oh dear.
Normal pool area & lazy river @ MGM - 2 Visits - too packed, too hot, metal sun-loungers, no pool service for drinks, no pool bar in the pool etc. etc. etc.
Cost of Dom Perignon @ Las Vegas - 2 bottles - $999 per bottle and no 2002 vintage. Never mind, just pour...
Aimed at people from the U.K.
Don't have time to do a full post so, not really a trip report but more general notes I wrote on the flight back.
We did learn alot for our MDW 2012 trip though.
Hits
Craftsteak @ MGM Grand - 2 Visits. Has to be one of the best steak-houses in the world. I wanted to know what eating a $500 steak felt like but, I bottled it and went for the 16oz Ribeye on both occasions. If you avoid the wine list, average bill for 2 is around $350.
Queen Room in Grand Wing @ MGM Grand - 5 Nights. A solid, cheap hotel with good food, entertainment and transport options. Average nightly bill was $100.
Day-time pool parties and drinking - For the older crowd (over 35's) this is the way to go now. Nightclubbing felt second best.
Forum Mall @ Ceasars - 2 Visits. Jaw dropping surroundings. More expensive than London so, only purchased a couple of smaller items.
XS @ Wynn/Encore - 4 Visits. Again, slack-jawed upon entry, excellent outside bar, plenty of places to sit down. Great sound system. Awesome pool party. Best seats in the house are not on the dance-floor but, the day-beds near the outside bar on the route into the club - IMO!
Wanttickets.com - 8 Sets of tickets. Great service, separate line at XS, got in quicker than the V.I.P's - don't tell anyone else about it
Factor 50 Invisible Sunblock spray by Nivea - Saved our lives and gave us a deep, brown tan.
Burger/Snack resturant @ Wynn - Did not catch the name however, this is the one inside the sports betting area. We had two burgers that would make your toes curl.
Daybeds, Professionalism @ Wet Republic (also in misses) - 4 Visits - 'Nuff said really. Well run venue (with caveats as below) great property and setup. Friendly crowd. Isolated idiots, dealt with by the top notch security.
Cuban Girls -
Brazilian Girls -
)People from Chicago - Know how to rock a party
Afrojack & Supporting DJ @ XS - 1 Visit - These guys were the best DJ's of the weekend. Awesome mixing skills on show
Avicii @ Wet Republic (The DJ Not The Event) - 1 Visit - Gave it everything. Long set. Total crowd control.
Dress codes in night-clubs. Definition of U.S "high-end" = European "low-end". Result for us as we could wear almost anything.
Security in all clubs we visited (XS, Wet, Marquee). Tight but polite.
Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy - both legs - Worth its weight in gold.
Hot breeze at night-time - probably overlooked by most, very nice to have this at night time. Not many desert tourist destinations in the middle east have this.
Near Misses
Jet-lag. First three days we awoke at sunrise so, we decided to get the tourist stuff out of the way, before Wet opened at 10am, whilst the town was empty and cooler. This approach killed us on the fourth day so, its a near miss!
Buffett @ Bellagio - 2 Visits - Best buffett we tried, ended up with a hair in my scrambled egg's on one occasion, dealt with professionally.
Marquee @ Cosmopolitan - 1 Visit - Aviici. Great club, out-gunned by the layout, location and general ambiance of XS.
Tram/Monorail System - 8 Visits - Stations too far from the hotels i.e. Wynn/Encore, a tad expensive. Good for the MGM and stratosphere though
American Girls - Too much C4. Friendly. Could only applaud their dress sense. Saw one lady wearing a transparent mini-skirt walking through Encore, will remember the moment forever. Almost a hit on that basis alone.
Misses
Buffett @ Ceasars palace - don't bother!
Fast-track back and security check at Gatwick is on the *floor* underneath the standard lanes, epic fail.
Attempted price gouge @ Wet Republic - Got to the venue and tried to up my minimum by $500 or have my location changed to the worst available. Professionally dealt with by myself and the manager, sorted out in about 2 minutes. The only black mark against Wet themselves throughout the whole weekend. If Wet want to maintain an international clientele, this will need to be fixed permanently, can't have people flying 5000 miles for a party to have this attempted.
Not getting a lilypad for Encore Beach Club on Sunday - *Sigh* Mikey T.
Tiesto @ Wet Republic (The DJ not the event) - Club was rockin at 11am, DJ Turned up at 4pm when people were already leaving. Don't know if this was the DJ's fault or the circumstances, not really on if you were a Tiesto fan.
Will.i.am @ XS (The DJ not the event) - 1 Visit - Can't mix, was using pre-queued CD's, oh dear.
Normal pool area & lazy river @ MGM - 2 Visits - too packed, too hot, metal sun-loungers, no pool service for drinks, no pool bar in the pool etc. etc. etc.
Cost of Dom Perignon @ Las Vegas - 2 bottles - $999 per bottle and no 2002 vintage. Never mind, just pour...
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