Anyway, back to Vegas…

I’ve been to Las Vegas more times than I can count but I still find myself caught up in the pretty lights of the airport casinos.  I’m not a gambler myself.  In fact, the entire week I was in Vegas, I never so much as hit a slot machine.  I know, I know, what’s the point of going to Vegas if I’m not going there to win, right?  Well lemme tell ya- SHOPPING. RESTAURANTS. SHOWS.  Mandalay Bay even has a faux beach now, complete with a wave pool and lazy river (I have GOT to get one of those for my house by the way!)

I had reserved a car at Avis… which I quickly changed my mind when I was told they would be running a hard inquiry on my credit report.  Seriously? I have to take a ding on my credit to rent a car from Avis?  I literally laughed at the guy behind the counter, who said he didn’t blame me and suggested I try Payless Car Rental.  I did, happily, and was pleased to be offered a great deal on a luxury car.  In fact, I ended up with a Chrysler 300 with a whole 2 miles on it and a new Garmin GPS system… which apparently was defunct because it kept repeating random words of advice like “Turn right on road” over and over- My passengers and I had a roaring time laughing and swearing at this thing while driving around in circles.

I love my Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points, so of course I booked my usual stay at the Westin Casuarina.  As always, the service here was outstanding.  Special requests were met with a smile.  The room was immaculate, spacious, and decorated with upscale furnishings including their well-known Heavenly Bed… which makes you not want to get up in the morning.   As my readers know, I tend to get excited about the little things… like the fact that the Westin treats their floors with white tea and the fact that they have really great bath and body products stocked in their rooms.  Normally, I pass on hotel supplies, but at the Westin, I’ve found myself asking for an extra bottle of their white tea body lotion.  Shhh don’t tell anyone.

The Westin doesn’t offer airport shuttle service but they do have fast, and last minute limos on call.  They also have a pool which has never been crowded when I’ve been there.  My favorite part of staying at the Westin though, has to be their spa.  Greeted with a smile, the spa staff will offer you plush robes, slippers, and just about anything you could need while you prepare for your massage, or head off to relax in their sauna and steamroom.  This is definitely an opportunity to relax.

After getting my spa fill, my SPG points, and my extra bottle of lotion, I decided to give another hotel a chance.  I moved, not too far, to the end of the strip.  Beautiful inside and out, Mandalay Bay was quite the experience.  The spa was high priced BUT, I did find out it pays to have a Players Club Card even if you’re not a gambler- PCC members may initially join for the points accumulated in the casino but during this trip, I discovered Players Card holders are eligible for a number of benefits, including airport shuttle transportation, dining discounts, shopping redemption, and… discount spa packages.  Players Club Card information can be found here.

The rooms at Mandalay Bay were surprisingly large.  The beds were comfortable- the pillows sucked and seemed to get smaller every day.  I’m not exaggerating- my pillows were actually exchanged for smaller ones somewhere along my stay.  Teenie tiny pillows just don’t measure up to the over-fluffed heavenly pillows of the Westin.  The bathroom was impressive- loved the marble jacuzzi style tub that was separate from the shower.  The flat screen in the bathroom was a nice touch as well, although I have to say the channel selection Mandalay offers leaves much to be desired.  “Would you like to watch CNN or CNN? Or rent a movie for $13?”  Needless to say, I rented a few movies… only to have to call downstairs when I realized I was billed a total of $243 as a fluke.  Not a biggie- they reversed the charges within a few minutes… or so they said- I’m still waiting on the emailed final statement they promised me!

The concierge at Mandalay Bay was helpful, offering plenty of information about the area’s attractions.  Shark Reef was actually in the hotel, but unfortunately it was closed when we went to see it.   Awww no sharks other than the ones in the lobby.  We did catch Cher live at Caesar’s though.  I have to admit, I was going along because Mom wanted to see her so bad and didn’t expect to enjoy the show as much as I did.  I should have guessed she’d be awesome from the moment I saw her past costumes on exhibit.  Any woman who would wear that stuff in public has GOT to be entertaining!  & she was-  my favorite line of the year, was Cher saying, “I don’t like to mix my testicular metaphors.”  I don’t think I’ve ever heard a 64 year old woman with a 20 year old ass say anything like that before.  I laughed until I nearly cried and I’m telling anyone who goes to Vegas to try and catch her show.

My last few days in Vegas were spent doing a little something I call… SPENDING MONEY.  I hit the shops in the Venetian, Caesars, and both outlet malls.  Most women collect shoes, I collect designer handbags and living in Mexico, I’m a bit starved for the likes of Burberry, Kate Spade and Michael Kors.  So starved, you may not be surprised when I tell you I had to buy another suitcase to bring home the new purses.   That alone made Las Vegas a winning trip!

Heading back to Vegas in 2 weeks and looking forward to exploring kid-friendly options for my 4 year old niece, Emma.  We’re booked at the Westin of course, and then the Venetian, planning to grab our gondola tickets just as soon as we get off the plane!

The lobby alone is worth a visit- a wide platform stairwell is surrounded by Koi ponds and impressive rock formations leading to the pool.  There’s a comfortable cocktail lounge here and a game section with everything from pool to foos ball.

The room was beautiful- large, very nicely decorated with comfortable beds and a full kitchen.  We also had a jacuzzi tub which worked for a little while and although they offered to send someone to fix it, they never showed.  Oh well, we got to enjoy it once   We had a great balcony which was spacey but not really private- A few ladies next door were caught spying on my fiance after he was out of the shower and became our frequent fans!

The pool was beautiful, located on a patio above the beach.  There was a fun slide off a rock formation but it was not turned on for the full duration of the pool hours so we unfortunately never had the chance to try it.  The pool opened at 9 AM and closed at 9 PM-  the slide was on from 11 AM to just after 6 PM- quite disappointing.

The staff was very friendly and helpful.  Service for poolside cocktails were fast once we started a tab.   Valet parking cost us around $3 USD a day and was well worth it.  They were fast getting our car and always helpful as far as providing information and directions.

We checked into our resort- which I’ll describe better in my next post. We checked in using our debit card to pay for the room (roughly $240 USD for 2 nights,) only to later discover a mistake was made and we were charged $600 USD at check in, and then $240 for the room when we checked out- a total of $840 USD. We were told the $600 was meant to be a “hold” for an open tab, and that the $600 would be returned to our account in “1 to 3 months.” Obviously, this was pretty shocking. For future Royal Villa Resort guests- don’t use your debit card at this resort!

Mazatlan itself was beautiful. It was much larger than Puerto Vallarta and sprawled out, and it certainly had a different feel to it. Since we only planned to stay in Mazatlan for 3 days, we decided to hire a taxi to give us a tour. It cost us $35 USD and included all the major areas of town, starting with the sunset from a very high peak. We went to the marketplace which was filled with vendors pushing souvenirs. We picked up a few small items before heading to old town. The parks here were absolutely beautiful, surrounded by well-maintained historic buildings, churches, and patio restaurants. We came back here the following day for daylight photos.

The Shrimp Bucket was our choice for breakfast. We dined with birds. No, I’m not joking- there were pigeons and sparrows on and off our table, under our feet, and flying over our heads. It was great.  Oh and the food was fantastic and surprisingly cheap.