Sunday, August 5, 2007

Vegas and Reno--What Happens There Does Stay There!

R and I love to have fun and what better cities to enjoy the excitement, nightlife and thrills than Vegas and Reno.

VEGAS first--

I love this city so much that I took the time and became a "Vegas Certified" travel agent. It was not an easy course--11 separate tests and much studying. But I learned so much! And I also am certified with other Vegas properties; The Wynn and MGM/Mirage (2 programs).

We have been to Vegas together about 4 times and each time is a new experience. Both of us had been to Vegas separately about 20 plus years ago (does that give away our ages?) as well as together in the last 3 years. The city is constantly changing and is never the same place twice. And it has many hidden surprises that we enjoy discovering and passing on to our clients.

The hotels are amazing places and I think we have stayed at at least 10 of them. . . from the "scary" places to the luxurious ones. We will stay at Paris and then Rio when we go to the Travel Agent Conference in September. So just ask us and we can tell you about them all: Wild Wild West, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Tropicana, Imperial Palace, Riviera, Harrahs, Luxor to name a few. If we have not stayed there, then we probably explored the hotel and casinos. And we have seen most of the major sites and some of the shows. In September we already have tickets for "Blue Man Group".

One of the nicest rooms was in the Tropicana. . .we went to check into our "free room" and they asked us if we would mind being ungraded. Mind??? Are you nuts? So we got a mini-suite at the end of one of the upper floors with a lovely sitting room and an amazing view of the "Strip" & airplanes landing at the airport. The back of the door listed the price as $1500 per night. But bargain shoppers that we are. . .it cost us $1.00 per day for the phone charge. That's living!

Getting around Vegas between the casinos and hotels is so easy. They have "The Deuce" which is really a double-decker tour bus. It is cheap, convenient and runs every few minutes--make sure and purchase a day pass so for 24 hours you can hop on and off. The Monorail is also convenient, but only stops at a few hotels; however, it is a great option, as well. Driving down the "Strip" takes too much precious exploring time as well as the problem of trying to find a parking place when you do arrive at your destination.

But did you know that just outside of town there is a small resort which is like being in the Alps?
Checkout Mt. Charleston ....just west and north of the city. We were there in the spring (late April) and there was still a big bank of snow. It is a great way to cool off . They also have cute cabins for you to stay.

And have you ever visited Red Rocks just west of town? Now there is Red Rock Resort and Casino . . .part of the Stations Casino group. It is lovely and upscale with a great buffet. You have lovely views of the park which is just west of the casino. Check it out next time you are in town.

One of the best websites for inside info is the Las Vegas Advisor written by Anthony Curtis. If you watch any of the Travel Channel programs on Vegas, you will already know him. His website sends out a free daily email with the question of the day about Vegas. And he has a coupon book (reasonable charge) that you can purchase. Look up www.lasvegasadvisor.com. before your next trip.

Being travel agents, we get the very first information and special deals on airline tickets, hotels and car rentals. It is often much less expensive to purchase them as a package. So give us a call and we will help make your Vegas dream vacation come true. Then all you have to do is hit a jackpot at one of the casinos.

When we leave for the Travel Agent Show in September, we are flying into Vegas and renting a car to drive to Reno. It is a route we have never taken and are looking forward to exploring. From Reno we will be traveling through Yosemite National Park on the way to Palm Springs for a couple days (checking out another resort for you) and then return to Vegas for the Travel Show.

RENO
It is called the "Biggest Little City in the World" and while we were there did finally find the sign that proclaims this slogan to the world.

Our experience in Reno was great! Unlike Vegas where you have to find your own way to the hotel either by cab or bus or ???? the hotels all have FREE shuttles. We had booked THE PEPPERMILL and we were immediately impressed with the shuttle bus driver, Dino. Never had we had such friendliness and service before. This theme of genuine hospitality was continued at the Hotel and Casino. Every employee was very friendly and helpful. What a change from most casinos where service can be uneven at best. Our room was ready when we checked in and was tastefully decorated.

We believe that THE PEPPERMILL has some of the loosest slot machines we have ever found. Strickly Slots Magazine rated it the best overall in payouts...I think about 98%. So we could play for a long time without losing our shirts. The service in the casino part and the restaurants is top notch.

The story about the name (I thought it was a strange name for a casino) is that it originally started as a coffeeshop by some high school friends and eventually grew into what is now several casinos and coffeeshops. The original owners still control it and they are still friends!

Later the first day we left the Casino for the Downtown area and had a real blast! The Convention Center, Circus Circus and a couple more casinos have a wonderful pedestrian area with even a Brewery (great beer and food) inside. We could go from one casino to another without going outside. Harrahs is also Downtown, but found the slots very tight and the place needing updating. The employees were not friendly so we did not spend our money there!

On another trip, we spent time at The Atlantis which is just south of THE PEPPERMILL. But we did not like the atmosphere and found the machines tight. One of our clients stayed at the Atlantis because THE PEPPERMILL was full, but only had good gambling luck at THE PEPPERMILL. They liked the hotel and would return in the future if THE PEPPERMILL is full.

The last day of our original trip, we rented a car and drove to Lake Tahoe. Just south of Reno is the charming historic town of Virginia City. Do you remember in the series "Bonanza" that they were always going there "to town"? Well, I don't think it has changed much. Still has wooden sidewalks and is now an historic site. Next trip we will go back and do more exploring.

The next town on the way to Tahoe is Carson City. A nice capitol city, but we were trying to make some time to get to Lake Tahoe. It is worth a stop to explore.

Lake Tahoe was amazing! The Lake itself is MUCH bigger than I ever dreamed and much more beautiful. No wonder people are flocking to the area. Since it is busy both summer and winter (skiing, hiking, etc) going in the fall and spring is the best. We did stop in Lake Tahoe and checked out the casinos, but we did not stay. Some of the casinos had lovely views of the lake. Squaw Valley (one of the Olympics was held here) is on the northwest part of the Lake and we were running out of daylight, so we will save it for the upcoming trip.

We were surprised that there is an island in the Lake with a house (like a castle) in the middle of it called Fannette Island. It was very impressive! The story goes that the owner of the house would take her friends out there to have tea. It would have been lovely to enjoy it out there.

OK--are you ready to visit either or Vegas or Reno? Just give us a call 1-888-811-4497 or email us (beach1@txwinet.com) and we will find you a great package deal. It is a wonderful weekend place, but the best prices are usually in the middle of the week. Besides being not as crowded during the week, you can play the slot machines and table games without having to fight for a place.

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