A CET host reached out to me. I got a hand addressed envelope with a letter inside.
"Contact me if you need anything..." and so on. I sent an email with some dates. Lets see what happens. I'm NOT holding my breath, but it's worth sending the email.
I feel all fancy, this is the first contact I've had with a host. It's all based on putting over 2000 points on my card in a day during the the last trip. They REALLY like it when you throw that kind of cash at them.
It's not big money, but it's a big step up for me. I'm not sure if I can continue to play at the level that got me the letter, but I'm gonna give it a shot!
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Today!
We leave today!!
Staying at Harrah's with a lovely offer and one night at the Excalibur (thanks to My Vegas, more on that game in another post) to knock it off the SEVC.
It's my birthday month the offer I got came with some freeplay and resort credit, two of my favorite things!
We are definitely gonna see Carrot Top and the Gospel Sunday brunch at Mandalay Bay, both courtesy of the My Vegas game. We are going to try to see Donnie and Marie at the Flamingo, but our flight lands at 5:30 and they go on at 7:30. It will be tight, but we are gonna try.
Details to follow!
Staying at Harrah's with a lovely offer and one night at the Excalibur (thanks to My Vegas, more on that game in another post) to knock it off the SEVC.
It's my birthday month the offer I got came with some freeplay and resort credit, two of my favorite things!
We are definitely gonna see Carrot Top and the Gospel Sunday brunch at Mandalay Bay, both courtesy of the My Vegas game. We are going to try to see Donnie and Marie at the Flamingo, but our flight lands at 5:30 and they go on at 7:30. It will be tight, but we are gonna try.
Details to follow!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Aww Crap... more resort fees
I hate them, and it looks like CET is bringing them to Vegas. I first heard the news here and it's been spreading around the web like wildfire ever since.
To me this is a bad, bad move. They have been touting "no resort fees" and whipping ALL the other strip properties for a couple of years with the "savings" you get by staying with them versus a property that charges a fee. Now them is they.
I am never going to be a fan of extra fees associated with anything. I get the concept, "We bundled together our most popular services and charge you less for using them". But, I have a couple of problems with that concept.
Problem #1
I have a smartphone. I don't use the in room phone for local or long distance calls. I don't bring a laptop so in room wifi is useless. I'll use the spa if I'm getting a spa service, but spa access comes with a service so that is a net zero deal for me.
Imagine if ALL of a hotels guests showed up to use the spa on the same day. It comes with the resort fee they were forced to pay so they might as well use it. So a hotel that has 4000 rooms with an average of two guests in each room means 8000 people a day will pack the various areas of the spa... RELAXING!!!!!!
Most spa's have 50ish lockers in them, is there going to be additional fee if you want a locker? Is that the next profit center waiting to be exploited?
Problem #2
Most of my rooms are free because I gamble. Don't charge me a fee when I'm willing to throw down my gaming dollars in your hotel/casino. I realize I could "pay" the resort fee in a few hands or button pushes, but you are taking my gambling money away. Didn't you guys make money on the casino at some point in history?
When the MGM folks started resort fees you weren't charged if you were comped, but not at every property. They were charging them at Monte Carlo and NYNY for some reason. We stayed at MGM, Mandalay, Luxor and Aria and weren't charged one when non-comped guests were. We felt like big shots... But a week ago I called the MGM to book an offer and I was told I'd get three free nights, freeplay and show tickets, but they would charge me $25 (plus 11% tax!) in resort fees. Thats $83.25 I am not going to spend in the casino. I was told there was a possibility they wouldn't charge it, but no guarantee. I'm not booking a room that may or may not cost me an extra $83.25.
Now the CET folks are joining the party and it's too early to tell how its gonna work. But, if they want to start charging me a resort fee on a comped room bridges will be burnt.
To me this is a bad, bad move. They have been touting "no resort fees" and whipping ALL the other strip properties for a couple of years with the "savings" you get by staying with them versus a property that charges a fee. Now them is they.
I am never going to be a fan of extra fees associated with anything. I get the concept, "We bundled together our most popular services and charge you less for using them". But, I have a couple of problems with that concept.
Problem #1
I have a smartphone. I don't use the in room phone for local or long distance calls. I don't bring a laptop so in room wifi is useless. I'll use the spa if I'm getting a spa service, but spa access comes with a service so that is a net zero deal for me.
Imagine if ALL of a hotels guests showed up to use the spa on the same day. It comes with the resort fee they were forced to pay so they might as well use it. So a hotel that has 4000 rooms with an average of two guests in each room means 8000 people a day will pack the various areas of the spa... RELAXING!!!!!!
Most spa's have 50ish lockers in them, is there going to be additional fee if you want a locker? Is that the next profit center waiting to be exploited?
Problem #2
Most of my rooms are free because I gamble. Don't charge me a fee when I'm willing to throw down my gaming dollars in your hotel/casino. I realize I could "pay" the resort fee in a few hands or button pushes, but you are taking my gambling money away. Didn't you guys make money on the casino at some point in history?
When the MGM folks started resort fees you weren't charged if you were comped, but not at every property. They were charging them at Monte Carlo and NYNY for some reason. We stayed at MGM, Mandalay, Luxor and Aria and weren't charged one when non-comped guests were. We felt like big shots... But a week ago I called the MGM to book an offer and I was told I'd get three free nights, freeplay and show tickets, but they would charge me $25 (plus 11% tax!) in resort fees. Thats $83.25 I am not going to spend in the casino. I was told there was a possibility they wouldn't charge it, but no guarantee. I'm not booking a room that may or may not cost me an extra $83.25.
Now the CET folks are joining the party and it's too early to tell how its gonna work. But, if they want to start charging me a resort fee on a comped room bridges will be burnt.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Booked Again!
And I haven't gotten all of my posts written from the last trip!
I'll live...
March 2-4. It's a shortie, but I'll take it!
I'll live...
March 2-4. It's a shortie, but I'll take it!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Oh Groupon
I know when I read the ad for "Las Vegas Club Crawl" it isn't about crawling around on the floor of the Vegas Club on Fremont St. But that's what ends up in my mind EVERY time I see the offer.
I didn't know you had to pay for the privilege either! I thought if you could get there floor naps were on the house...
I didn't know you had to pay for the privilege either! I thought if you could get there floor naps were on the house...
Friday, December 14, 2012
Room 20041, The Mirage
On Day one we were amazed with the Mirage. Day two killed that feeling,
and then stomped on its carcass and threw it in the lion habitat.
Check in was on Sunday December 2. We booked this room on a winter offer CP got from the MGM/Mlife folks. I do about 90-95% of the gambling between us and for some reason they give her an offer that was literally twice as good as mine. At least that is how it looked before we checked in... more on that soon.
The four of us drive over to the Mirage. CP and I hit the check in. A gorgeous woman helped us out and sent us up to the twentieth floor. We hit the room and it is pretty nice. At least twice the size of the Fremont room. I am pretty sure this is the basic room except we had a view of the volcano. It was fun to watch, once.
The king size bed was a little on the soft side for me. Cat loved it but hated the real down pillows. I didn't mind them. The toilet was one of those that could take you with it if you weren't careful. LOUD AND POWERFUL!!! I woke up once in the middle of the night when CP flushed. LOUD!
There was a love seat and two smaller chairs. So we had plenty of seating for staring out the windows. Speaking of windows, one of them opened! I love all of that fresh air!
On our first night there was a knock at the door. CP answered and this guy handed her a wrapped box and said "Compliments of the Mirage". Cookies, chocolate covered raisins and mixed nuts. Nice! They were killing it!
Now for the not so nice or day two.
We went to the Mlife desk to get the freeplay added and were told it wasn't valid because they were having their holiday gift thing. We weren't told that when we made the reservation and we weren't informed of that when we checked in. We foolishly believed the money would be there and we were wrong.
When the girl at the desk was explaining why there wasn't any freeplay she said "Well you got one free night and a great rate on the other one..." I pointed out the $25 (+ taxes!) resort fee she said "well you also get..." She couldn't add anything because that was what our offer was for. One free night with one discounted (plus the $25 plus tax resort fee!) and the freeplay that they wouldn't give us. Bad/Lame.
I head over to the holiday gift deal to see if I can get something. The computers are down. And they were down the next three times I went by.
This is when we said screw it. I would have started playing at the Mirage (I'd been knocking out the points to keep my platinum card for the CET folks the day before) but I didn't feel like giving them another penny at this point. I could have easily lost ten times the value of the freeplay and been OK with it. But I was over and done with the place by then.
We had around $60 in Mlife comp dollars left over from our last trip (at the Aria where we were treated very well), so we used that to help pay for the one night that wasn't comped. We ended up paying around $15 on top of that not bad but...
I am not sorry for stiffing them. When Mlife/Mirage want to change the terms mid stream they can suck it. Future offers be damned!
Check in was on Sunday December 2. We booked this room on a winter offer CP got from the MGM/Mlife folks. I do about 90-95% of the gambling between us and for some reason they give her an offer that was literally twice as good as mine. At least that is how it looked before we checked in... more on that soon.
The four of us drive over to the Mirage. CP and I hit the check in. A gorgeous woman helped us out and sent us up to the twentieth floor. We hit the room and it is pretty nice. At least twice the size of the Fremont room. I am pretty sure this is the basic room except we had a view of the volcano. It was fun to watch, once.
The king size bed was a little on the soft side for me. Cat loved it but hated the real down pillows. I didn't mind them. The toilet was one of those that could take you with it if you weren't careful. LOUD AND POWERFUL!!! I woke up once in the middle of the night when CP flushed. LOUD!
There was a love seat and two smaller chairs. So we had plenty of seating for staring out the windows. Speaking of windows, one of them opened! I love all of that fresh air!
On our first night there was a knock at the door. CP answered and this guy handed her a wrapped box and said "Compliments of the Mirage". Cookies, chocolate covered raisins and mixed nuts. Nice! They were killing it!
Now for the not so nice or day two.
We went to the Mlife desk to get the freeplay added and were told it wasn't valid because they were having their holiday gift thing. We weren't told that when we made the reservation and we weren't informed of that when we checked in. We foolishly believed the money would be there and we were wrong.
When the girl at the desk was explaining why there wasn't any freeplay she said "Well you got one free night and a great rate on the other one..." I pointed out the $25 (+ taxes!) resort fee she said "well you also get..." She couldn't add anything because that was what our offer was for. One free night with one discounted (plus the $25 plus tax resort fee!) and the freeplay that they wouldn't give us. Bad/Lame.
I head over to the holiday gift deal to see if I can get something. The computers are down. And they were down the next three times I went by.
This is when we said screw it. I would have started playing at the Mirage (I'd been knocking out the points to keep my platinum card for the CET folks the day before) but I didn't feel like giving them another penny at this point. I could have easily lost ten times the value of the freeplay and been OK with it. But I was over and done with the place by then.
We had around $60 in Mlife comp dollars left over from our last trip (at the Aria where we were treated very well), so we used that to help pay for the one night that wasn't comped. We ended up paying around $15 on top of that not bad but...
I am not sorry for stiffing them. When Mlife/Mirage want to change the terms mid stream they can suck it. Future offers be damned!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Room 726, The Fremont
Room 726, The Fremont.
We checked in on Saturday December 1 around 7PM. There is no self parking at the Fremont so we pulled in to the Valet. They were incredibly friendly and told us to take our time. I gave them a $2 and we headed to the front desk which is about twenty feet away. The lady was very nice and gave us our keys and we headed to the elevator, about fifteen feet away. Seventh floor and a ten step walk to the room. Everything is close at the Fremont.
The room is small (not as small as my room at the Sheraton on Canal St in NO the week before) and a little warn, but perfect for $32 with tax for a Friday night. There was only one chair but the bed was close enough to the windows that it wasn't that big of a deal. The safe has a key... I hate that. Do you hide it in the room or walk around with it all night and probably loose it?
We were right by the elevators so we heard a fair amount of foot traffic in the halls, but nothing obnoxious. The bed slept well, but it only had three pillows. I got one and CP complained that she only got two. Poor girl.
We were in the newer section and our friends BC and WK were in the older section. Their room was on the back side of the old elevators and had a little hallway and an odd little door. Everything else was about the same. They had a view of Fremont east (we had west) so it was nice getting both perspectives in one visit.
Checkout was on the TV around noon with zero extra charges. Fremont!
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