Well I'm not a hot Canadian girl but I hope you guys like my review anyway and leave some comments :p We just found out my wife is pregnant with our 3rd, so we didn't do much nightlife type stuff. Didn't want to be around the smoke, she gets tired real easy now, so we enjoyed ourselves with restaurants and relaxing and other things (some of which I'm not going to share but feel free to use your imagination :D )

But I'll tell you about the places we went and ate at so it still can be usefull, right?

Full photo album here http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/

Thursday: Flew in at 8:50am, went to TI for check in

TI is... well, I don't have anything bad to say... but I wish we'd have stayed elsewhere. We were familiar from our stay there last year which brought the choice.

We saved a few hundred bucks over other choices and the rooms are all remodled and nice, but the pool was less than great and we spent most of our time off the property. Which is to be expected, but every place we went was a long walk south so it turned out to be a less than ideal location.

TI restaurants and such: The Coffee Shop has good breakfast, Kahunaville does not. Francesco's Pizzaria is nothing to write home about. Where's my pizza sauce, btw? Didn't eat anywhere else.

Christian Audigier the Nightclub: I read lousy reviews of it on Yelp. And c'mon who thought a nightclub should be named after a fashion designer? Although we swore off nightclubs we planned to stop in just to see, since we're at the hotel already. But we just weren't compelled. Bonus: I saw a tv ad while riding the escelater and found it's pronounced "Audighey". That answers that.

Verdict: friendly staff, recommended for a moderate budget, better than slumming at the Imperial Palace, but we won't stay there again.

The view out our room:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1460.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1488.jpg

We could see the Mirage's volcano out the window

OMG short sleeve button down! :D
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1456.jpg

Good God those pictures are big lol.

Thurs night we ate at Nine Fine Irishmen at NYNY. Yelpers were right, it did look like Disneyland's version of an Irish pub, but the food was surprisingly good. I had fish and chips while she had a chicken pot pie bigger than her. There was no band playing. The bill was about $60, not bad. Afterwards we listened to the dueling pianos at The Bar At Times Square and walked down the strip.

Oh yeah, earlier I stepped on this young feller's blue suede shoes in front of PH, the least I could do was offer him a picture with us :D
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1459.jpg

On Friday we had lunch at the Paris, Mon Ami Gabi on the terrace. It was awesome. I had a tuna burger and she had a seafood crepe. The bun was... meh, and I was expecting a tuna steak as opposed to the ground tuna I got. But the service and the atmosphere were great and her scallops were perfect. Highly recommended if you aren't there with Team Dude.

Imperial Palace - once I walked through decades of cigarette stench to get to the classic car collection in the back, this was the highlight of my trip. I love cars. I wanted to see the 67 Shelby GT500 I knew was there, (I've been obsessing over old Mustangs lately), but my jaw dropped to the floor, along with everything I was holding, when I saw a genuine, pristine 1967 Ford GT40 on display. This is my favorite race car. Holy Shit.

Henry Ford Jr started the Le Mans program in the early 60's to beat up on Enzo Ferrari because of a merger gone sour. Ferrari had been dominating Le Mans, last won overall in '64 with a 250LM, but the GT40 put an end to that - becoming not only the first American car to win the prestigious 24hrs race in '66, but doing it four years in a row. To this day Ferrari has not won Le Mans overall since.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1466.jpg

I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes, I would stick it in there :D
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1467.jpg

Can't forget the GT500
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1473.jpg

Friday night we got dressed up. I mentioned in one of the "what do guys wear" threads wondering if all the guys even make an effort despite all the girls going to the nines. Lol, nope, most don't. I saw dudes in t-shirts and trainers leading girls in hot dresses everywhere. C'mon.

Ate at Bradley Ogden at Caesars. Very, very good. The chef gets all the food from particular farms, fishermen, etc for quality. At first the waiter was stuffy but he warmed up to us. We sat next to a waterfall which was kind of noisy but still soothing.

We had an organic chicken dish, bleu cheese souffle, artichoke soup, seared yellowfin tuna, and peanut butter pudding for dessert. All that and a coffee for $126 + tip. Oh, and they give you a small butterscotch pudding with your check. Good place to take a girl!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1481.jpg

Next we went to the Mirage to see Jay Leno, one of my all time favorites. I love Leno. What a guy.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1496.jpg

On Saturday we ate at Japonais at the Mirage. The yellowfin sashimi was excellent. The calamari dish was cooked perfect but I thought the sauce was a bit too sticky and sweet. Sarah got the rock, literally a rock heated to 400F on which you cook thin slices of beef for 2 seconds per side.

We also got 4 more rolls - octopus, tuna, she had two cucumber rolls. They were good but not great. The service was very good, though the music was a touch too loud making it hard to talk. The bill was about $100 with tip.

Later on a cool guy our age smoking a stogie offered to take our picture, for no other reason than he was impressed to see someone wearing a tie. And I concur, more of you schluffs should!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f98/eatapita/Las%20Vegas%202009/CIMG1501.jpg

I was thinking about staying at the TI, but with your review, I think not :) Might as well spend extra and stay somewhere where I have a great pool/etc, amenities in the hotel that I would like to take advantage of!

Your wife is adorable!!

I was thinking about staying at the TI, but with your review, I think not :) Might as well spend extra and stay somewhere where I have a great pool/etc, amenities in the hotel that I would like to take advantage of!

Your wife is adorable!!


Thanks!

Yeah it's.. you know, the service was good, the rooms were clean and modern, it's got a tram to the Mirage, it was really crowded so it's not like a forgotten moldy oldie or anything. I don't have a bad thing to say about TI, I definitely wouldn't give a nasty review. But if you can spend a few hundred bucks extra on the hotel, think about it.

Dude, I dig the tie-bar, very mad men-esque outfit there.

Sounds like exactly the kind of trip my fiance and I are looking to have in August, just fly out there, relax by the pool, hang out in the room, eat a couple nice meals and enjoy each other's company..

Yes it was a good, relaxing couple trip. I would say don't do much planning overall for a trip like that, but definitely plan the restaurants.

Cool trip, gotta love the weather huh? Looked like you 2 hit revolution lounge? Also seems like you enjoyed Caesars , that's a nice property. Thx for sharing

Yes it was a good, relaxing couple trip. I would say don't do much planning overall for a trip like that, but definitely plan the restaurants.

Yeah, definitely will on that count, especially since the girl really wants to go to mesa grill and stuff

Nice writing mate.

I'm digging the vest and jeans. That's what I was going to do myself when I go there in July, but not sure yet.

Definitely give you props on the vest/tie combo. It's a nice way to stand out from "Team Dude", as Jack calls it. Of all the people I saw in Tao the night I went, maybe 2 other guys wore the vest/tie combo, and I got a few compliments on dressing up.

Nice trip report!

Yeah I agree, I am not a fan of the whole jeans and t-shirts with designs. Not classy at all, plus everyone is wearing this everywhere now. It started in NY and slowly made its way across our country. Should die out soon though.

I always wear dress pants in Vegas, never jeans. Its usually a dressy button down, a suit, or a "suit dress shirt button down" with a tie. I do the same when Im in NY though.

Damn you guys look young for having 3 kids. Good luck with everything and thanks for the trip report.

What would you say was the best meal the whole trip?

The best food was Bradley Ogden but the most memorable atmosphere was eating outside at Mon Ami Gabi. We have a few restaurants at home with streetside seating but I've never actually done it before. We'll go back to the latter for sure.

Glad to see the vest outfit was liked :) I wasn't sure about it, given the jeans paired with her nicer dress. She had a more casual black dress for the third night, but wore the other one twice since it hid the baby bump better. And I like my dress clothes, I'm choosy, I get em tailored and all that, but wearing them two days in a row reminded me of being at work lol. So jeans and vest it was and I think it worked next to her.

p.s. I might add a few more trip notes tonight so check back!

Nice review. I have never been out to Vegas on a "Romantic trip" so its always nice to hear what else there is to do in Vegas besides get wasted. Maybe one day ill do that kind of trip with the wife, but for the mean time ill just get wasted :)

Glad you had a great time though!

Sounds like a good trip...I guess this is how you can do a trip longer than 3 days.

Sounds like a good trip...I guess this is how you can do a trip longer than 3 days.

+1 good point

nice review vanilla, sound likes a good trip!!!

Damn you guys look young for having 3 kids.

oh yeah, thought that would come up. we're both 31. shocker, right? :D

Glad to offer the entertainment. Final thoughts, I think we should stay at Caesar's next time. I like it there. As we left at 4:45am Sunday morning I was pleased to run into lots of people who hadn't gone to bed yet. Not counting a bachelor party 2 weeks ago I can't remember the last time I was up till 5am. Wifekidsjob'll do that to you.

Someone mentioned the ideal trip length... toss up. What do you guys think? On one hand, I can only go so long without cooking my own food. Or sleeping in my own bed. I spent a months grocery money in three days just on food there. And it felt awesome when I fired up my car and heard Van Halen on the radio. Plus 4 days is long enough for my mom to have my kids.

On the other hand I barely started to unwind until Saturday evening. Started wisecracking, swinging my wife around to the music playing in any random place, etc. Took me that long to remember I used to be a lot of fun.

I coulda shoulda done another day or two.

nice review vanilla looks like you had a great time. You had a vacation not a shit faced day and night party. Every time i get back from vegas i need a vacation to relax and recover lol

nice review vanilla looks like you had a great time. You had a vacation not a shit faced day and night party. Every time i get back from vegas i need a vacation to relax and recover lol

Ha...happens to me everytime but no matter how shit canned you get and how much money you blow, you'll still be back for the same festivities the next trip back in vegas. :D

Great review and nice pictures! Glad you dressed up with your wife...that's always nice to see.

Whenever I go with DH, he will dress nicely at night, I mean, where we live EVERYWHERE is flip flops/shorts/tshirts so why not wear nice stuff when you can?

That sounds relaxing. Caesars is very nice, highly recommend-I also like the bars there, they are fun for a couple....I definitely appreciate the info about TI, I've always thought it looked nice, so that's good info. The room matters a lot more to me on a romantic trip. I mean, it's always nice to have a suite or something, but when you are with a SO, it makes a difference, since you are usually in the room at least part of the time...for certain activities, where it is nice to have a nice environment! LOL (and a big jazuzzi!)

i left an expanded review of TI in the hotels/resorts forum here if anyone is more interested. i hope i was clear that TI didn't do anything wrong, it wasn't icky, just looking back i might have spent the extra couple hundred for a newer tower room at caesars.

yo vanilla for one of the nicest reviews I've actually read.

I'm not married, though it would be nice to be even though Las Vegas is probably the place to meet someone for that. But, I think a lot of things you did could be done with a small group of friends (guys included).

I think the vest & tie combo is probably the first time I've ever seen it worn in Las Vegas and definitely in the summer for a person that's not in the nightlife industry there.

I make a point of wearing a suit on at least one trip to Las Vegas each year and it's amazing how the level of service changes and the compliments flow like water.

The only time I've been insulted by it was by an out-of-work local that had worked the summer at Tao Beach as a bartender.

Most guys I see pop collars, wear Ed Hardy chach wear and "expensive-looking" shoes, when in my experience, a nice shirt and tie will go a longer way in Las Vegas.

By the way, your wife also looked great. :)