Vdara Hotel and Spa – Las Vegas

I have loved the CityCenter since I first saw it revealed in real life. I had the opportunity to stay at Aria Resort last year, and this year, I knew Vdara Hotel & Spa was on the top of my list. We were actually at the Bellagio the night before, and we were preparing ourselves for a big walk with our suitcase, but to our excitement, there was a walk way that connected Vdara with Bellagio!

Once we got inside, there was a lovely scent to the hotel, like Aria – but it was a different scent. I convinced I loved the Vdara scent more, until I walked back into Aria afterwards. I liked it so much, I bought a pack of their scented sticks home, and I’m in love with the product! Anyway, that’s quite a diversion, but the check-in staff was phenomenal, and we got checked in early. Once we got to our room, we opened the door to put the suitcase down, and was greeted by a dining table, and with a quick glance, I realized there was a kitchenette! This is fantastic as I’ve been wanting to make tea every night!

The problem with the kitchenette is that it doesn’t come stocked. You’d have to ask them to stock it for you, so I didn’t bother as I was leaving the very next morning. I ended up just buying tea elsewhere. Regardless, the kitchenette has a 2 burner stove top, a garbage compactor – which was actually kind of loud and scary, so I didn’t use it at all. There was also a microwave, a mini fridge and a stocked mini bar! This hotel room has all the bells and whistles if you’re looking for a long term stay!

From the dining area, I ventured into the living space with plenty of seats. The sofas were extremely comfortable, and It looked onto a large flat TV. The view was exceptional as well! In the corner of this space was a little desk area as well. Actually, it’s not in the corner really, it’s in the corner of this area, which is at the divider space that separates the living area from the bedroom.

This divider space was compete with flat screen TV’s on both sides and tons of storage! The desk was spacious, and I loved the fact everything was branded to Vdara so perfectly!

Anyway, on the other side of the divider wall was the bed, and it was a large and comfy bed, perfect for a good nights rest after days of adventure on the strip!

Finally, the bathroom, which was my favourite part! Immediately when I stepped into the bathroom, the space blew my mind! It was complete with a luxurious soaker tub, which had a cart beside it with some towels! What a brilliant idea! The tub was large enough for 2, and it was a fabulous tub!

Behind the tub was a walk in shower, which was walled with glass and tiles. It was a large shower and all the bath amenities was already in the shower so if you forgot to bring your products in – it’s alright!

The actual sink and vanity part of the suite was phenomenal as well! Tonnes of counter space and lots of mirrors! It was spectacular, and I really enjoyed my time staying at Vdara! I also was able to see the Fountains at Bellagio from my suite and I sat on the window ledge watching many shows!

To get a better idea of this wonderful suite, be sure to check out my walk through below! To book your own Vdara experience, be sure to check out Vegas Hotel Casino Deals!

MGM Grand Tower Deluxe King Suite

Recently, I went to Las Vegas for a very short get-away and I stayed at the MGM Grand Resort right on the Strip. It’s closer to the South end, but it was a nice location regardless!

The immaculate detailing of the hotel room itself, let alone the rest of the resort was great! The suite was tastefully decorated and the use of their signature Lion Head symbol throughout the hotel was great!

One of my favourite features of the room, that is slightly useless – but wonderful would be the light on top of the TV Armoire! When you open up the doors it would expose the TV, and there is a little push button that says “LIGHT” and it illuminates the top of the armoire. I chose to use this light while I was out of the hotel room, so when I return, it wouldn’t be pitch black. It was a great alternative as I didn’t need to turn on all the lights.

MGM Grand Tower Deluxe King Bathroom

The bathroom was really large, and the shower was a low tub walk in bath with a shower faucet. The low tub really makes it accessible for those guests with limited mobility – even though I did bang my arm on the handrail that was on the shower walls a few times, it is a necessary feature for hotel & resort bathrooms. The tub area was tiled with large tiles and enhanced with smaller and darker tiles that really gave a modern feel to the bathroom. The sink area offered a lot of counter top space and room for you to sprawl out if you wanted to. Or, if you were rooming for other people, it made it easy for everyone to have their belongings out and still have room to work with.

MGM Grand Tower Deluxe King Bathroom Amenities

The bathroom amenities is one of my favourite memories of this resort. They are all Jasmine scented and when you wash your hands or anything like that, you immediately get a subtle scent of Jasmine – which reminds me of the Jasmine Tea that I drink at home. It was really heavenly scent that wasn’t over powering in any way. The soap that they use in the shower was a lovely Jasmine scented body massage bar, so it actually had the beads built into the soap. It was a nice touch and much appreciated after long walk up and down the strip to increase circulation.

The room is quite spacious and it has a wonderful lounging area with a large canape but a lot like a chaise longue. It was really nice and it added dimension and visual interest to what could be your “standard” hotel room. The room also had a large desk and the working surface was huge! I was able to have my laptop out and some of my work – and I didn’t feel cluttered at all! This is a great hotel room and even though it’s already not my first time there, I would be back again! The bed was large and luxurious and very comfortable. I’d fall asleep in no time with a king bed complete with 4 king sized pillows! The comforter was the right size and thickness and everything was really clean!

I booked myself my stay online with Las Vegas Hotel Casino Deals, and it was wonderful! My last stay in Vegas, I stayed at the Aria Resort & Casino, and it was another wonderful experience!

The room in MGM Grand doesn’t have as many in room amenities as some other resorts. This room did have an in-suite safe which was large enough to fit my laptop, and all the belongings I needed locked up. The room didn’t have a mini fridge which would have come handy as I did want to bring some left over dinners with me this one evening. The high speed internet that you pay for with the room classified under “Resort Fee” was super slow. I would understand if it was free and slow, but it was a slow and choppy internet which I wasn’t really happy about. But, I guess when you’re in Vegas, you’re not in your room a lot. I was wanting to update my blog throughout the trip so I could stay on top of things but I had to revert to making a list and doing it when I got home because of the internet problem. The hotel wasn’t super busy until Wednesday (Right before American Thanksgiving & Black Friday), so it wasn’t like there were a lot of guests connected onto the internet.

The housekeeping staff was excellent as well. They kept my room clean, and fulfilled all my requests! The towers were big and fluffy, and it was just a great stay overall!

Tobiko Sushi and Martini Bar – Calgary, Alberta

Sushi Bar is located inside the casino of Deerfoot Inn & Casino off 114th Avenue Southeast. It has really good sushi, which is really fresh, and made in front of you!

We’ve tried their sushi a few times now, and both take-out and dine-in. Both options are really good.

Sushi Bar open every Thursday (5pm – 11pm) and Friday and Saturday from 5pm -midnight

Deerfoot Inn & Casino is a resort very much like Las Vegas, without all the sounds and heat. Vegas is a wonderful place to go if you’re looking for great cuisine and casinos – Vegas Deals! But, if you can’t get away, this is a great alternative.

Deerfoot Inn & Casino – A South Calgary Hotel

1000, 11500 – 35 Street SE
Calgary, Alberta T2Z 3W4

Mirage Volcano Las Vegas

We walked the strip, and the funny thing is.. we finally set a tripod up at 11PM at the rail of Las Vegas’s Mirage to “hopefully” take a nice video shot of the Volcano eruption.

We waited for about 35 minutes, and couldn’t understand why no one else was getting ready to watch the next Mirage Volcano eruption show, until we finally decided to walk away as well. Just as we walked about 20 steps over, we saw a nice sign that read “last eruption at 11PM” Oh well.

After dinner the following evening, we decided to go find ourselves a nice spot to definitely catch the Volcano eruption and I’m sure glad I did. It is quite different from when I was young — and that eruption show. I’m not too sure which one I like more, but here’s the one we took. Who knows, maybe 10 years from now, this will be the old eruption video! 🙂

Mirage Las Vegas Resort Special Deals to find great deals to experience the luxury of the Mirage.

Stay at the Mirage — check out latest deals

The standard rooms at the Mirage is very nice, newly renovated and spacious!

Aria Resort & Casino – City Center, Las Vegas

Since ARIA was being built, I’ve always stared at it from the platform outside Planet Hollywood near P.F. Changs just wondering what kind of a resort it would be. A few years later, it was complete, and all I wanted to do then was to experience this resort.

In April 2011, I finally found the perfect excuse to visit the resort — and found a great rate!! I quickly booked it room in January, and never stopped thinking about it. Now that I’ve left, I still haven’t stopped thinking about ARIA.

This resort truly was a dream come true! The smell of floral and green tea as you enter the resort was always refreshing. The layout of the Casino was optimal, and there were a lot of dining options as well. Even the path going to the pool area looked top notch!

Our room, we did receive a complimentary upgrade to a city view in a Deluxe Room City View with a King bed. The one thing that made me nervous was the stocked mini bar in the suite. Apparently, you’d get charged if you picked anything up — or even place anything near it to trigger it’s sensors. It was too advanced, and that frightened me a little.

The description states that there is a laptop sized in-room safe. I still don’t know where that is, but it wasn’t important, as the laptop I brought with me was old and slow… really not something anyone wants! 🙂