Vegas for All Types

But the best part about staying in the Grand Desert would be the Las Vegas Strip. Nothing in the world beats Sin City, and the Grand Desert (though not on the Strip) offers the best of Vegas. They offer a shuttle to and from the Rio and Harrah's, which allows you access to the Strip without the hassle of actually staying there. Though many will say that not having a casino in the hotel is a problem, I say that it is an attractive quality. If I wanted to stay in a casino hotel, I would, but I like having some peace and quiet as well as the excitement of Vegas.

Another benefit that the Grand Desert offers are day trips to the Grand Canyon, moonlight cruises on Lake Mead, and tours of the Hoover Dam. As always, there is too much to do and not enough time to do it, but they do try help you out.

I enjoyed their pool area because of their mister system. This is a huge benefit during the summertime when it's 100+ outside. The area is nice and big and only getting bigger.

MacGreggor's Market is small and expensive. I recommend that if you are staying for any period of time, you drive out to Vons off of Tropicana and buy groceries there.

The only problem is that their second tower is being constructed, but the noise is hardly noticeable, and as soon as the tower is done, more people will be able to have the thrill of staying in the best resort in Vegas.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The HUSH lounge of the 19th floor is incredible due to its 270 degree view of the Las Vegas Strip. The pool is on top of the Towers and is very nice.

However, there were no washer/dryer units in the rooms and many of the light switches were in odd places, including the lightswitch in the bathroom, which was hard to find in the middle of the night. Valet parking is definitely the way to go at Polo Towers because the self-parking lot is quite far away from the actual building.

The mandatory owner's update was very pushy and they didn't give us the entertainment package we had been promised when we booked the room.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Poor
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Good
• Family Friendliness: Fair
• Service: Good

But obviously the best part of this restaurant is the cheesecake! The options are vast, I personnally recommend the Snickers Cheesecake, although my wife perfers the Oreo Cheesecake. Whatever you order I'm positive that you will enjoy it.

The service was decent for a buffet, but since you have to wait on them to get your drinks it can be hassle. We had our food for ten minutes before the server came back with our drinks.

This is a good buffet, but for $20 a plate, there are better buffets in Vegas to eat at.

My wife and I went to the show after attending one of the local timeshare tours that gave us the tickets as a reward (about a $120 deal). We weren't sure what to expect -- we had heard there was ice skating, but that was about all. We were really impressed once the show began. The Showgirls were topless but it was done very tastefully -- however, this did make the show 18 years and older (which we didn't know before we went).

There were no drinks served inside the theaters, however you could bring your own from the casino so many people ran back to the bar to grab drinks before they came in. We sat in Section C in the middle of the floor; they try to squeeze as many people into a small table as possible, but we were still relatively comfortable in our seats.

The show was about an hour and a half and it will definitely keep you entertained because there is something for everyone.

We had pretty good seats and ordered our drinks . . . it did take a long time to get our drinks from the understaffed waitressing staff, but the drinks were worth the wait.

The three comedians were extremely funny, especially Kivi Rogers and Jeff Capri (who was the MC for the event). The atmosphere was great and very receptive of the comedians.

When driving in Vegas you want to use side streets, mainly because every side street leads to the Strip. My wife and I use Koval and Paradise to get around the Strip without actually having to get on the Strip. If you use Koval you can easily get to the parking areas of MGM, Alladin, Paris, Bally's, Harrah's, and the Venitian. If you want to get down to Ceaser's Palace, but want to avoid traffic, I recommend you take Koval to Flamingo, you'll still have to get on Vegas Blvd, but it's only for a short period to turn into Ceasers.

We use Paradise to get to the hotels farther down the Strip such as Sahara, Riveria, the Statosphere, and of course we use this to go down to Freemont Street. We have found this will get you there a lot faster than trying to fight with all of the cabs that are on Las Vegas Blvd.

Some other helpful advice: Vons is located off of Tropicana by UNLV. There is a Sonic (for those of you from the East) down off of Tropicana also. It's a little ways down the road, but for those of us who can't get in California it's a great treat.

Something for kids to do: Free circus at Circus Circus; M&M factory just outside of MGM; gamerooms in just about every Casino; NASCAR the Ride at Sahara's is a great buy.

How to get free stuff in Vegas? Do the timeshare tours! They take about two hours to do, but the rewards are great. If you do the Polo Towers tour from the Venitian they will give you $50 in gaming chips and an offer to get two shows for $10. If you do the Fairfield tour they'll give you $50 cash. It's an easy way to get free stuff while in Vegas. The Royal Casino and Hotel off of Convention Center Drive is another timeshare in which you can go through the tour and get free show tickets.

These are just some helpful hints. I've been to Vegas 11 times in two years; if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them.