Las Vegas '06

Carriage House

Best Of IgoUgo

Hotel | "The Carriage House"

Quote:

We decided to try a new resort in Vegas this year and were able to find this one about 4 months before we wanted to go, so we booked it, even though it is NOT on the Strip and is an older resort.So you have to walk a block and a half to get to the Strip, but it's not that big of a deal. When you do reach the Strip, you are right next to the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. A few steps away and you are at Paris or Bellagio, or go the other way and you are at MGM or NY-NY. The area is going through a lot of construction, as Marriott is putting up another resort, so the view from the Carriage house is not the greatest, but we have been at worse and you are still in Vegas Baby....Read More

We decided to try a new resort in Vegas this year and were able to find this one about 4 months before we wanted to go, so we booked it, even though it is NOT on the Strip and is an older resort.

So you have to walk a block and a half to get to the Strip, but it's not that big of a deal. When you do reach the Strip, you are right next to the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. A few steps away and you are at Paris or Bellagio, or go the other way and you are at MGM or NY-NY. The area is going through a lot of construction, as Marriott is putting up another resort, so the view from the Carriage house is not the greatest, but we have been at worse and you are still in Vegas Baby.

So about the resort...they are quieter and no longer sell timeshares (which is a godsend in Vegas lately). The pool is adequate, as is the hot tub, but nothing spectacular, and when it is 105 with very little shade, you can get burned quickly. A little shading would make the pool more enjoyable.

The rooms were quite large actually, since we had a studio and it was more like a one-bedroom. The cleaning staff came by daily to make the bed and take out the trash. The front desk staff was helpful when we asked them to print our boarding tickets the day before we were going home.

The resort has a few amenities (some travel trips to the Dam and discounted tickets to a few shows), but not as many as we are use to from timeshares. Maybe they figure that there is so much to do 5 minutes away, you can find it yourself.

The rooms have Internet access (if you bring your own computer), or you can purchase time downstairs in the lobby for a couple of dollars for a few minutes. The beds were probably the most comfortable we have slept in outside of our own bedroom set. The rooms have safety deposit boxes, which is great in this city of pick-pockets. There is also a kitchen with dishwasher/stove/microwave/fridge.

Parking was plentiful, but we saw (once) a drunk local using the parking lot as a toilet. Fortunately, they have security patrolling, and that was taken care of quickly. Plus, we even got a warning notice on our car when we forgot to put the parking pass on the dash. They also no longer have Joey's Bistro upstairs, but once again, you can walk or drive to plenty of restaurants in a matter of minutes.

The worst, however, was the construction going on at the marriot next door. The Carriage House resort cannot do anything about the 4am work, but they do have earplugs and noise machines for anyone who asks down at the front desk, which helps alleviate some of that problem. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 17, 2006

Carriage House
105 East Harmon Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 798-1020

Cheer!
Flag

Roundtable Buffet at the Excalibar

Restaurant | "Roundtable Buffet"

Quote:

We were here at the Excalibur to go to a show (see Louie Anderson review) and since the show was early (7pm) we decided on a close place and tried this one.They had plenty of food but it was not all hot enough because some was barely warm but there were plenty of choices with most made for families like pizza, fried chicken, tacos, and meat loaf. Plenty of desserts are also available as well, from Jell-o to pies to cake and ice cream.You do get your own drinks which a little different from most Las Vegas buffets. The only other thing that I remember is that the number of families is tremendous and the kids seem to just run around and that does distract from the dining. Yes, I k...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on September 20, 2006

Roundtable Buffet at the Excalibar
3850 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 597-7777

Cheer!
Flag

Brad Garrett

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

Quote:

Before we went to Vegas, we saw that Brad Garrett was going to be at the Mirage and thought, "Great. Let's go see the 'Everybody Loves Raymond' star." We thought that he would put on a good show because we liked him on the show and he was always funny, so why not.Well, he was funny, but he surely was not the character that he played on TV. He started out immediately with going after every ethnic group, personal oddity, and anything else he could think up. He was great. There were quite a few of the older generation who thought he was going to be the sweet Robbie, but for those who looked like a deer in headlights, Brad had a little fun with them. Singling them out and making them wish he wou...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 19, 2006

Brad Garrett
Mirage Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 791-7111

Cheer!
Flag

Excalibur Hotel and Casino

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Louie Anderson"

Quote:

If you haven't heard about Louie Anderson then you probably shouldn't go to his show. The reason is that he has been in movies (some minor roles), TV shows (hosting Family Feud), written books, and been doing stand-up for forever. Plus he even had a cartoon called "Life with Louie" that was funny to both kids and adults. So what can I say about what we saw? Well, first, the tickets are only $50 each which for a Vegas show is cheap for such a well known star. Second, as you enter you get your picture taken and at the end of the show you can pick them up for $20 with Louie magically appearing like you are best friends. Third, the showroom is quite small and we got good tickets just hours befor...Read More

If you haven't heard about Louie Anderson then you probably shouldn't go to his show. The reason is that he has been in movies (some minor roles), TV shows (hosting Family Feud), written books, and been doing stand-up for forever. Plus he even had a cartoon called "Life with Louie" that was funny to both kids and adults.

So what can I say about what we saw? Well, first, the tickets are only $50 each which for a Vegas show is cheap for such a well known star. Second, as you enter you get your picture taken and at the end of the show you can pick them up for $20 with Louie magically appearing like you are best friends. Third, the showroom is quite small and we got good tickets just hours before the show (the first row last seats at the end table.) Fourth, the guy is funny. If you want a fairly 'clean' show then go because he is almost as clean as Bill Cosby.

His comedy is about his life, and general things that are going on in the world but he also talks with the audience and was able to have some fun at the expense of those sitting near us. But if you are the butt of his jokes don't fret because he gave away a few of the pre show pictures away free for those he liked the best (made fun of the most).

This was probably the best show we went to all week and that included Brad Garrett, George Wallace, and David Spade. They were all funny but he was the best by far and price wise the cheapest of the bunch (about $20 cheaper per ticket less than the rest.)

His show has been playing for some time at the Excalibur for 5 or 6 days a week so you should be able to get tickets like we did.

But at high season the tickets may be a little hard to get and with the way Vegas changes he could be gone in a month. Plus we tried to see him a few years ago and he had to cancel the show due to health reasons. Plus according to some of those in Vegas he even had some health problems in July of this year. So go while you can.

So what didn't we like? The seating is at tables and we are not fans of those types of seating. We would rather be in stadium seating but for a few dollars more you should be able to get to the luxury booths which we didn't know about when we got the tickets.
Also the show is at the Excalibur and this is one of those hotels with a lot of families (which means plenty of kids). But that is really all we didn't like.

So if you want to see a good show this is one you should choose. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 19, 2006

Excalibur Hotel and Casino
3850 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 597-7777

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

Las Vegas Journals

Upload Photos