Weekend in Las Vegas and a visit to the AMEX Centurion Lounge - November 14-16, 2014

This mid-November weekend was the annual trip to Las Vegas for Kaleb and his friends from Arizona.  The MGM Grand was selected as home base.  Since we stayed at the Signature (condos at MGM) during New Year's 2011 and enjoyed it, I checked Craigslist and found a 1 bedroom condo similarly priced to the lowest tier hotel room at the MGM and rented it for two nights.  The owner was easy to work with over email; deposit was paid through PayPal and the remainder paid in cash on arrival.

Friday night, we flew to Las Vegas and made our way to the cab line outside baggage claim to head to our favorite restaurant Raku for dinner.  We were a bit early for our reservation so we hopped a few steps to the recently opened "Raku Sweets" shop to check it out.  The place was packed with just a few seats, so I took a picture from the outside.

"sweets" shop with a wine rack?

I have documented our many outings to Raku in prior posts but I just love to show off the food over and over!  I also noticed that I like to wear the same hoodie to Raku as seen here in May 2011.

kanpachi sashimi off the chalkboard menu

raw kobe beef liver

hamachi carpaccio

grilled eggplant

lamb chop

pork cheek

kobe beef tendon and 3 orders of foie gras!

foie gras overdose

We took Uber from Raku to the Signature.  Uber had recently started up in Las Vegas.  The ride was free as I used a referral credit from friends signing up with my link (thanks!), else it would have cost $15.55 total, still reasonable.  Uber ended up having to pull service a week later due to court battles so we were lucky to have had the opportunity to use it when we were there.

Since we had stayed in a 1-bedroom condo at the Signature before, I didn't take any pictures.

On Saturday, Kaleb and I met up with the boys and girls respectively.  The girls opted to do a spa treatment in the morning.  The MGM Grand Spa was adequate but the facilities were not expansive like at the Canyon Ranch in Palazzo or Qua at Caesars Palace with multiple private pools and areas.  The waiting lounge had snacks such as bananas/oranges/apples, granola bars, cucumber water and hot tea.  The MGM spa did accept SpaFinder gift certificates so that was nice.  (you can find deals like $100 certificates for $80 at places like Costco during Mother's Day, etc. or costco.com)  I went with the "fall special" package of massage and exfoliation with Vichy shower rinse. (spa offers can be found here, or on the main MGM Grand page under "Special Offers" at the top)  It was very relaxing; I love the feeling of warm water luxuriously running down my body. 

entrance to the spa

massage room

Then we headed out for some lunch at Diablo's near the Monte Carlo hotel followed by ice cream at BLVD Creamery.  Can you believe I got a double scoop in a waffle cone for $6.50 on the Strip?  Good deal!

mmm...queso fundido

grilled salmon

some flavors were alcoholic

2nd lunch!

It was nice to see this part of the strip re-opened after what seemed like over a year of construction.  We visited the new Hershey's Chocolate World, across the street from M and M's World.  Stiff competition!

chocolate Statue of Liberty

5 lb Hershey's chocolate bar!

reasonably priced decadence

multi-color bulk Kisses

I returned to the condo after our outing to read and relax.  There was no formal plan for dinner so everyone just hung out on their own, but eventually met up at the sports bar for some quick eats.  The boys had spent the day drinking and gambling.  Kaleb had good luck and was up $400 by the end of the night!

free pics from kiosks scattered around the MGM

Sunday morning, Kaleb and I checked out (ie. left the keys in the condo) and met everyone for breakfast at America restaurant inside the New York New York hotel.  It was hard to find as it was way in the back, nowhere near the street shops.

this is America...huge portions!

I could only eat half of this

the gang

Our flight was at night so after saying farewell to everyone else, Kaleb and I headed over to the Aria hotel to enjoy crepes and gelato from Jean Philippe and gambled $20.  It was the first time I had ever played this kind of penny slot machine and I had no idea what was going on or how I was winning so much.  But once I figured out what the symbols meant, then I lost it all of course!  Since Kaleb won money, we were still in the positive.

Nutella crepe with mango gelato

hitting the "5 Quick Hit" payout

We didn't feel like gambling or doing anything else, so we decided to head to the airport a few hours early to check out the new American Express Centurion Lounge that was recently opened in Concourse D.  If you have an AMEX Platinum (or Centurion) Card, you and your family (or two guests) can enter for free.  It's a great place to hang out before your flight, as long as you have time to ride the tram if your gate isn't in the D terminal.  There was a buffet with entrees designed by Scott Conant and plenty of complimentary beverages.  The seating arrangements were designed for privacy.

elegant entrance

private nooks

personal lounging area

butternut squash soup

Mediterranean-themed food

asparagus soup, fresh salads, agua fresca

the brownie was the bomb!

Next up...our honeymoon in Paris...stay tuned!

***

If you came here from a Facebook or Twitter link, thanks for clicking the "Facebook Like" button below or retweeting!

Don't wait for Facebook or Twitter to let you know of new entries...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here.

Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go?  Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com for more information!  Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts!

Come check out my other blog "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?", documenting things other than traveling...sign up for blog updates direct to your inbox here!



Previous post:  Our wedding and mini-honeymoon in Big Sur