TR-Palazzo, Love, Bouchon-With my Baby Bump!

To celebrate my 35th birthday and the end of my first trimester of pregnancy, my husband and I spent last weekend in Vegas!!!!! I had been sick most of the last three months with the pregnancy, so it was good to get away! Amazingly, I felt great the whole time we were there!

I am already planning my posts for the Fall----';What to do with my newborn in Vegas..';.....Can I take my baby with me to the Roulette table?';....Just kidding!

Anyway, here it goes...

Palazzo Room- My husband surprised me and changed our reservation from Flamingo (Go Room)to Palazzo. The room was on the 43th floor and lovely-elegantly decorated in rich brown shades. The room included a bedroom and a separate living room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Strip. Each room (and the bathroom) had its own LCD TV%26#39;s. I could watch the Pirate Show across the street at TI! I really liked the light up console table under the flat panel TV in the bedroom. The bathroom was huge, with a stand up shower, separate toilet, vanity, two sinks, and soaking tub. We did notice some problems-two pictures were absent (just hooks on the walls), dried glue on the bathroom mirror, and some issues with the bathroom molding. Surprising for a new hotel. My husband received a prompt response from the hotel about these issues, and the Guest Relations manager gave us a certificate for a free night to be used sometime in the next two years! We did not expect this at all! Can%26#39;t wait for our next stay!

Palazzo Hotel/Casino/Shops- The hotel is very pretty and elegant. It is not as smokey as most of the other casinos and has higher ceilings and broader walkways then some. Drink service was very prompt and attentive. There is a shopping area which connects the Palazzo and Venetian, and the highlight of this is a very tall waterfall-lovely. The stores are all high end-Barneys, etc.

Dining-

Bouchon- I have been so excited to try this place, based on previous reviews on TA. It requires going up a separate set of elevators at the Venetian to the Venezia Tower. We arrived about 10 am on a Sunday morning and were immediately seated. The restaurant is lovely-a spacious French bistro overlooking the Venezia pools. Service was prompt and very helpful. My husband loved the chicken and waffles-one of their specialties. I have been craving the Croque Madame since I finished it seven days ago. It was a delightful ham and cheese grilled sandwich with an egg on top and frites (bigger than MAG) on the side. Yumm! Can%26#39;t wait to go back!

Wynn Buffet for Dinner- We had two complimentary buffets from a previous trip, and we were eager to try the dinner buffet (loved the breakfast buffet). This meal was exceptional---crab legs, shrimp, prime rib...homeade ice cream (the coconut was exceptional). The food was fresh and delicious. Additionally, we were seated in the atrium area and enjoy eatting in this section because it is so beautiful and relaxing. We earned two more buffets that evening and plan to use them for dinner buffets on a future trip.

Grand Lux- We enjoyed a pleasant breakfast here. My husband had the oatmeal, and I enjoyed the Express Breakfast (approx $15)---a mini buffet with fruit, yogurt, breads, pastries, potatoes, sausage/bacon,tea/coffee/juice, and fabulous, freshly prepared omlettes. The room was spacious, and the service was excellent.

Jade (Palazzo)- We had a 20% coupon for this restaurant as part of our promotion at Palazzo. I have to say that this was by far the most attentive wait staff of the weekend. They were constantly checking on us and explaining things to us. We ordered five appetizers/dim sum dishes, and each was fabulous! The restaurant also had a really sleek, cool feel to it, and this made for a very pleasant dining experience.

Expressamare- This is a gelato and coffee shop inside the shops at the Palazzo. I ordered the cherry gelato, which was very good (except if you have had the real thing in Italy). However, at $6 for a small bowl, it is not a good value.

Sin City Brewery at Miracle Mile Mall- We have drinks here on every visit to Vegas and know the owner and one of the bartenders. The ';they brew their own'; beer is great (if you are not pregnant), and they now have some frozen drinks if you are not a beer person. I tried the strawberry frozen drink that they have-with no alcohol thanks to my bartender friend Joe. It was quite refreshing--but nothing compared to their great beers!

Gambling-

Sportsbooks-My husband and I made several college basketball and future MLB/NFL bets at the Bellagio and Venetian Sportsbooks. To get a drink coupon at the Venetian, you have to spend $50 on your bets. Wow! That seems like an awful lot for a drink, when you can walk a few feet away and get one for much less at the slot machine. The drinks are still free at the Bellagio Sportsbook. We did check out the Palazzo Sportsbook, and it was very, very disppointing. It is a small booth in the basement with no Tv%26#39;s.

Roulette- We love playing this game and had success at the Venetian and Palazzo for this! There are areas on one of the tables at Palazzo that light up-including the winning number-very cool. We found the drink service to be very good at both casinos-although, no fun alcoholic drinks for me!

Slots- My husband won $250 on a dollar machine at the Venetian on the first pull, and I won $125 on a nickle machine at Bellagio. Bellagio moved our favorite two Stampede machines, and we could not locate them anywhere! Very disappointing. We spent a short time gambling at the Mirage slots after viewing Love, and I always find it to be very disappointing--too many people crammed in and too smokey.

Shows

Love- I was really looking forward to seeing this show based on the reviews. My husband and I both loved Le Reve and O and were eager to see how this compared. I loved the round theater and bright lights in the lobby as you entered. I also liked how colorful and creative the show was-so many interesting things to look at all at once. There was a gap in the show where they turned on the lights and announced there would be a pause. This was pretty disappointing, as it interrputed the flow of the show. However, I think I am in the minority because I would not go back to see this show again and did not enjoy it nearly as much as the others I mentioned.

Palazzo Shuttle to Airport

Palazzo offers an $8 (per person)shuttle to the airport, just for Palazzo guests. You catch it on the lower level, and we were thrilled with this service. You do not need to RSVP, and there was a shuttle present when we were ready to leave. I wish more hotels offered something similar.

Thanks again to everyone who has answered questions for me and provided helpful posts! It made our trip fabulous! Let me know if you have any questions.

TR-Palazzo, Love, Bouchon-With my Baby Bump!

Sounds great. I am glad you had such a nice time. Did the Palazzo feel unfinished to you? Did you get a chance to scope out the pool area?

TR-Palazzo, Love, Bouchon-With my Baby Bump!

WSG - Your husband more than did an excellent job on the upgrade to Pallazzo, sounds like a beautiful, spacious suite. Congrats on your baby bump and thanks for posting, I have too mnay good tips from TA for my upcoming trips, hope I can include them all, Bouchon is now on my list!

Whitesox Gal and Hubby,

1st congrats on the baby front. I was just thinking we haven%26#39;t heard from you all lately. Just go to show you can have fun in Vegas even if you pregnant.

Loved the review of the Palazzo and the food. We gambled there this Jan and though it was quite lovely too.

Any pictures?

zbethg

WSG...loved your TR! What a fantastic hubby you have...very nice upgrade! =)

I have to go to Bouchon now...first people talked about the wonderful French Toast...but your Croque Madame sounds right up my alley! Yummm!!!

Nice to know the Palazzo offers the shuttle that is exclusive to them..I agree other hotels should do that too!

Sounds like a very fun trip...Congrats on the little one to come! =)

Congrats on baby-to-be. I LOL at ';can I take my baby to the roulette table';. I too visited Vegas while pregnant, what a nice way to celebrate couple time before the 3 am feedings begin!!!

Bouchon sounds awesome. I%26#39;d love to try it some day and get what you had - sounds great! I hate when my favorite slots are moved. Both Bally%26#39;s and Paris did this and it was so disappointing.

Thanks for the report!

Thanks so much for all the positive comments everyone!

moms- The pool was not open yet. I could see the complex from my room, and it did look like it would be quite nice.

zbeth- We didn%26#39;t take that many pictures, so I don%26#39;t think there will be one of those fun slide shows!

CO- The french toast at Bouchon did look really, really good--almost like a dessert.

15-3 am feedings?! I am trying to get through the nausea that I thought would end after 12 weeks of pregnancy!

Foxy- Good to hear from you. GO SOX--watching MY Sox on TV now-Spring Training!!!!!!!!

Congradulations on your Baby and great TR

thanks for the shuttle tip. i leave tuesday for the pallazo and will be shuttling back to the airport friday broke as a joke an $8 ride will be exactly what i need.

Thanks for the nice trip report. Sorry you didn%26#39;t like Love but all in all sounds like a great time.

glad you liked Bouchon - one of our favs, especially for breakfast.

I think once guests at nearby hotels learn of the shuttle they might try and use it - a nice convenience, as is checking luggage at The Venetian