Spa Day at Hard Rock Hotel

Found a Travelzoo deal for $99 for a spa day at the Hard Rock Hotel, including a 50-minute massage or facial and a glass of champagne.

Unfortunately, on the day we were there, the indoor pool was closed for renovation.

There is a whirlpool, a sauna and steam bath in the men's and in the women's bathrooms. There was a co-ed lounge where you could relax before or after your spa treatment. There were cold drinks and fruit in the lounge.

My massage was one of the best I have ever had.

2018 12 04

Homie's Cinnamon Rolls

I had read about Homie's Cinnamon Rolls on Yelp.

It's located at 3035 E. Tropicana Ave. 

Trays of cinnamon rolls are displayed in a little case in the front of the cafe. In addition to the cinnamon rolls, they also serve other breakfast items, including eggs and French toast.

We ordered one each of the Original ($3.75), Awesome Apple ($3.85), Ragin' Raisin ($3.85) & Pecan Pleasure ($4.25). 

They're good but not so good to uber or lyft to it. If you have your own car, it's worth the short drive from the strip.

2018 12 04

Bellagio Conservatory

When in Vegas, we always stop by Bellagio to check out the Conservatory.

We were there in December and the theme was Christmas.

Adorable polar bear all in flowers.

2018 12 03

BLT Steakhouse

We decided to try BLT Steakhouse. It's located in Bally's.

Pate was brought to the table after we ordered. There was jelly on top and the sweet worked well with the pate.

The pate was followed by popovers, which were delicious.

Cute butter dish

Tuna Tartare, Avocado and Soy Lime Dressing--$20. I didn't like this. The soy dressing didn't allow the flavor of the tuna to shine through.

Roasted Beets, Gorgonzola, Apple Salad--$15. This was better than the tuna tartare.

22-oz Bone-In Ribeye--$65. The steak is 28-day dry aged prime. This had good flavor. It was a huge steak and could certainly serve 2. I added Bernaise Sauce for $2. Other choices included steak sauce, red wine sauce, chimichurri, blue cheese, peppercorn and horseradish.

Creamed Spinach--$12. This was a small portion.

Mac & Cheese--$12. Not too exciting.

You can find a travelzoo coupon on occasion and that makes the meal much more reasonable.



2018 12 02

Snowflake Shavery

Shaved snow pretty much disappeared from the South Bay. Las Vegas still has a place to get the pillowy soft shaved snow.

SnowFlake Shavery is located at 5020 Spring Mountain Road.

My husband's Coconut Delight--coconut snow, pineapple, coconut flakes, snowflake sauce. $3.93 for 16 oz, $5.33 for 24 oz, $6.93 for 32 oz. $0.50 for each topping. Sauce is free. This cost $5.25, with tax.

My sister ordered Banana--banana snow, almonds, chocolate sauce. She substituted mochi for rainbow sprinkles. $5.25 for this as well.

I created my own--black sesame snow with mochi and snowflake sauce. This was a large and cost $6.25. Delicious!

2018 12 03

Big Wong

My sister loves Big Wong, located at 5040 Spring Mountain Road.

Beef Ramen with Tendon--$7. This was okay. Could have more depth of flavor.

Curry Fish Balls--$6. Meh. I didn't care for this. Not much flavor and the curry was grainy.

Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings--$6. These were delicious. Juicy on the inside.

Seasonal Vegetables--$7. They called this baby bok choy but I think they were Chinese broccoli.

Authentic Hoi Nam Chicken over Seasoned Rice--$6. Not as good as Portland's but still pretty tasty and pretty cheap.

2018 12 03

Vdara

We stayed at the Vdara--a non-gaming resort affiliated with Bellagio.

The parking garage is not at the hotel building and my husband called it the Bataan Death March to get from the parking garage to the hotel. We took an elevator, walked across a bridge, took an escalator, rode the tram, took another escalator and walked another bridge. Turns out, there was a shortcut if we walked through Aria.

We got upgraded to the penthouse suite. It's great to travel off season. This suite was huge. It was on the 56th floor with a living room that had a 180 degree view of the strip.

There was a small kitchen with a full-size refrigerator and microwave but no pots or pans and no dishes. There was a coffee maker.

Dining area with seating for 4.

Guest bath.

Bedroom with expansive views and a king bed.

Bathroom with deep soaking tub.

Views of the strip.

The nighttime views were even more spectacular.

And, the bonus, were the Bellagio fountains. Too bad the music wasn't piped into the room.

2018 12 03