Stats:
Loss $2722
Stayed at Paris 1/8 - 1/11 & Encore 1/11 - 1/13
Initial reservation at Encore was for 1/10 - 1/12 but when we saw our room
at Paris, we decided to move the Encore reservation back one day.
Paris stay was a Harrah's 7* signature experience:
_http://www.harrahs.com/sevenstars/experiences/_
(http://www.harrahs.com/sevenstars/experiences/)
We chose the following (a Level 1 package)
Cher
Enjoy a 3-night stay in suite accommodations at Caesars Palace. You and a
guest will spend 90 minutes in awe from VIP seats as the legendary icon
Cher takes the stage. Go backstage for a Meet & Greet with Cher after the show.
The "Meet & Greet with Cher" occurs only on Sat. Since we were there to
celebrate the 65th anniversary of my wife's aunt & uncle we couldn't stay
that long so our host booked us for Cher's first show back on 1/11 (Tue).
I changed the hotel to Paris as it's easier to get around in & I like the
restaurants & the atmosphere. We checked into a 3-room suite which had a
postcard view of the Eiffel Tower & Bellagio & its fountains. Meals were at
Mon Ami Gabi & Le Cafe which were both very good.
I had booked the Encore stay through my host & asked for a dinner & a show
for the 11th. On the 11th, we had an anniversary dinner at Wynn's Wing
Lei, a high-end gourmet Chinese restaurant which we had experienced on prior
stays at the Wynn. It's an indoor restaurant with excellent atmosphere, food
& service. A nice touch was when I asked the concierge about the tickets
(for aunt & uncle) to "Sinatra: Dance with Me" at the Wynn, he advised me
that they would be delivered to our table at Wing Lei. Since I had sent
everybody over to the restaurant earlier, I was pleasantly surprised that the
tickets had arrived before I got there. After dinner, Bev & I went to see
Cher while her aunt & uncle stayed to see the Sinatra show.
Cher puts on a great show but she doesn't move with as much energy as she
exhibited a few years ago but she does pretty well for a 64-year-old and, of
course, she looks as fabulous as her costumes. We're just glad to catch
one of her last shows at Caesars & maybe for good. It supposedly ends on Feb
5. After the show, we bought a lot of memorabilia which was surprisingly
reasonably priced.
After the show, we went back to Encore so Bev could see the room & make
the decision to either stay another night in our Paris suite or move to
Encore. Our Encore offer was 3 nights in a suite + $750 resort credit. It turns
out that our host had booked us in the Tower Suites which are one of the few
5-diamond rated by AAA. It was as large as our Paris suite with a view
from Circus Circus to the golf course but much nicer in terms of furnishing &
it included a massage room. We moved over that night.
On the 12th, we held another anniversary dinner at the Eiffel Tower
restaurant at Paris which is also high-end gourmet & the dining, atmosphere &
service were also top notch but I had advised everyone that we're here
primarily for the view (of the Bellagio fountains & the Strip) & the dining was
just the kicker.
In summary, Bev never stayed at Paris or Encore so she thoroughly enjoyed
exploring both.The dining was excellent in both places but somewhat better
at Encore. We had a getaway lunch at Encore's Society Cafe where Bev
ordered filet mignon sliders & she said it was the best she'd ever had. Other
features that put Encore/Wynn on another level are its attention to detail
and the emphasis on service. They try to anticipate what you want & actively
try to help fulfill it. Over at Venetian/Palazzo, I like the rooms &
restaurants but you do notice that service & detail are not high priority. Only
in a few restaurants have I experienced a service attitude comparable to the
Wynn where it is at a consistently high level at all venues. So I have to
ask myself, why go to Venetian/Palazzo with the Wynn/Encore next door? I've
always known the answer but somehow justified my Venetian stays by their
offers. Well here was the clincher. When we were ready to check out of
Encore, I talked to my host basically to clear up the charge for the room which
appeared on our folio. What I didn't expect was that he picked up all our
charges for dining which included the Wing Lei dinner & also the Sinatra show
tickets. This reminded me how much latitude Wynn gives its employees. Over
at Venetian, hosts have little latitude to give you much over your offer.
When you see the final stats below, you'll understand why Encore left a
very strong & positive impression.
Final stats:
Paris: Gambling: 2.5 hrs, loss $2600
Charges paid by Total Rewards credits
Wynn: Gambling: 5 hrs (both Bev & Me), loss $122
(in other words I didn't lose enough to
justify their generosity)
Note 1: A feature of high-end gourmet dining is that it's much healthier
for you in that the portion sizes are smaller while the prices are higher.
(You're supposed to take time to enjoy the taste, don't wolf it down as if
you're in a speed-eating competition!) At this level, everything is a la
carte. I noticed a healthy, fruit smoothie with an anti-oxidant option. Of
course that had a separate charge but they did throw in the straw.
Note 2: A few years ago, we did take up a Wynn offer which was $200/day
for dining for a 3-day stay. You had to use it up each day, it couldn't be
carried over. It forced to us to try restaurants which we wouldn't normally
try. On the last day, we hadn't used any of it & were leaving around noon so
none of the more expensive restaurants were open so we asked the Country
Club cafe if they could prepare some special dishes for us & charge us
accordingly. They did.
Note 3: It's probably been a couple of years since our last Wynn trip
(pun intended). We've been getting regular offers from them but one thing after
another precluded us from going. So their comping us on this trip must
also be viewed by the fact that they haven't had any business from us in a
while.
Note 4: I found out that Wynn Resort Credits means free play. I thought
that it meant dining or room charges. Based on that assumption, I blew off a
prior offer that was even better. Ah well, that's how you learn
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
