Great trip report. Thanks for sharing.
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, TedChee@... wrote:
>
> 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]
>
