Tuesday, September 26, 2000
Woke up at 9:30 am feeling the night before. My back was sore, but still not causing me too many problems. After the back problems on my last trip I wasn't taking any chances. I took things slow in the morning and watched some TV while I got ready. I called the belldesk and had them come get my big bag.
On my way out, I stopped to check out the pool area at Orleans. It's a decent set up with a variety of grassy areas where you can catch some sun and a nice pool. They have cabanas for rent if you're going to spend a full day by the pool. According to the flyer in the hotel room, the cabanas include a TV, refrigerator, telephone, misting system, fan, chairs and table, dressing room, 2 rafts, bottled water, ice cream coupons and a USA Today newspaper. They also offered half-day rates, but I forgot to ask the price. You can call them to find out if you're planning a visit.
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After the pool, I checked with the slot club and found I had about 2700 points about half of what I needed to redeem them for cash. I checked out and paid the charge for my dinner the night before and I was on my way to Aladdin.
I headed down Tropicana and hung a left on Las Vegas Blvd. Now I have been told and I have read on the website that there is an entrance to the Valet at Aladdin from LVB. I passed a little driveway and almost turned in but it really looked like a service entrance and there was no sign. Next thing I know, I'm driving past Paris and I never saw any way in. I had to drive around past the convention center to Koval and around to Harmon. Then I had to drive through a bunch of construction to find the Valet.
Upon reflection, the entrance from Harmon is handy. It allows you to use Koval to avoid a lot of the Strip traffic and still have easy access to the hotel's garage and valet. It would have been nice to also be able to access from Las Vegas Boulevard, but I'd figure that out later.
Once I got inside the valet and registration access area, the service was quick and the people were polite. The valet even apologized for the confusion I had finding the place. My bag was whisked away and I went inside to find a big line for check-in at 11am.
The
lobby is beautiful. There are high ceilings and lots of wood and themed architecture.
They had about 15 people working the desk so the line moved very quickly. I
got up and asked for a high room with a strip view. The clerk said that none
of the non-smoking rooms were clean yet, but she had one smoking room. I took
it (I'm in the smoke all day in the casino anyway.) I was given room 2515 in
the South Tower.
The elevator splits at the 23rd floor so I never had one of those rides where you stop every other floor to pick up or drop off people. My room door was just two away from the elevator. I forgot to check and see if every room is within 7 doors of the elevator or not.
Opening the door I stepped into a hallway. I passed a silk plant in a big pot. The room opened up with a huge armoire on the right. Opening the double doors revealed a television set, opening the large door revealed a closet area for hanging clothes as well as an ironing board and iron. Also, this section lights up from inside when the door is opened.
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Directly ahead is a chair, lamp and small table by the window. Compared to the windows at places like Rio and even Orleans, the one at Aladdin is small. I'd guess that it is 5-feet square. To the south I look down the strip and if I look over the building just below and next to me, I can see the top 10 floors of Bellagio and Rio in the background. I had hoped for a view of the Bellagio fountains, but it wasn't enough of a need that I felt I wanted to go back downstairs and request a different room.
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To the left is a king sized bed with a nightstand on either side with lamps, a cordless phone, and a clock/radio. Next to that is a desk and chair. There is a lamp on the table/desk and a funny little computer looking thing. For $9.95 per 24-hour period you can get high speed Internet access. What a bargain! (Note - when I connected, I was instructed to follow the directions on the website that would pop up in my browser. I never got a screen other than an error saying that the Terms and Conditions page belonged there. Arriving home, I found that I had not been charged for the access. I called the front desk at Aladdin on Friday and they told me not to worry about it, so I won't.) :-)
That's when I realized I hadn't seen a bathroom. Las Vegas isn't known for having those European or bed and breakfast hotels where the bathroom is at the end of the hall, so I looked around again. There were some double doors in the hallway. I opened them and the first thing I saw was this HUGE soaking tub. I couldn't wait to get in there. To the left were two "rooms". One housed the toilet and then the shower was behind a glass door. On the right wall is a long marble counter with a sink and a pile of fluffy towels.
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I dropped off some stuff and headed downstairs. I needed to get some change so that I could tip the bellman when he brought my bag. I took a few minutes to sign up for the slot club while I was down there.
Back up in the room, I got my bags delivered. I was on the phone when they arrived. The bellman offered to get me some ice and show me around. I thanked him but sent him away. :-)
After my phone call, I headed downstairs for a little gambling. I also wandered out front to check out the hotel from the outside. While they are still working on the façade in spots around PF Chang's, it looks like it's going to be amazing when it's finished. I loved the door handles (see the picture). I am always getting electric shocks from the door handles in Las Vegas. These handles are wrapped in leather cording and I didn't get a single shock there. Gotta love the little details like that.
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I went over to the coffee shop to see if I could get a sandwich to go. They told me that they don't allow take-out from their restaurants. You can have room service, or get something from the food court in the mall. I wasn't ready to do the mall yet, so back up to my room. I ordered a sandwich and settled down in front of the phone and computer to do some work. My sandwich arrived in about 15 minutes and it was EXCELLENT.
I finished my late lunch and headed out to check out the mall area. It is easily accessible from the street in a few locations and from the casino. From the South Tower, it's just a quick right turn out of the elevators and out into the mall where a woman was bellydancing while a man played a drum.
I've heard a lot of negative things about the Desert Passage and I don't see it. Granted, it's yet another themed shopping area like at Paris, Venetian and Caesars' Forum Shops. Granted, it has some of the same fake sky ceilings and building facades, but I think that the Desert Passage is different enough to be worth a trip. I enjoyed the different décor in each of the different "areas" of the mall. You get different colors and ceiling heights and coverings. You also experience different ambient sounds depending on what area you are in. For example, in the Merchant's Harbor area, you can hear the sounds of clanging bells and sea birds while in the Lost City area you can hear the sounds of people shouting in the bazaar. I thought it really added to the ambience.
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I also enjoyed some of the themed specialty shops. I bought some things from a shop with lots of handcrafts from Pakistan. There were some great tapestries, scarves and other things for the home with the "Arabian Nights" theme.
Video of Desert Passage Shopping Mall - 1.9mb - 45 seconds
I also enjoyed the performers. While one of them is really loud, I found the others to be interesting. I especially enjoyed the personality of the contortionist. He was friendly and helped to get people to interact and enjoy his performance. While watching the contortionist I noticed a guy on a bike pulling a rickshaw type rig go by. (see the video, one goes by in the background) These guys ride you around the mall free of charge, although they will let you know that they do not make wages, they work for tips only. I didn't ride in one, but they looked fun and would be good if you've got lots of packages and tired feet. Just be sure to throw a few bucks their way for the service.
Video of Contortionist and Bike Taxi - 2.6mb - 1 minute 3 seconds
The rest of the mall has a lot of the same stores you'll find at the other malls - Speedo, North Beach Leather, Gap, Hugo Boss, Sephora, etc. - you'll also find some that are a bit different. I kept telling myself I was going to get back to the Build a Bear Workshop, but never did. My checkbook is probably grateful. :-)
The last thing I did while in the Desert Passage was check out the Thunderstorm in the Merchants' Harbor. The "storms" take place every 30 minutes until 11:30pm on the hour and half-hour. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't terribly disappointed. Basically there is an area of water in the middle of the walkway in the mall. There is a boardwalk around the water. On the fake-sky ceiling above, there is a dark patch of clouds painted on the ceiling. There was some flashing light and sounds of thunder and then water began to fall from the ceiling. It wasn't as dramatic as the Pirate Battle or the Bellagio fountains, but it wasn't as cheesy as the talking fountains at Ceasars' Forum shops. I certainly wouldn't suggest you go out of your way to visit the shopping center for the thunderstorm, but if you're in the area, hang around until the hour or half-hour and check it out for yourself.
Video of Thunderstorm - 2.7mb - 1 minute 5 seconds
After leaving the shopping area, I gambled a little bit more. What little I had managed to get ahead, I lost quickly…. And then some! I had a great time playing the Addams Family slots, although I came out of there slightly behind. I couldn't win any video poker to save my life. If I had been smart, I would have stopped then. But you know I didn't.
I went upstairs about 7:30 and ordered a house salad and baked potato from room service. They arrived promptly and set up the table for me. They brought a million different fixings for the potato and a huge basket of bread. If I had known all that would have come, I would have ordered less. :-) The salad was great with baby greens and olives along with shredded carrots and cucumbers. It came with some bell shaped, yellow, green and red colored cherry tomatoes.
After dinner I watched some TV and waited for Dan's phone call. He was out with his parents for dinner and I was anxious to hear how it went. We had a nice talk and I made him terribly jealous. I think he really wants to be here having fun with me.
After our phone call, I decided to give that soaking tub a try. I poured myself an icy drink and poured in the bath gel that came with the room. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the Bath and Body Works has put together a collection for Aladdin. The shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bath gel and soaps all have a spicy smell that seems to fit in with the hotel theme. I slid into the tub and seriously considered not getting out. I think I understand what happened years ago to Howard Hughes. The truth is that his room had one of these tubs and he decided not to get out of it.. ever!!!
I did eventually manage to pull myself out of the tub, but only because a craving for ice cream overcame me. :-) I got dried and dressed and headed out before the Desert Passage Food Court closed. They have an ice cream place and I wanted one of those soft ice cream swirl things. I got one and headed back up to the room and called it a night.
Well, almost. Late at night I got to thinking that I had forgotten to check out the pool. I headed down to the 6th floor and tried to find it. The signage isn't very good, but I managed to find a door that said "Pool Lobby". It also informed me that the pool was closed at 7pm. I couldn't get the door to open, although I couldn't see how it was locked. I walked around to another door, and it didn't open either. I gave up and headed back up to my room.. This time for the night.
