Our only requirement for this trip was a hotel with a nice pool since that is where we planned to spend alot of time. So we chose the Aria where we have stayed before, only this time, we booked a nicer room, a Skysuite. Skysuite guests have their own pool, lounge, and transportation to and from the airport.
Day 1
We flew Virgin America from Love Field to Vegas Thursday September 1. We flew first class on the way to Vegas, as it wasn't much more than coach.
Ben enjoying his first class amenities.
Our plane selfie. We never seem to quite master it.
Once we arrived in Vegas, our driver from Aria was waiting for us in a Cadillac Escalade.
Our room was ready when we arrived and we checked in right away and unpacked.
View from our room.
After unpacking, we went downstairs and got a slice of pizza and then over to the MLife desk for my $50 in freeplay from MyVegas. I ended up winning $10 on a Kitty Glitter machine.
Next we headed over to Bellagio so I could see the conservatory.
We had a Travelzoo coupon for the High Roller so we went over to ride the ferris wheel. It also came with free drinks for happy hour.
Afterwards, we walked through the Flamingo to see the habitat.
We took a Lyft back to Aria to change for dinner and then drinks at my favorite bar Hyde. We had a couple of appetizers at China Poblano first.
Then we had some sushi at Blue Ribbon Sushi but it wasn't great. Then we went back over to Bellagio so I could get my free drink from MyVegas at Hyde and see a fountain show. I stopped and took some pictures of the conservatory lit up at night.
We had a drink at Hyde and saw a fountain show.
We played some slots at Bellagio and had a few small wins so we were up $70 for the day! Afterwards, we took the tram back to Aria, grabbed a slice of pizza and called it a day. Our phones said we walked over 18,000 steps!
Day 2
Our plan for our first full day in Vegas was to spend the day at the pool, then go to dinner at Prime Steakhouse at the Bellago and then see the Cirque de Soleil Show O. I was excited for today!
After breakfast, we went down to the pool to get settled for the day.
Around noon we had lunch and a drink.
We stayed at the pool until 2:00 when it was time to go back to the room to get ready for dinner. Ben and I tried once again to master the selfie before we left. I think we're getting better!
We stopped for a drink at the Alibi Lounge at our hotel. I got a champagne cocktail called Love Potion #9 and it was yummy!
We went over to Prime but we were a little early for our reservation. I had a MyVegas reward for 2 glasses of free champagne at Prime so we enjoyed those while we waited for our patio table.
We were seated in a corner of the lovely Prime patio. Eating here had been on my Vegas bucket list for awhile!
We split the chopped salad as our appetizer. Ben got the filet and I got the sea bass and we shared both. We ended our wonderful meal with molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. The whole meal was great from start to finish.
We then went and saw the show O and it was great--probably my favorite show I've seen in Vegas so far. After the show, we played a little Kitty Glitter and I got a "free" chocolate martini.
Ben played a little video poker and got a full house.
We took a tram back to Aria and came in to a beautiful view before calling it a night.
Day 3
Ben's phone rang at 7:00 am which started our day. He went to the gym while I relaxed in the room. When he came back, we decided to go to Bardot Brasserie in the Aria for brunch as we had never been there and I had read good things about it. Plus it was literally right outside our door which was a plus!
It is a very pretty restaurant.
I ordered a french omelet with a side of avocado.
Ben ordered a croissant benedict.
It was all very yummy.
We then went back to the pool for more pool time.
Around 2:00 we decided to walk to the Park by the Monte Carlo so Ben could have a beer. We had never been to this area since it was built.
Ben got a beer and we shared a hot dog which was only $4 for happy hour--that's a bargain for Vegas!
We walked back through the Monte Carlo and won $15 on Wheel of Fortune.
We got back to Aria in time to have some wine and cheese at the Skysuite lounge.
Then it was back to the room to get ready for our dinner at Mesa Grill, one of our favorite restaurants. But first I wanted to have a drink at Elton John's champagne bar, Fizz, in Caesar's Palace.
It was a beautiful lounge but no photography was allowed inside. I ordered a cocktail called Kiss the Bride. It was so pretty, I just HAD to snap a quick picture of it.
It was AMAZING! Probably one of the best cocktails I've ever had. I will have to come here every trip now!
We then went over to Mesa Grill. We decided to split two appetizers and an entree because it's so much food--I could never finish it all by myself!
It was delicious as always. After dinner, we had some fun playing the penny slots at Aria and having a couple of drinks before we went up to bed.
Day 4
Day four was our last full day in Vegas and we decided to go back to the pool. But first, I went down to the lounge for some tea and pastries while Ben went to the gym.
I then went down and got our chairs at the pool.
Ben joined me later. Around 11:00, a mimosa was calling my name so we went back over to Bardot for a mimosa at the bar. Delicious and refreshing!
Around 2:00, we decided to leave the pool and go get some pizza and take it up to our room. Aria has a great pizza place, 550, where you can get pizza by the slice. The slices are huge!
After all that pizza, I told Ben we had to get some steps in so we decided to walk to the other new beer garden, Beer Park over by the Paris hotel. We liked the atmosphere there better than the Beer Haus.
I tried to catch a fountain show but you couldn't see the fountains very well. It's still a nice view though.
We walked back to Aria via the Cosmopolitan where we stopped to cool off. We decided to play some Wheel of Fortune. At one point, we won $92 on one spin, almost winning the progressive of $377,000! We got so close!
We cashed out and then went over to Aria in time for more wine and cheese.
We then got ready to go over to the Mandarin Bar which is our favorite lounge in Vegas and where we always go on our last night to talk about our trip and all the fun we had.
This is one of my favorite views in Las Vegas.
On Monday, we got up and had one more yummy breakfast at Jean Phillippe bakery at the Aria.
We had a limo ride courtesy of Aria back to the airport. We got a call from Virgin America during our trip offering an upgrade to Main Cabin Select so we took it.
Then it was home sweet home!
We had a great time in Vegas as always. Time to plan the next vacation!
