New Years Eve in Las Vegas

We spent 3 nights n Vegas from December 29, 2006 to January 1, 2007. Our party included 5 people (all in their mid 20’s).

Treasure Island (ti)
Our rooms were on the 32nd floor facing away from the strip. Guests staying on floor 30 or above have separate elevators requiring guests to swipe a room key to get to their floor. It was an extra $30 per night to get a room on the strip side and in hindsight we will pay extra for one our next visit. Our standard rooms were well kept with a large bathroom and a flat screen television. We enjoyed the Kahunaville bar (tiki themed bar w/ bartenders similar to the ones in the movie Cocktail) and the Tangerine nightclub. Tangerine had great music but seemed a little small and was about 75% packed with men (not a good gut to girl ratio).
Ti’s buffet had the best mini donuts! However, overall the buffet at the Mirage was much larger and better. Ti and the Mirage are right next to each other and are connected via a private tram. No major complaints about ti, but next time we may try and stay in a slightly more central hotel such as Caesars Palace. Our party felt that the slots at ti were very tight.

Shows
Ti’s sirens show and the Bellagio fountains were both amazing free shows. The Mirage’s volcano was too short for our tastes. We also saw the Mystere show at ti which we highly recommend….it was the most impressive show we have ever seen.

The strip on New Years
We opted out of attending any of the NYE parties which cost upwards of $80-$250/per person. Instead we hit the strip which was closed to veh traffic and was packed full of people. The strip for NYE is an experience all of its own. Seemed to be far more gangster/thugs out on the streets for NYE than we had seen anywhere else in Vegas. Even with the large police, presence in certain areas of the crowd we did not feel safe. We were disappointed that the hotels did not have any sort of a countdown for NYE. When the clock struck midnight the fireworks went off from 5 hotels that we could see. The fireworks were great, but if we ever go back to Vegas for NYE we will purchase a ticket to a private party at one of the clubs and just hit the strip to see the fireworks.

My boyfriend and I had a wonderful stay at Treasure Island last week. The facility is beautiful and clean. We had a newly renovated room on the 35th floor with an excellent view of the strip. The bed was wonderful and had a pillow top matress that wanted to take with us. :) The Thai restaurant in the hotel has great food, but the service is slow. The only thing we didn't like is that the hotel can be quite smoky in the Casino gaming areas, but that is Las Vegas; people can smoke anywhere. Gross. We walked thru a number of hotels on the strip and thought ours was certainly one of the best.

Hotel was nice and clean, but the rooms are small. Buffet was not good at all. Prime rib was chewy and over cooked, pasta was very bland and the service was so-so. Best meals were in the coffee shop. Had breakfast and lunch there and was pleased with the taste and portion size.

If we go again we will probably find some other place to stay.

We were originally going to stay at the Paris Hotel and Casino but our interactions with the property in trying to make our reservations and reports of a lot of construction in the hotel (complete with disrupted water service) led us to Treasure Island. I have always enjoyed gambling at TI so I gave them a call regarding their rates. Their rates were the same as the rates we were offered at the Paris but we were guaranteed a Strip view (much more expensive at the Paris by the way) and little perks such as $25 casino credit and some discounts at the restaurants and spa at TI. The TI staff was at our service from the time we placed our reservation to well beyond check out. When we got snowed in for three more days because of the Denver blizzard the staff worked every way they could to accomdate us. They actually were able to accomdate us for Thursday night had we needed it. We left the hotel turning in our keys but requesting a late check out in case we had to return to the hotel due to the weather. We called from the airport and checked out. Because TI was sold out for Friday and Saturday we ended up spending three more days at their sister property the Monte Carlo (another splendid experience). Our check-out receipt for TI was waiting for us in our mailbox when we got back home (we checked out Thursday and the receipt was delivered Saturday!). We loved our stay. The staff was friendly and as always the casino play was in our favor. The TI remodel has been criticized by some but let's face it Vegas never was a place for kids. In fact, the kids I saw in Vegas this time didn't look too happy. Come to think of it neither did the parents who were strategically dodging the people handing out the nudie calling cards to tourists. Treasure Island's extreme makeover isn't all that extreme but rather subtle and welcomed. The casino floor is easy to navigate so you don't feel trapped in the casino, unable to exit and thus confined to endless gambling. And clean! They are doing a lot to keep the remodel looking fresh and the whole facility looking well polished. The food was great. Who knew you could make an upsidedown pineapple pancake taste so good? Cantor's pastrami sandwich is second to none (and I know my pastrami). Our room was top notch. We did have a bit of difficulty with our television but it was taken care of lightning fast (we had what appeared to be a newer flatscreen TV in our room) as was any request or inquiry we made. Room service is still affordable at TI unlike many places in Vegas these days although we enjoyed the service we received in the restaurants so much that we never quite got around to room service. TI has a walkway over to Fashion Show Mall making it a fantastic partnership between the two. We zipped over to the mall several times while we were there.

What about any dislikes or disappointments? Hardly any. The MGM players card needs an overhaul. I had difficulties getting my card to read and it kept coming up invalid so I had to re-insert it again and again before it registered. The staff at TI were patient and even replaced my card once because it would not read. This difficulty continued. The MGM grand was much less courteous about it when my card failed there later. As for the much publicized TI Siren show. Eh it's Vegas. Pirates of the Caribbean it is not. I didn't mind it so much. Besides it was free.

If you want to stay at a snooty hotel and brag about all it's greatness then there are certainly places in Las Vegas to accomodate you. However, if you want a relaxed yet attentive property where you can enjoy yourself and find your way in and out as needed then look no further. I would rate TI as one of the best hotels in Las Vegas for the price.