I have been all over the country the past month and one of my trips took me to Las Vegas. Thanks to social media I found out that there were a lot of other people that I know in Vegas at the same time. My friend Sara who blogs at Travel With Sara and All In An Iowa Mom’s Day was there for a blogger event. My friend Pat from The Computer Guy was there for another event. An Australian friend I “met” online through another blogger was there. My best friend from 1st and 2nd grade was there. All of us there for different reasons but how amazing it it that we knew that we were all in the same amazing place?
When you fly into Las Vegas it hits you that this is not like any other place. Slot machines and lights welcome you even in the airport.
The glitz and lights are everywhere and it is difficult to not get sucked into the excitement that is everywhere in Las Vegas.
We were in town for the International Builders Show so we did not venture out too much past that but I wondered if Chris had brought me all this way to see a show.
No, no, no. That was not on the itinerary but I am sure there were many women in Vegas that did go to that show and my guess is that they enjoyed it.
We had had such a crazy and whirlwind week that we were just looking forward to a nice night of sleep in our lovely king sized bed in the room that we had reserved. We got our key and navigated the hallways and elevator to go to our room where we anxiously threw open the door.
We were greeted with this.
Yes, it was a conference room. All set up for some kind of meeting or gathering –pens and paper pads ready to go. Either they neglected to tell us that we were in charge of something during our stay there or they took to heart our preference for a firm bed.
There was no bed hiding anywhere. No secret passageways to a room with a bed. Just a conference room with a wet bar, a bathroom and lots of chairs. So we went back down to the desk.
The desk clerk apologized and I am still unsure how she assigned us a conference room but she got another key for another room in another wing. So we headed to a different tower, a different wing and a different room but when the elevator doors opened it hit us. It was a smoking floor which still exist in Las Vegas and as we found our room and opened the door we were enveloped by the smokey smell which we knew we could just not live with for 3 nights.
Back to the desk we went and Chris got a different desk clerk and complained (very controlled complaining but she got the message) that this was not acceptable as we requested non smoking and this was the second room. She had to talk to her manager (why I am not sure as it was THEIR mistake) and finally she found us a room with the apology that it was two beds and not one. We were past tired by this point and just wanted a bed so when we opened the door and saw they were double beds and not queens we knew we were not going to have that comfortable night of sleep that we had hoped for. But at least it was a room and she told us that we might be able to upgrade the next day to a king bed. 
We survived the night just fine. After all a little closeness is a good thing after 32 1/2 years of marriage, right? We were able to upgrade to a king bed the next day so we had had a total of 4 rooms in less than 24 hours which was a pretty good record.
We weren’t going to say anything to anyone but we found out that some of the guys that were at the same show staying at the same place had Murphy Beds in their rooms. That amazed me. Those are the beds that come out of the wall and pull down as space savers. One gentleman had no heat at all in his room and the repair guy came at 2:30 am to fix it. Yes. 2:30 am.
The day we left there was no hot water in the shower. It wasn’t ice cold but it was cold enough I had goosebumps and had a very short shower. When I told the desk clerk at check out she asked if there was hot water in the sink. I told her I had not run it long enough to figure it out because I was just wanting to get out and on my way. No apology. No “I’m sorry”. Nada.
Would we stay here again? Not if we have a choice. While I understand renovations and all it is inconceivable to me how this place could have offered such poor customer service. Oh, we did get comped two free meals at the buffet place so we did get some thing for our room fiasco but they will not get our return business.
I don’t believe in ranting on my blog so I will not “out” the place here but if you plan a trip to Las Vegas and want to know where not to stay just email me and I will tell you.
By the way, I did walk the red carpet while I was there. Never mind it wasn’t the “real” red carpet. 
20 Comments
Leave a commentWhat an awful experience. We once stayed in a hotel in Winona where they tried to pass a smoking room off as non-smoking. With an air purifier running and a no-smoking sign missing from the door and a distinct smoke smell, they were not going to pull this over on me. But they tried. Mightily. That place will never get my business again.
I’m the opposite of you with the bed given we sleep in a full-sized bed. I always feel lost, like my husband isn’t even there, when we have a larger bed.
I’ve never been to Vegas and don’t intend to go there. But it sounds like a popular place.
The first room was amusing. The second and third not so much so. 🙂 But we survived and it made a good blog post, right? We upgraded to a king for our new place in Alabama. Chris’s 6’2″ frame likes a bit of leg room. We meet in the middle. 🙂
The thought of opening a door to a conference room makes me laugh. But seriously, this sounds like a terrible hotel! At least you got some laughs out of the experience.
I was giddy when I saw the conference table. Chris was less amused than I was but I just couldn’t believe it and was laughing hysterically. Typical behavior. 🙂
I would have laughed hysterically too! That’s amazing that they assigned you that room! Also amazing is the lack of customer service! You definitely have memories and I hope you and Chris can return sometime to a trip that is a bit less stressful and relaxing!
I was giddy. I really was. It was ridiculous and after having stayed at The Venetian it was a bit of a disappointment. But I got over it. 🙂
It sounds like you had quite the adventure! I like firm mattresses too, but I’ve never tried a table 😉
I would not recommend it. Especially with no sheets or blankets.
A conference room? Good grief. Well, your experience kind of sounds like a “Nightmare in Vegas.” Maybe a good title for a bad movie. We’ve all had these horrible experiences (sometime I might have to share the toenail clippings in the vacation condo carpet story!) and made the wise decision to never go back to ‘that place’ again. I don’t foresee a trip to Vegas for myself (just not a place I want to go) but hubby was there once for a business trip and he said he never wanted to go back. Maybe that ‘all that glitters is not gold’ saying is true! 😉
It’s all good! We made it through the experience and were able to laugh about it but I suspect if Chris has anything to say about it we will never stay at that place again!
Hi and what a great post to be the first one of yours I read. Nothing like a nice firm conference room table after traveling and being “on” for a week. I followed you from TBMarkinson’s blog. Wonderful to meet you. BTW, I spent a lot of time in LV growing up, so I’m very familiar with the uniqueness of the place.
Thanks so much!!!! I love that you came from TBM’s! I absolutely adore her!!! Unique is a very nice word for Vegas! 🙂 It has a lot of uniqueness everywhere you look!
Golly, how miserable! I can’t believe such poor customer service exists, especially in the Internet Age. (Well, yes, I can — amazing what folks think they can get away with!). Glad you survived to tell the tale — but I’ll bet you’re glad that’s over, ha!
Oh you know what? It’s all good. We came out of it okay, we had shelter and food and it made a good story, right? But yes—it is amazing how poor service can be at times.
[…] week I told you about my trip to Las Vegas and our adventures there which included having a guest room with a conference table as the main attraction. The […]
Wow, that was some experience! We had the “no hot water” at one place on vacation. We got a free night’s stay for it. That’s the only brand we stay with now.
It was pretty funny when we look back but not at the time when we were tired and just wanted to go to bed. 🙂
I can certainly understand.
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