VEGAS!!
So continuing on from talking about Barbados yesterday. Onto Sin City, if only for a 3 day side tour on the way home. I was certainly looking forward to this. And I wasn't disappointed. All the reading up on what the strip in Vegas would be like, all the TV shows, just plain don't do it justice. Wow, it was just jaw dropping! I'm obviously no travel expert, but in my narrow list of places I've been, walking the strip would be on my list of things you simply must do, along with a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was just amazing seeing all the huge casinos, ostensibly in the middle of the desert!
I stayed at the MGM Grand, one of the biggest hotels on the strip. Was just so damn HUGE! I seriously got lost just finding my way through the place so many times it wasn't funny! You had a food court, heaps of restaurants, a huge lion enclosure, heaps of gaming tables & poker machines of course. Was a battle to remember the way to the lifts & the actual rooms themselves! And they were pretty darn cool themselves! Big TV, big windows boasting a great view - from my room only the outlying desert alas, but still an awesome view with the sun going down. Luxury Queen Beds & towels etc.Even a large 24-7 room-service menu for those who may have overdone it! And then there was Wet Republic - a massive pool area for guests only. It was like Wet & Wild for adults!! cocktails, waterfalls, dance beats pumping out over the complex, even a VIP area for big names & rich guests who really wanted to party! Only in Vegas would you walk through the gaming area of a hotel & see people sipping from huge cocktails of Eiffel Tower replicas, wearing a bathing costume!
Now, while in Barbados, i was lucky enough to have had a room to myself. But for this section of the trip, I was happy for the Fanatics to pair me up with another single person doing this side tour of Vegas & share a room. It was only for 3 nights right, & despite my glowing report of said room, its Vegas - not a place you spend a lot of time in your room unless you are too hungover for anything else!! :) Pity was none of the group of friends I'd made in Barbados were doing this section of the holiday - a couple were staying on in the Caribbean for the 1 day cricket games, a couple were heading straight home, & a few were visiting other places in the USA on the way back. So I was paired up with a guy I didn't see much of in the earlier part of the trip, bloke named Todd. Seemed fine, if a bit of a larrikan. But then, we'd just had had 2 1/2 weeks in the paradise of Barbados, so who wouldn't be in a joyous mood? Seemed quite friendly too. Essentially, he had his plans for the few days, & I had mine, so I didn't anticipate it being an issue in any case. I did check in first & put my credit card on the account, but didn't give it much thought -our pre-paid voucher clearly stated we were 2 singles just sharing a room, & thought they'd set up a separate account for him. That assumption was to cause many issues, & many headaches down the road, which we'll come to.
Anyway, I had am awesome few days. Both day & night, the strip is just amazing, & that's before I even set foot into any of the other casinos! You could easily spend the whole of your stay without leaving the hotel you're staying at! Of the others I explored, New York-New York & Caesar's Palace we both spectacular! And without a doubt the best buffet meal I've ever eaten in my entire life was at the spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood - be sure to check that one out if you're heading to Vegas! The neon lights make walking the strip at night just incredible - & much easier weather wise! The view from the top of the Effiel Tower casino was just unbelievable!
The only real drawbacks, were a) the weather- to be expected of course when you are located in the middle of the desert in late June, but still wasn't quite prepared for a dead heat 41-42 degrees for most of the day. You felt it even if you were travelling just a few blocks up the strip. This was tempered a lot by bikini clad ladies selling $1 can of bud on street corners,. Ahh Vegas! :) Also, b) creepy dudes also on street corners, trying to shove girly cards into your hand. They were just relentless, & it got very annoying after a few times. Yes, I was a single guy in Vegas, but I'd done my research, & stayed away from that seedier side of Vegas! Settled for seeing a few of the famous Vegas shows at night, including Mamma Mia for the 2nd time. As a big ABBA fan, it was great to see again! Gambled only a bit cause there was that much to see & do, so didn't lose too much $$.
So all in all, a wonderful few days in Sin City, even despite the idiot taxi driver dropping me off at the wrong terminal at the airport when I was heading home! Alls well that ended well, & a few days later I was safely back home in Melbourne, only it was a damn site cooler than Vegas! :)
The real drama began a couple of days after getting home ironically. I logged on to check out my bank account or pay a bill. Only to find a charge of $1700 on my credit card from the MGM Grand! WTF?? Our accommodation had been pre-paid, & seeing I hadn't made any purchases or charged anything back to my room while in Vegas, I assumed there had just been a mix up. After a few emails back & forth from the MGM, I finally got a copy of the related bill. Only to find my roommate had decided to stay on an extra 5 nights, make international phone calls, dine out at the top line restaurants in the hotel, & consume a heap of top shelf drinks... & charge it all back to the room.... which ended up on my credit card. Because i hadn't made any purchases, & owed nothing, I used an express check out form,, which just involved filling out a small form left in your room, & you depositing this with your electronic room key in a box near the lifts. All done, & you're on your way. But the hotel only had the 1 credit card registered to the room, despite my earlier assumptions. So even after I'd checked out, my credit card had still been registered to the room due to my roommate staying on an extra few days.And it was during this period, after I'd already checked out, that all the charges started racking up on the account. Very suspicious.
So started a very frustrating period which I was calling & emailing first the MGM Grand hotel to explain the situation to them. All they could do was give me a form to give my roommate to fill in so they could charge him instead. But of course, I didn't exchange any contact info with him! We only talked a few times, it tuned out like I said - he did his stuff, I did mine. So then I tuned to the travel company to try & sort this out with. As expected, they couldn't give me any of his details due to privacy laws, so they attempted to send it on to him, with little success from what I gathered. Meanwhile, the bank were stacking on interest for that $1700 which I sure as hell wasn't paying!! Nightmare stuff!
I finally ended up having to ring my bank, go through recorded messages & lower down people till I finally got put through to a manager, & was able to explain the situation. The amount was put on hold & my card cancelled, a new one issued, while they "investigated" the matter. I was pretty confident I wouldn't have to pay it - if it came to it, surely it wouldn't be hard to prove exactly when I flew out of Vegas & back home to Melbourne!! And at long last, just before Xmas time, the situation was indeed found in my favour, & I didn't have to pay the $1700.Phew!!
But boy was that a frustrating 4 or 5 months :( I guess the question of whether this dude deliberately set out to take a ride on the high life knowing his credit card wasn't on file & wouldn't be paying, or whether it was just an honest mistake, I'll never know for sure. I often think one way, then look back & think surely it couldn't have been a mistake - too many coincidences Yes, it was also at least partially my own fault too for making assumptions, & being a little niave about that whole process.
Ah well, one of those things I'll always wonder about I guess. In the end, it didn't detract from amazing first up overseas holiday, & warned me to be more vigilant in the future when sharing rooms with people I didn't know! The next time I visited Vegas (another post in the making) I sure as hell insisted on checking out in person!! :)
Anyway, I had am awesome few days. Both day & night, the strip is just amazing, & that's before I even set foot into any of the other casinos! You could easily spend the whole of your stay without leaving the hotel you're staying at! Of the others I explored, New York-New York & Caesar's Palace we both spectacular! And without a doubt the best buffet meal I've ever eaten in my entire life was at the spice Market buffet at Planet Hollywood - be sure to check that one out if you're heading to Vegas! The neon lights make walking the strip at night just incredible - & much easier weather wise! The view from the top of the Effiel Tower casino was just unbelievable!
The only real drawbacks, were a) the weather- to be expected of course when you are located in the middle of the desert in late June, but still wasn't quite prepared for a dead heat 41-42 degrees for most of the day. You felt it even if you were travelling just a few blocks up the strip. This was tempered a lot by bikini clad ladies selling $1 can of bud on street corners,. Ahh Vegas! :) Also, b) creepy dudes also on street corners, trying to shove girly cards into your hand. They were just relentless, & it got very annoying after a few times. Yes, I was a single guy in Vegas, but I'd done my research, & stayed away from that seedier side of Vegas! Settled for seeing a few of the famous Vegas shows at night, including Mamma Mia for the 2nd time. As a big ABBA fan, it was great to see again! Gambled only a bit cause there was that much to see & do, so didn't lose too much $$.
So all in all, a wonderful few days in Sin City, even despite the idiot taxi driver dropping me off at the wrong terminal at the airport when I was heading home! Alls well that ended well, & a few days later I was safely back home in Melbourne, only it was a damn site cooler than Vegas! :)
Was It an Accident or Not??
The real drama began a couple of days after getting home ironically. I logged on to check out my bank account or pay a bill. Only to find a charge of $1700 on my credit card from the MGM Grand! WTF?? Our accommodation had been pre-paid, & seeing I hadn't made any purchases or charged anything back to my room while in Vegas, I assumed there had just been a mix up. After a few emails back & forth from the MGM, I finally got a copy of the related bill. Only to find my roommate had decided to stay on an extra 5 nights, make international phone calls, dine out at the top line restaurants in the hotel, & consume a heap of top shelf drinks... & charge it all back to the room.... which ended up on my credit card. Because i hadn't made any purchases, & owed nothing, I used an express check out form,, which just involved filling out a small form left in your room, & you depositing this with your electronic room key in a box near the lifts. All done, & you're on your way. But the hotel only had the 1 credit card registered to the room, despite my earlier assumptions. So even after I'd checked out, my credit card had still been registered to the room due to my roommate staying on an extra few days.And it was during this period, after I'd already checked out, that all the charges started racking up on the account. Very suspicious.
So started a very frustrating period which I was calling & emailing first the MGM Grand hotel to explain the situation to them. All they could do was give me a form to give my roommate to fill in so they could charge him instead. But of course, I didn't exchange any contact info with him! We only talked a few times, it tuned out like I said - he did his stuff, I did mine. So then I tuned to the travel company to try & sort this out with. As expected, they couldn't give me any of his details due to privacy laws, so they attempted to send it on to him, with little success from what I gathered. Meanwhile, the bank were stacking on interest for that $1700 which I sure as hell wasn't paying!! Nightmare stuff!
I finally ended up having to ring my bank, go through recorded messages & lower down people till I finally got put through to a manager, & was able to explain the situation. The amount was put on hold & my card cancelled, a new one issued, while they "investigated" the matter. I was pretty confident I wouldn't have to pay it - if it came to it, surely it wouldn't be hard to prove exactly when I flew out of Vegas & back home to Melbourne!! And at long last, just before Xmas time, the situation was indeed found in my favour, & I didn't have to pay the $1700.Phew!!
But boy was that a frustrating 4 or 5 months :( I guess the question of whether this dude deliberately set out to take a ride on the high life knowing his credit card wasn't on file & wouldn't be paying, or whether it was just an honest mistake, I'll never know for sure. I often think one way, then look back & think surely it couldn't have been a mistake - too many coincidences Yes, it was also at least partially my own fault too for making assumptions, & being a little niave about that whole process.
Ah well, one of those things I'll always wonder about I guess. In the end, it didn't detract from amazing first up overseas holiday, & warned me to be more vigilant in the future when sharing rooms with people I didn't know! The next time I visited Vegas (another post in the making) I sure as hell insisted on checking out in person!! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment