Monday – May 29th, 2023
We woke bright and early on the first full day in Vegas and mist unlike us, we really had no plans for today. This was penned in as a relax and recover day, where we could do whatever we fancied and just recover from the road trip so far. We long learned these sorts of days were essential and what better place to chill by a pool than Vegas? However, having no real plans gave us extra time to go argue with the Cosmopolitan!
We headed back down to the Front desk and, as we had been advised by the Concierge yesterday asked about availability considering a lot of people were checking out. Again, the agent was VERY dismissive, the fact we were in a room now made them very unwilling to discuss anything. We had been told yesterday there would be availability, after checking the system, only to be told now there wasn’t and even if there was they couldn’t move rooms after we had checked in…yeah right no one EVER moves Rooms in Vegas.
It really seemed our card was marked and they were not going to budge. We even got to speak to a manager who just continued to make stuff up. In the end, we realized we were getting nowhere.
It’s worth noting, that during check-out we finally got to the bottom of this, as an agent unwittingly let slip the real situation, which we already knew, but backtracked very quickly.
After this, we decided to cut our losses and just get on with the trip. We are in the business of writing Reviews and the service here is not going to win Cosmo any glowing reviews from us. Their loss. We were really tempted to up and leave, but we did get quite a few perks to stay here so we decided o make use of them and not cut off our nose to spite our face. The weird thing about their treatment of us is we were going to spend a lot of money in the Resort, no we won’t be spending a penny.
As part of our Package, we get an included breakfast. When we booked we didn’t know exactly what this entailed but in the end, we got $35 each day to spend at pretty much any Restaurant in the Resort, a pretty good deal! Normally Breakfast costs WAY less than $35 but here we managed pretty easily to overspend every morning! Our first choice was one of our favorites…The Wicked Spoon.
Breakfast at the Wicked Spoon is $38 per person, so we had already overspent our budget, however, $3 for breakfast is a steal, unfortunately as it was Memorial Day and the only option was the Brunch Buffet at $49 each. We say unfortunately, but this does mean we get the Brunch Menu which is a lot better than the Breakfast or rhe Lunch, and for $14 each that is amazing! And as it’s our first day, we opted to go all-in and have all-you-can-drink bubbles too!
The Wicked Spoon is one of our top Buffets in Las Vegas and this is our first chance to get back since Covid, and we are happy to say, very little has changed! The service here was SO much better than we have received so far from the Cosmopolitan, and our server really was incredible. With Bottomless Drinks, we rate service by how long our glasses are empty, and our server had an ingenious way of ensuring that never happened…she just left us the bottle, and then replaced it with another full one…even offering to bring a third but it was just a touch too early!
Food wise there was a huge amount of choice. Stone Crab, Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, and Crab Legs were our seafood starter choices, then We hit the Brunch Items with Brisket Benedicts and some Hot Wings, and freshly cooked eggs. The Aisian station just looked too good to ignore with Salt and Pepper Shrimp Various Dimsum and some great Ribs. We tried out the BBQ and Cavery Section, Smoked Brisket, Prime Rib, and Suckling Pig.
This left just enough room for the epic dessert station. Chocolate Brownie Shots, Melt in the Middle Chocolate Puddings, Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce, and various little tarts and treats. And we just had to finish off with a little Gelato!
And remember the above is only what we chose there were a lot of other options available. Everything was the temperature it was meant to be and empty plates were gone every time we left the table. It was a great experience as always and we left very full, very happy, and a little tipsy, after leaving a suitable tip for our excellent Server.
Stuffed to the Gills we then headed out onto the Strip to see the City in the daylight for the first time. As it was a Holiday, the Fountains started at midday so we caught the first show, before heading into the Bellagio to redeem our $25 Myvegas Rewards (My Konami).
Yesterday had not been so lucky for us but today was a new day and feeling great after our breakfast we really hoped our luck would be better. As we were only playing Freeplay, it could hardly go too badly.
Our aim is always to try and match our Freeplay in winnings so we had $50 (2x$25) we just wanted to come out with $50 in real money. This was almost achieved and we bagged just over $40, which isn’t great but it would be Kate’s Bankroll for this evening where we would try and play some real money as well. We then headed over to the Bellagio Conservatory, but the place was absolutely heaving so we decided to skip it for now and come back later in the week when it would be quieter.
As we left the Bellagio, the fountains were about to go off so we just hung around for another show. The sun now beating down gloriously, so we decided to head back to the pool deck for a little sun.
Heading back to the Cosmo, we nipped up to the room and got ready for the Pool. As we were in the Chelsea Tower, we decided on the smaller and quieter Chelsea Pool. A quick check over the Balcony confirmed it was in full sun!
We arrived at the pool and I was immediately disallowed from entry, apparently no Go-Pros are allowed. I asked if I was allowed my phone, capable of 8k video and that was fine, just not a Go-Pro. I didn’t argue, they don’t make the stupid rules and nipped back up to the room and dropped it off.
Kate was allowed in and got really lucky with a bed right b the pool with a group leaving us as we arrived. So we kicked back and tried to let the stress of the last day or so melt away. After around 45 mins or so and at about 3:30 pm the Sun began to dip behind the huge Vdara Tower behind us. From the angle and trajectory of the sun, it was also clear it was not coming back. Most sunny beds were taken and the march of the shadow was slowly consuming the pool anyway. So we took to the water to cool off and follow the sun.
We have to say this was a little gross. We have never seen a Vegas pool this dirty. The water was a pale milky color and thought maybe it was intentional, but there were also patches of scum and paper floating about in the pool. It really was pretty manky. The deck itself is small and very concrete and not very lively. Drinks were astronomically priced, but not much over the standard Vegas price gouging.
So after a while, we called it quits, another Cosmo Let-down.
After a LONG shower to wash off the pool, we relaxed in the room for a while looking at the roads and back of the Aria, before getting ready to head out for the evening. We walked up the Strip to Ceasars Palace for a quick look around. Caesars is one of our favorite places to visit in Vegas, and we just wandered around the lobby and took it all in.
We then headed over to the Vanderpummp Bar situated just before the Forum Shops. Honestly, we are not big fans of the Show, but we have family who love it so we wanted to head to one of the bars for them. It really is a wonderfully decorated spot and has a super-instagramable feel. Drinks were certainly at the very high-end price wise but they were excellent.
We just stayed for a drink, a Puff the Magic Dragon and a Veni Vidi Lychee, not really know what the names meant, but the flavors were really good.
Next up we were pretty hungry but wanted something fast and not too expensive, so we settled on In-N-Out Burger. We headed across to the Linq and just ordered Burgers, a Doble Double and an 3×3 Animal. There is not much to say, it’s In-N-Out and always good.
After this, we walked across to the Mirage. This may be the last time we get to visit the Mirage in its current form. The Hard Rock has taken over and will be starting the renovations soon, including the demolition if the Volcano. So we headed over to see the show one last time.
We love the Volcano Show and managed to get right at the front as the huge gas-powered flamed burst into the night sky.
After the show, we headed into the Mirage for maybe the last time seeing it as it is. This has been one of our favorite Vegas hotels and we are so sad to see it go. But Vegas is and always has been about change so we are excited to see what Hard Rock has planned, we just wish they had chosen another property to replace…maybe the Cosmo?
After the Volcano show, we walked by towards the Cosmo, taking in another fountain show as it was about to go off right as we walked past.
The final part of the evening was to be some Gambling. We feel the Cosmo has got one over us so far so we planned on trying to get back at them at the slot machines…not very likely!
I was planning on playing with a really low budget and trying to play a build-up method with just $100. Kate would use the $40 we won from Freeplay and see where we got to. The aim is $200, which we would play tomorrow.
We scouted around some of the older style machines for a suitable game and found some nice $25 Double Diamond. These were also right by the Cocktail Waitress’s entrance and a server hit us almost as soon as we sat down.
Kate used her first $10 and I played my first $50, in seconds Kate’s machine dropped a double-double diamond and returned around $50. My progress was a little slower, but eventually worked my way up to $100 and cashed out. So Kate’s Bankroll was $90 and mine was $150, and we received two Vodka Martinis in the time this took. We would reassess and go again tomorrow!
For now, we headed to our room happy with the evening’s progress.
As you can tell we are not BIG gamblers and simply play to have a little fun when in town, we have a plan to build up, but you never know if luck will just turn on you.
Walking Total – 18,732 Steps – 9.4 Miles
While today was supposed to be light we fell into the trap where just trying to walk anywhere was a bit of a challenge. Nothing in Vegas is closest and just wandering to the next Casino is a bit of a hike in reality.
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