For the price of a hand of blackjack or a roll of the dice, you can spend some time with predators of a different kind — at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium.  The only predator-based aquarium in the United States calls the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino (3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, map) home.

What predators lurk here?

The lionfish is cute looking, but you don't want to run into him

Tigers Sharks.  The second deadliest specie behind the Great White, these two females are quickly becoming the prima donnas of the aquarium, and it’s the only place tiger sharks are available for viewing in the US.  You’ll be able to spot them easily with their tiger-striped markings and sharp-serrated teeth.

Komodo Dragon.  What they lack in looks, they make up for in speed, and the world’s largest lizard uses both its speed, cunning and power to track and kills it’s prey.  They’re so ugly that they’re kind of cute, but make no mistake about it, these guys are deadly.

The piranhas.  A guide was standing near the exhibit to answer questions, and the question on everyone’s mind was – when do you feed them?  He explained that they are fed three times a week.  Their diet is primarily raw chicken, chopped up into small chunks and then thrown about the water so that the piranhas disperse and chase the food.  By keeping the food spread out in the water it helps to  avoid any injuries to the fish as a result of their gluttonous eating habit.

The stingray petting pool was a big visitor favorite, and mine as well.  A naturalist nearby gave adults and kids instructions about how to “pet” the stingrays swimming about the shallow pool.  I shoved up my sleeves and put my arm in the pool waiting for the stingray to swim by.  When it did, I ran one finger along the top of him.  It’s hard to explain what it felt like.  It was soft and spongy, but definitely not what I expected.  The closest I can come to describing the feel is that it’s like injera, the Ethiopian pancake-like bread.

Shark Reef Aquarium has lots of different kinds of sharks

I’d recommend allowing an hour or so to walk through the exhibit, listening to the audio guide as you do.  The audio guide provides a nice enhancement to what you’re seeing, giving you two choice:  just the basics or a more in depth explanation.  I used the basic info most of the time, pressing for more details on those exhibits that really captured my attention.

Shark Reef Aquarium is open daily starting at 10 am.  Admission is $16.95 for adults, $10.95 for children, and toddlers four and under are FREE.   Shark Reef has just added an annual pass option, $40 for adults and $25 for children 5-12, which saves a bundle if you’ll visit often.  Nevada residents get a discount on admission; ID required.  Tickets can be purchased online or on site.

Photo credits:  personal collection

This post mentions: Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

There’s nothing like a Las Vegas show to give you fabulous night of entertainment, and if you haven’t seen the long running and award winning Jersey Boys at the Venetian Hotel, you’re missing a night of fun.

Even if you’ve seen this production before (as I had), you’ll want to catch another performance.  While essentially the same, there are a few minor differences, including a little upping of the risqué factor.  The language is a little coarser, making it, some would argue, a little more authentic.  These guys were from Jersey after all!

The story and the music are the same, however, as it traces the evolution of the music and the careers of kids from Jersey trying to carve out some success.  Part theater and part concert performance, Jersey Boys tells the story of the The Four Seasons, the boy band from the wrong side of the Jersey tracks.  The story is told by, and from the point of view of, four different narrators.  Each narrator represents one of the four seasons, and one of The Four Seasons, as they tell the story of the different goals and self interests that fueled their careers.

The first acts tells the story of some bumbling guys trying to make a living with their music.  When one of the guys gets sent off to prison, Frankie Valli starts fronting for the group, bringing with him a wide vocal range, and an impressive falsetto, that would later become his trademark style.   Still, until the group met up with songwriter Bob Gaudio (Who Wears Short Shorts?), success eluded them.

Valli and Gaudio formed a songwriting partnership on the basis on a handshake.  In a world of contracts and lawyers it’s hard to believe that the partnership continues today – on that same handshake.  The two were responsible for huge hits during the 60’s with songs like Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like a Man.  They were clean cut and establishment during a counter-culture era, but the fans loved them.

In the second act of the production, we learn that life was not all top ten hits and adoring fans for The Four Seasons.  There were very dark times of gambling addiction, criminal conduct, drinking, womanizing and ruined marriages,and death.  The Four Seasons broke up, to be replaced by a group known as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.  The music changed at this point, too, with hits like Stay, Let’s Hang On (to What We’ve Got) and Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry About Me).

The show came to its end with one final marvelous song and the cast took its bows as the audience was on its feet in thunderous applause.  At that moment, it wasn’t theater, it was a concert, and we weren’t willing to leave without an encore.

Location:  Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas (map)

Dates & Times:  Monday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday at 7 pm; Tuesday & Saturday at 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm.  Dark on Wednesday.

Tickets:  Prices start around $65, plus tax and handling fees.  There are a variety of promotion packages, room-ticket packages, and VIP seating options.  You can purchase tickets for Jersey Boys online, through the box office on site, by phone at  (702) 414-9000 (local) or (866) 641-7469 (toll free), or through your hotel concierge.

Whether you grew up in this musical era, or are hearing the music of The Four Seasons for the first time, you’ll be caught up in the story and the music.  Caught up in the story of the music — and the music that is the story.

Oh what a night!

Photo credit:  Amazon

This post mentions: The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino.

Las Vegas is one of the most frequently visited cities in the United States, whether for business, a music or theater performance, dining, or recreational activity.  It’s also one of the top cities for shopping, an activity becoming increasingly popular with travelers.  In fact, Las Vegas is one of the top fashion cities in the world, meaning that you’ll find some good shopping spots in the city.

When you get a break in your conference schedule, want to relax after a day full of meetings, or just want to get away from the hubbub that is often Las Vegas, here are 20 choices for your Las Vegas shopping pleasure:

1. Appian Way at Caesars Palace – Quiet shopping arcade with a life-size replica of David.
2. Bally’s Avenue Shoppes – Over 20 stores and boutiques at Bally’s Hotel.
3. Bridge Avenue at California – Hawaiian shopping.
4. The Esplanade at Encore – High end retail shops at the Wynn Encore Hotel.
5. The Esplanade at Wynn – A mega shopping experience, with 75,000 square feet of space filled with very exclusive shops.
6. Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas – Not actually in Las Vegas, but in Primm, Nevada near the California state line, you’ll find lots of top designer outlet shops.
7. Fashion Show Mall – A major shopping center in the heart on the LV Strip, offering six major anchor stores.
8. The Forum Shops at Caesars – Fine dining to go along with fine shopping, and a fountain show and saltwater aquarium.
9. The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian – A cobblestone walkway, street performers, and little cafes attempt to recreate an Italian shopping experience. You’ll find a good mix of mainstream and exclusive shops and restaurants.
10. Las Vegas Outlet Center – Name brand outlet stores featuring substantial discounts, located on the south strip.
11. Las Vegas Premium Outlet – An upscale outlet shopping area set in a village-style setting.
12. Le Boulevard at Paris Las Vegas – Designed to look and feel like shopping in Paris, this boulevard has replica French boutiques. You’ll find French imports, from fashion to cheese.
13. Mandalay Place – Located on the sky bridge between Mandalay Bay and the Luxor, this space is full of mixed shopping and restaurants.
14. Masquerade Village Shops – At the Rio Hotel, this shopping area is set up as a quaint little hamlet.
15. Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort – More than 170 specialty shops and 15 restaurants means you never have to leave. If the summer heat gets too much for you, enjoy the indoor rainstorm.
16. The Shoppes at The Palazzo – Luxury, high end shopping.
17. Star Lane Shops and Studio Walk at MGM Grand – Retail shopping at the MGM Grand Hotel.
18. Street of Shops at The Mirage – A shopping boulevard designed to evoke a European shopping experience.
19. Town Square Las Vegas – An open area shopping experience designed to feel like small town shopping with big city shops and name brands.
20. Via Bellagio – High end shopping at the Bellagio Hotel.

Do you have a favorite Las Vegas shopping spot?

Photo credit: Mary Jo Manzanares

There are great room, good rooms, and then there are the truly horrible.  We all love the great ones, get by with the good ones, but no one should be stuck with a truly horrible room.  What do you do when that’s the one that you’re sent off to?

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I caught a cab, and was off to my hotel, arriving there around 10:30 pm.  I had a reservation at a major hotel, and my credit card had already been charged for one night.  At the front desk, I was told that I could have a choice of a room with a king sized bed near the elevator, or a room with two double beds a bit further away.  I haven’t slept in a double bed since high school, so opted for the king room closer to the elevator.

Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as The Strip

Off I went to the room, only to get there and find that the room wasn’t “near” the elevator – it shared a common wall with the elevator.  The noise was deafening.  I called down to the front desk to ask for a different room, and was surprised that the front desk could hear me over the elevator noise.  They were actually very nice and sent someone up with a key to another room.

The other room was just two doors away, and I expressed my skepticism to the guest services person who had brought me my key.  He assured me that it would be quiet, so off I went.  At the door of the room, I realized that I could still hear the elevator.  After going inside, I could still hear it.  And I’m not talking about the little dinging noise that lets you know the elevator has arrived.  I’m talking about the roaring and whooshing noise of the elevator in the shaft.  This room was only slightly less noisy, and I knew that it would be a miserable place to sleep.  In fact, I doubt there could me much sleeping at all.

This brings us to the dilemma.  Horrible room, totally unacceptable, and it’s now after 11 pm at night.  What do you do?

There was a point in my life where I would have just made do with the horrible room, figuring that my complaint was trivial or that I would resolve the issue in the morning.  First, the complaint isn’t trivial.  A room with that high of a noise level is simply unacceptable.  Yes, I know someone will probably be forced to sleep in these rooms, but it didn’t have to be me.  The hotel needs to do some soundproofing and bring these rooms up to an acceptable level, but until it does, no one should feel bad about complaining.  Second, by waiting till morning I reduce my leverage in getting a different room.  Absent an express commitment on the part of the front desk, staying overnight makes me a problem that has gone away.  If I accept it for one night, who’s to say that I won’t accept it longer.  I was staying for 4 nights, and it wasn’t going to be in a noisy room.

So back to the front desk I went with a new mindset.  I needed a new room, a quiet one, or I was prepared to leave and go to a new hotel.

When presented with these options, the hotel began “looking” for another room.  Now I happen to know that while this is a major conference and convention hotel, room occupancy rates in Las Vegas are pretty low right now.  I knew that it was extremely unlikely that the hotel was full.  In fact, based on the rate that I got for a Friday night, I knew darned good and well that they were not full.  In other words, I knew there was room inventory available, and the front desk staff  just needed to dig a little deeper.  More importantly, if this hotel couldn’t dig deeper and find me a decent room, there were lots of others that would, and I was prepared to make a call and move to another hotel.

Sure enough, the digging worked, and another room was found.  This involved giving me an upgraded room, a not unreasonable or unusual way to solve the problem.  Everyone was happy!

When requesting a room change, keep these things in mind:

• Be reasonable in your room expectation.  Quieter is reasonable, but absolute quiet is not.
• If the first person that you speak with can’t help you, ask for someone who can.  Often times employees are only authorized to make limited changes.  Don’t get angry with them, let them know that you understand and will make your request to someone who can help you.  “I’ll go over your head” may very well backfire, so just be polite, firm, and understanding.
• Be nice.  It’s not the front desk clerk’s fault that the room is noisy.  People want to help people who are nice to them, and no one wants to reward bad behavior.  Keep your cool and present your issue in a calm fashion.
• Don’t make threats.  Be prepared to move if that’s what you might do, but most people can see when you’re just being a bully.
• Don’t make false complaints.  Stories are rampant about people who complain about silly things in order to get an upgrade.  Rather than rewarding bad behavior, front desk clerks will upgrade someone other than the complaining party.  Be honest about your complaint.
• Accept a reasonable alternative.  While I would have preferred a king size bed, I wound up with a mini suite with two beds.  This is a reasonable accommodation.
• Be prepared to go elsewhere.  It may not be convenient, but staying in a horrible room is worse.  If you’re not prepared to move hotels, don’t say that you are.  You’ll look like a fool if they call your bluff.  And if the town is sold out for a special event (think CES), saying you’ll go somewhere else may be an empty threat.

What do you do when you get a horrible room?  Do you speak up or suffer in silence?

Photo credit:  http2007 @flickr

I visit Las Vegas fairly often.  Part of the reason is that it’s in close proximity to Seattle, making it a great getaway spot for a weekend escape.  I love taking in some theater (I’m a HUGE Cirque du Soleil fan), having some great meals, and catching a little sun.

Las Vegas Convention Center at Night

Las Vegas is also a prime spot for conferences and conventions, probably because of the variety of accommodations, meals, and price ranges that can be accommodated.

Las Vegas Means Business, a relatively new website that promotes the business side of visiting the city cites 10 reasons why Las Vegas is a great place for business events.  A few of the reasons that they mentioned caught my eye:

• Accommodations:  There’s no doubt that Las Vegas is teeming with hotel rooms at a wide variety of price points.  On my last few trips to the city, I was able to find reasonably priced, well-located hotels – even when over the weekend and/or at the last minute.  From personal experience, I can tell you that that hasn’t always been the case!  With hotels rooms at a soft price point, a conference become affordable to more people and the company’s they represent.  From everything I’m reading these soft prices are going to last for awhile, making the city an attractive business choice for the next few years.
• Convention Centers:  I’ve been to a number of events at the Las Vegas Convention Center, both large and small, and have always thought it was a top-notch facility.  Conveniently located on the monorail (although I have a long list of reasons why I think the monorail is falling short), it is easy to get to, has plenty of ways that it can be configured, and is well laid out and easy to get around.  I’ve also been to events at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and that has been great for events that don’t need quite as much space as at the Convention Center.  Next month I’ll be attending an event that has part of the activities at the MGM Grand Conference Center, and I’m interested to see what kind of meeting space they have there.
• Airport:  Everyone can get to Las Vegas, no matter where you’re coming from.  With 900 flights a day, and non-stop service from 130 cities, you won’t be spending half you’re life just getting to your conference destination.
• Weather:  320 days of sunshine and an average temperature of 66 degrees, combined with low rainfall and humidity, makes Las Vegas a pleasant place to be temperature-wise.  I’ve visited in the very middle of summer, in the days of 100+ weather, and have still found it quite manageable.
• Dining:  Buffets are just not my cup of tea, so I love the fact that there’s less emphasis placed on all-you-can-eat and more emphasis on delicious food.  I’ve grabbed a quick burger at a coffee shop as well as lingered over a gourmet meal at a celebrity chef restaurant.  I’ve spent many an evening engaged in heated debate or business strategizing, while enjoying a glass of nice wine at a comfy wine bar.

’m heading back to Las Vegas next month.  I will be attending the Luxury Travel Expo, a chance to learn about what’s going to be hot in the luxury market for the coming year, as well as a taking some personal vacation time to check out a few new restaurants, take in a couple of shows, and escape the Seattle rain for awhile.  I’m going to be taking a look at the business side of Las Vegas through a new set of eyes – those of a visitor who may not come to the city all that often — someone who doesn’t take for granted many of the things that I do.

Vegas has gotten a bad rap for a lot of things – gambling, drinking, and inappropriate behavior.  But there’s another side of Vegas, too.  There’s a side of the city that works hard to attract business travelers, and businesses that work hard to make sure that those business travelers have a productive an enjoyable event.  Business and pleasure have always worked hand in hand (how many deals have been inked as a result of a game of golf or over a martini), and it’s a shame that some of the past excesses of some people have cast a pall over the best that it has to offer.

Have you been to a conference or convention in Las Vegas?  How do you think it measures up to other convention cities?

Photo credit:  Courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau

I was in Las Vegas a few months back, and had an opportunity to chat with a waiter and one of the local restaurants.  As I usually do, I asked him where he goes when he’s going out for the evening.  And, I always stipulate that he can’t choose (or try to sell me on) any of the restaurants or bars where he works.

On this occasion the answer surprised me.  My waiter shared that his favorite place to take someone that he’s trying to impress, or for a special occasion, is the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.

Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas Hotel

I had always viewed visiting this restaurant as an expensive tourist choice – much like visiting the Jules Verne Restaurant in the real Eiffel Tower.  Expensive, so-so food, and no real value for the money spent.

My waiter pointed out how I was wrong.  Yes, it is expensive, with appetizers starting at $15 and entrees at $25, but he added, he considers this a special occasion restaurant where he’s going to be shelling out some serious money anyway.  He said the food was impressive, the service memorable, and the view spectacular.

I’m still not sure.  A recommendation from a disinterested local weighs heavily in my consideration, though.  Have you been there?  Is it worth a try as my waiter recommended?  Or would you pass?

NOTE:  For some great photos and great posts from travel bloggers around the world check out Photo Friday (this post is my contribution to the effort).

Photo credit: Mary Jo Manzanares