Las Vegas Archives - Curiously Carmen

Travel: Tuscany Hotel & Suites Las Vegas

February 19, 2020

During our trip to Las Vegas last year, we wanted a hotel that was relaxing, quieter and low key compared to the hotels on the strip. We came across Tuscany Hotel & Suites, which matched our preference perfectly. This probably comes across as weird for people who come here to party. We do like the excitement and glam of Vegas, but also wanted a quiet place to escape to.

It was a 5 minute walk from the strip (to the Bellagio and Flamingo hotels so very central), but offered a slower and calm vibe to escape the craziness of Vegas.

Location: Tuscany Hotel was quite spread out, which is quite unusual given the proximity to the strip and cost of land.

Instead of a single tower building, they had 15 (yes, fifteen!) three storey buildings, plus the main lobby, casino and restaurant building. This map shows all the buildings. The red buildings are the guest rooms, while the green building is the lobby/restaurant/casino building.

We requested a room in the furthest building because I am a light sleeper, and didn’t want to be possibly waken up by loud people in the middle of the night. This worked out well, but the only con obviously was that it was a further walk, probably about an extra 4 minutes.

Room: The hotel room itself was pretty standard with no major complaints. There was a kitchenette, a sitting area, and two queen beds. The only king sized beds available during our stay was a smoking room, so we picked the two queen beds.

The beds were comfy, and the multiple pillows were fluffy. We came from Sunday-Thursday, and didn’t experience any major noise that disrupted our sleep. If you’re a light sleeper like I am, I would recommend getting a room further away from the lobby/casino building which has a lot of visitors, and also away from Flamingo Road which was a busy road.

Washroom: The washroom was split into two sections, which I actually prefer this way. The toilet was in a small room covered with a door, while the shower, sink, and bathtub were separate. This way, you could shower while someone else is using the toilet, etc.

The shower pressure was great. However, the water temperature was very finicky. One tiny adjustment and you go from warm to extremely hot water.

Amenities: I really enjoyed the outdoor pool and lounge area! It was relaxing, and we came here a few times to recharge. There were enough pool chairs for everyone (keep in mind this was low season, mid October weekdays). Tap water in Las Vegas is not tasty, so I took advantage of the filtered water station inside the pool area.

In addition to the outdoor pool, Tuscany also had an indoor pool, sauna and gym.

Dining: Apart from the casino and pool in the main lobby building, they also had 3 restaurants and 1 coffee shop. We only went to one of the restaurants, Marilyn’s Cafe.

The pricing at Marilyn’s was very affordable, and portion sizes were very filling. The chicken burger and fries pictured above was about $10 USD! You definitely can’t get that kind of pricing on the strip.

Cons: They were just small issues, not big enough for me not to stay here again, but I try to be transparent and informative in my reviews.

Housekeeping: Housekeeping did not do a good job in cleaning the room. We found an old brownie in the garbage can on the first day, right when we checked in.
Washroom fan & light: The washroom fan and light were insanely loud, like jet engine roaring loud. It got quite annoying so we ended up turning on the small light in the toilet room (separated from the shower/sink/bathtub) instead.
Squeaking/loose floorboards: In certain spots of the room, the floorboards were squeaky and felt uneven.

Pricing: Most hotels around the Vegas area also include a resort fee. This was the case with Tuscany as well. Including the resort fee and taxes, I forgot the exact price but we did not pay more than $100 CAD a night. A very great deal considering how close it was to the strip and how great the room and amenities were! (Pricing as of Oct 2019)

Summary: There were a few minor hiccups but overall, I was satisfied with the hotel. I liked how it was peaceful, not overcrowded, yet within 5 minute walk to the strip. Don’t get me wrong, we love the excitement of Vegas, which is why we came here in the first place, but it was also nice to take a break from that and recharge.

If you’re looking for a more peaceful, calm hotel but still very close to the excitement of the strip, I’d recommend Tuscany Suites and Hotel.

This review is not sponsored.

Shake Shack – Las Vegas

November 24, 2019

Shake Shack was another place on our to try list because it was recommended by many friends. We finally found some time, and room in our stomachs, to visit during our last day!

Shake Shack is located by the New York New York hotel. This location was modern, nice and pretty spacious inside.

We took the free train from Bellagio to Aria (across the street from New York New York) to save ourselves from some walking, since we would be doing a lot of it that day.

Once you order at the front tills, they give you a restaurant pager that’ll let you know when your order is ready.

Chicken hot dog: I haven’t had a chicken hot dog before (I think? Or at least it’s been awhile) so I ordered this. I was pretty turned off though, when I bit into the hot dog and it was cold?!

I brought it back and they gave me a new one so it wasn’t a big deal. The bonus was that while waiting again, I heard some other customers ask for Shake Shack sauce. I didn’t know that was a thing, so I ended up getting some for us too!

Anyways, the chicken hot dog was meh. Nothing too memorable about it. The menu said that the chicken sausage included apple and sage, but I couldn’t taste any. It looks a bit sad in this picture, but I did end up adding some condiments to it.

SmokeShack: The fiance ordered the SmokeShack, which came with a beef patty, smoked bacon, cherry peppers, and ShackSauce. The burger was juicy and delicious! He also added another patty because #treatyoself on vacation.

Crinkle cut fries: The crinkle cut fries were delicious. I was debating if I should order another one because it was that good, but decided against it. They were very crispy and fresh. Crinkle cut fries are such a fun treat to have, just like waffle fries!

All in all, I found Shake Shack to be alright. Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst. I’m still glad I tried it though. It would be a place I wouldn’t mind going to, but not somewhere I’d purposely go to.

Gordon Ramsay Burger – Las Vegas

November 4, 2019

Gordon Ramsay Burger was definitely on our to-try list, and seemed to also be on everyone else’s list as well because it was always lined up whenever we walked by! The line up was worth it though because we left with very happy stomachs!

Gordan Ramsay Burger is located inside Planet Hollywood. There is a giant glass fireplace where patrons wait against. To keep people busy, there was a big touchscreen menu that you could look at while in line.

Big touch screen menu outside the restaurant

We came for a late dinner around 9:30pm, after watching a variety show at the V Theater nearby. The total wait time for us was around 20 minutes, and this was also on a weekday. If you’re coming during prime dining hours or on the weekend, I would expect to wait at least 40 minutes.

The one thing I didn’t really like about this place was how pushy our server was to us for buying drinks. Since we looked at the menu in line, we already knew what we were ordering. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable to tell our server a few times that we didn’t want drinks.

Onion rings: I was a bit surprised to see that the burgers did not include sides here! The fiance ordered onion rings to start, which set the tone for a delicious meal to come.

The onion rings were big, fresh, and crunchy. They came sprinkled with some shredded cheese which made it taste even better. My favourite part was the cheddar ranch dip, which went perfectly with the crunchy onion rings!

Hog dawg: You’re probably wondering why on Earth we would order a hot dog at a place specializing in burgers. Well, for starters, it was definitely not a ‘basic’ hot dog! A lot of reviews recommended the hot dogs, so the fiance decided to get the hog dawg.

The hog dawg was a giant pork sausage, wrapped in bacon, and topped with pulled pork and fried onions. It was delicious and easily the best hot dog we have ever tried.

Fish and crisps burger: My fish and crisps burger was equally delicious. Fish burgers aren’t something I normally order, but I wasn’t feeling like a beef burger that night.

Just like the onion rings, the fish fillet was fried to a crunchy, crisp, golden perfection. The burger also contained ‘crisps’, which I would describe as hickory sticks but without the smoked hickory flavour. The crisps didn’t have much flavour though, they were more there for the texture.

The yuzu dill mayo was absolutely AMAZING and complemented the fish and crisps perfectly. I enjoyed every single bite and would definitely get this burger if I came back.

We left very satisfied with Gordon Ramsay Burger. The burgers and hot dogs aren’t just your typical burgers and hot dogs – they have crafted quality, unique combinations which complemented each other really well.

They definitely know what they are doing here, and the line speaks for it.

Earl of Sandwich – Las Vegas

November 1, 2019

I made a good choice before our trip to Las Vegas by asking a bunch of people for their food recommendations. Cola suggested Earl of Sandwich and it ended up being our favourite find of the trip!

We loved it so much that we ended up going 3 times that trip and bought some on the flight back for dinner! Earl of Sandwich was affordable, delicious, filling, but still contained good quality ingredients.

According to Google Maps, there are 3 Earl of Sandwich locations along the Strip. We only went to the one inside Planet Hollywood by the casino. It is not that big in there with only a few seats, but most people get takeout.

Tuna melt: I wasn’t feeling like beef or chicken that night, so I went with the tuna melt. It was an excellent choice on my end because it was delicious. There was a lot of tuna, mayo, and cheese. The sandwich was served hot which made it even more delicious.

I am not too sure about the type of bread they use, but it tasted very fresh and was toasted. When I looked on the website, it just said ‘artisan bread’. A similar comparison would be ciabatta bread, but thicker and softer.

French dip: The fiance went with the french dip, and he loved it as well. There was a very generous amount of roast beef. In addition, the hot sandwich came with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.

The Full Montagu: On our second visit, the fiance tried the Full Montagu. This sandwich came with roasted beef, turkey, Swiss cheese, cheddar, lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and mustard sauce.

I ordered the tuna melt again and enjoyed it as much as the first time!

Italian: Luckily we both have big appetites so we ordered a third sandwich to split, giving me an opportunity to expand my Earl of Sandwich tastebuds. The Italian sandwich was a meat lover’s paradise, containing salami, capicola, ham, mortadella, Swiss cheese, Italian seasoning, and Italian dressing.

There was a very generous portion of meat as with the other sandwiches. The variety of meat kept the sandwich exciting and the Italian seasoning/herbs were a nice touch.

Chipotle chicken avocado: I ordered the chipotle chicken avocado as the last meal in Vegas. It did not disappoint either. The grilled chicken was juicy with a delicious grilled flavour to it. Meanwhile, the avocado was chunks were nice and ripe.

The chipotle sauce added a very slight spicy kick to the sandwich. Also, are you wondering why there is only half a sandwich? That is because the fiance was too hungry and forgot that I needed a picture for le blog before he dug in.

Out of all the sandwiches I tried (including the fiance’s), my order of preference would be: 1) Tuna melt, 2) Chipotle chicken avocado, 3) French dip, 4) The Full Montagu, and 5) Italian. That being said, I loved them all and wouldn’t mind having any of the 5 sandwiches again.

Earl of Sandwich was definitely worth trying. As mentioned above, it was cheap, filling, delicious, and made with quality ingredients. It is an extremely better version of Subway but at similar prices!

Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace – Las Vegas

October 27, 2019

A trip to Las Vegas is not complete without a meal (or meals) at the buffet! Although we would have loved to go to every single buffet in Las Vegas, the price would quickly add up!

After watching some Strictly Dumpling videos, we decided to go to Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace! Anyone else watch his videos?

We left so uncomfortable full and on the brink of stomachaches and regret… so much so, that we decided to skip out on the other buffet we had in mind the next day. We did not want to feel this uncomfortable again!

(If you’re wondering why don’t we just eat less, the answer is we are Asian and it is not in our blood when at a buffet. It would be a disgrace. LOL.)

Anyway, we were planning on going here for dinner before our Cirque De Soleil show. But there was a really long line up to enter already, and we didn’t want to rush the buffet or risk being late to the show. Instead, we came the next day for lunch.

It was a lot less busy at lunch and the offerings were still really good.

The carving station! You could choose from roast pork, beef brisket, prime rib, wagyu tri tip, and turkey. The meat was absolutely delicious and juicy.

This post will be mostly photo heavy. I’m not going to include every single food item because that would be too long of a post.

There was a lot of variety to choose from, and with many different cuisines featured.

I was surprised to see how much Asian food they had! Bacchanal Buffet had Chinese food (stir fry, fried noodles, rice, spring rolls, etc), dim sum, Japanese, and Thai.

I didn’t try any to save stomach space, because Vancouver’s Asian food is probably much better.

The chilled crab was a bit disappointing, and didn’t taste super fresh. They also didn’t crack the crab shell properly or give out shell-cracking tools. But the smoked salmon was amazing and I kept coming back for that.

Part of the Italian section, I didn’t take a picture of the other Italian section. I should have, because there was a really delicious garlic bread with truffle ricotta cheese that I couldn’t get enough of.

I liked the individual frying baskets that they had. They looked nice and also kept things more organized!

More breakfast/lunch items!

One of my biggest regrets here was loading up too soon on the lunch food, when I should have saved more room for dessert!

Unlimited ice cream! I was way too full at this point, but I did ask for a sample of the ube ice cream. I’ve seen it around in Vancouver but was a bit wary of ordering it. It reminded me of taro bubble tea!

As mentioned above, I only included about half the food items that were offered during lunch. I don’t want to make this a super long post. The quality of the food was alright, but a buffet is one of those rare things where quantity rules over quality.

All in all, it was a great deal at $40 USD per person for lunch. We were so full for the rest of the day that we only needed a light dinner in the evening!

I’d recommend going to Bacchanal Buffet! Next time, I would pace myself slower and save more room for dessert!