Circus: Absinthe
Well, after writing the last post, I called it a night. Here's the rest..
U2 weren't playing yesterday. I was browsing what was on, and came across a circus called Absinthe, at Caesars Palace - sounded good, the sort of thing I often go to in London, but tickets are a bit expensive. So I thought I'd try the last-minute approach, see whether I could get a ticket at a discount.
Lo, on Thursday, the phone in my room rang.. it was the concierge, asking whether she could score me any tickets! So I told her about wanting to go to Absinthe yesterday, and in due course, she got back to me with a discounted price. In return, I'd have to go to one of the Hilton's blasted timeshare presentations, out in their Cancun (Las Vegas) resort - it has a Mexican theme. Her final offer.. saved me $9 on the price I'd originally seen online. Well, still expensive, but fair play to her for managing to get me a discounted price at all, for a Friday night - and the day before. So I agreed.
The job interview that started the day went reasonably well - but past experience has taught me not to take anything for granted. And afterwards, I sighed, managed to remember to bring the invitation she'd given me, and headed down to the lobby nice and early, as instructed. Where she directed me to a desk, down another corridor - where I was asked to wait for the shuttle bus to arrive. It was about a 10-minute drive, I was the only passenger, and well, I had the loveliest chat with the driver, who was all interested in things Irish.
That, unfortunately, was the best part of this presentation nonsense. I was led to my appointed salesperson, whom I had to convince that I was at least open to the idea of a timeshare, and who took me to where I could get refreshments - I had an apple juice. We then chatted for a bit, and he took me to where the presentation was just starting. I joined a whole load of other potential customers - a lot of couples; if you have a partner, they insist that the partner attend as well. A slick Mexican guy showed us lots of glossy pictures of Hilton resorts around the world, and spouted some buzzwords I'd also heard from my salesman. It was all about how you could earn points, which could roll over, and which you could use for discounted holidays, at Hilton resorts or others. Sounded quite nice, really.
So, then I was back with my salesman, and the hard sell started. He produced some figures, and to be fair, the prices were decent. He also took me on a wee tour of a lovely show cabana in the resort - oh, it was gorgeous, two-bedroom, a little bar in the living room with high stools, lovely big bathroom, kitchen, lovely view.. I honestly felt really resentful that this is obviously not what I'd be getting for the prices he was suggesting to me. Very dishonest of him, although, to be fair, we never got as far as me agreeing in principle to a price, and him showing me what I'd get for my money. (The higher the price, the more Hilton points you get per year, BTW - and you can upgrade.) Another major turnoff was the maintenance fees - which also increase as the price goes up.
Now, there he was, trying to convince me that I'd actually save money on holidays this way. And there am I, thinking - but the maintenance fees alone, even the minimum amount, are more than I typically spend per year on a holiday! Plus, I don't typically like staying in resorts. I stuck to the "I don't make snap decisions" line - he countered with the "but then, when?" line. Oh, this was a really hard sell - he actually offered me a terrific discount, and even the initial prices were way less than I expected - I could actually have afforded it. But again, it made no sense to me - especially when you consider the hotel room I actually have, which is more like what I'd be buying for that price, and is way pokier than that cabana I was shown.
When he saw he was getting nowhere, he brought in his boss - who did way worse, trying to offer me a free holiday in North America, which - frankly - is never the place I'm most interested in going. No offence, but he'd have done better offering me something in Europe. He gave up sooner, and took me back to reception - where I was, rather abruptly, shunted over to a lady at the desk, who tried to confirm my discounted ticket, but something had gone wrong with the system, and it wasn't showing. Happily, I already had the email confirmation, so she eventually let me go, waving me vaguely in the direction of someone who booked me a shuttle, and rather distractedly told me to take a seat. There wasn't one free, so I was left wandering the lobby for a few minutes, then got a seat for a few minutes, before someone peremptorily herded me onto another shuttle bus. With a much less communicative driver. I was glad to get back to my hotel.
And so, after a bit, off to Caesars Palace. Now, checking the map, I saw tons of eateries, so figured I'd have dinner there - somewhere. Walked up that way - much shorter than my walk on Thursday - and found the Spiegeltent, where the show is happening, right away:
And so in search of food. Right opposite the Spiegeltent is Gordon Ramsey's Hell's kitchen, FFS! I considered it, but given the name.. and that there were no menus on display.. I figured my wallet would appreciate me going elsewhere.
So, into the hotel.
Such opulent decor - it was nice to get a look around. Definitely not my kind of place though - not with the glamorous guests strolling around, and not with the food prices.. I swear, there was not a single affordable place to eat in there! Avoid like the plague. Desperate for food, and with time running low now, I consulted Google Maps - cheap eateries are in short supply, though. The trick turns out to be to look for something just off the Strip - which is how I found Battista's Hole in the Wall, an Italian bar/restaurant.
I made my way down there - unprepossessing from the outside, it did look quite cosy inside! However, time was now very short, and it was very busy - I figured I'd never get served in time. Happily, across the road, I'd seen an arcade - with a food court! Praying for a solution, I made my way over - hallelujah, had a quick and delicious portion of orange chicken with fried rice, a bottle of water, and a fortune cookie - for just over $20, no tip required - at Pan Asian in the food court. I am so going back there.. especially as it provides an alternative route to the Sphere..
My walk home was shorter than Thursday, mercifully:
And I timed it well to get the fountain show at the Bellagio, which runs every 15 minutes from 7pm to midnight! Happily, I was also home early enough to do Thursday's blog..
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