Las Vegas Monorail Co

This is a review for the Las Vegas Monorail.

The reality of the situation is the monorail is pretty much a bust. Highly inconvenient and expensive, it would have been better to have been an underground system or maybe even something that ran down the center of the strip however the traffic backlog from building that and destruction of the views are msot likely why that never happened in the first place.
The monorail is significantly off the strip and behind the hotels. While this seems Good in theory, it makes for a tortuously long walk through confusing casinos to access it. From NYNY casino we had to cross the street and walk all the way through MGM Grand and up a series of escalators to get onto the system. The trains are clean and well kept and run efficiently from a timing stand point. But to get to the Venetian you have to get off at the station behind Harrahs where we proceeded to get lost and then walk out the front and out onto the strip. Signage is pretty poor and since it does not run all the way to the convention center or the airport (due to the taxi drivers) it is highly inconvenient. You will save money taking it instead of a cab, but it wont save you much time.

Mandalay Bay Events Center

Mandalay Bay Shark Reef is a nicely themed well done aquarium. Yes it is small and not cheap, but that being said, it is very well done. Staff was friendly and the place was very clean it has a fun gift shop.

New York New York Hotel Casino Parking Garage

New York New York Casino and Hotel is a nice place overall. Probably more of a 3.5 star review. Location is not the best as it is toward the southern end of the strip so it's a failry long walk or cab ride to any other spot on the strip.
The rooms are nice by Vegas standards although due to the layout of the hotel, rooms can be a long walk from the closest elevator. The layout is a little confusing in the shopping and restaraunt area. The fast food option are better than the full service places which are a little overpriced based on quality.
I would stay here again but the expereince was not overwhelming

Pied Piper Bar

Love the Pied Piper. Very class bar with polished wood (cherry or oak, I don't know) a few televisions on (luckily the sound was off). Service was very attentive by the wait staff. Gorgeous mural of the Pied Piper over the bar. Simply put a super cool place that makes you wonder what hanging out in the early 1900s must have felt like. Would return again in a heartbeat. Even better, a hop, skip and a jump from BART station.

Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara

The Hotel Oceano is really all about location. They are one of the few hotels that actually do not require a 2 night stay (at least in April) and they are right across the street from the beach. Plenty of shops and restaurants nearby as well as Sambos. Short walk to State Street and the wharf. The hotel is really just okay. Room we stayed in was not carpeted other than an area rug and floors were quite dirty. No A/C, simply a ceiling fan which was fine with us. Did not use pool and tried to use their bikes but by 7:15 am they were all checked out. A little inconvenient in the sense that if you need anything you have to call for it. Need ice, an attendant brings it. If you do not tip him you are a tool, so the ice cost me $2. Parking is also a pain here. Spaces are tight so better not bring anything larger than a true compact or you may end up with dinged doors in the morning. Also depending on the location of your room, it could get noisy. We were right by a staircase and there was lots of traffic going up and down all night so a restful night we did not have. Overall, stay here for the location only.

Knuckles Historical Sports Bar

Okay, let's get this straight right off the bat. Sports memorabilia and lots of televisions, do not a great sports bar make! I knew it was going to be a long day when the couple behind me got a corked bottle of wine and then left due to how long it took them to get their food and then the servers all gathered around and seemed to laugh about it. Service for us was spotty at best. Yes there are plenty of televisions, but depending on where you sit, you basically have to block walk ways to see certain screens, usually the ones you want to watch. And the food. Oh my god. I think some one defecated on my nachos. Quite possibly the worse food I have ever eaten. Let's see, chips not fresh, check. Canned jalapenos chilis and inedible salsa, check. God knows what kind of chili with beans in the mix, check. If I was smart I would have thrown the nachos directly into the toilet and cut out the middle man. Sorry, but all the free crappy popcorn and peanuts simply do not make up for a meal fit for someone at Gitmo.

Concannon Vineyard

Exactly what is so historic or memorable about this place?? Let's see. Most of their fruit is sourced from outside of Livermore, check. Bought by the third largest wine conglomerate in the world, check. Just finished a multi million dollar face lift that is like placing a brand new suit on a pile of crap, check. Have not produced a drinkable wine since Tom Lane left 8+ years ago, check. Righteously Rose which is quite possibly the worse wine I have ever placed in my mouth, check. You can buy a magnum of their crap Petite Sirah at Cost Plus for less than the price of a regular bottle of their wine, check. The old patriarch is paraded out to spout out history like a broken down audio animatronic, check. An outright lie about the oldest continuously labeled wine, or some nonsensical crap like that, check.(I mean really, is that the best your marketing department could come up with?) An overpriced, over hyped wine bar that serves the CEO's wife's wine, check. A place I will never return to or bother to spend another of my hard earned dollar at, check. Sorry Concannon. You jumped the wine shark years ago along with any semblance of pride in what you make.

New and Notable Hotels

Luce is a complete and total puzzley. Here is the basic review: atmosphere is terrific, a sleek modern look in the hotel lobby. Service was attentive and overall very good. Very cool wine list with a great international selection. Presentation of food was beautiful. Quality of food was delicious. Very good. Here is the major problem. Portion size. I am not a big guy, 5'11" and 185 pounds so don't get the idea that I expect Hometown Buffet portions. The portions at Luce are ridiculously small, especially for the price. Shared a vegetable salad for for $14 that was basically carrots and root vegetables with some bread crumbs and olives, throw in a tomato that was halved. Beautiful display, small portion for $14 bucks. Ordered beef tenderloin for $30, potatoes were hilarious. A rectangular wedge, 4" long. 3/4" wide and about 1/2" tall. Then there were 2 small root vegetables that were halved (not sure what they were, but about the size of a small radish). come on Luce! It's potato for crying out loud. Dessert was the kicker. I almost laughed out loud at the server when he brought over the sampling of house made sorbets, 3 different sorbets shaped like a flowing ray of the sun in the design of their logo. Pretty yes, but literally each one was a a bite, and maybe the equivalent of 1.5 tablespoons of actual sorbet (let's be generous and say 2 tablespoons). At the end of the night, there were three of us, I dined with 1 normal sized woman and a very petite woman. 2 glasses of wine, 2 diet cokes, one appetizer, 3 main entrees, 3 desserts (someone in our party ordered the fall cake not sure what it was), which was even funnier because they lit cinnamon on fire on it and around it as the dish was placed inside a larger dish that looked like potpourri and it smelled the place up around our table so the guy who was sitting next to our table who had ordered a bottle of wine was not thrilled with smelling burnt cinnamon. Total bill with 20% tip was $240 for 3 people, and all 3 of us left hungry. As much as the food was great, you simply cannot leave a restaurant of this esteem and be that hungry. I almost go the impression that the place was mocking us. To put it simply, I would not return to this place especially with so many really terrific places to spend my hard earned money where I can actually spend less, get the same quality of food, and not leave feeling a pit in my stomach. Sorry Luce, I've given you my last dime.

Las Positas Golf Course

A solid muni course. Not great, not horrible, but it's okay. The overall condition is pretty good. The nine hole has some odd layout and you can tell it was squeezed in around the airport. The 18 hole has some interesting holes and the grill and bar has decent food and some eye candy to boot.

Poppy Ridge Golf Course

This is not a bad course at all. The club house is huge for events and spacious. Most of the staff were friendly. The problem is there is just not much to look at at this links style course. Some rolling brown hills and tons of wind do not a cool course make. You can count the trees on one hand , but lakes, grottos, and event swamps more than take their toll on your ball count. Oh and did I mention that damn wind. I would say this one is a little over priced for what you actually get.