Transcript
Hello. Hello, hello listeners and welcome to the solo sister Travels podcast. I’m your host, Valerie, and I’ll be talking about my travel experiences both here at home and abroad. Today’s episode is about. My birthday trip to Vegas. So my birthday plans and everything started last year when Hilton Grand Vacations gave me a call to offer me or to invite me to stay at one of their grand locations in Vegas, which was the ALARA. And I’ll get into that and why that place is amazing. Because of my previous days, because I’m also a Hilton honors member, and because whenever I go to New Orleans for my Saints game, I always stay at a Hilton grand location and it’s because of that they called and invited me to stay at the grand vacations. Vegas to also be at the presentation to basically see if they can sell me into doing their timeshare is what it ends up coming down to. So the whole deal was I get three nights. I had to pay at that time. If I decided to, at the time of the call, pay $200, I get the three nights at the. Alara. Whenever I want to go, which of course after conversation and I I did, I just obviously I decided to pay the $200 to do it because I’m like. On a three day weekend and all I have to do is give up two hours just to sit through their presentation. And yes, they’re gonna try and sell me their timeshare, which I already know. That I. Can’t afford. I can do that. No big deal. So when I decided to use the three day stay for my birthday weekend. I called them back, set up everything and I scheduled to do the presentation sooner in the weekend, then later, so the day it started, I was there from like Thursday till Sunday and I scheduled the presentation for Friday morning. So then that way I kind of get in, get out and then I got the rest. Of the weekend to myself. So when I get to Vegas, I check in at the ALARA Hotel where I’ve chosen to stay, or rather not that I chose to stay. This is where the the hotel that they had already pre picked that I I got to stay at this place was. Music. Oh my God, I love this place. It is now my first choice. My number one choice. If and when I go back to Vegas is where I’m going to be. Staying at. Like I said, it’s absolutely beautiful hotel. It’s on East Harmon St. Literally maybe, like, not even a block. Maybe half a block. From sunset strip. When you’re outside, you can see MGM Grand from there, and from my room I could see the sphere, the new sphere that was there. The thing I love about this hotel is that there was no casino. They do not have a casino, which which is beautiful, because then it also means no smoking. You know, or having to walk through the casino to get to your room. And with the no smoking, it’s a non-smoking property all together. So no matter where you go at, even when you’re poolside, no smoking. And I can’t tell you how refreshing that whole thing is. Plus it’s connected to the Miracle Mile, which is all the shopping that I know a lot of people love and it is actually very nice to be that. Close and, you know, do the shopping when if you’re not big, tightened into the gambling and all of that. And yeah, I love. Oh, and the other thing I loved about. It is there’s. Actually, security for the the elevators, so that way only the people that are staying here can get in or use because you have to have your card key to hit all the tap on the little device when it makes your turn green. So yeah that they know you’re staying there. And everything. So just absolutely, 100% beautiful hotel, little a little on the expensive side, but it’s worth it, especially when you stay there, cause you can see why it is. And yeah, I just absolutely loved it. So for my actual birthday, I decided to make myself. I wanted to take my to treat myself to a steak dinner, birthday steak, dinner. So I made reservations at the infamous Golden Steer, which if anybody, or if you don’t know. This is a steak restaurant has been around. I do believe since the late 50s and also this is where, you know, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, celebrities like that hung out at this, right. At this restaurant, not to mention, you know, I hear my feel so hung up there back in the day, but it’s a fantastic restaurant. Of course, when I pulled up, when I had my Uber pull up to it, it was in. It’s in a little strip ball kind of deal. So I was like, is this. Place because you know you take steak restaurants, especially something very nice high end, you know, and that used to go and hang out. You’re not looking forward to be in a strip mall, but it was it. And when you go inside you’re like. Got it. This is it. So it was, it was absolutely wonderful. The service, the food was amazing. I mean that was great. And I truly, truly enjoyed it. It was really funny. Right? When I went to go leave, another couple was leaving at the same time. And the husband asked. He said he was like, how did you like it? And you enjoy yourself. And I said, oh, it did. It was really great and really enjoyed it. And he’s like, oh, good. He was like, yeah, he goes. My wife saw you, you know, cause I was having, you know, dinner by myself. And and he said she looked at him and goes. Man, I wish I could do that. Like, and I told him like, it’s a lot easier than you think to be able to go out to dinner by yourself. So that was that was nice. I took that compliment and just enjoyed it and it really was. I had a wonderful time at the steak restaurant and it was so funny, though, when I.
Thank you.
Was sitting at. The table and I realized they put, you know, the bottle of water at the table. And I was like, oh, man, it. It felt like the tape, the, the, the bottle of water. Was wait on the other side of the table and I was like. I don’t have to get up and walk around to this table to get that water, do I? But one of the valets came along and she started to pour the water. I was like, Ohh, thank goodness. Cause I was like as much as I enjoy and don’t get me wrong, I love having dinner with my friends and everything like that. But I was like, this is the one drawback to having dinner by yourself is that you had nobody at the table that could pass you the water. Or the salt and pepper when you need it. So we just kind of cracked up laughing at that. She was like, I got you, girl. I was like, thank you. But other than that, it was it was a wonderful time. I really enjoyed it and I definitely recommend if you go to next time you go to Vegas, get just do yourself a favor and get a reservation for Golden Steel. But you’re gonna have to try and get it way in advance because this place gets packed. It’s packed all the time. So like, do yourself a favor. Golden steer. It’s amazing.
