The Mirage and our first day

The check in at The Mirage was very quick and easy.  The hotel lobby is beautiful.  A tropical paradise.  Behind the reception is an enormous fish tank full of goldfish.  We were initially given rooms on three different floors because of the late check in.  Luckily we had been allocated a disabled/access room on the 19th floor with a lovely view of the mountains. the room was perfect, plenty of space and room for the wheelchair, even in the bathroom. We were assured that other rooms would be allocated on this floor the next day for the rest of our party and they were true to their word.  We all had lovely views.  My daughters room looked out over the beautiful swimming pools, the dolphin pool and part ofthe strip.  It was a fabulous view  (room 19128).  We had a quick bite to eat in the hotel deli and went to bed after a long and tiring day.  The beds are the most comfortable that we have ever slept in.

The Never Ending Journey

Early rise at 5am for the taxi to the airport which picked us up at 6 am.  Six of us are off to Vegas  Myself, Bob, my three adult children Ian Mark and Hayley and Hayley's friend Leesa.

On arrival at Manchester airport a Delta English rep met us and directed us to the express check in where they told us that they had reserved the bulk head seats for us if we wanted them as they thought they would be better for Bob.  We took these and the staff assisted Bob to his seat on the plane.  So far so good!.  The plane journey was ok and uneventful.  Bob coped really well.  the bulkhead seats were not much better than the others as there was no room to stretch your legs and it was difficult eating the meal as the tray fitted in the arms of the seat giving less room.  The staff were helpful and friendly and we arrived in Atlanta nine and a half hours later tired but excited about the holiday.

That was the good part of the journey.  The guy that checked our passports was really friendly and chatty (mainly to the two girls of course).  It went downhill from there.  We had to collect our luggage and put it through security again.  A nice porter helped us with this for a generous tip.  Security was a nightmare!  We were split up because of Bob's wheelchair. Bob and I had to go through a different security check to the rest of our party.  I struggled holding all our hand luggage, pasports  Bob's walking stick, both our shoes which had to be removed and Bob's belt whilst they took him away to check him and his wheelchair even trying to make him stand up.  Not a good first impression of the deep South.  A very large lady who worked at the airport kept shouting at everyone.  -Word of warning -if you go to Vegas avoid Atlanta airport!.

After a train ride to the other side of the airport, a quick drink we then boarded another Delta aircraft for another  four and a half hour flight to Vegas.

On arrival we were met by a lovley LIMO driver who gave us champagne and a tour of th Strip before arriving at our hotel The Mirage.  Definately our oasis in the desert.



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Case Overload

Case Overload!
Hair done, toenails nails minxed (in shiny gold for vegas) and cases nearly packed.  I bought new lightweight grey cases from Freeport.  The lightest in the world they said.  Trouble was that they had a large round sticker on saying lightest case in the world on the front of the case..  Packed case took off stickers and they left a large black sticky mark on the cases.  Emailed bags etc to complain about my nice new grey cases with large black sticky marks.  They replied saying this had been a problem but I could return the cases after my holiday but baby wipes may take off the mark.  Don't have a baby but got some baby wipes -mark even worse now.
Bob's OK today but has been off quite a bit .  I think he is worrying about the holiday especially the flight.  Must go and watch Stictly come ballroom now.



 

Problems...

First problem has  been the airline seats.  As we wanted six seats near one another as I may need help with Bob during the flight (is that too much to ask?).  The first seats they gave us were on row 41 at the back of the plane.  As Bob cannot walk when is he is "off" I thought perhaps the plane is loaded from the back so he won't have far to go down the aisle,  Wrong -- the plane is loaded from the front.  We telephoned Delta who have now given us aisle 29 which is over the wing so probably halfway down the plane.  We were hoping for extra legroom for Bob but it looks like this won't happen.  A lot of the seats are reserved.  We were originally told that Delta had taken over our booking because of the wheelchair situation and we assumed that they were sorting out the seats for us.  Wrong again - we probably  should have gone on line to book the seats.  It would have been better if they had made this clear earlier. Anyway everyone we have spoken to at Delta has been very helpful so lets hope the flight goes OK.  Otherwise I will have to bankrupt myself to upgrade Bob and I on the way back.

A good website to check out the plane seats is seatguru.  It shows all the different planes seating plan and comments about each seat.

Suitcases have been bought, travel money ordered and only a few weeks to go.

Not long now...

Not long now...
Only a month to go now.  Suitacases bought to pack all the new clothes  (sadly not a smaller size as I had hoped) and holiday paid for. We panicked a bit when we heard that BAA were thinking of striking and that could mean the airports would close but then realised that Manchester was not one of the ones threatened.  Also we were devatated to find out that Barry Mannilow is not on while we are there  (just like Penn and Teller he is on holiday).How inconvenient.  He must not have heard that we are coming.  We will just have to make do with Cher!

We also want to see the Love show at The Mirage as we have heard such good reviews of it.





               

The Mirage are so helpful

Whoever runs the Mirage Facebook pages has been so helpful.  I asked if any of the disabled rooms have got a good view and  apparantly there is one on the 23rd floor with a lovely view of the mountains (sadly not the strip but the mountains are lovely). Fingers crossed we may get this one but it depends on availability and I do need the rest of my family nearby  (they are hoping for a strip view).  I will post photos of the room on my return so you can see what it's like.

The other Facebook site Las Vegas Lovers set up by a guy called Dave Plume is also a must.  There is no advertising just lots of useful information about Vegas and peoples trips.  A good network of Las Vegas information.  Someone on there recommended a website called

www.restaurant.com.  You can buy dining out vouchers at greatly reduced prices and every so often they have sales when you can be $10 vouchers for $2.  I have registered on the site and hope I will get some sale offers.

Transport from the airport

I asked for advice on the Las Vegas Lovers pages on the best way to get from the airport to the hotel;  there will be six of us plus luggage and the wheelchair so it seems the best option is a Limo.  I am not sure whether or not to pre-book it.  My brother went earlier in the year and he pre-booked a Limo and was very happy with this.  I think I will leave it for now and decide nearer the time.

The Mirage is on Facebook

The internet is wonderful.  I found that the Mirage Hotel has a Facebook account.  It's brilliant.  There is lots of information about the hotel and posts from people going there or who have already visited.  I posted a question about our rooms and it was responded to straight away.  What a brilliant service.

there is also an account for Las Vegas Lovers.  How fantastic!

The Visa When you travel to the US these days you have to apply for a visa waiver. This is a very easy process. We all got together last Sunday and did them on line. It was so simple. The travel agent Netflights.com had a link on their website which made it even easier. All you need is your passport number, a few questions to answer and your flight details. So this completes the next step of our preparation for the trip. We also want to book a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon if Bob is up to it. I bought two books from Amazon which have a lot of information in about Las Vegas - The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2010. This is usful as it also gives details of the cheapest websites for trips etc. The second book is American Casino Guide. This book is full of two for one coupons in the back and if we use only a fraction of them will pay for itself.

Preparing for our trip

My husband Bob has had Parkinsons Plus for the last 10 years. One of the difficulties with this condition is the inconsistencies. There are brief times when he is fit enough to cut the lawn but mainly he has difficulty walking or is confined to bed due to lack of movement. The other problem he has with the condition is low blood pressure which makes him very dizzy and can cause falls so he cannot be left on his own at all. He never looses his sense of humour though which is a wonderful thing. I retired last September (we are both in our sixties). You have dreams of how you will spend your retirement travelling and going out for pensioners lunches but often things don't work out the way you have planned. We went to Las Vegas 13 years ago for our silver wedding. We always wanted to go again when we retired but obviously things are now more difficult. I decided that I would try my best to get Bob there. I asked my three adult children if they would come both to help and have a family holiday that would last in our memeories. So we all decided to go. What next? I trawled the internet to see if anyone had put on any information on disabled transatlantic travel to Las Vegas but could not find any. I searched for reviews of disabled rooms (access rooms) in Las Vegas but had difficulty finding any. So I decided to write this blog to help anyone in the same position and let them see the progress we make on planning our trip which is booked for September. I know Bob is nervous about going so I want to try and make this as stress free for him as possible. I asked his consultant if it would be ok to go. He confirmed that as long as we got the medical insurance and he drank plenty of water to stop dehydration we should be ok. Which flight? We have booked Delta flights from Manchester via Atlanta to Vegas via netflights.com. We have requested disabled assistance at the airports and on the plane. The long flight is going to be a problem. I will let you know how it was when we return. We are allowed to take two walking aids free of chage so will be taking his wheelchair and probably his walking frame. Which hotel? This proved a bigger problem. I could notfind any information on disabled rooms. Then I realised that they are called access rooms. Anyway we have decided on The Mirage. We have requested an access room and that the rest of our family are nearby. Will let you know how this goes. Insurance I booked this through AXA. Had difficulty doing it on the website presumably due to the medical problems (Bob also has had a small stroke from which he has fully recovered and suffers from Asthma). I am also diabetic but control this with diet (must lose weight). The cost of the insurance for both of us for 10 days was around £240. So that is where we are up to now. We have booked the flights, hotel and insurance. I will keep you informed of any trips we book or shows we book and our preparation for the holiday. Hope I have not bored you.