Monday, October 7, 2024
Day one of the trip.
It is actually day two now
but I think I’ve recovered enough from day one to write about it.
As we always do, we checked into the Comfort Inn Inn, Romulus, Michigan on Sunday night in preparation for our flying to Vegas on Monday morning. It is definitely not a fancy place but we like the fact that it’s mere inches from the airport and they have a free van that takes you over in the morning. None of us got a good sleep on Sunday night. I slept for only two hours. That is not a good way to begin what you know is going to be a very long travel day.
Various things went wrong during the day. Some of them just aggravating, some of them downright maddening. The first issue was that the Comfort Inn had neglected to write down that we needed the transfer van at 7:30 in the morning when we checked in Sunday evening so when we came out in the morning to get the van there was no van. They had to call for it so that was solved easily enough.
The worst part of the day was trying to check in for our flight at Spirit Airlines. I know what you’re thinking, flying Spirit was our first mistake. Apparently Spirit has decided that they no longer intend to help you in any way in obtaining your boarding pass or getting your luggage processed. I normally get wheelchair assistance but I know that Spirit’s gates are directly behind security so I didn’t need a wheelchair to get that distance. So I didn’t head for the wheelchairs instead I walked up to a counter that was labelled Assistance but I discovered that the only assistance they actually offer was to tell you to do everything yourself. Yup. No one helps you do anything in Spirit’s world. I don’t know if all airlines are going to go this way but it is very frustrating. It might be enough to stop me from flying at all.
You are first sent to a machine to print out your boarding pass. That was relatively painless. We obtained our boarding passes and luggage tags quickly. Next you are directed to a machine to check in your luggage. This was the problem. There are a series of steps, but when you get to the step where you have to scan your boarding pass and then scan your passport, we had a lot of problems. For some unknown reason it would not accept either my passport or Terin’s passport. It kept saying Failed. We tried over and over. There was a staff person present but he was helping other people because everyone was having problems. Eventually a bunch of red lights came on and our machine froze completely. We were ready to tear our hair out at this point. Eventually a lady came over and just overrode everything and we were accepted. Then you have to wrestle your bags onto this floor level conveyer belt. What happens if you are disabled and not able to do all this? This new way of doing things really annoys me. How is this better or faster than them just printing my boarding pass, taking my bag and sending me on my way?
Then we moved over to security where even though I had a walker, not a wheelchair, they allowed us into a shorter line. Security screening was easy and we were off to our gate. Our flight was on time and ran smoothly. I had purchased the Big Front Seats and now it seems that they give you snacks and drinks free with those seats so that was a pleasant surprise. I was able to get a wheelchair helper fairly quickly at Harry Reid airport and he was a super nice guy. We picked up our suitcases and then went to the taxi line which was enormous. I mentioned to him that on my last trip, the wheelchair assistant had managed to get me to the head of the line at the taxi cab line, so he persisted and managed to do that for us again, which we were very happy about because the line was about 500 people long! I tipped our guy twenty bucks for his help. They put us in a van and we were off to the Cosmopolitan.
We needed an actual meal and I knew the Henry closes at 2 pm so we scampered over there right away. We were told that we were on a waiting list and that has happened to me before so I wasn’t surprised. We only waited about 20 minutes or so before we had a table. As usual the food was really tasty. Terin had a chicken sandwich, Mike had a Cobb salad and I had the tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Our waiter was so sweet and charming I gave him a big tip.
Next I went over to the MGM Rewards desk in the hopes of tier matching but sadly that had ended Sept 30, a few days before our trip. Sigh. So much for that idea.
It was about 2:15 when we went to check in. There wasn’t a room ready but he gave me some keys and said the room was being “ expedited “ and that we would be called when it was ready. We sat on benches and waited for an hour and a half with no word. Doesn’t seem very expedited to me! Finally I called them to save us the trouble of staggering over to the desk again and they gave us a number and said it was ready. We assumed, incorrectly, that the keys that we had been given would open the room and work in the elevator. They did not. So we went back down to the first floor and stood in yet another line to get functioning keys! Glory hallelujah! They worked!
So that situation was settled and I made my slow painful way back the Uber area. As always I have the issue of not knowing one car from another and also the fact that in Canada license plates are on both the front and the back of a vehicle. Here I have to run into traffic in order to catch a glimpse of the back of the car. Finally I was settled in a nice Infinity on my way to Fountainebleau to stay for the first time. Check in was quick. I don’t know where anything is here so it took awhile to find the guest elevators. They sure are a long way from the desk!
Initially I was disappointed because I was on a low floor but I shouldn’t have been. My view is still stunning and I can still see the top half of the Sphere. There isn’t much I can say about this place that hasn’t be said before. The hallways are so wide and beautiful I could live in them! The room is fabulous. Everything is spotless and smells wonderful. I have never stayed in a hotel with all these beautiful fancy extras. Glass glasses, fancy soap dishes, etc etc etc. I am not a huge fan of modern furniture but I can tolerate it here. And oh the bed is amazing!! So comfortable!
By the time all of this had been accomplished it was around 4:30 pm and we were all so exhausted that we all just crashed. We were all asleep by 7 pm. I woke up briefly at 10 pm but then slept again till 5 am.
( Which is 8 am in my world. Very late for me)
I have no plans today except to relax and recover from yesterday. .I think I could quite happily sit in this room for 4 days and never move at all!
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