Thursday, January 21, 2016

Self check-in Kiosks at Caesars Properties

A recent LA Times article pointed out that several Caesars Entertainment properties have introduced self-check-in kiosks at their Las Vegas hotels.

The article praises the kiosks as a fast way to get into your room after a long day of traveling.

While this is a good point, and I generally enjoy using self-service kiosks (Alamo is my car rental agency of choice partially because they have kiosks) I'm a little wary of kiosks at hotels.

When you're in Las Vegas there are so many different room type options to choose from. Being able to schmooze the front desk agent (often with a $20 bill) can be your key to getting a better room.

With a kiosk I'm guessing your options will be limited. The kiosk will probably offer you an upgrade, but it will likely cost you much more than a single $20 bill. Also if you have a specific request or area of the hotel that you prefer - a kiosk might be less accommodating than an actual person.

We'll have to see if these kiosks catch on to the point of replacing front desk clerks entirely. That seems like a possible scenario, but I think the person-to-person interaction of a live desk clerk will still be an available option for the foreseeable future.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Giada at The Cromwell Review

It was New Year's Eve and my wife and I were looking for a quick bite to eat for lunch. We were around center Strip and things were starting to get crowded. We decided to see if we could get a table at Giada.

Somewhat surprisingly the restaurant was fairly empty, and we were seated immediately by one of the attractive hostesses. As an aside, every staff member at the restaurant was good looking.



My wife had the Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese with heirloom tomatoes, which she enjoyed greatly.

I had the Lobster Hash with marble potatoes, Nueske’s bacon, lobster meat, peppers, tomato, onion confit with sunny side up eggs and toast. It was good, but I would have liked more lobster for the $34 price tag.



The service was great and the view of the Strip was nice even from our table, which was not that close to the window. Located on the second floor, I found Giada to be a good place to take in a meal away from the hustle and bustle of the Strip.