Hey all,

We're taking our small company for a retreat to Vegas next week staying @ Aria. I'm planning on buying champagne to have in room as part of a gift basket for employees upon their arrival. We have the details of actually getting the stuff delivered to rooms ($2.50/room from Aria in case anybody was wondering) worked out, but I'm still looking for a place to buy champagne on my way from airport to hotel. A quick google turned up "Walkway liquor" @ corner of Tropicana an LV Blvd. and Super Liquor, which looks to be behind Mandalay Bay. If I don't get any good feedback here, I guess I'll just hit one of those two. That said, looking for advice on places that meet the following criteria:

-More or less en route from LAS to City Center via. cab
-Quick/Easy in and out (As I'll have a cab waiting for me)
-Decent selection of low/mid-range champagne ($30 or so/bottle)
-Will sell to me by the case
-Preferably not in a ridiculously sketchy neighborhood

All input appreciated, thanks.

Lee's discount liquor..

ones at

3480 East Flamingo Road

or

9110 Las Vegas Boulevard South

are most proximate.

I can't suggest a liquor store, but don't they have ones that will deliver, particularly given the quantity?

if youre booking enough rooms so that you have to buy it by the case, id think that you could get the hotel concierge and or conference services to pick it up for you.... I also imagine that there is somewhere in CC that sells champagne.

When you come out of the airport tell the cab driver to make a left on Tropicana blvd. A little bit up on the left there is a Vons Supermarket with a very big liquor selection. For every 6 bottles of wine, liquor or champagne you get 10% off. That's your best bet. Don't ask the cab driver to take you to a liquor store cause he will take you to the expensive little ****hole place on industrial which is west of the strip and he will get a kickback. After you exit the Vons the cab should continue going west on Trop and then make a right on LV Blvd and you'll be at CC in 2mins. HTH

Thanks for the helpful feedback guys, appreciated. Looks like I'll be stopping into Vons.

NP. Make sure you have a Vons/Safeway card too, some of the stuff might be on sale.

Didn't think about asking conference services to pick up for me, but not a bad idea, will look into it.

Agree that I could get booze directly though Aria, but that = $$$. If I was just some employee organizing an event for a bigger company, this is likely the avenue I'd go for convenience sake. However, I'm doing this for a small company I own a decent chunk of, so the little extra effort on my part to keep costs down seems worth it.

Are you hiring?

Champagne sucks unless it's chilled (it pretty much sucks anyway), which will be a pain to manage in gift baskets. Consider if you want to deal with the hassle.

Yeah, seriously, in an era where the megacompanies are cutting their Vegas trips, any small company that's putting employees up at the Aria has got to be mad balla. Congrats, OP!

My travel tip of the month should provide this thoughtful OP with a remedy. It can be found in post #1 in this thread.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27...asi-tr-664392/

I'm sure Kim would be happy to provide enough "coolers" for the occasion if he'd just mention my name.

Meh, disagree that bubbles are bad, but to each their own. Anyhow it's more of a "it's the thought that counts" sort of thing than anything else (Champagne/sparkling wine/whatever + some other little stuff with a hand-written note thanking them for their hard work).

Obv expect that people will chill before drinking. Luckily, I have faith in my team's ability to procure ice + chilling vessel

Yeah champagne is pretty nasty overrated crap, it's just too gassy. Show some real taste and pick up some Beaujolais.

Aria gift shop is selling champaign, if its inconvenient to pick it up on the way this is a good backup plan. Keep in mind that some hotels do not allow you to bring in bottles of alcoholic beverages from the outside, I dont know if Aria has this policy but if they do then you may need to adjust your delivery plans.

FWIW, Event coordinator @ Aria confirmed that I can bring in outside booze for consumption in room.

hi TT...i played with u a while ago at the excalibur - a plo night (back in the electronic days - man i wish those were still here!!). Hope all is well.

What places around the strip won't allow outdoor alcoholic beverages? Everywhere I've been it seemed bringing in bottles from the liquor store was a no-brainer.

Oh and Lee's Discount Liquor all around vegas is the best for selection and price bar-none.

Some hotels do not allow outside bottles but I have never ever seen it enforced. No one is going to stop a guest from bringing a bottle of Vodka in to their room hidden in their suitcase.
Also Lee's liquor is great for selection, but price wise the Coast Casinos are usually cheaper and on top of it you get an extra 10% off your purchasesif you have a Coast Connection card. They have liquor stores in the Gold Coast, Orleans, and Suncoast in Summerlin.

I remembered awhile back that right after I had checked into a suite at Caesars (pre-Harrahs) they sent up a gift basket with a mini-bottle of Moet. I think it was around 20 ounces, like a large soda bottle. Maybe you can find something like that. Not only would it be cheaper, but it would fit into an ice bucket whereas a normal sized bottle probably wouldn't.

But I would do as suggested earlier and call the hotel and see how much it would cost for them to put together and deliver the baskets. Who knows? They might surprise you and quote a reasonable price.

Ha, Vegas retreat in a recession? (Real close and convenient to DC)

One of the most expensive hotels in Vegas?

Company is springing for champagne for everyone?

Sounds like AIG. Or some other government (i.e. you and me) funded enterprise.

Nope. Just a little consulting company w/ a decent technical niche.

Ponzi.com

LDO

o yea forgot about the Coast liquor stores...I remember their prices being very good and never knew about the 10% off....thanks!

ERP (SAP) type stuff is my guess..