Q: 2.50 transaction ATM fee. Come on. FCUs are supposed to stick together. Oh wait. This is vegas.

A: negative

Q: I've been in this place a time or three, and I was initially entranced by the amount of religious candles, pinatas, and quinceanera preparation stuff. Literally, it feels like you cross the border and are in Mexico proper when you enter the store. For a white guy like myself, it's fascinating, if not a little disconcerting. Oh, how I prayed for an aisle of lucha libre masks. The time I broke down and had to pick up something from the store, which in shortening the description, was a "cluster". I don't know what happened, but it had the full Mexican grocery store packed to capacity vibe I had experienced in Tijuana shops. I've never had to fight so hard to move around. I had to buy some cough drops, and asked one of the floor staff. He turned to me and smiled, letting me know that he had no idea what I was saying. But he took me to the front, so I could talk to a cashier. He said something to her in Spanish, and she looked at me. Apparently, English wasn't her first language, either. Bear in mind that when I talk to someone who doesn't primarily speak English, I'm not one of those jerks who speaks to someone slowly like a small child, or a mental case. Nor do I need to needlessly raise my voice, because obviously, speaking loudly is a sure way to get someone to understand you when they wouldn't otherwise before. I kept it simple, clear, and to the point. "Hi. I'm looking for cough drops?" Silence. Her smile forms. "Cough drops?" "Cock drops", she responded a little too innocently. .... Okay, what place serves "cock drops"? Really. And whatever does, I don't want to know. We all stood looking at each other, confusedly, before I tried again. "Cough drops. Medicine." "Maybe in there," she points at this locked cabinet, which had 1,000 different medicine types that I've never heard of before. And no cough drops. You're right there within better visual range than I am. Can't you tell? I had to pick up another thing or two. I couldn't get help because no one seemed to understand English. I understand it's a Mexican market, so I'm walking into non-gringo territory, but if I can learn a few basic phrases in Spanish, at least have employees who can understand some basic English for when that random white dude walks in. Bottom line, if you want to get some authentic Mexican foodstuffs, this is the place. Prices are average to a little overpriced, but they are stocked with some unique food choices bound to make you a hit at the next barbecue. But go on a quieter day or I guess bring a translator if you're non-Hispanic and can't find things on your own.

A: negative

Q: I must say that I expected a lot of Aria and the City Center in general. After some recommendations we were convinced this would be a great choice for a friends bachelorette party since we were all on a tight budget and the rates were great at $119 per night. Upon arrival, the checkout lines are very long and super unorganized. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful. We asked for connecting rooms and I must say this was the best/worst part of the trip. One room had MANY problems but the biggest was a a putred smell in the toilette/bathroom area. This problem was attempted to be cleaned but nothing would help. The room itself was very small for a Vegas hotel room, the lighting was confusing and would turn off during showers, and the TV would freeze every minute. The other room was just as small, had TV problems but no smell in the bathroom. We were so frustrated with the problem in one room as 8 girls had to use one bathroom for most of the trip, we tried to call several times for an engineer to come up but realized that most of the staff just doesnt have enough training. Every person on the phone had a different answer to the same question and one example being "Do you have an in house Dr?" One person says no, the other yes. This is a basic safety question. Since we were all set up for the bachelorette, on the last day a manager offered to move us to another room but we would have to seperate the group which wouldnt work for us. In the end, we told them the entire story, all our frustrations and they comped us the total charge for the one room that had issues. The manager was very professional and we appreciated the comp. I can tell you that I will not be staying at the Aria again as I also didnt really like being away from everything, no affordable options to eat anything in the hotel, weird scent throughout, small pools and in general, it needs to have more of the Vegas flare in terms of service. Maybe in a year or two it will work out these kinks and I might try it again.

A: negative

Q: I was excited to try this restaurant because of the top chef association, but not good. We arrived early and were greeted nicely and offered drinks. The service issues started when I ordered a sangria and it was really sweet. I went to the bar to get some soda water added and literally sat there for 5 minutes while the bartender chatted with two men at the bar. The bar had 4 people total sitting, so it wasn't busy. Literally, the bartender would not turn around. I went over to the other side of the bar, interupted his conversation, and said the drink was really sweet and he helped me out. He did not offer me another drink, but added the water. We were seated at a really awkward bar table and we were a party of 15 - very strange when a regular table was available. Maybe they were trying to make the bar look full. The chairs were high, had no backs and everyone was uncomfortable. We received appetizers and they were ok, not great. One pet peeve, they brought appetizers and served bread slices and they only included enough bread for one slice per person, when there was a much larger quantity of the cheese and dip to eat. Then they pulled away the appetizers before people were finished. I was not really impressed with any of the food, the entree was dry and uninspired. The desserts were served family style on a big slab of wood, again awkward. Oh and the strangest thing, the bathroom smelled like a sewer, don't know what's wrong there, but not good at a nice restaurant.

A:
negative