Well, they had all the guests go to a convention-type place at the MGM grand (which is not far away). Every shuttle driver, every taxi driver got this news, that you should not take guests to the Monte Carlo but take them here instead. Our bus driver (to the Hoover Dam–we were just about to go on this tour when we saw the fire) got this message from dispatch and let us know, along with the fact that no one was hurt.
There they had food, water, internet access, hundreds of cell phone chargers, and Red Cross people you could talk to if you needed anything. They had everyone write their name down along with their Monte Carlo room number, names of people in the room, cell phone, and number of piece of luggage back in your room.
Then you went back outside where they had shuttles lined up to take you to other hotels. You could basically just hop on one. Eventually they had people at properties all over. Monte Carlo is owned by the MGM people and they own a LOT of other stuff. My friends, who went through this just after the evacuation, were all put up at MGM’s timeshare suite place, so they didn’t have a choice. But by the time we got there 4 hours late, there was one shuttle headed to the Mirage and one to the Luxor. Other people were waiting around for different shuttles, either because they were hoping for something fancier or because they wanted to be at a different point in the strip. We decided Luxor because it was closest to where our friends were staying and we were eager to get settled.
They checked us in at the Luxor with little fanfare, gave us toothbrushes. Their computer systems must be connected because they didn’t even have to ask when we were checking out.
Later that day they put a letter under the door with an update, and the news that they’d call our voicemail when we were allowed back to get our stuff. That happened about 9 pm that night.
And no, there was no cost to us when we checked out (for the room) but I have yet to see what the Monte Carlo charges us. I’ll post more on this later (gotta run at the moment)
To help people get their stuff, they again commandeered a ton of shuttles. They went around to designated spots at all the other hotels, and they took you back to the Monte Carlo. They had you go in the back to avoid the broken glass and other stuff out front. When you arrived, they had you fill out a form, be escorted up to your room where a manager unlocked the door and waited outside for you to pack up. Then we signed a form about any property losses (none, we were on the 10th floor), the manager marked the door as having been emptied, and were escorted back downstairs and put back on shuttles to our respective hotels. There were tons of staff, most of them in regular clothes so it was apparent they drafted everybody to come in ASAP. People on high floors couldn’t get their stuff that night; no idea how all that went down.
I was not charged for our room at the Luxor, but I don’t know what will happen to our Monte Carlo bill. Frankly, other than being inconvenienced and separated from our friends, we weren’t harmed. We ended up at a better property. I wouldn’t object if we were billed in full for our expected stay at the Monte Carlo. All in all they handled things pretty well.
Some people had it worse because their cars were stuck back at the Monte Carlo, or they couldn’t get their stuff in time for their flights home, or they had a wedding planned there, or they were at the spa and got thrown out in their bathrobe. We had none of those problems.
The funny thing about my friends not believing me, and not leaving until I sent a photo, is that the story has now enlarged to me “saving their lives.” In another week I am sure the story will have me bursting into their rooms, throwing them over my shoulder, and carrying them down 20 flights through smoke and flame.
