Buffet of Buffets

Just came back from Vegas and I thought I'd say a few words about the "Buffet of Buffets" for anyone who is interested.

Normally I don't care too much about where I eat or when as long as the food and service is good but my girlfriend (her first time in Vegas) wanted to try out all of the options for the "Buffet of Buffets. Here's a quick rundown of our experiences:

The 24-hour pass can be purchased at at any of the buffets on the list (LAGO - Caesars Palace; PARADISE GARDEN - Flamingo; FLAVORS - Harrahs; EMPEROR'S - Imperial Palace; LE VILLAGE - Paris; SPICE MARKET - Planet Hollywood; CARNIVAL WORLD - Rio).

Price is now $44.99 with Total Rewards card and $49.99 without. Sign up for the card and save $5.00 per person if that's your thing (plus get $5 free slot play).

The pass begins from the time it is purchased and expires axactly 24 hours later. If you get into a buffet 23 hours 59 minutes after your purchase you're fine but some of the palces are sticklers for the rules and may not permit entry even one minute after your pass expires, EVEN IF YOU'VE BEEN WAITING IN LINE FOR 30 MINUTES.

Alcoholic drinks are extra (brunch exception listed below) but all locations have servers who will bring you any juice or soft drink on their menu (a pretty good selection) as often as you like during your meal.

We did not eat at the Flamingo or Imperial Palace. I've heard too many lousy things about the IP buffet to give it a go although the car museum was well worth it - expecially considering the tix were free from the Harrah's coupon book (save about $9 apiece). We bypassed the Flamingo after eating at Harrah's... I figured they'd be about the same but I could be way off on that one.

Here, in order of my preference are the 5 buffets we did use.

#1 - LAGO; CAESAR'S PALACE:
No question about it for me, this was the best. The place wasn't as big as some of the others and the selection wasn't as varied but the food was BY FAR the best of the bunch. Everything tasted just like you'd expect it to taste, as long as you expected it to tase very good. It was nice and quiet and traffic flow was fine. It had a very cozy feel with lots of booths. The meats were juicy and looked as good as they tasted, the vegetables were fresh and cooked just right. Breads and pastas were top notch. As for the desserts, PIE IN A CUP! GENIUS! The desserts are tiny portions (so grab a bunch) and they have little pies in little cups and it's friggin' awesome. Ok, maybe I got more excited about it than I should have but it was simply a delight to have these little plastic cups with all sorts of wonderful pie flavours inside.
We ate dinner there and decided to go for the brunch a couple of days later. A little disappointed that they were pretty much the same menu but it was still greet food. We went for brunch because of the unlimited champagne, mimosas and ceasar's from 11:00am to 3:00pm. I don't drink alcohol but I discovered that my girlfriend sure does.
Ambiance: 9/10 - Food Quality: 9/10 - Presentation: 9/10 - Service: 9/10 - Wait Time: 5-10 minutes

#2 - SPICE MARKET; PLANET HOLLYWOOD:
This was the biggest place seating about 1300. Don't be fooled by the line upstairs... once they get you down the escalator there's another line about 4 times as long. The food and the selection were very good and the room has a nice feel to it; dark hues and old movie posters and not as loud as it could be for the size. Lots of tables for 2 and 4 plus plenty of room for big groups. Traffic flow was ok with a big line at the crab legs. (What's so exciting about a huge plate of crab legs anyway?) I'd say above average in all categories but be prepared to wait a while for a seat. The food selection was ok with different world themes clearly marked above the serving areas.
Ambiance: 7/10 - Food Quality: 8/10 - Presentation: 7/10 - Service: 7/10 - Wait Time: 50 minutes

#3 - LE VILLAGE; PARIS:
I don't like the gaming area of the Paris hotel but the little streets and shops are really well put together. The buffet entrance is just another little door on the street but once inside it's pretty big. The lighting is so-so with the blue sky and cloud theme on the ceiling (a la Forum Shops) and although it does have an open, outdoorsy feel like you might find on a Paris street the layout was rather thrown together it seemed. Traffic flow was a little tight in areas. The food was average but there was a decent selection, offering choices representing the 5 provinces of France. I was disappointed that the eggs seemed to be of the powdered variety and although I was looking forward to having a crepe it wasn't anything special (I had unbelievable crepes in Tahiti and I guess I was jaded). The servers seemed very rushed and harried. Le Village also offers unlimited mimosas and champagne during their brunch (mon-fri I think) which was a nice touch.
Ambiance: 7/10 - Food Quality: 7/10 - Presentation: 6/10 - Service: 6/10 - Wait Time: 25 minutes

#4 - CARNIVAL WORLD BUFFET; RIO:
I could have made this #3 and Le Village #4 but I think Le Village was a bit more... cultured? This buffet bills itself as the best in Vegas and it certainly offers the widest variety in my opinion. The food is standard buffet fare with nothing really standing out. Meats are ok, pastas are ok, veggies are ok... all in all it's pretty much ok. The place has a good number of booths for 2 or 4 plus lots of 4-person tables and although it's a pretty big area it's well divided so you don't feel like you're in a barn. Traffic flow is good and the service was fairly prompt. There is a big dessert selection with a lot of no-sugar-added choices and a half-dozen or so ice creams/sorbets. Getting in was a bit confusing as they break the one line down into 5 or so and when I walked over to the "Buffet of Buffets" line there was a rope up and no one there so I had to squeeze back into another line... this part could be streamlined.
Ambiance: 6/10 - Food Quality: 7/10 - Presentation: 6/10 - Service: 6/10 - Wait Time: 35 minutes

#5 - FLAVORS; HARRAHS:
Ugh. I had heard good things about this buffet and I have nothing good to say about it myself. There was a short line when we got there but once inside there were lots of empty seats... I think they just want to make it look busy from the outside or they're short-staffed. The place has the feel of a low-end diner. As for the food, I can honestly say I'm not a very picky eater but this was terrible. I went for pasta and pizza - awful. I went back for a cut of meat and some potatos - just as bad. I tried a sample of the sushi - one bite and that was it. I finally filled a plate with salad as that was the one thing I didn't think they could screw up and when I took a bite of a dinner roll I literally couldn't get my teeth through the thing. The food wasn't bad as in greasy or rotton or maggot infested... it just wasn't any good. If the IP is worse than this then I'm very glad I stayed away.
Ambiance: 4/10 - Food Quality: 3/10 - Presentation: 4/10 - Service: 6/10 - Wait Time: 5 minutes


We bought 2 passes (each) and got 3 meals out of each. Dinner-brunch-dinner for the first one and brunch-dinner-brunch for the second. All in all a decent value. If you are staying on the strip I'd recommend that you just go to the Ceasar's, Paris and PH buffets to get the best bang for your buck.

Here's a link to the Buffet of Buffets website:

Did your airline make you buy the second seat on the way back. :)

If you sign up at 8pm, you could get dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For $45? Its almost too good to be true. You could even fit a brunch in there if you wanted..

Thanks for the review. I've only been to Rio. I think if I had to try one more, it would be Caesars based on your recommendation.

I love buffets, but for my money you can't do better than off-strip. Love getting a $2.50 breakfast buffet at Stations or Coast with a 2-for-1 coupon. They try very hard to match Strip quality, and sometimes succeed.

Of the list I have partaken of Rio and Caesars.

I like Rio for the sheer variety. Once had a great experience with a manager there who (unprompted) approached our table and insisted we try some of his desserts and made us a plate of bananas foster and crepes suzette combined which was quite tasty.

We also liked Caesars.

Quote: TheNightfly

Just came back from Vegas and I thought I'd say a few words abou the "Buffet of Buffets" for anyone who is interested.Normally I don't care too much about where I eat or when as long as the food and service is good but my girlfriend (her first time in Vegas) wanted to try out all of the options for the "buffet of Buffets. Here's a quick rundown of our experiences:Price is now $44.99 with Total Rewards card and $49.99 without. Sign up for the card and save $5.00 per person if that's your thing (plus get $5 free slot play).

Thanks for the detail. So would you want to do this for more than 48 hours?

Personally, I think anyone who buys a 4 day pass should be permitted to go to the Seafood Buffet at Rio at least once, and anyone who buys a 7 day pass for over $300 should be able to go to the Sterling Buffet at Bally's once (normally $85 per person).

Great report Nightfly!

Quote: pacomartin

Personally, I think anyone who buys a 4 day pass should be permitted to go to the Seafood Buffet at Rio at least once, and anyone who buys a 7 day pass for over $300 should be able to go to the Sterling Buffet at Bally's once (normally $85 per person).

I assume you're suggesting new multi-day options. Currently, it's only available for single 24 hour periods.

HOWEVER, here's some news from their website:

Quote:

**NEW** The Rio Village Seafood Buffet (VSB) is now part of Buffet of Buffets! During their valid period, for an extra $15 (per person, per visit),....

This is a smart move, it makes me want to go to Vegas. If you go 5 times in 24hr, thats $9 per visit. C'mon...

Quote: EvenBob

This is a smart move, it makes me want to go to Vegas. If you go 5 times in 24hr, thats $9 per visit. C'mon...

There's no question that you can get in more meals within the 24 hours but I guess I'm not a very good AP buffet eater because I really don't think I could have put much more in myself beyond the 3 meals I did. I'm not a morning or breakfast person so I was usually up at the crack of noon. I feel I definitely got value for money and even 3 meals (at $15 per) is very reasonable... but I still say stick to CP, Paris and PH.

By the way, I'm not sure about every buffet on the list but I did see at Paris that you can buy your way to the front of the line ($10 I think) if you don't feel like standing with the unwashed masses.

I'm sorry so was PH the only place with crab legs? A plate full of crab legs and a huge cup of butter is the only reason to go to a buffet.