Throwback Thursday - River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC

Throwback Thursday to the Girls Weekend at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC.  

What is girl's weekend?  Every year a few girlfriends and I go on a girls weekend away instead of celebrating our birthdays with dinners and presents.  We save our money and treat ourselves to a weekend away from our regular daily life and instead take a much needed girls weekend away.

How do we choose our destinations?  It's never easy for the three of us to decide on a place.  It has to be during the weekend from Friday night to Sunday and close enough to return to Vancouver on Sunday.  It needs to have shopping, eating, drinking, spa-ing (luxuriating at the spa), or more drinking.

In 2016 we decided to go to the River Rock Casino in Richmond.  They had Trattoria (highly rated restaurant), the Buffet (which actually was our favorite), casino, Spa Utopia with hot tub and pool access, and shopping at Richmond Center.  It met all of our requirements for a girls weekend away.  

What was our least favorite part of this trip?  Well, I have to admit that I upgraded our room from two queen beds to a suite.  I thought the idea of a suite would be great!  Of course even though no one was smart enough to tell me that this was a bad idea and we should change our room, instead the other girls banned me from ever being in charge of the hotel room for the girls weekend because I would get enough bed.  At least this is one trip we will remember.

What was our favorite part of this trip?  Spa Utopia and the male Registered Massage Therapists who were excellent and after the treatment I had wished that I chose the longer one.  45 minutes was too short.  And The Buffet at the River Rock Casino.  Our timing was perfect so we didn't have to wait long for dinner and were so impressed we returned the next day for the breakfast buffet.  

Take a look at our suite in the Vancity Girlfriends video and you can decide if this is enough space for three?

Our 2017 Girls Weekend away will be in Kelowna, BC coming up in October!  Subscribe to Vancity Girlfriends on YouTube to see what we do in Kelowna.  

Vancouver Restaurant: The Buffet at the River Rock Casino Resort

National Blog Posting Month

Blogging Almost Everyday in November

#NaBloPoMo Day 28 - The Buffet at the River Rock Casino

When we first planned the River Rock Casino Resort staycation, i did not have The Buffet on my list even though I had a casino card which means a small discount.  Instead I was thinking of fancy dinners at restaurants and it was Carolyn who said "I want to go eat at the buffet one night."  Of course I wasn't going to stop that idea because I do love all you can eat buffets.  

The best part was our timing for eating at The Buffet on a Saturday night.  We shopped at Richmond Centre all afternoon to work up an appetite.  I specifically starved myself knowing that the Surf and Turf at the Buffet was coming up!  Surf and Turf of sea and land and that is definitely what the Buffet had.  We returned to the hotel at 4:30pm, dropped off our packages and then went downstairs to the Buffet even though it didn't open until 5pm. 

Boy that was the best decision ever.  There was already a line up and large groups ahead of us.  We made it through the line and were brought into the dining area.  The Surf and Turf weekend buffet had such an assortment of food.  Now the maximum dining time is 90 minutes and believe me, you'll need it.  By the way when we were all done and left the Buffet the line up was even longer and along the hallway so who knows how long those folks had to wait.  

There was the Turf part with prime rib, turkey, chicken with roasted potatoes (I wouldn't dare try the mashed), gravy, toppings, and perogies.  There was an unexciting salad bar.  The Surf part had prawns withe seafood sauce, and the big ticket item were the crab legs!  They had a table filled with sushi rolls and sashimi and another area with hot items such as rice, vegetables, asian noodles.  If you prefer dessert, there was an entire dessert table and a freezer full of ice cream.  So many options, it was hard to choose and eat it all.  

Feel free to check out their prices at The Buffet at the River Rock website here:  http://www.riverrock.com/dining/buffet/  

Travel Tuesday - Melia Peninsula Varadero in Cuba

Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn went to Cuba with her family and I thought it would be great to interview her about her international travel experience.  I've never been to Cuba, only Mexico, so it is nice to hear about Cuba to see if it is a place I would want to explore.  She stayed at Melia Peninsula Resort in Varadero Cuba.  

What was the best part about Cuba?

It was our first official family vacation.  The weather, beaches and original Cuban culture. 

What is the Cuban culture like?

It is like going back in time to 1950s.  There is no technology, no debit machines, no brand names.  They have old cars.  There is a Cuban artwork and street performers as a part of the culture.  

Was the Melia Peninsula Resort kid-friendly?

My son Toby liked the kids pool.  It was a resort pool dedicated to children with a waterslide, water castle and more.  They also have a Kids Club where they have babysitting service and a BBQ food in the kids area.  

Do you have any tips for people traveling to Cuba?

With your money bring Canadian money to exchange to Cuban dollars when you arrive, but don't forget to exchange the Cuban dollars back to Canadian before you leave Cuba.  In Canada the money exchanges do not take Cuban dollars.

Which do you prefer, Cuba or Mexico, and why?

Mexico for sure.  It has friendlier and better customer service.

Check out the video on our channel of the Melia Peninsula Resort in Cuba.  




For those who are curious about Mexico, you can read more on our previous post where I interviewed her about her Mexican vacation:  Iberostar Playa Mita