“Las Vegas?!”, I gasped as my husband grinned widely, clearly pleased with his plan, “You are joking. Right?”. He said he wasn’t. He liked Las Vegas, the shows and the hotels on the Strip and had always wanted to go back for another visit. Plus, he added, it’s a direct flight.
We were busy planning a road trip to the Southwest of the USA, with the main purpose to go hiking and visit some of the iconic national parks. I like being outdoors, I enjoy driving through the vast miles of no-man’s land and, most importantly, we only had three weeks of holiday and a long list of things we wanted to see. Las Vegas was down at the bottom for me.
That said, life is a compromise and one of our favourite singers was performing in Vegas, so I agreed. To 48 hours. Keep on reading to see how we made most of the time.
From canyon to crowds
We arrived in Las Vegas by car, following a long drive from Utah. After three weeks of sleeping in cabins and cruising on deserted highways, I was still trying to get my head around the fact that I was back in a city – whilst at the same time trying not cause an accident on the Las Vegas Strip. My husband was glowing with excitement and taking photos through the open window of the car. We had planned to stop for a photo at the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, but quickly changed out mind as we saw the crowd of people lined up to do the same. My husband leaned further out of the window and shot the one and only snap we got of The Sign.
Onward we went to our hotel, the Bellagio. Inspired on the houses and villages on the shores of Lake Como, entering the Bellagio is like taking a trip to Italy. And checking into a Las Vegas hotel is like checking in for a flight. We joined the queue of people with massive suitcases and snaked our away to one of the many reception counters. “Be careful”, the receptionist said, as he bended forward confidentially, “Be careful when you want to look at the items in the minibar. It works with a weighing system. If you lift something up, you’ll get charged. And I’ve never in my life been thirsty enough to pay $20 for a bottle of water”. Me neither. Forty minutes after we’d walked in, we got our keys and made our way to our room.
I had high expectations (which were reinforced by the room price), but our room in the Bellagio looked just like any other hotel room. The view of the strip and the fountains in front of the hotel was a plus, but rather bleak through the tinted windows (which were at least effective in keeping the sun out). As soon as we were settled in and freshened up, we set off to explore the hotel. Strolling through the endless casino and admiring the seasonal flower display in the conservatory, this was practically an afternoon-filling activity.
Roaming The Strip
The Bellagio was only the beginning. The Las Vegas Strip is packed with themed hotels where prices are defined by an unofficial pecking order according to the level of detail that has been applied when developing the theme and the amount of money that is thrown at maintaining it. Ceasar’s Palace, designed as a Roman mansion and containing perfect replicas of Rome’s biggest attractions, is at the higher end. Like its siblings along the strip, it contains much more than rooms and a restaurant. It has its own high-end shopping gallery, an amazing swimming pool, the mandatory wedding chapels and much more. In the casino, you can put your money on practically anything, such as plastic horses going in rounds on a fake racing course with a random winner being picked.
The Flamingo hotel was next. It is one of the older generation of hotels on the Strip and on my must-see list. Spend six years in a student dorm named Flamingo has left me with a borderline unhealthy fascination for the cute pink birds. If I ever return to Las Vegas, that’s where I stay. The Flamingo’s age is visible, but this is what makes it quirky and attractive in my view. When I spotted the old-fashioned one-armed bandits, I could not resist…
Tiger spotting
Fast-forward to the next morning, when we continued exploring the hotels. We started at the Mirage, themed as a lush desert oasis. The hotel is probably best known for its “Siegfried & Roy – Masters of the impossible” show. The two entertainers became famous with their performances involving tame white tigers and lions, until a lion attack in 2003 ended their career. The show is gone, but the (some of the) animals are still there, housed in a small zoo in the hotels backyard. I made the mistake of paying the fee and visiting – the sight of the old, skinny animals in the noisy surroundings is heart-breaking and a disgrace.
Downtown to Fremont St
I will save my readers all the details of our visits to Treasury Island, Bally’s, Cromwell and a few other resorts and fast-forward again to Downton Las Vegas. We took a local bus to the old part of town where the first resorts and casinos were built. For just over $6 you can get a day pass that will take you back and forth, as well as along the Strip. The older hotels, faded wedding chapels and traces of long-gone outlets are fascinating and worth the trip. We were also lucky to be there are a time when a classic cars exhibition was on along Fremont Street, the main street of the neighbourhood, bringing the experience even more alive. A later lunch in an old-school diner made the experience complete.
We allowed ourselves a few lazy hours at the Bellagio’s pool and ended the day with a lovely steak dinner and a visit to Harrah’s hotel. Speaking of dinner, do make all your reservations ahead unless you’re planning to have a burger at an odd time off the day – needless to say venues fill up.
Steve Wynn’s legacy
A final fast-forward to our last few hours in Las Vegas. We had spent quite some time in Steve Wynn’s footsteps, having stayed at the Bellagio, explored the Mirage and Treasure Island hotels on the Strips and the Golden Nugget downtown. In case you haven’t heard of Steve Wynn, the businessman is the creator of the aforementioned hotels and played a key role in the expansion of the Las Vegas strip (as well as other notorious gambling towns).
His most recent Las Vegas projects are the construction of the Wynn and Encore hotels and we didn’t want to miss out on seeing these. It is immediately obvious that they are the newest hotels on the Strip and that a lot of attention and detail has gone into their creation.
Popping over to Italy?
Our very final stop was a visit to Venice. Just like Ceasar’s Palace resembles Rome, The Venetian hotel is practically an exact copy of the Italian town. You can ride a gondola, eat gelato on a riverside terrace and admire Venetian landmarks.
We concluded our trip with a rush for the airport. Although sad the holiday was over, I was somewhat glad to escape the craze of the Sin City. I ticked the box, no need to go back.
