All The Sarky Traveller blogs now have a new home on thesarkytraveller.blogspot.com
This time we'll be delving into The Vegas, exploring hotels, casinos, shopping, breakfasts, attractions and freebies.
Now some top tips if you are going to Vegas and you're not going as part of a package holiday:
- Wait to book your hotel till a few weeks before you go, there are likely to be deals on the Internet and pretty fantastic ones at that.
- Check out sites such as hotels.com, hotwire.com and lastminute.com. You may just find a bargain.
- If you do go for a secret hotel, you choose by star and they tend to tell you if it's on strip or off strip.If it's your first time in Vegas, you're definitely going to want to be on strip and trust me, it's affordable on all levels of budget.
- If you happen to be there mid week rather than a weekend you can get amazing offers on suites and rooms with Jacuzzis and various extras, so you might want to bear that in mind.
- Also, if you happen to go out of season you get all the heat and sun but less of the crowds. (October was fantastic!)
- And finally, if you're staying a few days you might want to mix it up and stay in a couple of different hotels, that way you experience even more of the Vegas magic.
If you are driving you will have the option of valet parking or self parking. Unless you are really flush or just enjoy pretending you are, I'd opt for the self parking. And yes we are slightly paranoid Brits but excuse me for wanting to know where my car is, not just handing it over, along with the keys to a total stranger. Never mind the fact that it's a hire car, so not even ours.
Anyhoo, if at all paranoid or neurotic, just self park. It's much better for peace of mind, it's free and you get to keep hold of your keys. Besides, that'll be one thing you don't have to tip for as well.
You have to walk through the casino to get to reception, just to begin the temptations. The lights, the bings and bongs of machines, the blaring pop music (most of it particularly retro), alcohol practically flowing from the walls, the chink of coins, our feet sticking to the carpet. Yes! That's it! Exactly what you wanted. Not to mention live music, TV screens everywhere. Talk about over stimulation.
Now we'd booked The Stratosphere around 3 weeks before and got a great deal on the room, especially as it was Saturday night, but joy of joy, when we got there they upgraded us to a bigger room on a higher floor. Whoop!!!! The benefits of going well off season, though of course The Vegas party never stops, it's an all year rounder.
Our massive room and bed big enough for four.
Just to point out here, that the hotel is not in the tower of The Stratosphere. It's in a building to the side of it. But the great thing about staying here, is unlimited access to the tower and the observation deck. (Normal price $18 each). NB: You have to go through a metal detector thing so leave the knives in the hotel room.
You take an elevator (a lift) to the 108th floor observation deck and there you can look down on Vegas, with easily the best view of the strip. There are bars up there, places to eat and plenty of seats to soak up the view. (Don't forget, youngsters, that you have to be 21 to drink over there and also to go in the casinos. An underage excursion is risky at best. They will card you and throw you out if you can't produce.) Note this is the highest building in Nevada, (1,149ft) not that that's particularly challenged by the rest of the desert. Still it's a nice claim to fame.
On top of the World
The Strip from The Stratosphere
There's a cocktail bar on the 107th floor, a revolving restaurant and even Sky Jump Las Vegas, a controlled free fall from the 108th floor. (No thanks. Not a fan of throwing myself off buildings, especially on the first day of holiday when I've been planning this for the best part of three years.)
If you're still not high enough, then check out the extreme rides on the summit. There's a ride like the Playstation at Blackpool pleasure beach, (The Big Shot) only this shoots you up the pole of The Stratosphere at a rate of 3G's and a further height of 160ft. Or if dangling off the side of buildings is more your thing you can opt for the X-scream or Insanity both of which extend over the sides and one of which spins you as well, just to add to the fun! All rides are $15 each or there are day pass options and group pass offers.
The Stratosphere is at the very South end of The Strip and some would say in no man's land, but you can't trump the views and if you have tower climbing geek status as I do, then the tower will be enough of a draw to counteract any worries about missing out on the bigger party. Also, those extreme thrills people will definitely want to sample the delights of the 1,000ft theme park. Besides, taxis are uber cheap and it's only a short ride and you're in the heart of the madness.
As for other hotels, there are hundreds and hundreds. I can only really comment on the two I stayed in (New York New York in the next blog) but if you're like me I would say a hotel room is only to sleep in, so why not get a deal on a 4* hotel and then use the money you save to visit all the 5* hotels/casinos anyway. Okay, you won't be able to go into the rooms, unless you make friends (oh baby) but all the casinos are free to get into. So you can explore each and every one, or simply spend the day in 5* ones and pretend you're really posh.
The Stratosphere's Best Bits:
- Staying at the hotel gets you free access to the tower, otherwise it's quite pricey at $18.
- The observation deck gives amazing views of the whole of Vegas.
- Recently renovated rooms and casino.
- Live bands, music and shows.
- Roof top theme park.
- Tallest building in Nevada. (Tower climbing geek status.)
- Great deals on hotel rooms all year round.
If you've travelled over the pond then you're likely to wake early due to the fuse, so I would suggest getting up and taking in the desert haze before it clears. Truly beautiful colours. Depending on how high up your hotel room is, will influence how much you see of course, but if you have a decent view check it out.
A desert morning haze. Beautiful!
Look how close we were to the tower.Now, the only way to do breakfast in Vegas, is BUFFET style. Renowned for it's brunch buffets, with food from all over the world and unlimited cocktails (this of course costs more), you are sure to find whatever you could possibly want. And I mean, whatever you could possibly crave. Must be a pregnant woman's dream. "I want chilli sauce on my cereal and chocolate sprinkles....."
"Sure. Help yourself!"
Most hotels do their own buffets which vary in cost but are unlimited, though they may limit you by time, not quantity of food. But as we only had one daytime in Vegas, it seemed only fair that we go to the award winning, best breakfast buffet at The Wynn. Oh yeah! Cue the taxi ride to The Wynn.
It ain't 5 * for nothing. This is just the lobby. 
Watch out for confusing signs in all casinos. It's quite easy to get lost as these places are so big. But if in doubt, ask. We had to ask for The Buffet, as it's not only sign confusion but distractions in the form of gigantic lamps, water features, lobby displays, shops you can't afford to shop in, swanky bars and not to mention the actual casino. They really make you work for that 1,000,000 calories. Ha!
Wait a minute, are we indoor or out?
Now the only slight annoyance was that we didn't know it was more expensive on a weekend, as the guide hadn't told us this, so it was more expensive than we thought, but really when you get inside you soon forget the $32.00 cover charge each, because there's literally enough food to feed 5,000 and still have left overs.
(If you want unlimited cocktails or alcohol there is an additional $15-20 dollars on top of this but if you stayed three hours you could easily make it worth your while.)
Ahhhh, the food. Wow! We're talking bagels, fruit, salad, omlette (made to order), pizza, paella, noodles, spring rolls, sushi, cereal, granola, eggs, bacon, sausage, cinnamon toast, waffles. And that's not counting the fish, roasted meats and the huge cake/pastry/dessert station.
So yes you can stuff your face and yes you can actually become obese whilst there. I'm sure doing a time lapse recording of someone would show you the changes unlimited food can do to you. But I stood on my very shallow moral ground and ate this:
The granola was divine!
What I didn't show was the other plate of stuff I had previous to this with a bagel and a bacon sandwich and the other piece of cinnamon toast. I told you it was shallow ground. But I think my ultimate favourite bit was when A went to the dessert station and came back with this:
The great thing about stocking up at a breakfast buffet is that you pretty much don't need to eat for the rest of the day, or at least until the evening. And it's the perfect fuel for a day walking on the strip.
The Strip is very long. Much longer than you ever expect it to be. And whilst all the guides say this, I still didn't comprehend just how big! I am a walker. I'll walk for miles and miles but factor in the sun (equivalent to that of a heat wave day in Britain.) and you've got a recipe for dehydrated melty-ness. So as much as it pains you to take taxis because usually they are ridiculously over priced, they are also the saviours of the strip.
There are of course other ways to get around. Buses run the strip all day and there's also a monorail, but if you have a destination in mind and you don't mind paying $6-10 here or there then go for the taxis. Plus it feels good because you never take taxis in London.
Once in a casino, you lose all concept of time. The dim lighting all day round and the dark decor always make it feel night time. Which is why it's so nice to have animal habitats within the complexes, or shopping streets and loads of water features. They definitely like to make up for the fact that they're in the desert. Water is a huge part of Vegas. Indoor fountains, rivers, aquariums, outdoor fountains and many other water features. And watch out for those early morning gamblers, sat at the slots at 8am already with a beer in their hand. They've no idea it's morning, they're still on last night's time. Creepy, slightly scary but also a Vegas must see.
Not being the crazy gambling type we stuck to interesting slot machines and people watching, with just a touch of Roulette. But if you are going for a specific game, make sure you know what the hell you're doing and how the betting works before you get sucked in. When doing Roulette, look for the best priced table as nestled in between those $15-50 tables, there may just be a $10 minimum bet with your name on it.
Now if you're looking for retro casinos with all the tacky nonsense you would expect of Blackpool then head to some of Vegas' older casino, some that are definitely in need of a make over, but that also have that wonderful sense of tacky charm.
Flamingo (With, as the title would suggest....flamingos and other animals in their outdoor habitats.)
Circus Circus
Casino Royale (No James Bond though.)
Harrah's.
If you're looking for something a little nicer check out:
Treasure Island (Pirate themed....yes! And the shop is ace!!!!!)
The Stratosphere
New York New York
Excalibur (Knights and castles themed! Yes!)
The Luxor
And if you want to be all posh then hit the biggies:
Caeser's Palace
The Bellagio
The Wynn
The Ventian and Palazzo (Absolutely beautiful inside. Even if you just walk through, you have to check out the gondoliers, who sing as they take you on gondola rides, as well as the beautiful architecture and paintings.)
Inside the VenetianThere are so many others, you really could spend a fortune and spend a vast amount of time here. But it does get a little samey. Yes, some of the casinos are nicer than others but when push comes to shove, it's a casino. You get very similar machines in all of them and it's up to you to investigate and find the ones you feel comfortable in. We played Roulette in The Venetian, but also played the slots in Treasure Island and Flamingo as well as The Stratosphere.
Okay, so I feel this is getting overly lengthy and will try and finish asap. But if you're into shopping and not so much the gambling. Or you're into the gambling to pay for the shopping, you're in the right place. Malls are tucked into various nooks and crannies on the strip, some containing normal people shops, but most containing Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, so you just walk in, admire the nice displays and excuse yourself. Having a shit load of money would help, but then there are a few novelty shops that deserve a mention: The Coke Shop being one of them. (I had strict instructions from a friend of mine, to come back with diet coke items and so I did.) There's also M+M world, Planet Hollywood shop and loads of tacky souvenir shops for those holiday gifts.
The fashion show mall, looking much like a UFO has cat walk shows all through the day, so if nothing else provides shelter from the sun and a bit of entertainment. Maybe someone will slip off their heels and land on their skinny ass. You never know.
The Fashion Show MallAlso the Forum shops at Caesar's Palace are worth a look if only for the beauty of the building.
These are spiral escalators. Wow!Other top day time treats:
Hop it over to The Bellagio for a goosey gander at the lobby (seasonal displays) but also the patisserie within it which contains the biggest chocolate fountain the the World.
If you wanna be the best, dedications what you need!
Also, just taking in the casinos and hotels in day light is breathtaking. It looks so much different at night.
New York, New York
Excalibor
The Luxor
Paris
Now, I'm going to leave it here as I've been at it for around 3 and a half hours and seem no where near the end. Thanks for staying with me this long. I'll get back to you early next week with the final instalment of Vegas. I could write about it all day but I figured I should reel myself in. Ha!
And so in summary of Vegas by day:
- Start with a breakfast buffet, it'll blow your mind and maybe even your waist line.
- Don't be afraid to take taxis and admit defeat. The Strip is ridiculously long and Taxis are our friends. (Only in Vegas.)
- Explore different casinos and check out their unique attractions. They'll all have something, whether it be a hidden garden or a wildlife habitat or a sky scraping theme park.
- Shopping is geared towards the expensive but dig around the many malls you never know what you might find.
- Have your camera at the ready and enjoy the beauty of the buildings, the often wacky architecture and the feeling of being transported elsewhere.
- Soak up the all year round sun and if you're pasty like me then slap on the suncream, hat and shades, it'll cost you otherwise.
- Oh and for God's sake, have an amazing time, it's Vegas Baby!
Until next time.
The Sarky traveller
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