Travel News The Fantastic And Unforgettable Las Vegas

If someone had told me 3 months ago that I’d be spending Christmas in Las Vegas I would have told them they were mad. So when Rachel asked me to go 3 weeks before Christmas to attend their wedding there was no way I could say no. It was a trip I’d never thought of really making and certainly wasn’t high on my destinations list, or at least that’s what I thought. As the trip got the closer and the more I thought about it, the more I actually realised I really wanted to go.

We flew out with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick on the 23rd and some 10 hours and 4 films later arrived at Las Vegas, McCarran airport. It is a long flight to Vegas but taking off the 8 hours time difference meant we arrived at about one local time having left Gatwick at 10.30. The hardest part of the whole trip was next to come though as we stood in the immigration queue for almost 2 hours. The airport thankfully is right on the side of the strip so after that long arduous wait for immigration it isn’t a long transfer to the hotel. There are a number of shuttle buses and taxis available to take you from the airport to your desired hotel. If, however you fancy arriving at your hotel in style there are also Limos for hire outside. The Limo will cost you about $35 plus tip but the shuttles and taxis are very affordable.

At one point Las Vegas boasted 19 of the 20 biggest hotel complexes in the world and when you see the size of them it’s not hard to understand why. As you drive towards The Strip (the main street) there is a number of 4 and 5 story Travel Lodges. They cost about the same as the larger hotels on The Strip itself but not many people actually realise this before booking up. Due to the sheer number of rooms available in Vegas, some 124,270, they need to keep the prices competitive. So there are plenty of bargains to be had, with the flight likely to cost more than the hotel.

It’s hard to really imagine how Las Vegas will actually look. I’d built a mental picture in my mind but nothing prepared me for the views looking out of the hotel and onto The Strip. It’s hard to believe that a once small quiet town has developed into something as spectacular as this. It was during the construction of the Hoover Dam that Vegas started to expand, as the workers needed somewhere to spend their hard earned money on women and gambling. From there sprouted this truly amazing place that boast such sites as The Eiffel Tower and A Roman Coliseum.

We were staying at the Aladdin Hotel. It’s around about the middle of The Strip and offers guests the chance of a fantastic view of the Bellagio fountains. With some 52 floors and about 4000 rooms the Aladdin is a huge hotel. Like a lot of Vegas locations it has just about everything that’s needed under one roof. Each casino/hotel complex is pretty similar in this respect. All along The Strip the hotels seem to all have a large casino coupled with a number of attractions and a shopping centre. For instance the Aladdin had roughly a miles worth of shops in the fantastic Deserts Passage.

The main reason Vegas is famous though is nothing to do with the shops or the fantastic sights on offer around The Strip. It’s more famous for the Casinos and when I saw the size of these places it was easy to see why. In fact an amazing 9 billion is made from these casinos every year and with the casino floor being the size of a decent sized Tesco’s that figure almost seems a bit light. I didn’t have much cash to spend while I was there due to Christmas and everything else but I still managed to spend at least 3 hours a night in the casino playing various machines. With a jackpot of approaching 3 million dollars on some machines it was almost too hard to resist.

There is a lot more to Vegas than the Casinos though. If you have the time then the Grand Canyon and The Hoover Dam are both close by and it’s possible to do a number of excursions direct from your hotel lobby for around $40 - $60. We didn’t have time to do either trip but one day I will be going back to visit both of them. There are still literally hundreds of things you can do within Vegas itself and most of them are located along The Strip. It doesn’t matter what you are looking for, whether it be a magic show, play or even a wax work museum there are plenty of places worth visiting.

One of the best in my opinion was certainly the Las Vegas version of Ben Elton’s hit Queen Musical. I haven’t been to see the original London version yet but this one was fantastic. It’s showing at The Paris Hotel and tickets start at a very reasonable $50. A bit of the humour has been adapted to suit the American audience but regardless it was very funny. We didn’t get to see any other acts but with headliners such as Cirque De Soleil, David Copperfield and Celine Dion there is pretty much something for everyone.

The shows weren’t the only attractions that caught our eye. In fact it got to the point where 5 days really didn’t seem to be enough as every hotel offered an attraction of some sort that is worth visiting. The Roller Coaster on top of the New York New York casino seemed to draw us towards it on Christmas Day. Apart from a slight mishap it was a great ride and, although a little steep at $12 a go, was still well worth it. For the thrill seekers amongst you there are a number of attractions around, with the Luxor’s I-max cinema and Circus Circus having a fantastic indoor theme park. There are also a number of rides on top of the Stratosphere Tower, which unfortunately we didn’t make it to. The rides on top of there look to be quite extreme as they are some 345 metres above The Strip.

There are also a large number of museums with Madame Tussauds well worth a visit, it’s a lot better than the London one and Tussauds pass holders get in for free. Tussauds is located at The Venetian Hotel along with The Guggenheim Museum, which unfortunately we didn’t get to visit but it certainly sounds worth going to. The only attraction that really disappointed me was The Shark Reef at The Mandalay Bay as it didn’t seem to be any better than a Sea Life Centre. Even the promise of a Great White was a slight exaggeration as it was only a baby rather than the larger one we were told was there. It cost us almost $13 and the value for money seemed to be sadly lacking, but that’s another review.

I already briefly mentioned the shopping aspect of Vegas and around The Strip there is no shortage of places to shop. There are designer shops all over the place with the Bellagio home to a lot of the more exclusive shops. If you are looking for clothes the best place to go would be the Fashion Show Mall or The Forum shopping centre, both located along the Strip. A lot of the shops seemed to be quite expensive in the other Casinos but I found The Forum at Caesar’s Palace to be quite reasonably priced. One of the most fascinating shops in Vegas has to be the M&M store. A 4 storey building with every item of M&M merchandising you can think of. So whether it’s a T-shirt or a fridge magnet or one of 21 different flavours of M&Ms they can be found here.

You’ll also find the need to eat and again there is pretty much something for everyone. So whether you fancy McDonalds or a $35 a course lobster claw dinner from The Bellagio then you will be sure to find it. We had all our meals at the hotel and with the various restaurants located in the Desert Passage there is plenty of choice. There is an average of about 8 places to eat in each casino, all very reasonably priced and easy to find. There is even a 24 hour Starbucks in the Aladdin for those of you, like me, who love a good cup of tea.

The biggest problem we found with the food and drink search was actually finding a bar to sit down and have a drink. All the restaurants had small areas you could sit in but no where really encouraged you to go there and have 4 or 5 drinks, it was more get you in get you out. It was, however, cheaper to get drinks as you played on the various machines in the Casino as it only costs you what ever you want to tip the waitress rather than the bar price. The other thing that impressed us were the cocktail bars in various hotels shopping complexes, where you could buy large cocktails to carry round with you whilst you took in the sights of Las Vegas.

One of the other main reasons people make trips to Vegas, and the main reason for our trip, is to get married. It’s said there are around 315 weddings a day in Vegas and at a cost of roughly $35 dollars it is easy to understand why. Each casino seemed to have a wedding chapel of their own and there are also a number of independently run chapels. They all go to great lengths to make sure you have a special day and have a number of packages available. If you really feel the need to get married on the spur of the moment you can even use a drive thru chapel and not have to leave your car and I wouldn’t be surprised if they throw in burger and fries with it as well.

Getting around in Vegas is relatively easy. Of course you have the option of walking but the shear distances involved can be too much for some people. So rather than walk everywhere it is probably easiest to get the Monorail, which runs from the MGM Grand to The Sahara and Excalibur to Mandalay Bay, stopping at various other Hotels on the way. It is reasonably priced with a day ticket costing about $3. There are also bus routes and taxis on The Strip but during most of the day and night it is totally packed and it’s actually easier to walk. The cost of a taxi is very reasonable though and if you intend to travel anywhere off The Strip it’s certainly the best way to travel.

I felt we really got the timing of our visit spot on. As Vegas is in the middle of the desert the summers can be unbearably warm. Christmas time however is quite similar to our summer time and although the Americans were complaining about the cold, I spent most of the trip wearing t-shirts and even came back with a reasonable tan. It did rain on the last day of our visit but we were already on the way to the airport. They don’t get much rain in Vegas, but I’d certainly recommend going during the winter.

It is without doubt an amazing place and nothing can really prepare you for just how surreal the whole experience is. I would definitely recommend visiting Vegas to anyone who thinks they would like to go but is still a little unsure. There is plenty to do even if you don’t feel that gambling is your type of thing. The fountains outside the Bellagio for instance are a sight not to be missed and certainly something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The next time I visit it will certainly be for longer, with a lot more money as there are still loads of things I’d love to do.

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