The Vegas Experience

January 13, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sin City - Vegas 

Vegas stands out like a jewel across the desert. The bright lights can be seen from great distances and act as a beacon bringing in droves of visitors in search of riches, romance, and a myriad of other goals year after year. If the lights weren’t enough from a distance, once you’ve entered Vegas you will discover that the lights and sounds are even more pronounced up close and personal. Vegas is probably the ultimate experience in sound and light. If you’re not hearing the chinking of slots or music from the Elvis impersonators you are hearing chapel bells from someone getting married along the strip.

Whether you are coming to Vegas for the casinos and hopes of finding fame and fortune, the fabulous shows and big name headliners, the wonderful food that is one of the biggest sins to be found in this city, golf, marriage and happily ever after, or the nightlife that has earned Vegas the title of ‘Sin City’. You are well on your way to an experience you are unlikely to forget.

While Vegas has not always been thought of us an appropriate vacation destination for those with families, this city is really trying to mend its ways and foster a more family-friendly reputation. They are even developing resorts and hotels with kids and family entertainment in mind. From theme park like atmospheres to everything in between the Vegas hotels of today are marketing to a much younger audience.

If you haven’t checked out some of the newer hotel and resort experiences in Vegas, perhaps now is the ideal time in which to do so. There are so many fun ways to enjoy your time in Vegas that the problem isn’t choosing which casino to visit or which hotel you want to stay in, it’s deciding which attractions you must see and which attractions you can actually live without.

In order to attract visitors hotels and resorts are going to further and further extremes and levels of competition. Some of these hotels have even gone to the extent of bringing thrill rides into the mix in an effort to attract new guests and thrill seekers. If it isn’t rides that are being offered it’s the biggest shows and brightest stars to perform for your pleasure. With the tight competition among casinos for your business it’s hard to imagine just how much money these hotels and casinos are bringing in each and every year but you can rest assured they wouldn’t be constantly building, upgrading, and offering more and more features and services if it wasn’t a highly profitable endeavor for them.

The fierce competition among hotels and casinos is good news to some extent for you as a potential guest. The tightness of the competition keeps the prices relatively affordable and allows you to pick and choose which hotel you want according to the services and amenities they offer rather than by the prices of the rooms. In fact, if you find another hotel that you aren’t as interested in for less money, try bartering with the hotel you prefer. It is very possible to get a lower price by going back and forth between two or three competing hotels.

Saving money is a great idea in Vegas, the more money you save on hotel accommodations, the more money you’ll have to spend on the entertainment of choice. Also consider some of the ‘perks’ offered by hotels when considering the price of the rooms. Some of the perks will include complimentary breakfast buffets or lunch and dinner buffets. Compare the price of buying breakfast to the price difference in the room before you make your ultimate decision. Some of them offer show tickets or discounts such as buy one get one free offers for attractions that may have been on your itinerary at any rate. It’s always good to shop for the best bargain and Vegas is one of those cities where it can’t really hurt to ask for a better deal.

See the World in Vegas

January 12, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sin City - Vegas 

Las Vegas today is offering many of the wonders of the world on a much smaller scale to its visitors. There is really nowhere else on earth you can go and see all the sights and witness the thrill of the experience that is Las Vegas. With so much to do and see it’s a wonder that anyone ever gets sleep in this great town. Look below for some of the many places to go and sights to see in Vegas that will quite literally have the world at your feet.

Paris Hotel and Casino Las Vegas presents the Eiffel Tower Experience. Quite literally this is a replica of the famed Eiffel Tower of Paris built at 1/2 scale. You can ride to the top of the tower and enjoy a view of the city from 460 feet above ground while pinpointing other landmarks that you may wish to try next.

Rio Suite Hotel offers the Masquerade Village Show in the Sky. This show is designed to bring the thrill of Rio’s Carnival to Las Vegas visitors. This is a great show to witness or in which to participate. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and revelry that are unmistakably Carnival. This show is free to watch and costs $12.95 to participate.

Luxur Hotel and Casino takes you In Search of the Obelisk. This adventure takes you on archaeological digs searching for Pharaohs. This is a great adventure and takes you not halfway around the world. There are height restrictions for this ride so small children might not be best suited for this particular experience.

You can experience the thrills, chills, and spills of the Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Mini grand prix. This park is a fun day for the entire family and even features an Adult Grand Prix with Sprint Kart tracks that have high banks and a more authentic experience. This is a great way to have fun and invite a little friendly competition among family members.

If you’d like to experience Venice without traveling halfway around the world then you should really experience the Venetian Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The highlight of your Vegas Venice experience should be one of the Gondola rides that you can take. You can book a private 2-person gondola for a romantic excursion while being serenaded by your gondolier.

While at the Venetian you can also check out the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, which will have some of the best offerings from around the world in order to enhance your experience. You should also take the time to enjoy the beautiful Venetian inspired architecture of the hotel and casino while you’re visiting in order to prolong the experience.

The Mirage offers a volcano for guests to experience. While this isn’t quite taking your around the world, most of us do not get to experience the sight of a volcano morphing from peaceful waterfalls into streams of molten lava. This is definitely a must see show in Vegas and is free to the public. You can see this show from dusk until midnight every 15 minutes.

If you want an experience that will take you even further away you should try the Star Trek Experience at The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and Casino. This will not take you to another country per se, but it will definitely take you into another world. Enjoy this encounter with alien creatures and an introduction to the future. Then take a stroll through the museum, which is home to some wonderful memorabilia from the television show and the movies.

Just remember that you are on vacation to get away from it all. Isn’t it truly neat that you can literally do that and so much more in this unique and intriguing city? You can travel to different countries, experience different cultures, and literally go out of this world without ever leaving the city limits of Las Vegas. Who could ask for more in a vacation experience?

Eating Cheap in Vegas

December 27, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sin City - Vegas 

A Las Vegas vacation for many people is an experience to enjoy 24/7 food, drink, and gambling. In fact that is the very reason that many people visit Vegas and it is also one of the main reasons that the city of Las Vegas and the gambling empires that have been built, crumbled, and been rebuilt again and again have had many of the rocky rides that offer more bumps, dips, twists, and turns than you will find on many of the roller coasters that also inhabit this great city.

Las Vegas has so much more than that to offer its visitors. Gone are the days when gambling was the sole income of casinos or that casinos were the only businesses in town. Vegas is dressing up a bit in recent years and working oh so slowly and diligently towards changing its image.

This city of bright lights and empty promises is quickly becoming a city that offers world-class entertainment and excitement to its residents and its visitors. Las Vegas has some of the best dining on the planet. Many of the wonderful dining experiences are associated with the casinos of the area but they would not be as successful as they are if there was not a reason to keep the tables full. Diners don’t tend to dine if the food isn’t good and a for a restaurant a bad review will travel around the world three times before ten good reviews will make it once. This means that the world-class fine dining restaurants really must earn their stripes in order to bring in the business required in order to stay in business.

I personally tend to look for the dining bargains and that is what this particular article will focus on. There many great places to eat in Vegas that will not have you busting open your piggy bank. Now my guy is a steak and potato kind of man so I always try to look for a good steak bargain. For him, I love Arizona Charlie’s Boulder Sourdough Café® Here you can get a 14-ounce Porterhouse for $7.99 this includes soup or salad, choice of potato or rice (5 pm-11 pm), veggies, and rolls. You can also get spaghetti and meatballs for $6.49 and Chicken Penne Primavera or fried chicken for $6.99. This is good food at its best at a price that easy on the budget.

This is just one of the many places a person or family can get a relatively good meal inexpensively. Not all great bargains involve steaks but there are many great food bargains to have. Be aware of coupons you may find around town offering two for one food purchases or dollars off of entree purchases. It may not seem like much or two but if you can manage to save $2 per two people for 10 meals during your stay, that adds up pretty quickly to $40 that could buy a little time on the slot machines or tickets to one of the many great shows.

Cheap dining by no means indicates a lack of quality. While it may not be as sophisticated as some offerings, you might find that a lot of the cheaper places to eat actually have far superior flavor to many of the more expensive dining experiences and it’s just nice to get away from buffet food once in a while during your Vegas stay. You can only endure so many buffets before they all begin looking, and tasting just alike.

Indoor Fun to Beat the Desert Heat

December 27, 2009 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sin City - Vegas 

Vegas has become so famous for its casinos and its nightlife that we often forget that there is a thriving city full of people who call this city home. There are businessmen and women, doctors, lawyers, and average Joe citizens who live in this city and have little or nothing to do with the casinos at all. There are entertainers and artists that live far beyond the world of the famous Strip that Vegas more often than not brings to mind.

Vegas is a city that has a cultural center, a religious community, families, and family activities. It is a city in the desert that sees more than its share of sunshine while being particularly vulnerable to rain. It’s a city that is famous for it’s neon brightness while there are corners of this city that are far removed from that world that is almost as foreign to its citizens as it is to its visitors.

Don’t overlook the cultural treasure trove that can be found in Vegas by limiting your experience to the Vegas Strip and the offerings of the many casinos. So there is much more to this wonderful city to see and do and enjoy.

If you are looking for some great ideas to enjoy during your stay, perhaps you will find some here or at least find inspiration for your own ideas. One thing to remember about Vegas is that you are in the desert and it is sunny most of year. Even if it isn’t necessarily warm outside it’s a good idea to avoid being outdoors whenever possible or to be sure you are liberally applying sunscreen and using other means to protect your skin from the ravages of a desert sun.

Here are some of things you can experience during your time in Vegas if you are willing to seek them out: King Tut’s Tomb, the car collection at the Imperial Palace, Chaos at Circus Circus, Gameworks by Steven Spielberg, The Imax theatre at the Luxor, In Search of the Obelisk at the Luxor, Las Vegas Sportspark, Lied Discover Children’s Museum, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas, Merlin’s Magic Motion Machines, Pioneer Saloon, Pirates 4D, Star Trek the Experience, and the Sunset Stampede just to name a few. The best news of all however is that there are constantly more and more activities and adventures being added to the offerings. This means that there is never a shortage of things to see and do while visiting Las Vegas so there’s never a valid reason not to come back.

This list is a short list of only indoor activities; you can find a much larger list of things to enjoy if you consider the many things that can be experienced outside under the desert sun. There are other attractions that will also keep you indoors as well. There are actually quite a few museums in Las Vegas; there is M&Ms World, The Lion Habitat at MGM and the White Tiger Habitat at the Mirage. There’s also the canal at the Venetian, which is also home to “Streetmosphere,” where live actors delight and entertain you with songs and other revelry.

You will find many rides and adventure parks indoors in Las Vegas as well. People find that the desert heat can be a real joy killer for a day out in the sun and indoor adventure parks fair much better while delivering entertainment that is far superior to many of its outdoor counterparts.
If you’re looking for a great way to spend a day indoors, there’s no shortage of wonderful things to do and see in Vegas so there’s really no excuse. In addition to all the things I’ve mentioned above, Vegas is home to some of the most splendid shopping in America so be sure to pack your two best friends Visa and Master Card and bring them along for the ride. Also keep in mind that there is plenty to do in the great big world outside these walls and consider the great fun you can have exploring the desert climate of Nevada.

« Previous PageNext Page »