My husband has been trying to talk me into traveling with him to his annual convention(s), up to this point it didn’t sound interesting until they moved to Vegas. I had never been to Las Vegas, I am not a gambler and wasn’t sure what I would do there other than a few shows and people watching. When I heard which hotel and where the final party would be (Club Pure and Tryst) I changed my mind and decided to go. We booked Cirque Du Soleil’s O at the Bellagio, packed and headed out for a few days of adventure. The following is a short briefing of what happened in Vegas, that, of which, I can tell you.
I will skip the old adage, I am sure you know it…
The Cosmopolitan is a very nice hotel, our cabby told us the original intent was for it to be condominiums, that deal didn’t pan out so instead it is a hotel that consists of the east and west towers. Other resorts have front desk check in areas on the strip are front and center, the Cosmopolitan has their check in set in the on a side street at the base of the west tower. If you are staying in the west tower this isn’t a bad arrangement. However, if you are staying in the East tower, which faces the strip, you have to walk across the entire casino floor, luggage in tow, for what seems like a country mile. Locating the elevators requires guidance as they are tucked neatly away in what seems like the far corner.
We stayed in the East tower, I am sure you have surmised that already however.
We were warned that the East tower can get rather loud as Club Marquee parties long into the night. Still, when the front desk offered an upgrade to a one bedroom suite in the East tower we took it and hoped for the best. The view from our room was fantastic, it did, in fact, look directly over the strip with all the lights and glitter. At night it was loud on the balcony but once the doors and drapes were closed it muffled the noise sufficiently to sleep.
Our room was gorgeous, I have little complaints except that for such a large room it had no drawers to unpack, in fact the closet space was rather limited for two people. The floor plan was very nice with a lot of space to entertain, it offered a dishwasher and yet had no dishes, which was rather curious. Also, I am a sucker for little niceties, beside the door was a light control that turned all the lights on by touching hello and then off again by touching goodbye, sometimes it is the little things.
The balcony is a nice addition to the room atmosphere, many hotels in the area do not have balconies due to jumpers. We were very lucky to have been placed on the strip side of the building as the group “Foster the People” played a concert Thursday night, this was the one night we had no plans. It was wonderful to have, what seemed like, nothing to do but relax and listen to a concert from the comfort of our room. We invited our friend over for some nice conversation, a few beers and we learned that the band really didn’t have much to offer other than “Pump up the Kicks,” it is a fun song but most of the remaining tunes were rather dull.
We were on the 31st floor, not even half way up the building, we saw them setting up during the day as they put the cover over the pool and now the group had come out to play.
From this far up the sound wasn’t all that terrible, here is a copy for your listening pleasure, they don’t get rolling until the one minute plus mark.
The one complaint I had about our hotel stay would be the pools, they were mostly closed during the day. Apparently Las Vegas in October isn’t warm, or not warm to people in the area, we are from Vermont, anything over 70 degrees is warm enough for pool action.
The first day I walked to the Marquee Dayclub pool to find it closed, I(the photo of the pool is from an alternate site) then went to the Bamboo pool area, it was closed as well. Luckily the Boulevard pool was open, but packed as everyone had to crown into this one location.
The Marquee Dayclub via the Modern Traveler .com
One the second day and all following days the Boulevard pool was closed and instead the Bamboo pool was open. Most of the time, due to the heat, people would stand in the pool to converse and drink, not leaving, which is always a concern, beer and no restroom trips is never a good sign. The pool wasn’t a place I would suggest swimming in unless you don’t mind warm, somewhat salty, water this far inland from the ocean.
Here are a few things I discovered about my trip to Las Vegas..
1. Water Water Water.. I am not sure about you, whenever I travel my level of dehydration goes way up, this makes me miserable and tired. One of the first things I like to do is to find the a local market and buy water by the case. In my everyday life I drink from the tap, on the road I only drink bottled water, no need for Montezuma to visit while traveling. In Las Vegas this is very important as the hot dry air dehydrates you quickly, plus you don’t realize how much you sweat as it evaporates quickly.
2. Bring comfortable walking shoes.. Fashion be damned, you will not have a good vacation if your feet are aching. On my first day in Vegas I quickly learned how much walking was involved when touring the area, everyone was wearing either flip flops or sneakers.
3. No need to pack extra Jeans.. We live in Vermont, even in the summer it gets cool at night here. While both state names begin with the letter V; Vegas and Vermont are worlds apart as far a climate. Las Vegas is not only warm it is a place where you want to dress nice, while you can get by with jeans you would be better served with dresses, pants or skirts.
4.Anything north of the Wynn: We took the monorail to the very northern end, when we jumped off it looked like we stopped off back in time. There isn’t much down at this end except the Stratosphere (we didn’t visit) and a neat McDonald’s from the 50’s. (ahh, bathroom break) Until you reach the Encore Beach Club and the Wynn it isn’t a place you want to be alone, it’s dirty and creepy. Other than looking at the older casino resorts, which are seemingly defunct or boarded up, along with stalled developments all you can do down there is hope to not get mugged.
5. Read Jack Colter for a few “to do” tips: This one site has to be the best piece of information out there for what to see and how to dress for various clubs and activities. I did read Jack Colter’s Las Vegas tips for some wonderful insightful information about the clubs and what to expect in Las Vegas. Do yourself a favor, before you go for the first time, take a peek at this sight.
6. Read “Ten Things you should not do” for funny tips: This blog post got a definite chuckle out of me when researching what to pack and wear when in Vegas. I love the advice to not see Criss Angel’s Believe, thanks for that but we hadn’t booked that one.. The slutty tip is a classic…
7. Research local eateries: Don’t eat exclusively from your resort unless you don’t mind dropping a lot of cash for what you can easily get for less. These resorts need to recoop cash any way they can and your meal is one big way. We had a very average meal at one (popular) in house eatery and it was well over $300, lesson learned, once is enough for that type of experience. The worse part, I couldn’t even begin to see what I would be interested in on the menu, why can’t a girl get a decent salad with protein on it and a refreshing beverage.. How about a nice stir fry not buried in sauce and loaded with sodium, don’t play games with my eating pleasure for your monetary benefit.
8. If your room has a coffee maker, bring your own: Listen, this is one of the biggest fails for many hotels, using a cheap brand of coffee. We are paying a premium price for your room, give me a decent coffee service please. I am not saying I am a coffee snob (Well, I am actually) but your no named blend of coffee sucks just as much in my room as downstairs in your “cafe” area. While I am not a huge fan of Starbucks, their coffee is rank and bitter, I do give extra kuddos to hotels that recognize the need for a decent cup of coffee. We always travel with our own Coffee or at the very least pick up some nice freshly ground Kenyan.
What about you, what are your biggest travel tips and/or traveling pet peeves.. I have listed some of mine and should mention that it would be nice for these hotels to leave room in the refrigerator for guest items and no load it up with overpriced $10 bottles of water..
Next… touring Las Vegas
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We buy a case of water too, and keep it in the room. Always… we go in and put their bottled water in the closet, or under the sink til we leave, then place it back out so we don’t get charged. How about pulling the comforter off right away, closet bound til the maid comes again! Also we get a bed with two queens instead of a king- usually they cost the same. Makes it nice cause you can leave a DND tag on the door, and not have to feel like you have to tuck away every technical devise you have when you leave for outings that day. So they have two beds to make up the next, oh well, job security!
Loved your article Janet! We are thinking of going sometime next year, so I’ll be sure to share it with Scott! (not a fan of the $300 meal, AT ALL!)
Those are all excellent points Laurie, we always use the DND sign and tend to get the queen room to use for our bags. This one came as a special upgrade and luckily it had two bag racks, we used both. The comforter, yeah that is always a concern, especially in Las Vegas because you never know what is left there right.. We are going back in June 2012 for a Beachbody convention and this time staying at the MGM Grand, great discounts..
What I love from travelling is that a chance to see and explore different places and culture, anyway love to see that old mc donalds from 50’s it’s cool!
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Yes this is true, while we always like to travel to new and different places each time we travel, we do have one or two places we return to just to relax and unwind. I liked that old McDonalds as well..
Great topic! I really love the video and its fun to see the old Mcdonald’s building! Thank you so much for sharing these stuffs!
Have a great weekend!
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You are very welcome, all the older nostalgic buildings were very fun to see as it made start discussing how it might have been for the Rat Pack.