Weekend in Las Vegas (On the Strip)

I took Nisheet on a surprise getaway, and we spent the weekend in Las Vegas! Somehow, I managed to keep it a secret until we got to the airport. We walked up to our gate, and the secret was finally revealed!

Getting from Tampa Bay to Las Vegas takes a lot longer than I initially expected. First we had a 30 minute drive to the airport, then waiting around, then a 4.5 hour flight to Phoenix, then an hour layover, and then a 45 minute flight to Las Vegas. And all of that while staying in 1 country. Whew! [Round-trip Flights =$175 each]

We finally arrived in Vegas around 10pm local time (1am Eastern) and were instantly greeted with slot machines. In the airport!!

From the airport, I suggest taking a Lyft or Uber to your hotel on the strip. It is around $14, which is approximately the same price as taking one of the shuttles (for 2 people) but takes you directly to your hotel instead of stopping at 10 other ones along the way. It is also very convenient because they have their own dedicated area to wait in. Just head towards the airport parking garage and then look for the signs saying “Ride Share.” [Lyft cost = $14]

We arrived at our hotel, The Venetian, in no time (only a few miles from the airport), and since we got in so late, there was barely a line at the registration. I’ve heard stories of waiting an hour to check-in at the peak time in the afternoon. I asked for a room with a view, and we lucked out as we were given room 6-419 in the Venezia Tower overlooking one of the glitzy pool areas. Yay! And, the room was HUGE. There is a beautiful entryway with mirror and shelf for your purse, keys, etc. The bedroom, with a king bed, was on one level, and there were a couple stairs down into a large sitting area. The bathroom had a separate bathtub and shower, a dual sink, a vanity, and a separated toilet area. The room was absolutely luxurious, and unfortunately, I don’t feel like we got to spend enough time in it! [Resort fee = $107, Room for 3 nights = $585]

Tip: Normally we stay in budget friendly accommodations, but this was definitely a splurge trip. So, if you are looking for a more budget friendly trip, stay in a hotel off the strip and see other money-saving tips at the bottom of the page.

We didn’t stay up much past midnight on our first night because we were exhausted from the time change and traveling, so we got up early (at least for Vegas standards) and headed to breakfast excited to start our weekend in Las Vegas. We couldn’t decide what restaurant to check out first, so we ultimately just ended up at the closest one, the Grand Lux Cafe. When we got there around 9:30, there weren’t any lines, but when we left at 10:30, the lines were out the door, so get there early! The service was a little off (had to ask multiple times for coffee) but the food was absolutely spot-on! We shared an omelette filled with peppers, onions, and avocado, a short stack of fluffy, buttery pancakes, and some crispy hash-browns. All that food came out to around $25. Not bad for Vegas prices! [Breakfast = $25]

After stuffing ourselves, it was time to explore the strip. There is an overwhelming amount of sights and attractions to see, and we by no means covered everything during our weekend in Las Vegas. The strip is a few miles long, and each casino has their own theme. The Wynn (shown in the picture below) is filled with gardens and flowers, The Venetian has canals where you can take a gondola ride, Treasure Island has pirate ships, The Mirage has a volcano, Caesar’s Palace has animated Roman statues and the Trevi Fountain, New York New York looks like the New York skyline complete with the Statue of Liberty, The Paris Casino has the Eiffel Tower, Luxor has a giant pyramid, and Excalibur looks like a cartoon castle! And that isn’t nearly all the casinos! And, I’d like to note that most of the attractions are FREE!

One of the most famous attractions on the strip is the Bellagio fountain show, and it is not to be missed! The fountains move to the music, and at the end, they shoot up to an incredible height with a sound of cannon firing (not real cannons… it is just loud).

Don’t just watch the fountain show at the Bellagio though, go inside! There is a conservatory that is decorated to the T. Since the Chinese New Year was only a couple weeks ago and Chinese are evidently avid gamblers, most of the casinos had decor relating to it. The Bellagio conservatory was no exception, and it was gorgeous with statues made of flowers and monkeys chasing peaches (year of the monkey)!!!

The Eiffel Tower? I thought we were in Vegas!

The Cosmopolitan was my favorite casino. Everything was glittery, shiny, and draped in jewels. There is a Chandelier bar in the center that looks like a giant chandelier, hence the name, which has 3 levels of bars. The drinks looked amazing, but we didn’t get to check it out because of timing. Next time!!

If you are looking for a quick snack while you are at the Cosmopolitan, you should check out the secret pizza place. Head up the escalators to where all the restaurants are and walk down the unmarked hallway with records on the walls. The white pizza is the one to get here. [Pizza = $5.50/slice]

Even if you aren’t a huge M&M fan, the M&M store is fun and a nice break from all the casinos. We really enjoyed trying the new flavors (cherry, strawberry shortcake, etc), and having our pictures taken in front of a giant wall of M&Ms.

Walking all day had us famished, and we heard great things about Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR, so we decided to check it out. There was quite a long line, but it moved quickly, and we were seated within half an hour. As a side note, for parties over 2, they take your name down instead of having you wait in line, and their wait time was more on the order of 1.5 hours! The service was definitely lacking as our waiter seemed extremely uninterested in his job. The food again made up for it though. We ordered the Britannia burger with cheddar, mango chutney, and arugula, the sweet potato fries with vanilla powdered sugar and honey jalapeno dip, and a chocolate milkshake with a caramel pudding topping and toffee cookie. Super delicious! [Dinner at BURGR = $40]

Up to this point, we had been dining in actual restaurants, so when we got up the next morning, we decided to do it Vegas style and go to a buffet. And, we accidentally timed our breakfast buffet perfectly! We went to the Village Buffet in the Paris Casino around 9:30am and paid for breakfast. But, by the time we finished waiting in line and were seated, it was brunch time! It is a really cute buffet set up to look like a little French village with “open air” seating. There was even a real French family sitting next to us… I wonder what they thought about it… On our first go around, they were just beginning to take away some of the breakfast items and put out lunch items, so we started with hash-browns, mini quiche, creamed spinach, sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, ham, and cheeses. Yum! By the second round, they were picking up the breakfast pastries and replacing them with delectable treats such as macaroons and creme brulee. I thought I was stuffed at this point, but then came the crab legs and crepes! [Le Village Buffet = $51.89]

After pigging out, I was happy our walk back to the hotel was a good 20 minutes. I definitely needed it!

We then spent the afternoon hopping from the hot tub to the pool and back again. There are several pool areas at The Venetian, but only a couple are open during the winter. The main pool area on the 4th floor of the Venetian has a really large heated pool area in the sun, a huge hot tub, and a bar. While the Miami Vice we ordered was excellent, it also came with the Vegas price tag, a whopping $16 for one. Next time we will be bringing our own drinks! The other pool area we checked out was the one we could see from our room. It is on the ground floor of the Venezia Tower which is actually the 10th floor of The Venetian (I think the tower is over a parking garage?). Anyways, I really liked the hot tubs here because they felt secluded with plants and greenery all around. [Drink at the Venetian poolside bar = $16]

We felt refreshed and relaxed after our afternoon, so we got dressed up and headed out for dinner and a show. To start of the evening, we did a little gambling with our free hotel-provided credits in the Palazzo Casino and got a couple free drinks.

Up next was another buffet, The Wicked Spoon. This is rated as one of the best buffets in Vegas, and for a good reason! It was simply amazing! Most of it was plated individually such as the fried chicken in small metal frying baskets, bowls of spicy mac & cheese aptly named Angry Mac N’ Cheese, take-out cartoons of  kimchi fried rice, and plated carnitas tacos, but there were also meat carving stations, bowls loaded with perfectly sauted veggies, wild mushroom polenta, barley risotto with kale pesto, and bourbon glazed carrots. The dessert station was heavenly with mini bites of cheese cake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, red velvet cake, coconut cupcakes, macaroons, white chocolate mousse, chocolate covered strawberries, and gelato. You might be wondering how we could eat so much food so soon after eating the huge brunch buffet at the Paris casino. We couldn’t, and we knew we would never get our money’s worth at $40/person. So, we took advantage of a little known Vegas secret. The to-go box. Yep. At only $20 a box (which is more than enough for 2 people) we helped ourselves to the delicious buffet food. As advised by an employee, we piled one side up with dinner and the other side with dessert. Best of all…the box doesn’t have to be closed when you leave! [The Wicket Spoon = $20 to go box]

After dinner, we wandered down to Mandalay Bay for the Michael Jackson One show by Cirque du Soleil. They played a set of MJ’s famous hits while the circus folks did their acts and danced to the music. On one occasion, a hologram of MJ was projected on stage and it almost felt like he was on stage in-person. The quality of sound was the best we have ever experienced… even the seats had speakers on the headrest. There wasn’t quite as much acrobatics as in a typical Cirque du Soleil show, but it was nonetheless one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. We sat in section 204 row CC seats 1 & 2, and they were great seats. I would definitely recommend sitting in the back half of the room because there is so much to take in with actors dropping in from the ceiling and projections on the side walls. Pro Tip: Shows in Vegas can be expensive, so always look for deals. And on top of the deals, the Sunday night shows are generally the cheapest. [Michael Jackson One tickets = $140 each]

Even though we were getting tired after the show (it was already 2am EST), we decided to walk back to our hotel along the strip since our weekend in Las Vegas was coming to an end. It really comes alive at night with people heading out to the clubs, bars overflowing into the streets, and lights and colors everywhere. And, don’t forget that drinking outside is legal on the strip!

We ended our weekend in Las Vegas staying up way too late and gambling. And by gambling, I mean the penny slot machines. We did win around $10 though! And, you get free drinks while playing, just tip the waitress! We found the nicer casinos had really nice drinks. A run down on what we got: Pina Colada (with whipped cream), Mojito, Moscow Mule, Sierra Nevada, champagne, Cosmo, White Russian, and Crown & Ginger. Don’t be afraid to just ask for a special cocktail. They just might make you one! They also serve water, soda, and coffee in case you don’t feel like drinking alcohol.

Pro tip: While I can’t guarantee it, most flights appeared to take off in a direction such that the left side of the plane had awesome views of the strip. And another bonus, if you are flying to Phoenix, you will probably get to see the Grand Canyon like we did! The mountains, valleys, and canyons we flew over were breathtaking. Unfortunately, they also created a LOT of turbulence!!

 

Saving Money on a Weekend in Las Vegas:

• Stay in a hotel OFF the strip.
• Look for deals for hotels on the strip. I found a great deal at The Venetian by signing up for their weekly emails.
• Ask for a to-go box at buffets. We shared one at the Wicked Spoon
• Go to the free attractions including fountain shows, a volcano show, and conservatories. 
• Skip the bars and drink while gambling. 
• Bring your own booze. 
• Set a limit for gambling and play the penny slots.
• Don’t pay full price for show tickets. There are ALWAYS deals going on. Also, Sunday night shows are generally the cheapest.
• Visit during the off season.