Las Vegas

Introduction | Flights | Hotel | Dining | Entertainment | Photos

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Introduction

Las Vegas is a city like no other – a truly 24-hour town, there’s something to do every hour of the day.  I headed to Las Vegas Sept. 12-16, 2009 to attend a travel industry trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  Overall, I had a terrific time and look forward to my next trip out west!

Much of my time was taken up by a travel industry tradeshow, but I was able to get some extra sightseeing time in here and there!

Flights

I flew Southwest Airlines direct from Kansas City, MO.  The flight was chosen by price and schedule – I chose an afternoon flight out so I could drive to Kansas City in the morning and be in Las Vegas in time for dinner.  The flight was fun, as Southwest had a great group of flight attendants on board that made the flight enjoyable.

The flight home was slightly different – when I arrived at McCarran Airport, I learned that Southwest’s computers were down and they had to check in passengers and luggage manually.  Even though I had checked in electronically the day prior, I still had luggage to check in.  I ended up joining a line that stretched past the terminal building and around the corner.  A little over an hour later, I made it to the skycap desk outside (the inside lines were just as long) and managed to check in my bags with no issue.  The flight home itself was an average experience, as the flight crew was good at what they did, but didn’t go out of their way to make the flight enjoyable like the previous crew.

Hotel

Since I was attending a trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I chose to stay at the hotel next door – the Las Vegas Hilton.  Located just off the Strip behind the Riviera, the Hilton offers a great option for travelers who want to be close to the Strip but dislike being ON it.  A monorail stop is accessible from inside the hotel.

I had a Strip view Deluxe Room on the 14th floor.  The room was clean, spacious, and everything worked well.  The king-sized bed was outfitted with Hilton’s trademark Heavenly Bed sheets & comforters – the marketing team named that product right! I wanted to take it home with me.  The full bathroom included a tub/shower and toilet in a separate room from the vanity area with marble top, nice amenities from Crabtree & Evelyn, and a spacious mirrored closet complete with iron & ironing board.  Two people could easily get ready for the day in this space, with some simple “timesharing” involved.  The room had a decent air-conditioning control that worked well to cool the room, and wasn’t too loud.  The flat screen plasma TV made movie watching a little fun, and the work desk provided ample space to, well, do work.  One caveat about the Hiton: it offers in-room high-speed internet access, but it is not wireless.  It requires use of an Ethernet cord (provided) and carries a surcharge of $13.99 per day.  A little rich for me, personally!

I did not receive housekeeping service every day, which was a little off-putting, but not a big deal.  I don’t know if it was a normal thing or if someone forgot to get to my room for two of my nights.

The hotel offers a good-sized gaming casino just inside the front door, from which one can visit a show lounge and the main showroom (I didn’t see either one during my stay).  Guests can utilize a 3rd floor pool area, and the Spa offers great massages, facials, and other traditional services for reasonable Las Vegas prices.

Dining

On property is a Pizza Hut Express, two Seattle’s Best coffee outlets, Fortuna Coffee & Wine with bakery items, gift shops, Benihana Village, 888 Noodle Bar, and Garden of the Dragon, an upscale Asian eatery.  As if that wasn’t enough, visitors can also choose from a steakhouse, an Italian dinner spot, a sushi joint, the obligatory buffet, and the hotel’s Paradise Cafe, where one can get any meal at any time from 1 AM to 5 PM.

The Pizza Hut and Seattle’s Best were what can be expected if you’ve patronized them elsewhere.  Fortuna was hopping every morning for coffee and bakery items, and both were very good for me (I had a caramel macchiato and a cheese danish. Yum.).  The Paradise Cafe was slightly disappointing; not only were menu prices a little on the high side ( $11 for 2 eggs, 2 meat, and 2 pieces of toast?), the server I had delivered my drink and kept doing other tasks like clearing nearby tables, even when I told her I was ready to order.  I eventually left, leaving enough money on the table to cover the beverage.

The Seattle’s Best offers a nice breakfast special: a hot crossiant sandwich with egg, cheese, and bacon, wrapped up to go, with a hot coffee or cold orange juice for just over $7 plus tax.  That was my breakfast most of the stay.

I didn’t get a chance to try any of the other eateries on site as my agenda had other plans!  I had to walk by the Garden of the Dragon, Benihana, and Noodles every day (twice) and every time it smelled delicious.

Outside the hotel, there are a wide range of eateries to suit any budget.  McDonald’s and Denny’s have a presence on the Strip, but most of the Strip area establishments cater to a much higher budget.  I did not take advantage of any of them due to time constraints.

Entertainment

Really, Las Vegas can’t be beat for offering something new, different, and enjoyable nearly every visit.  Treasure Island has a free Sirens of TI show; the Mirage has their hourly volcano; the Bellagio is world-famous for it’s water fountain symphony.  The shopping is quite fun (even if your budget only allows window shopping!), and checking out each of the casino hotels can reveal hidden gems.  Those who generally don’t like crowds will not enjoy Las Vegas – they never seem to empty out regardless of the time of day.

I took in the Blue Man Group at the Venetian.  Highly recommended! Great music, special effects, and hilarious skits and routines, some involving unsuspecting audience members.

Nearly every Strip hotel has a main showroom with a big headline act.  During my visit: Cher & Bette Midler at Caesar’s Palace; Blue Man Group at the Venetian; Penn & Teller at the Rio; Donny & Marie at the Flamingo; the list goes on.  Great entertainment, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.  Pricing can range anywhere from $99 to $280 per ticket, and even substantially more depending on what you require.

I can’t neglect my favorite entertainment: people-watching.  It’s great to watch other people being tourists, and at one point I even followed a small tour group of older folk being led around by someone who was explaining a bit about what they were seeing.  Some of the comments made by the tour members were quite funny, like the old man who was trying to explain to his innocent-looking wife WHY Las Vegas is known as Sin City.

Photos

Unfortunately, after this trip, my digital camera needs to be laid to rest.  I got some good photos, but many of them have “issues” due to my camera being just plain old.  What is below are the images that were un-crappy enough to show you.  You’ll take A LOT of pictures in Las Vegas, so be sure your camera is in good working order!