I had mixed feelings about what the reality of Vegas was going to be because of what I heard from friends and family, and of course, what I have seen in movies. I can say that I was surprised to have enjoyed my time there so much. The over indulgent, crazy, fake, and over the top place, I imagined, was all those things...but the perfect dose of each, making it the perfect place for a vacation for Sid and I.
We stayed at The Cosmopolitan, which is across from Planet Hollywood on the strip. The hotel was very impressive as we drove in. Check in was quite efficient and a short walk through the casino to our wing, brought us to our room. The scale of the room was bigger than pictured online, which was a pleasant surprise and, best of all, as we walked into our one bedroom suite, the fountain greeted us with a spectacular show. Everyone remembers the scene from the movie Ocean’s Eleven, at the end when they are standing at the Bellagio fountain. Well...our view of the fountain from 20 stories up was much better.
The service at the hotel was great. The concierge was incredibly helpful in pointing us in the right direction for restaurants and shows. The Cosmopolitan has a great selection of restaurants. We ate at the hotel for several meals and you can read more about those in later posts. The hotel also has 3 pools, one being the famous Marquee day and night club, where we were lucky enough to spend our last day (post coming soon!). Overall, The Cosmopolitan was a great location for us, with great service, and beautiful amenities and restaurants. I would highly recommend anyone to stay here!
The service at the hotel was great. The concierge was incredibly helpful in pointing us in the right direction for restaurants and shows. The Cosmopolitan has a great selection of restaurants. We ate at the hotel for several meals and you can read more about those in later posts. The hotel also has 3 pools, one being the famous Marquee day and night club, where we were lucky enough to spend our last day (post coming soon!). Overall, The Cosmopolitan was a great location for us, with great service, and beautiful amenities and restaurants. I would highly recommend anyone to stay here!
One bedroom suite with fountain view. I was standing in the doorway when I took this. Behind there is a couch and mini bar. Look at that closet!
I wanted to see everything - every hotel and casino. There is a mix of old-school casinos like the Flamingo and Harrahs with the newer properties such as Cosmopolitan and the newest, Aria, along with everything in between. The age groupings in the casinos at each property were different. At the Paris it was definitely a much older crowd gambling in the casinos. Watch your toes with all of the power chairs zipping through those lanes. At the Aria, it was a “beautiful” younger crowd of people.
The most surprising thing about the casinos was that people are still allowed to smoke inside. Coming from Honolulu, where smoking has been banned from any indoor location and even 20 feet from a doorway, having people smoke inside took some getting used to again.
Partly due to a lack of planning and time, Sid and I didn't plan a great deal of activities or our meals for during our trip. This was a blessing in disguise, in many respects, as each day after late lunches, shopping, and walking around our energy levels were depleted by dinner. Along the strip, there were few late night dining options, which we could find. But even at 11pm or well past midnight, there were still crowds of people walking around through casinos and on the strip, people of all ages!
Always time to take a quick selfie!
Vegas is definitely a place I would like to return to and explore different elements of the area – mostly – Valley of Fire State Park, which was just not an option for us this time with 104 F temperatures.
Best,
MJ
Best,
MJ
