Las Vegas May 2021

Fresh off being fully vaccinated my sons and I stuck our toes back into the world of travel with a short overnight trip to Sin City. It was perfect timing for the trip as my eldest son turned 21 the week prior. Since I am not a gambler our past trips to Vegas have consisted of dining, walking the strip, and checking out whatever tourist items each hotel has to offer. Although it is not one of my favorite destinations I appreciate its excess for what it is...but 48 hours is my limit. This trip we were barely in town 24 hours.

There is a bit of nostalgia for me visiting Vegas as I remember going there quite a few times as a kid. I remember staying at places like The Aladdin and have vague memories of walking through the lobbies of The Sands, Dunes and old-school version of the Sahara. I also remember loving the Circus Circus. I actually took my sons there years ago and it was a bit surreal that nothing in the gaming area changed...it was like walking back into the mid-1980s but now the hotel is pure ghetto. It is unfortunate that a lot of the history of Vegas has been torn away and been replaced by more glitzy hotels. I'll always prefer the seedy feel of 1980s Vegas versus its current feel but there are still things to enjoy.

My youngest son is really not a fan of Vegas but his appreciation for Gordon Ramsay trumps his dislike for the city. It has become a given that if we are in Vegas we are visiting at least one Ramsay restaurant. We have been to Hell's Kitchen a few times previously and also have been to his Pub inside Caesar's Palace multiple times. Both are worth a visit but I actually prefer the setting of the pub. This trip we went to the pub and also went to Ramsay's Burger for the first time. The pub was very good (as usual) but the appreciation of Burger was probably lost on my vegetarianism. This being noted, my son really liked it and although he usually orders a burger at the pub as well, said that the one at Burger was much better. For those who are interested, he ordered the Hell's Kitchen Burger, medium rare. Regardless of what you order at any of his restaurants, make sure to order at least one side of the truffle fries. They are all sorts of amazing.

One of the things I personally enjoy about Vegas is experiencing a different hotel each trip. This time we went to the Nobu (which is a hotel inside Caesar's). Although it was a decent room with a great location, I can't say it was worth the premium amount I paid for it. Here is my personal ranking of the hotels we have stayed at with a few comments of each:

1) Mandarin Oriental (now the Waldorf Astoria) - this hotel is/was just awesome. I can't speak for it since the Waldorf took over but everything about it was a fantastic experience. The lobby was beautiful, the employees are what you would expect at a 5 star hotel and the room is one of the best I've stayed in anywhere. They have the huge soaking bathtubs, which really changes the experience of vacationing. Housekeeping even came into the room while we were out for just a few hours and reorganized the entire area as if we were walking back into a newly cleaned room, including switching out the bookmark in my book with a Mandarin Oriental bookmark (which I thought was a nice touch). One thing of note is that this hotel doesn't have slots / a casino so if that's what you're looking for check out some of the other places.

2) Four Seasons - Much like the Oriental, this has beautiful rooms and a lobby and the employees were fantastic. My biggest issue is the location - it is at the very beginning of the strip and either takes a Uber/Lyft ride or a lot of walking to get to most of the tourist locations. Most people probably don't even know the Four Seasons is in Vegas as there are no signs and it is quietly connected to the Mandalay Bay. Although it doesn't have a casino either it is very easy to walk through the corridors to get to the Mandalay Bay's casino floor. Now that the Raiders Stadium is in hosting games this would be a prime location to stay if you are just in the city to grab a game.

3) Bellagio - Prime location on the strip. I paid a premium to have a fantastic view of the fountains, which I highly recommend. I just like everything about the layout / feel of this hotel. It is probably required viewing to watch the Ocean's 11 remake before staying here. 

View from our room

4) The Palazzo - This is the hotel I first took my sons to years ago and I would say that the rooms are the best choice for people visiting with families. The room was a suite in which there was a step down level from the main room where there was a large couch and sitting area. 

5) The Wynn - Very much on par with the Palazzo I would say this has the edge concerning the grounds and lobby but is not as convenient a location as it (like the Four Seasons) takes a ride share or a lot of walking to get places.

Photos inside the Wynn

5) Nobu - Very nice rooms and good location but I would choose any of the hotels I mentioned beforehand for the relatively same price point.

Caesar's Palace lobby

6) Bally's - I was surprised how decent the rooms were for the price point and the location is really nice. A great plus of the hotel too is that it has the Twilight Zone mini golf (more on this later).

7) Flamingo - The great location and fantastic history can't save the very rundown rooms here. This being noted, you can usually get some killer rates.

Since we have previously gone to almost all of the "touristy" places at the hotels (some multiple times) we struggle to find things of purpose to do in between our Ramsay meals. One place we always seems to visit is the Twilight Zone mini golf course inside Bally's - this is a nice place to get away from the heat and the artistic detail throughout the course is pretty impressive. It probably helps that the original Twilight Zone is still my favorite TV show of all time. Some places we have visited in the past which are worth a visit are the Shark Reef in the Mandalay Bay, the rotating themed Conservatory in the Bellagio, Titanic exhibit in the Luxor , The Mob Museum and The High Roller. 

Twilight Zone Mini Golf

Bellagio Conservatory during the year of the pig

Another place we usually visit (but didn't make it to this time) is the Neon Museum. This is one of my favorite museums of all time - make sure to check it out during the night tour as some of the signs are lit up. 

We always make the obligatory stop at the M&M's World store for my youngest son and if you like Honolulu Cookie Company Vegas is one of the only locations outside of Hawaii that actually has a store for them (Guam is the other location). The Kona and lemon are my favorite flavors but if you like shortbread cookies you really can't go wrong with any of them. It is worthwhile to buy them at a store as the shipping costs on their website always seem to be astronomical - and for those of you who have a Hawaiian Airline credit card you get 4x the points there.

Final thoughts : We came to the consensus that we probably don't need to head back to Vegas for awhile, unless we are meeting up with family or friends. I would like to stay downtown some time as we only went to that area once over the years to check out the Mob Museum. I did notice that some of that seedy feel I remember as a child still seems to be thriving in the downtown area, which clearly makes it worth a visit.