A short review
Written: Mar 02 '04 (Updated Mar 02 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Always something to do, always something to see
Cons: A week in Vegas will make you bored quick
The Bottom Line: Las Vegas is accessible to everyone, and you'll leave with a smile and find something fun to do.
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| videodude's Full Review: Las Vegas |
If you get one thing out of this review, remember this. Should you ever visit Vegas during the summer, drink a lot, and I mean a LOT of water. The weather in Sin City is over a hundred degrees and it certainly feels like it. But what's fantastic is the weather is dry, so you won't sweat as much, if at all because there's no humidity. But drink lots of water to avoid dehydration because Vegas is very hot, and not in a good way.
Las Vegas is exactly as advertised and spoken through word of mouth. I can't think of one bad thing I've heard anybody say about the city of sin, because everyone went there, fully aware of what they were getting into. The casinos, the shows, the buffets, that's what Vegas is about, making the tourist happy. You couldn't run into another slot machine without tossing a quarter in. But a great thing about Vegas, is that it's accessible. It's like having the world's largest family playground at your hands, ready to be used. By family playground, Vegas is a very accessible place to everyone because there's always something to offer everyone of all ages. There are bars for younger people (Coyote Ugly is a great one that's found in New York, New York), arcades for kids, and well, everywhere to gamble: tables, slot machines, Keno, the lottery, everything at your beck and call. There are cashiers on the floor throughout each year.
On the strip, everything is nearby with a variety of casinos with more notables such as New York, New York, MGM Grand (my favorite), Treasure Island, Caesar's Palace, Bellagio, Paris, and Harrah's among many others. If you were to walk alongside the strip, you'll inevitably run into someone whose going to hand you a flyer for porno. A friend of mine ran up and down the strip (he was quite drunk), collecting enough of these cards to make a deck of cards. Of which he ran up to one unfortunate stranger with the flyers and said "Go Fish!"
Each casino really is only different in style, while some have some prominent features. MGM Grand has a lion cage for people to look through glass. The times I arrived though, the lions were either asleep or not even in their cage. The Bellagio is a very classy casino, and they have the famous water fountain show. The water fountain show goes off about every 15 minutes or so, with shooting streams of water playing to the tune of music (some noteworthy tunes would be like songs from "A Chorus Line" or "The Pink Panther" theme). In the Bellagio, with it's classy construction, there's a garden that is maintained 24/7. After seeing "Ocean's Eleven", I must say that it's almost a shame not to see the casinos set up like people were in the film (all the extras were dressed nicely). Having said that, Vegas is a total tourist town.
The New York, New York casino is constructed like Manhattan, with the inside designed to look like a city street (only if it were that clean). To help amplify authenticity, there's a manhole that blows up steam from the ground on the street. This street in question is actually just a lineup of shops and little eateries. There's also a remarkably nice sports bar, Coyote Ugly (a popular place as you may figure out), and much more. The Excalibur casino features a Medieval theme. There's a spacy all you can eat buffet with three or four buffets to eat from (they all have the same thing, just more supply) as well as two dessert buffets. However, one buffet is actually better than another. I stayed at the Excalibur which also offers games for children as well as sketching, a Krispy Kreme donuts, and a few unique shops.
Just to let you know, don't worry about getting a souvenir. It's inevitable that you'll run into at least five on your first day. Harrah's features a fairly nice shopping mall, as well as a show that opens up on the middle floor. The show features dancers, a giant turkey, and a boat that floats above with guests playing to the music. I believe it was this casino that had the best buffet, if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully I don't confuse it with another which I think I may have, but the buffet here, is excellent. The astounding variety has a hamburger stand, pizza stand, salad, Japanese, barbeque, and others to offer. It's about $16 per person, but you get your money's worth in terms of variety.
The Paris casino is very nice, and it's the only casino on the strip to have a fake Eiffel Tower. There's a street designed to look like a modern France street with a fake overhead ceiling showing the sky. This street has bakeries, gift shops, etc. The Aladdin has the Aladdin themes with it's purple-like flooring, and gold colored construction. Caesar's Palace is also nice. To be honest, every casino really is the same, only sharing the one common thing: gambling but using a different theme with each. The Tropicana casino gives tourists the chance to win a car by issuing a free card to them to use a slot machine. However, if you don't win, you still get a free deck of cards. Also in Vegas, but not on the strip is the Hard Rock casino. This casino is allegedly set up so you will lose money regardless, as the owners know young people love to visit their casino. Hard Rock is quite nice to walk through as it is a rock history museum, with one wall just featuring all sorts of artists (Elvis among the more prominent).
On the strip, you can also go to the M&M store which has every single M&M ever made. This is better geared for children that will certainly enjoy it. Not too far is a nearby movie theater which shows first run movies. If you've had enough of the strip, you can head down the street and go to the Fremont. The Fremont (I think that's how it's spelt), is the old Vegas that harkens back to Elvis and the Rat Pack. These casinos are smaller and there's an outside overhead that features a visual show that plays all Vegas-themed performers and what not. Think Sinatra, Tom Jones, Debbie Reynolds, many of those singers. It's quite fun to watch. The Fremont is also the more sleazier version of Vegas, as there's a variety of strip clubs throughout this section. There are clubs all throughout the city.
If you're not interesting in gambling, there's a mall not too far away from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, that's your basic shopping mall with a variety of stores and food courts. There's also a selection of museums. The only one I visited was at the Liberace museum. Featuring all the singer's possessions from his cars, pianos, and illustrious suits, you'll know his entire biography by the end of the afternoon. But let's face it, everyone comes to Vegas to gamble, regardless. Some come to Vegas to gamble, but everyone comes to have fun.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
videodude
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 in Hotels & Travel |
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Location: South Shore Massachusetts
Reviews written: 473
Trusted by: 21 members
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