5 nights in Las Vegas
The hotels We stayed at The Luxor which is at the start of the Las Vegas Strip on the south side. Walking into the hotel for the first time to check in, we were absolutely blown away. We’ve stayed in many hotels over the years of all different styles and star ratings, but this was in a league of its own! You can’t comprehend the sheer size of each of these hotels, they are like a resort in themselves. Centred around the casino in the middle they all have a Starbucks, gift shops, lots of restaurants and of course, each hotel has its own ‘landmark’ or something unique to the hotel Did you know? The Luxor elevators are called inclinators. They transport you sideways at a 39-degree angle up to the 4 sides of the pyramid.
Getting around The first day we walked the length of the strip and went into every hotel along the way. If you follow me on IG, check out my story highlights where you can see each of the hotels. Be prepared that the length of the strip is 4 miles long, so walking 4 miles and then in and out of each hotel…you’ll clock up your steps!! The quickest way to get from one end of the strip to another is the monorail. It starts at MGM Grand, and the last stop is The Sahara and has several stops along the way for each of the hotels. From start to finish the journey is around 18 minutes and costs $5 each ride of $13 for a day pass.
The Stratosphere There are plenty of dining options in each of the hotels, but we had the most incredible meal in The Stratosphere, Top of the world. The restaurant rotates 360-degrees every 80 minutes, giving the most amazing views of Las Vegas whilst you eat
Other dining options Each hotel has buffet dining options or various restaurants that open for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Each hotel also has a food court for typical things such as burgers, subs and fast food. Other options are out on the strip such as Denny’s, an Irish pub part of the New York and pizza stops. Of course if you're a lover of Italian then the Venetian is the place to go, but we had an amazing Italian meal in the A La Carte restaurant, Il Fornaio in New York New York. The New York was also my favourite for breakfast and done the best latte! Downtown Vegas on Fremont street offers loads of dining options and we also had a brillaint meal in the Golden Nugget.
Entertainment Downtown was my favourite part of Vegas. Fremont Street was where Las Vegas all started and was exactly how I imagined Vegas to be. With street entertainment, neon lights and famous for The Golden Nugget and Heart Attack grill restaurant. The casinos here are really old school style and there's just as much going on here as there is on the strip itself.
If you’ve never seen Cirque Du Soleil, then you must whilst in Vegas. We saw ‘One’ at Mandalay Bay, based on the classic hits by Michael Jackson. It was by far one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and worth every single penny. Other options are 'Love' which is based on The Beatles in The Mirage and 'O' in The Bellagio, which is an aquatic water spectacular. A little tip – the theatres are not as big as London’s West End, so you don’t have to buy the top tickets to get a good view. We also saw Usher at The Dolby Live. He was just brilliant, and an unexpected highlight was that Ne-Yo came on with him, but of course seeing a concert all depends on who is in residency at the time of travel.
Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon What I hadn't realised about Las Vegas is how stunning the scenery is behind the strip. Driving away from Vegas and crossing into Arizona was just spectacular. Hoover Dam was just something we done as it was on route, but I was blown away by how amazing it is. Firstly, we drove to the Hoover Dam bridge. You don't have to be there long but it's well worth it. Parking is free in this area and the views are great once on top of the bridge. We then drove around to Hoover Dam itself where parking is $10 for 4 hours. Unless you want a guided tour, you don't need 4 hours! We had a brilliant lunch here in the cafe. It was a big meal, plenty of choice and reasonably priced. Again, views were amazing of both Hoover Dam, the bridge and Lake Mead. From Las Vegas to Hoover Dam was around a 45-minute drive.
The drive on from Hoover Dam to Grand Canyon West Rim was just under 2 hours. We would have liked to have done the South Rim, but the journey was then an additional 4 hours. I loved the Canyon so much that next time and a recommendation for customers in the future would be to stay at the Canyon to break up the journey and have the time to experience more. The West Rim though was incredible and well worth the drive. We loved the skywalk, a 10-foot wide, horseshoe shaped glass bridge that is suspended over the Canyon itself. Once you have paid for tickets to enter the Canyon and optional skywalk tickets, your time there is free to stay for as long as you want. At the time we arrived, the sun was setting by the time we drove home and the scenery at dusk was just beautiful. Arizona is like being in another world! It's very rural and very much what you see in old American films with a few basic houses, a church, and the local gas station! Driving home in dusk we saw wild dogs and cattle come out on the side of the road. Many of my friends and regular customers know that Dean (my husband) is into his classic American cars and owns his own Camaro, so he was in his element driving a Dodge Challenger through Arizona, with old classics such as Chevy's on the side of the road and in people's gardens!
Overall, the Grand Canyon experience was amazing and one of my favourite days during our 5 nights. If we had the car for longer, we would have done more, and we'll definitely return for a night or two on future American road trips for sure!