Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
by Kirsten Kindermann
by Kirsten Kindermann
If you have never been to Las Vegas, it’s impossible to grasp its surreal reality. The feats of engineering astound even the most jaded traveller. Home of the world’s largest hotels and other record-holding attractions, Vegas is non-stop entertainment where true-to-life-size pirate ships battle and sink before your very eyes at Treasure Island resort.
The Stratosphere Hotel boasts four of the world's highest thrill rides, whizzing around the top of a 1,149 foot tower. Awe-struck pedestrians stop in their tracks when the 54 foot volcano spews fire and steam 100 feet into the air at The Mirage. Most of the action lies along Las Vegas Boulevard, otherwise known as The Strip. Stroll down the famous Strip and you will immediately realize that the hotels are the main attractions here.
Las Vegas is home to some of the world's greatest hotels. They are not just hotels, they are virtual-worlds designed with great detail to transcend reality and transport you into their elaborate empires. They are amusement parks, zoos, theatres, casinos, shopping malls and opulent hotels rolled into one mind-boggling experience.
The New York New York hotel, a smaller version of New York City, has a roller coaster that zooms through the lobby and wraps around the exterior of the Empire State Building and other New York landmarks. The Luxor Hotel & Casino is ancient-Egypt-meets-the-future with an enormous pyramid housing 4,100 lavish guest rooms, complete with a gigantic Sphinx soaring above the lobby’s entrance. Check-in is via Egyptian-style boats which transport guests along a mini Nile river to the reception desk. Even Cleopatra would feel right at home in its luxurious spa.
The great thing about these hotels is that all their attractions are open to the public. You don’t need to be a guest to marvel or join in the fun. A monorail connects some of the hotels, otherwise you will do well hailing a cab or possessing good walking shoes to get you from one end of The Strip to the other. The Strip hotels are so colossal, so chock full of sensory stimulation that it takes literally days to see them all.
I was surprised at how exhausted I felt just after touring four corners of an intersection. On one corner I observed the imposing sorcerer and fire-breathing dragon guarding the entrance to the Excalibur hotel. Then, crossing its drawbridge I entered the Excalibur’s immense castle where knights on horseback entertained diners with jousting bouts.
Riding the tram across the street, I disembarked at New York New York. While gazing up at this not-so-mini-Manhattan the roller coaster whipped by, coming so close that my hair blew in its passing speed. On the next corner I relished the mist from the waterfall laden Tropicana Resort. Finally I entered the mammoth MGM Grand hotel through its giant lion’s mouth. With over 5,500 guest rooms, the MGM Grand required more endurance than I had left just to walk from the entrance, through the seemingly miles of casino, to the theme park in its back yard (after two attempts, I have yet to succeed).
This year the MGM Grand is boasting performances by the Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, David Copperfield and more. Catch Liza Minnelli, LeAnn Rimes and the Beach Boys at the Luxor. The Mirage is hosting Jay Leno and Wayne Brady, while the Las Vegas Hilton boasts Barry Manilow and Donna Summer. The Orleans Casino has Dionne Warwick and Jose Feliciano, while Toni Braxton will light up the Flamingo Hotel. New and legendary stars are always in town to entertain.
Vegas is constantly expanding and adding new extraordinary hotels. Now visitors can enjoy a gondola ride through the elegant all-suite Venetian hotel, designed to resemble the canals of Venice, Italy. Italian opera singers and costumed entertainers perform daily at The Grand Canal Shoppes, while the in-house Guggenheim Hermitage Museum features original art by the likes of Picasso, van Gogh, Monet, Rubens and other masters.
The Mandalay Bay has created an exotic experience with 11 tropical acres of sandy beaches, a wave pool, and lazy river ride. The hotel’s Shark Reef is an underwater world where you come face to face with, you guessed it…sharks and other marine life. The Mandalay Bay Events Center hosts large concerts and events such as world championship boxing matches between world champion boxers.
A long-standing Las Vegas icon, Caesar’s Palace commands a vast and prominent space on The Strip. When it opened in 1966 the resort had around 700 rooms and boasted the biggest names in show biz with Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland as regular headliners. Caesar’s now has 3,300 guest rooms and features the 4,000-seat Colosseum hosting celebrity performers such as Celine Dion, Elton John, Jerry Seinfeld and others.
The Forum Shops at Caesar’s resemble a Roman village with a sky-painted dome ceiling that changes its light from sunrise to sunset and into nightfall. A grand ‘marble’ statue of Caesar and several Greek Gods is the Forum’s centrepiece which regularly comes alive, the figures talking, moving and revolving along with a spectacular laser show. Sexy staff play roles as ancient Greek mortals around the hotel property, while stars and star-seekers dine at Spagos restaurant.
Las Vegas is truly a city that never sleeps 365 days a year. The casinos make sure that you can play your favourite game at any time of the day or night. However, in other ways it is truly America’s 24-hour playground. Only recently have the many wedding chapels closed their doors at midnight, thwarting those spontaneous 3am marriages.
If you have come to try your luck, the casinos are the best in the world, offering exclusive high roller gaming rooms down to nickel slots (0.05 cent slot machines) and everything in between. These casinos go to great lengths to keep you playing; free drinks are served to all gamers, pure oxygen is pumped in helping you stay awake all night, and the absence of windows and clocks leave no hint of time. Indeed, those without self-control could easily get lost in Las Vegas fervour.
Yet you can also have a blast in this glitzy town without spending a cent aside from eating and sleeping. It is a playland for both children and adults. The streets are teeming with Elvis impersonators, magicians and other buskers and most hotels have free lounge acts that can be highly entertaining. Watch for free pool parties at major hotels, open bars and free passes to exclusive lounges and nightclubs.
If you’re dining on the cheap, the notorious all-you-can-eat Circus Buffet at Circus Circus is a long time favourite. Circus Circus is a great place to bring the kids (or the young at heart). Don’t miss their free circus acts and the Adventuredome theme park – a giant pink dome housing thrill rides and games in a lively Jurassic Park atmosphere.
Bungee jumping is on offer just outside the dome, while across the street from Circus Circus is Wet ‘n Wild waterpark, an aquatic paradise for kids, adrenalin junkies and Lazy River fans alike. Of course there are plenty of other things to do to help lighten the wallet as well, like celebrity concerts, exotic shows like Zumanity - a risqué Cirque du Soleil, world-class golfing, haute couture shopping, spa spoiling and fine restaurants to delight the palette.
If relaxing is your game, many hotels offer a variety of swimming pools and whirlpools, enhanced with waterfalls and meandering rivers. In these exotic oases, the commotion of The Strip is far from ones senses. Lounge among the many pools at Caesar’s Palace, surrounded by Roman columns and mythical statues, or amid waterfalls, rainforests and dolphins at The Mirage.
Pacing yourself is essential as sensory overload can occur at any time. Take a few hours to tour The Strip, then retreat back to your hotel for a dip in the pool or quiet meal in the comfort of your room. A tour of nearby Hoover Dam is perhaps equally impressive as the engineering feats of Las Vegas.
If you visit Vegas during the summer, you’ll want to reserve your outdoor activity for mornings and evenings when the sun is not blazing hot. In such a futuristic environment, it’s easy to forget that you are in the middle of an otherwise uninhabitable desert. Make no mistake; Las Vegas is the capital of fun with something for everyone! Viva Las Vegas!
Editor’s Travel Tip: Las Vegas is just one hour by plane from Los Angeles or a five-hour drive through the desert.
For other reports on the United States, go toour archive
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