| Product: |
Las Vegas |
| Date: |
30/10/04 (6584 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good food, an experience
Disadvantages: Depressing, desert heat
Whyis there such hype surrounding Vegas? I don't see the attraction myself. Having stayed there last summer, I hope to never return. Here's why.
Vegas is in its own little bubble. It's a heaven for consumerism, obesity, greed, and tack.
First of all, the heat overwhelmed me. It made it impossible to go outside for any longer than a few minutes at a time. The air is thick, heavy with the desert heat.
It makes people there very lazy, as the whole system is set up so you don't have to walk far. There is a mini train in Vegas that takes people only around 100 metres. Large fans line the sidewalks to blast passers by with freezing cold air. Sunglasses are an absolute necessity, without them you will be squinting constantly.
I didn't hate everything about the city. I'll get the positives out of the way first. The best thing about Vegas was the drive there from Los Angeles. It was beautiful and probably one of the best drives I have have been on. The scenery went from mountains to desert. Halfway, we were struck by a storm, which subsided to reveal rainbows over the sand dunes. The sky went through every possible colour and seemed so vast.
The other good things about Vegas are the cheap prices, and the food. My first night there, I ate like a princess: dishes I had never tried before, such as crab, monkfish, authentic sushi. The best all you can eat buffet is undoubtably the Bellagio (that's the casino/resort with the dancing fountains outside, as seen in Oceans 11). It's $25 for an international buffet cooked by gourmet chefs. My mouth is actually watering remembering that meal.
There is certainly lots to see in Vegas. Walking up and down the "Strip", you can see casinos of every kind, from an Egyptian pyramid (the Luzor), a half size Eiffel Tower (the Paris)and a reincarnation of Manhattans skyscrapers (New York, New York).
I stayed in the Boardwalk hotel and Casino, which is just off the strip, behind the New York, New York. It was around £15 each for a large double en suite room. All the hotels in Vegas are reasonable, after all, they want to pack in the punters to the casinos.
How do you spend the day in Vegas? Gamble, shop, and eat, that's how. As I don't gamble and don't have much money for shopping, I got a little bored. The water park is only open at weekends, so we couldn't go there. Most hotels have pools, which are refreshing given the draining heat, but you don't need to go 5000 miles to go swimming.
I don't gamble, which I imagine coloured my perception of Vegas. The tourist board tries to market Las Vegas as suitable for everyone, whether they gamble or not, and are trying to promote the city as being a suitable destination for families. I would have to disagree. There is very little for children to do there, aside from watch the circus shows at the Circus Circus casino. If you gamble, you will love it, but otherwise, you are not missing out by not going there.
There are lots of shops in Vegas, including many tacky dollar stores along the strip selling everything from lucky charms to those US most wanted card decks, as well as great mounted photographs and maps. Inside malls, such as the amazing Venetian, more upmarket stores prevail. The Venetian is a relatively new resort, and even impressed me. It's designed to be a working replica of Venice, with its own canal system, gondalas, and the most amazing shopping centre I have ever ben to. It is all indoors, but looks like the streets of Venice, with ornate bridges, live musicians, and the breathtaking ceiling which is like a real sky, with changing weather and the times of the day.
Food lovers will also love Vegas for its buffets. Some are better than others, but even the cheap ones (at around $5) will fill you up and offer a wide range. I'm glad I only stayed a few days or I would have put on so much weight from all that food!
Several casinos offer free ice creams, which bizarrely, my friend and I had to show our ID to recieve. Cheap alcohol is everywhere, especially huge cocktails, but we avoided drinking for fear of passing out in the heat.
Other things the non gambler can do:
- Every night, go to watch the dancing fountains outside the Ballagio. It will be very crowded, but it's a lot of fun watching the huge fountains move in time to music such as Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston.
-Watch the free circus shows at Circus Circus, several times a day
-Traipse around all of the casinos and collect free gifts, such as mini lucky trolls and packs of cards with naked women on
- Go and see magicians Siegfred and Roy's famous white tigers at the Mirage. Last October, one of the tigers attacked Roy, but they still live at the Mirage, although the magic show has been cancelled.
-Catch a show if you have lots of dough. Nightly entertainment includes world famous Cirque du Soleil, Celine Dion, and occasional performances from other stars. Elton John will be playing at shows in Vegas next year. There are also tacky "adult entertainment" shows all over the place.
-Go to the Big Apple bar in the New York, New York complex. There is no admission charge and bands play nightly. There are a lot of good bars in the NY, NY, including Coyote Ugly.
-Take a helicopter ride along the Strip at nighttime - warning - expensive
-Take a day trip to the Grand Canyon
- Go to Freemont Street, the "old town" part of Vegas. There are yet more casinos there, with nightly light shows
Beware- everyone expects to be tipped in Vegas, even if they just hold a door open for you or say hello. I had to virtually fight the porter off and convince him I was perfectly capable of carrying my own bag, thank you very much!
I saw people from all over the world in Vegas- men in pristine Arab dress, Japanese tourists, young men in England football shirts, and a majority of American families on their vacation. Most of the people working in Vegas are Hispanic, Asian and Black. I can't imagine it's a very happy existance living in that strange world.
In the casinos there are no clocks, in order that punters lose track of time, and it's easy to get lost. They are huge, vast places, lined with money taking boxes and tables, and I just wanted to get out. Only as soon as I got outside, the heat threatened to strangle me.
A taxi from the centre to the airport costs around $8. Flights go virtually anywhere, domestic or international. It's a modern, small airport, with a very poor selection of books in its shop. My flight was delayed for several hours, and apart from my courtesy can of pop and "ranch mix", I was incredibly bored. Vegas is not a destination for book lovers, so I suggest you take your own with you in case of delays.
I was very relieved to finally leave Vegas and head to New York. I only stayed for a few days, but that was more than enough for me. I'm glad I have been and seen it for myself, but there was nothing there for me. I like history, culture, and human life. I found the whole thing pretty soul less.
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Last comments:
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- 12/11/09 I'm sorry guys, I'm going to have to agree with the reviewer on this one. Vegas is kind of a hole. I have been there three times, stayed at Circus Circus, the San Remo, and the MGM Grand. Other than my first visit, I have only traveled to Vegas because friends made plans to go there for bachelor parties. Vegas is kind of a hole.
In response to the two people who negatively commented on this review, I'm sorry but Vegas is the strip, and the strip is Vegas. A minor league baseball time, some paintball fields and a questionable ski hill 3-5 hours from town does not make a "world class destination." People go to Vegas for the strip (even though Old Vegas is also cool), not to hike. Yes there is some awesome destinations in the South West, but Vegas is not a good base for these.
That being said, Vegas has a purpose, its a place to go get drunk for the weekend with a group of friends. If I want an a quick vacation in the sun, I prefer a tropical island with a beach. Leave Vegas to the punters and go somewhere that is actually nice. |
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- 08/08/08 You did not see the whole Vegas if you just stayed on the strip there is a lot more, We have a couple of museums that are fun we have a baseball field thats you can go watch the 51s play, it might not be as interesting as major league baseball but its still fun to see people play, on the other side of vegas you got paintball fields, water parks, circus circus is fun to since its an amusement park. About the heat we really can't do anything about that but you can go to lake mead. There is a few places to go fishing but you can also take 3-5 hours and go out of town and hit a bunch of other fishing spots in other states. The strip is a wierd place to go to there are casinos everywhere else not just there and the casinos everywhere else have the same exact stuff as the strips do just not as expensive/cheap its in the middle. |
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- 13/12/06 Are you serious, Las Vegas has it all and is the premier vacation spot despite what you say. These comments are typical of a traveller that does little or NO research about where they are headed. So I present to you 5 things to do in Las Vegas other than shop, gamble or swim
1. Hike,I know that for many People this is a tall order, however the deserts surrounding Las offer some excellent trails on FREE USA public land. On it you can see, beautiful slot canyons, ancient rock art, lush desert oasis, lofty mountain tops. Best of all you can do this year round, in comfortable temperatures without having to drive far, winter in the deserts, summer in the mountains.
2. Observe wildlife. Within a two hour drive from Las vegas there are three wildlife refuges, two national parks, and a national forest, with miles of desert inbetween. All of these are home to unique and magnificent desert fauna, from prehistoric reptiles to magnificent elk, and magestic bighorn sheep. The northern Mojave desert is a hotspot of endemism and unique animals all can be seen for free. If you don't like that, the casinos often have beastiarys with interesting animals
3. Take in some art. There are always art shows from world renowned artist such as Monet and Van Gogh at the larger casinos entrance is often $20, or as I mentioned before checkout some ancient native rock art known as petroglyphs. Take a gander at some local art at many fine small and free galleries.
4. Ski, yeah I said ski. Las vegas is butted up agains Mount Charleston a lofty 12,000 foot (1,000m) peak up there are tall trees very different from the surrounding desert. There is a ski area which is open in the winter.
5. Ride a helicopter. There are businesses that will fly you around las vegas or to the Grande Canyon, this is pricy however.
You see there are lots of things to do in and around Las Vegas, so please come on over and continue to support or roads, top notch public schools, and grand works. Come On Over. |
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