"Viva Las Vegas!" a Las Vegas Travel Page by glamourprincess

On June 26th my boyfriend and I left sunny breezy California and headed towards the hot desert. Destination: Las Vegas, Nevada! Both of us had been there before, but it was years ago and we were anticipating another visit to the crazy city in the desert. After a few hours, and after a visit to Mickey D's and an Outlet in Pimms we arrived at the MGM Grand. We got this exceptional deal on the Internet, so it was all good.. Our room was on the 26th floor and we had a view over New York New York and Excalibur. The only downside, they could only offer us a smoking-room, even though we ordered non-smoking. I mean it's the largest hotel in the world (or second or something) and they have no non-smoking rooms available.. that's just insane. Especially since everyone except us seemed to smoke in Vegas!

We spent hours walking down the Strip and visiting different Casinos. Wow. I really liked Bellagio and the Mirage, TI was pretty cool as well. Venetian was nice too. The other hotels felt old and worn, refurbishment needed. We did have a great time though. We went to Stratosphere. I hated the hotel, and the area, it's just too far away from Central Strip and there were some dodgy shops and persons hanging about. But the view was nice! We almost missed the outside view.. The rides looked wicked but I'm happy that I passed. It was just too much! Mandalay Bay was quite stunning, a lot more peaceful and relaxed, not the crazy frenzy going on at the Casinos at Central Strip. It also had a nice pool and a wavepool. Even though I loved the pool at MGM and their lazy river but I think they totally overcharged tube rental (18 dollar a day). We visited Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, that was great. The sharks were awesome. The best restaurant experience was Isla at TI, our waitress was a sizzling darkhaired woman who remined me of Salma Hayek. And they served the best Rasperry Daiquiris!

I thought 4 days would be more than enough, but I could easily stayed for a week. It was burning hot, but I loved the heat! It was no problem what so ever. In fact I found it too cold and chilly inside the Casinos and had to wear jeans and a sweater inside..
Oh well, I will be back! Next time I will go to a show.. we found it a bit expensive considering our budget and it was difficult to choose as well. But I think Cirque de Soleil is good, next time! I'm not sure which hotel I would choose next time. MGM Grand was nice, but I wasn't impressed. In that case I'm opting for MGM Signature.