The Life Concierge Goes to Vegas

With more than 100,000 hotel rooms, tens of thousands of restaurants, and hundreds of casinos, Las Vegas has everything you could want, and everything you'd never want, for a vacation.

Generalities: The strip is currently split into two sections due to construction that begins just north of the Wynn on both sides of Las Vegas Blvd and extends north to just below the Riveria. Make sure you stay on the southern (i.e. non-ghetto) side of this no-fun zone.

The strip is a bit... Disney. It's clean, it's safe, there are TONS of people during the week but still bustling on weeknights. For a more 'classic Vegas' experience, head downtown to the Fremont Street Experience. The light show down there sucks, but the Casinos have a bit more... character, there are walk-up bars, you see an occasional showgirl, and its still safe and fun.

If you go on a weekend, don't expect to find a lot of bars on the strip where you can sit down and relax, this is club central. The good news is if you are gambling in a casino, you drink for free. There are bars at the corner of the Strip and Fashion Show Drive, on the southern edge of the Flamingo, and several down by the MGM/Mirage at the south end of the strip. Ambience sucks? No problemo, double fist it and head on out, there are no open container laws on the Strip or Fremont Street.

I wouldn't count on the monorail in Vegas, its behind the east side of the strip and just wasn't convenient to much of anything (and expensive). There are lots of cabs on the Strip, but be prepared to wait on a Friday or Saturday night, or be resourceful about where you pick up. Note - it is illegal in Vegas to pick up or drop off passengers on the Strip itself, they have to turn into the hotels.

Hotels:

Trump International: The Trump just opened in March, and is at the northern edge of the southern strip (if that makes any sense). The lobby is a bit over-the-top, but the rooms are incredibly large with all the standard amenities, plus a jacuzzi tub with a TV in the mirror you can see while you soak. The location is... odd. Since they've torn down the hotels next to it for new development, the Trump sits somewhat alone, but is a 2 block walk from the Wynn and the Strip. Its also across the street from a mall (and an ABC store) that makes for convenience during the day if you need stuff. The major drawback? No casino. And the bar only stays open until midnight. WTF? Probably best for business travelers or families that don't want to have to deal with the casino restrictions. Pool is nice but not party-esque, and fitness center is 22$/day.

Venetian/Palazzo: Sheldon's hotels are both rated at 5-stars... I'd call them a low 5. The suite we saw at the Venetian was nice and large, but looked... well used. The staff had a hard time giving directions when asked, and the entire place had an air freshener smell that was so overwhelming downstairs you could taste it. This place is HUGE. These two hotels are connected, so you can literally walk for blocks and still be inside. I just didn't get a great vibe from these properties.

Wynn/Encore (soon to open): Steve Wynn's hotels are also 5 star and seemed a half step up from Sheldon's. Or it could be that they just didn't smell as bad. I didn't see a room at the Wynn but have heard great things, the casino was pleasant enough, but wasn't anything special. The buffett wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

MGM Properties higher end(Bellagio, MGM, Mirage, Mandalay Bay, THE Hotel): I really liked the MGM Grand, it was HUGE and had a good casino floor, totally busting on a Saturday night. Mandalay Bay seemed nice as well and had a faux-beach pool that shows movies on the beach in the evenings. The Bellagio is really a different class (at 5 stars). This suite hotel is in the PERFECT location, right in the middle of the southern part of the strip. PLUS, it has the fountains and a Hermes boutique. The casino seemed... small. I dunno, just didn't trip my trigger.

MGM Properties Lower end (Luxor, Excelsior): Didn't go in either of these, they looked kinda... trashy, though I've been told that the Excelsior just re-did all of their rooms, and supposedly they ain't bad.

Harrahs: I hated Caesar's Palace. That place is SO freaking huge. Like, 20 minute walk to the pools from your room kind of huge. Like, get lost in the freaking shops for half an hour when you don't have any beer at 11pm and get REALLY pissed kind of huge. I personally didn't think the casino had a lot of character, either. Didn't go in Harrah's namesake or Bally's, but they looked relatively meh. The Flamingo had some character, is this where they filmed Casino? Kinda looks like it. Plus the Flamingo had a Jimmy Buffets bar, and the little bar on the southern edge, which was great for a fast refill. I really liked the Paris (be sure to get an Eiffel Tower margarita glass) Casino, I don't know a lot about the rooms.

Casinos

Alright, I like dive bars, and apparently I like dive casinos, too. My favorite casino was Bill's, across from the Bellagio on the strip. Its old timey, kinda dirty, smallish, and juuuuuuuuust right (its owned by Harrahs). I also liked the Casinos down on Fremont, where I had much better luck. Paris was good, as was MGM and Mandalay Bay (very similar casinos between the two). I did not like Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo or the Wynn casinos, but I may just be weird.

If I was in Vegas with a bunch of guys for the weekend, I'd probably spend at least one night at Hard Rock. Dealers wearing leather bikinis, good music, fun vibe... A see and be seen, non-stodgy place.

Restaurants

I hated Mario Batali's Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. I loved Emeril's New Orleans Fish House in the MGM Grand. It seemed like a lot of people we talked to had meh experiences at some of the bigger names, so I'd probably think twice about dropping a huge amount of cash at Alan Ducasse or Joel Rubochon and save my money for the tables. Something you really should do if you're there with a group - go to Hoffbrauhaus across the street from Hard Rock (off-strip). Its a giant bavarian beer hall with live music. They not only encourage debauchery, they pretty much insist on it. After taking shots of jager from a paddle, the waitresses will make you stand up, bend over, and spank you with said paddle. Competitions start at 8, I'd get there by 7 to eat the decent but not super german food (and its not incredibly expensive, which is nice). Get reservations for weekend nights.

Things to do:

The Bellagio fountains. I LOVE the Bellagio fountains. They are MUCH better at night but are great all the time, they are ever 15 minutes at night and 30 minutes from 3-8pm. Fremont Street was great gambling and drinking, but the light show down there sucked. There are a lot of "experiences" to be had in Vegas, but most involve pricey tickets. People watching is just as much fun (and free). Shopping was good, but I can't say as though it blew me away. Maybe I'm spoiled but I have Barney's and Louis Vuitton two blocks from my house, don't need to go to Vegas for that.

I'd also build in some downtime. We were there for 4 days, 3 nights, with at least a 2 hour break each late afternoon (had to have some jacuzzi time ya know), and we were wiped by the end.