Emerald City: The MGM Grand is a recently renovated Las Vegas hotel.
By Mark Chesnut
A perennial favorite for business travelers and conventioneers (not to mention lots of vacationers), Las Vegas is in the midst of a wave of renovation. The result? Even more ways to indulge and be productive in so-called “Sin City.” (more…)
Water world: Wet Republic, at the MGM Grand, is one of the best pools in Las Vegas.
By Mark Chesnut
Las Vegas may sit in the sun-scorched desert, but it’s a great place to get wet. Swimming pools at Las Vegas hotels are often as grand and over-the-top as the attention-getting lobbies and casinos that are just a few steps away. Here are a few great places to wet — sorry, whet — your appetite. (more…)
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
By Valerie Moloney
I have a confession to make: Since becoming a wife, mother, home owner, wound dresser, diorama expert, writing coach, nurse and all the other “jobs” I do, on top of my full-time one, I’ve secretly wanted to run away. Before you judge, it’s not like that—and believe me when I say I know plenty of moms who’ve voiced out loud that they’d rather be at an all-inclusive than the detergent aisle at Target. (more…)
Envigorating Vegas: The spa at Mandalay Bay offers treatments created for business travelers.
By Mark Chesnut
As the saying goes, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” It can also make him a tired, stressed-out boy — and it was with that in mind that a group of Las Vegas hotels have created a new array of mini-spa treatments designed specifically for weary, time-pressed business travelers. (more…)
Fresh face: A redesigned guest room at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, in Atlantic City.
By Mark Chesnut
Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, one of the trendiest Atlantic City hotels, is betting that you’ll think its $50 million redesign is a winning hand.
Slated to be completed finished in time for the peak summer season in July, the upgrade will bring new style to all 1,566 guest rooms as well as the corridors. Rooms are being recast in neutral gray tones, with bright bursts of color and floral details in the new metal lamps and wooden headboards. Furniture is, according to hotel officials, “skillfully mismatched,” with English Sycamore bedside tables and desks complemented by dark wood dresser sets.
Technological upgrades include a Bittel integrated phone unit that includes speakers, iPod charger and player, USB charge port, clock radio and alarm. In addition, all rooms will have WiFi.
In addition to its 161,000 square feet of gaming — which includes 182 gaming tables, nearly 3,500 slot machines and a recently renovated poker room with more than 80 tables — Borgata also has six formal restaurants, six casual eateries and a 54,000-square-foot spa.
Among the biggest reasons why people have heard of Borgata is the entertainment. The hotel’s 2,400-seat Event Center hosts live music and comedy performances from name-brand stars throughout the year, with upcoming appareances in May and June from the likes of Pitbull, Weezer, Frankie Valli, Sting and the Jacksons, to name a few.
Borgata also targets business travelers, meetings and conventions, with some 70,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The star-studded Event Center also hosts private corporate events, as does the 1,000-person Music Box theater, which is home to the hotel’s nightly comedy club.
Since the 2008 opening of its newest hotel component, The Water Club, the complex offers even more options for travelers with either business or pleasure on their minds. The Water Club has 18,000 square feet of meeting space, including two glass-enclosed boardrooms and a poolside area that can host up to 500 people for private events.
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Mark Chesnut is a freelance travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. Unfortunately, he’s never even won at slots.
Cover at XS is $30 for gentlemen and $20 for ladies, but tables like this command a princely sum. Credit: Barbara Kraft.
By Amy Drew Thompson
Sure, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas …unless you’re a member of the British Royal Family, in which case the world is sure to find out. Take Prince Harry’s recent break from military training in Arizona. After a relaxing desert cruise on a rented Harley-Davidson, the future king’s brother cut loose in style, giving us a stellar model on how to vacation like royalty in some fabulous Las Vegas hotels.
Shrimp Bar & Deli at Golden Gate Hotel and Casino has served its $1.99 shrimp cocktail for decades.
By Jennifer Olvera
The Strip – with its around-the-clock action and trace of flashing lights – has the glitz and glamour thing down pat. When planning Las Vegas vacations, however, it’s wise to look beyond the main drag and explore what’s tried and true. Remnants of old Las Vegas, are tucked into time-honored spots or have been resurrected as an homage to days gone by. (more…)
Beauvoir, President Jefferson's Davis former home was restored after Hurricane Katrina. Credit: ^ W ^.
By Blane Bachelor
It’s no secret that Biloxi’s casinos — and the hope of striking it big — are the main draw for travelers to this coastal Mississippi town. But Biloxi, which has made a nice rebound from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, boasts plenty of worthwhile pursuits that don’t involve plastic chips. (more…)
Detroit is targeting the meetings market. Credit: Shawn Wilson.
By Mark Chesnut
The “Motor City” moniker may refer to automobiles, but the city of Detroit — home to a bustling international airport that is a major Delta hub — is increasingly pushing to be known as a motor that drives meetings, conventions and business travel.
Downtown Detroit has increasingly more to offer business travelers. Cobo Center, a conference and exhibition center, is undergoing a $300 million rebirth that has resulted in 25,000 square feet of additional event space. The Cobo Arena, the former home of the Detroit Pistons, is being relaunched as a 40,000-square-foot ballroom. (more…)
Hang with your best peeps before your wedding at Hard Rock's pool party, the cheekily named "Rehab."
By Vince Font
If there’s any place in the world that’s more appropriate than Vegas to give yourself a rowdy, pre-marriage bachelor or bachelorette blowout, I’ve never heard of it. What better surroundings to bring your wild and reckless ways to a close in preparation for a life of wedded bliss? Las Vegas vacations win hands down every time in that regard. Here’s a brief round-up of some great Sin City spots to help give you a good and proper send-off into the ranks of the spoken-fors. (more…)
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