Articles for ‘Las Vegas Vacation’ Category
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Bellagio Cypress Suite (Photo: MGM/Mirage)
By E.C. Gladstone
Tradition holds that June is the most popular month to get married. But not in Las Vegas — here, that distinction belongs to Feb. 14, St. Valentine’s Day. If you’re one of the many planning to help that statistic, you’ve probably already chosen the venue, but just in case, you might want to check my wedding blog (Getting married? Say “I do” on the Vegas Strip) for tips (not every Elvis on the street can marry you, fyi.)
Those of us who have already taken the vows, or aren’t of that mind, can still find a lot of romance within the Las Vegas hotels for Valentine’s Day, though. While most of my Valentine’s Day recommendations from last year still hold , I thought I’d update with a few new pointers.
SUITE YOURSELF
Las Vegas hotel room rates are at very competitive levels now, so why not look into upgrading to a more lavish, roomy suite? For couples wanting to get cozy, “standard” suites at the Venetian/Palazzo and Trump as well as the Hard Rock Hotel’s new HRH tower certainly make the grade, in my mind. Above those, I think some of the sexiest junior and one-bedroom suites can be found at the following Las Vegas hotels: (more…)
Tags: Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Golden Nugget, Harrah's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Las Vegas CityCenter, Las Vegas hotels, Las Vegas restaurants, Las Vegas Spas, M Resort, Mandalay Bay, Palms Place, Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, Stratosphere, Valentine's Day travel, Venetian
Posted in Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Holidays & Events, Las Vegas Vacation, Romance, Spa Vacation | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
By E.C. Gladstone
Bed in a standard HRH suite. (Photo: E.C. Gladstone)
Despite plenty of advance notice and digital renderings, when it comes to Las Vegas hotels, you can never tell what a new property or expansion is going to be like until you’ve actually walked through it, sat down to dinner, and spent a night in a room. I thought I’d said all I would want to about the Hard Rock Hotel’s expansion when I blogged about the new Paradise tower in September (Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel rocks anew). But the second new tower, HRH, is far from just more of the same; it brings to the property a level of style, elegance, class and sass that it has long needed.
Also designed by Mark Zeff, HRH tower shares the Paradise’s Anglo-inspired motifs but instead of dark and gothic, a standard suite here is bright and airy, in neutral tones — dun colored walls & bright white trim — with a serviceable wet bar at entry, a spacious L-shaped sitting area facing a center-room island with a flatscreen TV on each side (one for the sofas, the other for the bed) and a raised, puffy white bed. (more…)
Posted in Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Nightlife | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
M Resort
By E.C. Gladstone
Though it was filmed all over town, and involved some of our most famous culinary stars, Bravo’s Top Chef: Las Vegas season, which just wrapped broadcasting earlier this month, kept a relatively low profile inside the Las Vegas hotels. Now that the season’s over, however, fans can follow in the footsteps of the cheftestants … and have a fantastic foodie tour in the process.
The show was based at the south-of-the-Strip M Resort, a popular Las Vegas hotel among locals, with several strong dining choices, from the Studio B Buffet (whose broadcast-quality demostration kitchens were used throughout the series) to the top-floor view spot Veloce Cibo. (more…)
Posted in Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Romance | No Comments »
Friday, December 18th, 2009
miX at THEhotel
By E.C. Gladstone
New York may have Times Square, Sydney may have the Harbour Bridge, London may have the Eye, but possibly no other city in the world grabs onto New Year’s Eve with such gusto as Las Vegas. Las Vegas hotels hosts lavish celebrations in their restaurants, lounges and nightclubs, competing with the big multi-site fireworks display over the closed-to-traffic Strip at midnight.
Dinner
Though certainly all of the top restaurants at Las Vegas hotels will be hosting lavish special meals on this special night (if you need inspiration, check out In Vegas, chefs are the stars of the Strip ), I would lean towards several with exquisite views. My picks include Alize at Palms, miX at THEHotel, Paris Las Vegas’ Eiffel Tower Restaurant … (more…)
Posted in Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Holidays & Events, Las Vegas Vacation, Music, Nightlife | No Comments »
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
The Drake Hotel Chicago
From New York to Maui, hotels around the country are decking their halls to help travelers feel the spirit during this holiday travel season. This year, Orbitz has selected the best decked-out hotels in its ten most popular holiday destinations.
Hotels spend countless hours planning their holiday activities and decorations. Whether it’s a glass Christmas tree, 23-foot-tall gingerbread house or live carolers during afternoon tea, Orbitz’ picks for the best decked-out hotels for holiday travel offer seasonal excitement through decorations, celebratory activities or easy access to nearby holiday festivities. (more…)
Posted in Beach Vacation, California Vacation, Chicago Vacation, Family Travel, Florida Vacation, Hawaii Vacation, Holidays & Events, Las Vegas Vacation, New York Vacation, Orlando Vacation, Top 10 Lists | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
By E.C. Gladstone
After all the hype and excitement, the worries and waiting, there was something subtlely exciting about driving into the cavern-like entrance to CityCenter last week, as the project’s first Las Vegas hotels and shops opened for business.
Making their debuts, the Vdara Hotel and Spa and Mandarin Oriental hotel and Crystals shopping mall each offered unexpected surprises, despite so much advance notice.
From the first step into Vdara’s lobby, artistic austerity dominates. The Vdara bar is open-walled seduction, offering crafted creative cocktails to enjoy in the lush lounges or outdoor swinging daybeds. (more…)
Posted in Business Travel, Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Spa Vacation, Travel News | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
(All photos by E.C. Gladstone)
By E.C. Gladstone
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the resurrection of the downtown Las Vegas hotels. There was so much to say, it actually took two blogs (Best of downtown Las Vegas hotels and Best of downtown Las Vegas restaurants). But there was still one piece of the puzzle yet to come, and now it’s arrived — the Golden Nugget’s new Rush Tower.
Since Landry’s Restaurants took over the Golden Nugget in 2005, over $300 million has been spent in renovations and construction to the property, which dates back to the early days of Vegas. If the Rush Tower doesn’t make it a 5-star Las Vegas hotel, then it’s certainly just below that certification.
(more…)
Tags: Angelica Bridges, Fremont Street, Landry's Restaurants, Las Vegas, New Hotels
Posted in Business Travel, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Travel News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Hoover Dam (Photo: E.C. Gladstone)
By E.C. Gladstone
Think you’ll be cooped up inside one of our Las Vegas hotels your entire time here? Think again. Despite the deserved reputation of our mega-resorts as never-need-to-leave wonderlands, fact is, the Vegas valley is filled with more outdoor activities than most visitors imagine. Now that the weather has cooled a bit, I thought it would be a great time to tell you about them.
First among our outdoor attractions would have to be the Hoover Dam, the marvel of the modern world whose construction put Las Vegas on the map. Little more than a half hour from the Strip, the tour that takes you 537 feet down into the power plant is a fascinating education in construction engineering, water usage and electricity generation for the old or young, and certainly worth the drive. (Several reputable tour companies run bus trips as well: the tour is the same no matter who takes you there.) On the way, you can check out Boulder City’s State Railroad Museum, bighorn sheep-dwelling Hemenway Valley Park, and Bootleg canyon zip lines.
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Posted in Eco-Tourism, Family Travel, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Sports Travel | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Certified Natural Angus burger at Simon (Photo: E.C. Gladstone)
By E.C. Gladstone
Gourmet burgers are hot everywhere you turn these days. But the top restaurants of our Las Vegas hotels may be the most competitive anywhere in trying to create the finest formula. Rating them (for flavor, texture, and presentation) proved serious business — several perfectly good (and popular!) choices didn’t make my cut, and to be fair, differences from one number to the next were often minute. For the record, numbers one through three below are all absolutely excellent in their own right, the next five all very satisfying, and the final ones I’d happily eat every day (if my doctor would let me). Most are $12-$19 dollars unless otherwise noted. In my opinion, medium-rare cooking is strongly recommended.
10. Wolfgang Puck Solara, Palazzo
When I began this odyssey a few months ago, I accidentally had a chance to try the burger at Solara, Palazzo’s poolside café, and was shocked to experience a flavorful but tenderly toothy thick patty, cooked with just enough char and covered with thin melted cheese, onions browned to oblivion (virtually remoulade), crisp sweet pickles, lettuce and a beefy tomato slice on a soft, sweet egg-glazed seeded bun. Not a thing wrong with it. If a pool burger can be this good, anything at a more serious venue certainly needs to top it.
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Posted in Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Top 10 Lists | No Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
By E.C. Gladstone
Loft living area in Hotel 32 at Monte Carlo (Courtesy of MGM/Mirage)
With the opening of the monumental City Center mere weeks away, virtually all of the major Las Vegas hotels on the Strip have been sprucing up to try and keep pace. But none has done more perhaps than City Center neighbor the Monte Carlo. For a long time, this European-styled resort was something of an also-ran in Sin City, but in the last year major changes have given it new life: revamping Andre’s Restaurant, Dragon Noodle, and the Pub; adding Brand Steakhouse and Diablo’s Cantina; introducing comedian Frank Caliendo; bringing back lounge lovers Zowie Bowie; and even revising Lance Burton’s image. But the crowning glory of the Monte Carlo (literally) is their new boutique floor, Hotel 32.
While perhaps not on the level of the highest high-roller Vegas accommodations, Hotel 32 nevertheless represents a significant upgrade in service and style, comparable to many of the nicest rooms in town. The personalized experience begins with a personal driver retrieving you from (and, ultimately, returning you to) Vegas’ McCarran Airport. Upon arrival at the Monte Carlo, your suite assistant will escort you up dedicated elevators to the 32nd floor lounge, where a concierge will fulfill any request throughout the day. Everything from Voss water and Champagne to gourmet light breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres are all complimentary-even snacks throughout the day. (more…)
Posted in Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Travel News | No Comments »
