There’s More To Vegas
Vegas is something different to everyone, it can be off the hook like it was for the dentist on the departing flight to LA who had just done a week long bender on 3 hours sleep. Or it can be an eclectic fine dining tour, with neon lit views of the city. For those who have an adventurous itch, Nevada is also a vast playland with adrenaline pumping ways of taking advantage of the rugged landscape.
The only thing Vegas isn’t, is boring.
Over the years we’ve built up an idea about what Vegas is. You think you have a pretty clear idea of what it might be like, Elvis impersonators, slot machines, and stag parties losing their mates.
But after experiencing it for the first time those concepts start to fade.
The Las Vegas strip is immediately accessible after touching down from a 16 hour connecting flight between Auckland and a brief stopover at LAX. It’s the centre of activity for the city, with lights attracting an excitable crowd like moths. The street atmosphere buzzes with travellers and revellers excited to get as much out of Vegas as possible. Due to a lack of restrictions on public drinking most of the people are holding cocktails and large plastic yard glasses.
Entertainment is in abundance, the only question is what you want to do first.
J.Lo is performing just down the road, with a fully amped crowd of pop enthusiasts standing the whole way through the show, dancing in the aisles.
Or maybe Cirque Du Soleil is more your taste. They’re currently performing the Beatles LOVE: Legendary Musical on a 360 degree stage that sits in the centre of the room. It mutates so often throughout the show that it’s hard to guess what the stage will look like in the next act. Multiple viewings of this show are required if you want to see everything that’s even happening.
Hotels and Resorts
The Cosmopolitan is a slick modern hotel in the heart of the strip, beside the Bellagio and across the road from Paris Las Vegas (hint: the one with the Eiffel Tower out the front.)
“Hotel” may be the wrong word, and “entertainment complex” sounds just a bit bland. Most of these places are entire micro-nations like the Vatican. There’s so much in each one that you’re really given no reason to leave. A short elevator ride from the suites in the Cosmopolitan are bars, spas, restaurants, high end stores, pools, and gaming, which seems more of a nod to Vegas’ roots rather than it’s future going forward. Also, it has a Day/Night Club which the Vatican doesn’t have.
Northern views from the rooms are spectacular, giving an elevated front row seat to the fountain out the front of the Bellagio. Shows set to light and music and jets of water get put on every half hour and draw large crowds down on the street. It’s much easier to enjoy the view from the safety of the 51st floor. Stepping out onto the veranda is also a good reminder of the all encompassing heat that the air con inside is holding at bay.
But if you do get among the crowds, or find yourself a little worse for wear after one of the clubs, it’s good to de-stress with a spa and massage at the Sahara Spa and Hammam. Once again it’s right inside the Cosmopolitan. The micro-nation thought of everything.
First Timer Impressions
Everything in Vegas is on a whole other scale. Bigger is always better. This is a town that’s loud and proud of what it is. It is sincerely outrageous with zero self awareness. To the downbeat Kiwi demeanour these can sound like negatives, but even the most sarcastic cynic will be won over by Vegas’ infectious swagger.
There’s just something so great about a street hustler yelling “Who’s here to get married!?” And fully expecting people within earshot to respond in the affirmative.
Dining
There are over 20 different restaurants and eateries inside The Cosmopolitan, so there’s something for everyone. A personal recommendation goes to Jaleo, a Spanish place with an open-fire wood grill. One of the items on the menu sends one of the team into doing a quick drum roll ending with the entire staff yelling something in Spanish. No notes were being taken at this stage. Too busy enjoying some sort of Spanish waffle cone.
Afterwards nip across the hall to The Chandelier, which is a bar that is in the centre of the Cosmopolitan set up to look like you’re inside a chandelier, hence the name. Enjoy a few drinks and if the call of nature is heard don’t bother finding the public loos just head on back to the suite to freshen up, they’re that close. Oh the decadence is great!
If you venture outside the micro-nation views from the Rivera are amazing as it sits atop the Delano (pronunciation was an issue of this place, is it Del-aah-no or Dell-a-no? No one could agree.)
According to our host, Leonardo Dicaprio dined here the day after his big Oscar win and David Hasslehoff has been spotted a few times as well. Apparently he speaks about himself in the third person a lot.
Directly beside the Rivera and sharing the same view is the Skyfall Lounge, which is good for cocktails and well, lounging. It offers a 180 degree view of the strip, with the closest world famous landmark being the Luxor Hotel, otherwise known as “that big black pyramid with the beam of light coming out of it.”
The drinks at Skyfall are great, and the vibe of the place is perfect for a chilled hangout after dinner.
Helicopter to the Grand Canyon
Catch a helicopter from the strip with Maverick Helicopters to get one of the best views of the Grand Canyon you’ll ever have. The trip is about half an hour each way, with panoramic views of the city, the outlying regions and various landmarks. Strapping into the heli and putting on the headset instantly gives a more intimate feel to the tour, as no one is left out of the banter. Chatter continues throughout the trip with the pilot telling everyone anecdotes while occasionally switching to a more official “tour guide tone” and informing everyone about the features we’re looking at.
Just as the helicopter moves out from civilisation, aerial views of the Hoover Dam come into view. The pilot sweeps down to give everyone a better view, before setting off toward the main event.
Along the way it becomes clear that the Nevada isn’t just a flat featureless desert, but a varied collection of environments. From rolling hills to rugged deadly mountains and sudden drops that turn into man made lakes. Suddenly the ground spikes up again and turns into a plateau with a somewhat abandoned settlement on it. The pilot informs everyone that it was supposed to be a retirement village with “lake views”. Unfortunately there are jutting reddish yellow mountains which obscure the view more than just a little bit.
Passing perilously close to some cliffs the helicopter drops into the Grand Canyon, and the radio banter suddenly turns into stunned “wows” as everyone takes in one of the natural wonders of the world, followed by a few startled yelps as the sudden drop creates some turbulence.
Scale once again is impossible to judge and only after looking down and seeing the tiny dot of another helicopter far below is it possible to start making a judgement.
The helicopter passes the tiny skybridge which, extends timidly from the side of the canyon and then makes a slow descent to a gently sloping shelf where we touch down and have a picnic. This gives everyone an opportunity to jump out and have a good look around the Grand Canyon from the inside.
The tour continues in a nice roundabout trip, which lets everyone take in even more sights and a different view of the city.
It’s a high that’s hard to come down from, in more ways than one.
First Timer Impressions
Pack plenty of water, although chances are you’ll be offered a bottle everywhere you go. Eventually your bag will look like a recycling bin due to the amount of empty plastic bottles you’ll accrue. The dry heat here is different from NZ in that you never seem to sweat even when you’re afraid of passing out from the sun beating down.
