Missed the edit window. I should have said at the end The Strip is a dirty sleazy place. . .etc. Las Vegas is also a much bigger city, which I didn’t have time to see.
There’s a McDonald’s in my home town with neon lights, yet people still go to Los Vegas. Hard to believe, isn’t it? :rolleyes:
No chance of leaving Zion a day early - this is a hiking trip and we don’t have enough time to do all the hikes we want to do as it is. We don’t want a busy day before we fly home, so relaxing in Vegas seemed like a great idea. The last time I was in Vegas was 1976, and I understand things have changed a bit since then.
Since the show is out, I think just a casual lunch, some time wandering around the casinos and a nice dinner before heading to the airport will be our plan. We may do the Stratosphere, but we can do that on a whim on our way in. I wonder if we can drop off our car very early, put our luggage in a locker or check it in, and just take an Uber/taxi back to the airport when we need to go.
No idea about rental lockers at the airport, but you can certainly taxi there from anywhere in the city. I honestly can’t remember if we took Uber or a taxi, but that’s how the wife and I got to and from the airport.
Peppermill (and the adjacent Fireside Lounge) is indeed fantastic but I’d treat it as a breakfast or maybe lunch spot.
Pretty much this. We did a very similar trip this summer- over a week in the canyons, ending with a flight out of McCarran. We arrived in LV around noon and flew out at 10:00 the next morning. After a week enjoying the beauty of nature, Vegas was an unpleasant assault on the senses. I’m no hayseed and no stranger to city living, but there was nothing relaxing about our day there. If you’re going for relaxation, I’d recommend booking a room at the Bellagio and hanging by the pool all day, and avoid the Strip.
We’re not really looking for relaxation, but to see Vegas. A show would have been perfect, but if we can’t do that then a trip up the Stratosphere, nice dinner, and some people watching in the Bellagio and Venetian (we were just in Venice, so it might be fun to compare) is just the ticket.
We won’t have a lot of time, so no point getting a room. We’re not hanging by the pool people. I think we’ll find the Strip fun, and if not, just a few hours lost.
Just to follow up, here’s what we ended up doing. We left Zion (after an amazing trip) fairly early but took our time driving to Vegas. I’d forgotten about the time zone change on the way back, so we actually had an extra hour. Upon arrival we parked in the Stratosphere garage and went up top. My wife rode Insanity while I took pictures, and we hung around up top for a bit. Then back in the car and drove to where we could find free parking on the Strip, which turned out to be the Venetian.
My wife wanted to do an all you can eat buffet for lunch and there are none in the Venetian or Palazzo, so we hoofed it up to the Wynn and had an amazing meal there. Yes, it’s expensive, but it really was a fantastic 2 hour feast. We didn’t end up eating dinner because this filled us up for the rest of the day.
Then we walked down the Strip, just taking in the sights along the way. We watched the fountains at the Bellagio, checked out most of the gaming rooms and got my $1 chip from each casino we visited. We did a little shopping (didn’t buy anything), saw the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio, spent a little time in Paris, almost went up the High Roller Ferris Wheel but decided in the end that we wouldn’t get much out of it. We found a nice bar in the Venetian for a cocktail and a slider before heading back to the car to change and return the rental car.
If we did it again I’d try to get to the roller coaster at NY NY, and see that end of the Strip. I could see us spending one night in Vegas in order to see a show and have a nice late night dinner, but the afternoon was a nice cap off after 7 days straight of hiking. I don’t think we’d need to wander and explore again.
Sounds like y’all did good, Telemark.
Aye, for future reference: the Venetian and Palazzo are just about the only Strip hotels that offer free parking. Most of the rest of the Strip is owned by MGM and they started charging (outrageous rates) for parking in late 2016. Then once all the garages were setup for paid parking, they raised the rates.
And yes, they even charge locals (which we all hate and do a lot of walking to get out of).