If you were to quickly plan your stay in Las Vegas, you’d have to choose a hotel, figure out meals, and find something to do. Or, you can take this quick decision-making tool and sit back and start thinking about a great spa treatment and entertaining show and that extra bottle of wine you’d order with dinner. You don’t really need a Las Vegas itinerary, but if you did, these would be some good suggestions.
Awakening
Downtown Las Vegas was long considered a mecca for affordable property, but times have changed. Well, not quite, there are still great deals on Fremont Street, but the hotels look a lot better and offer a lot more than what budget travelers are used to. Stay at the Golden Gate Hotel to feel nostalgic for the newly renovated grandfather of Las Vegas hotels. Spend a little more and you’ll experience suite life for the cost of an average room on the Strip. Share an order for pancakes at Dupar’s Restaurant and Bakery, just off the lobby, and whatever you do, don’t ask how much butter they use to make them.
For one more strip of downtown, leave your bags at the Rush Tower in Golden Nugget. Overcome your fear of sharks with a slide through an aquarium at The Tank or participate in an early morning relaxation session at The Spa at Golden Nugget. Get off the beaten path that is Fremont Street and check in at the Downtown Grand. A few feet from the excitement of old Las Vegas, this hotel is a modern take on the old Lady Luck that once stood here. Rooms are larger and cleaner than most downtown Las Vegas hotels and it’s still within walking distance of the Mob Museum and Container Park.
Will have to start the day, so head to Eat (707 Carson at 7 th) for breakfast and chicken fried steak is not lost. However, you may need to try the chilaquiles and corned beef picadillo. This is a serious breakfast place. If you need to venture back onto the strip, head into Vickie’s Diner, where it feels like time has stood still. This is a breakfast dip if ever but it has charm and low prices. Yes, he resides in an old pharmacy in what looks like an abandoned mall but looks past the cover of the book and steps in for a proper breakfast.
The nooner
Noon in Las Vegas is the time to start early or to recover. If you need to get the party started early, try a little exercise at TopGolf Las Vegas, where cocktails help with your golf swing. With over 300 TVs surrounding the bays at once, you can watch all the games as you slowly begin your Las Vegas adventure. If you’re a beer lover, pop into BeerHaus at The Park Las Vegas and sample some of their “rare and unusual” beers. They keep 6 of these gems on tap for true beer lovers.
They change almost daily and some are so rare that they only have one barrel. If you need food with your drink, consider a Boozy Brunch Tour with Lip Smacking Foodie Tours. 2½ hours of food and drink right in the middle of the day.
Now if you just need a little relaxation, you need the full treatment at a Las Vegas spa. A massage is fine, but why not add a visit to the salon? Sit down with Claude Baruk and get the haircut you’ve always wanted. He is definitely a hair whisperer and women swear by his magical hands and nail clippers. Men are not left out, as shaving and cutting will alter your style and refresh your look. The Spa at Wynn can help you relax with a Thai Oil Fusion massage that soaks into the deep points of your active muscles and eliminates fatigue.
If you’re in a bit of mud, visit Trump Spa, where fresh clay from an Australian swimming pool is gently rubbed into your pores to flush out toxins that rob you of your youth. A spa day in Las Vegas will restore your energy just in time to waste it on a late night.
Lunch shouldn’t suppress your energy, so dine al fresco on the Veranda at the Four Seasons and get a taste of Italy through Las Vegas. The Nicoise Salad is light and a perfect addition to a spa treatment, while the Charlie Palmer Steak Sandwich can bring you back if you went too far into the den of relaxation. If you just want to jump into bad behavior quickly, you can choose to order something fried with too many beers at TAP Vegas at MGM Grand. The Pastrami Burger is huge and the Tap Fried Shrimp Bucket is perfect for instigating a long beer drinking session.
Did you really decide on Las Vegas as a destination to be good? Be bad, be very bad.
Sunset
The way you go at night in Las Vegas depends on your style. Are you a show and dinner guy or do you just need a drink and some dancing? Make no mistake about your Las Vegas show options, if you love entertainment, you will have options, but if you want a safe bet, Cirque du Soleil is what you will see. The Beatles LOVE at the Mirage recently had a little revamp and the show actually got better. That may be hard to believe as it was already very impressive. The sound quality has been updated and some numbers have been adjusted to give the public and a better appreciation of the Beatles’ music and the talent of Cirque du Soleil artists.
While at The Mirage, you’ll have to visit Portofino for an Italian cuisine solution that will summon your inner Italian and force you to rethink your palate. This meal feels like a getaway to an Italian seaside town where time stands still and allows you to descend into your own food utopia.
If your Las Vegas nightlife plan includes dancing and drinking, you’d better be served cocktails and sushi at Nobu at Caesars Palace. Start your evening in the lounge, inventory the sexy cocktails on the menu, and then greet your happy place with fresh fish and refined Japanese cuisine in the dining room. This experience would suffice for most people, but wander through Omnia Nightclub, where you can enjoy a great VIP nightclub experience or mingle in the quaint yet cozy confines of Heart or just hijack your inhibitions on the terrace and let your Vegas hang out.
