Las Vegas - the Return

The Bellagio is one of my favourite hotels - from the outside anyway. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice inside too, but whoever designed the exterior really knew what they were doing. The Strip has always felt a little unreal, but recently, with all the construction works going on, it's lost that a little bit. Some of the Old Style Vegas has gone and it's all being replaced by shiny new shops and hotels that don't have that old character that the Frontier style places used to have. Thankfully though, the Bellagio offers something of an oasis in the middle of all this.

The Hotel stands in relatively simple splendour above a sparkling, tree lined driveway and its own rather impressive lake. You can stroll along the edge, with a broad walkway for pedestrians and recessed alcoves to gather away from the milling foot traffic that is a constant presence on the Strip. The hotel pumps music all along this frontage and most of the time it just drifts past you, but every so often it will cut away to a different song and an array of fountains will emerge from beneath the dark waters of the lake. If this happens then do take the time to stop and enjoy the show. It is well worth it.

This is something that is definitely best appreciated after dark. The fountains are accompanied by a light show and the backdrop of the Strip and the hotel itself all lit up - which is when Vegas is at its best anyway - all adds an extra dimension to the show that you just don't get during the day. It truly is a breathtaking thing to watch, as Singing in the Rain plays from unseen speakers and this array of fountain jets swing and sway in time, shooting jets of glowing water 100 feet in the air.

The free shows in Vegas are unfortunately dwindling, along with a lot of the cheap accommodation and the cheap food, but this one should be here to stay. It plays every 15-30 minutes after dark and more infrequently during the day. Take the time to get there and wait for a song that you like to come on - some songs definitely work better than others, so if you're unimpressed by the first show you see hang around for the next one. Bring your camera, wrap up warm and enjoy the spectacle.

I'm not a fan of government meddling, but one thing they've always been supposed to do which I do agree with, and that's keeping an eye on monopolies. Unfortunately, somebody has dropped the ball in that regard with Las Vegas. The company that owns MGM Grand, who also own Disney and a bunch of other stuff, have bought out pretty much the entire west side of the Strip. This includes the MGM Grand, the Excalibur, the Luxor, the Monte Carlo, the Bellagio, the Treasure Island and several others besides. They also own the big food court next to the MGM grand, which means that if you're down that end of the Strip then just about anything you do will have to go through this same company. This means no competition between these traditional rivals and that really, really shows. The level of customer service we saw at these MGM owned hotels was several rungs below the level of service we saw at their competitors. The staff were tired, surly, bored and unhelpful, which really was a stark contrast to our visit of six years ago, before this consortium bought everything out.

The other most noticeable facet of this situation was that the last time we visited we were treated as valuable customers and left to choose what we wanted to do. If there was something we wanted to get involved in it was easy to do and there was plenty of help on how best to do it, but nothing was pressed on us. This time there was a lot of people trying to sell us things. As well as the very pushy timeshare people there were ticket sellers, nightclub reps and a variety of other people, all trying to force their wares on us in a rather abrasive manner. I'm not saying that these people are all employed by the MGM Grand group, but they would not have been allowed to peddle their wares on the doorstep of these hotels when we visited last.

So Las Vegas is still a very interesting place to visit. THe Fountains at the Bellagio are still superb, the shows are still breathtaking, the hotels are still amazing and - if you know when and where to look - you can still stay there pretty cheaply while you sightsee. Having said all that though, it's worth bypassing the MGM hotels if you can. If you have the means then the Venetian is definitely the best accommodation on offer, whereas if you are looking for somewhere cheap then look up the Stratosphere hotel at the other end of the Strip. It's a long way off, but it's a good place, the service is still top notch, the prices are excellent and - if you have your own means of transport - it's a good spot away from the action to unwind and relax without having to pay for the privelege.

The Venetian is a spectacular location - as a hotel, as an attraction, as a wedding venue - whatever you use the place for, it has been beautifully put together and equally well maintained. As a location for Las Vegas' No.1 show - the Phantom of the Opera - it is perfect.

Walking through frescoes and marble hallways and indoor shopping precincts crisscrossed by canals, classically trained opera singing gondoliers with their beautifully painted ceilings, you are in a truly palatial setting. The entrance to the theatre itself leads you to a darkly lit, wide open space with broken chandelier parts hanging from teh ceiling and dark drapes covering the walls. The lights come down and the subdued opening sequence draws you in quietly and comfortably until the music stars thundering out and the chandelier magically reassembles itself above you ...

They have really paid attention to the details in this production. The acoustics are great, the actors really seem to grasp the soul of the storyline and it grabs you very quickly, never seeming to drag through the one and half hour show.
Every detail has been carefully assembled, from the backdrop and performers to the flawless and dramatic set changes. It all serves as a beautiful palette for the music of the production to sweep you up and draw you in, and then stay with you for weeks afterwards.

Tickets are very reasonably priced, starting at about $65 plus tax. You can pay more to get closer to the stage, but it's not an overly large theatre, so the cheap seats are still very good. You get a great view and the sound system does an exteremly good job of bringing you every word you need to hear.

Don't even think about driving there if you're coming on the weekend. The traffic was unreal. We got a taxi from the Excalibur Hotel who took some back roads and got us there in about half an hour, costing a very reasonable $13.
It's a good idea to arrive early and take the time to explore the Venetian itself, if you haven't already done so. It is spectacularly well done, and if you're looking for a decent bite to eat then you can do a lot worse than some of the restaurants along the canals, many of which are far more reasonably priced than you would think.

It's advisable to book well ahead if you can, as this show regularly sells out, but if you do have the means - particularly if you're a Phantom fan anyway - then I heartily recommend it to you. I don't generally like musicals and I don't usually like Opera, but I do appreciate good music and a good production and I loved this.

This is the cheapest hotel to stay at on the Strip. For the money you pay, it is excellent value. The tower is one of the tallest structures west of the Mississippi and up top they have an array of things to attract your attention, from a revolving gourmet restaurant and bar to a viewing deck to thrill rides on the top of the tower itself. They add to this list of rides all the time and at present have three options, including a set of seats attached to the spire which shoot you straight up in the air, a spinning contraption that holds out over the edge while whirling you around and a roller-coaster cart that wheels you out over the edge and dangles you precariously. You can get an all day pass for these for £35 at the time of writing this review, or you can ride one of the rides for about $10. The weather shuts them down every time I visit, so I've still not been able to sample them, but I have been up for a drink in the bar up there and that was superb. A better view of the Strip can not be had anywhere.

We stayed there on a holiday weekend for about $35 a night for up to four people, in one of their upgraded Tower Rooms. A word of warning if you are going to upgrade to a Tower Room - although it does come with free 10am to 2pm Tower passes, you really want to be up there at night, where you can really appreciate the beauty of the views - the Tower room we got had a view directly over the parking garage. So if you're paying for the view, make sure you get it.

It's always worth checking out the pool area up on the 11th floor, as it is pretty cool looking out over the Nevada desert from your pool high in the sky.

The in house shows are very standard Vegas fare, with a selection of 'Superstars' doing affable impersonations of famous performers, like Christina Aguilera, Tim McGraw and of course Elvis Presley. It's unfortunate that they're swapped out a lot of the Vegas classics for more contemporary options, but understandable in these changing times. They have a recent addtition in Bite - a raunchy vampire-based dance show that's not for the kids.

We were accosted by timeshare salespeople as we entered and left the casino floor, which is unfortunate, but they were far more honest and far more pleasant than the ones we encountered further down the Strip, particularly the ones at the Excalibur who flat out lied to us.

The Stratosphere is far cleaner than some of the MGM-Grand conglomerate, more expensive options further down the Strip and - although it is well out of the way - if you do have transportation (or don't mind a LONG walk to get to anything) the prices are a long way below their more central counterparts.

Book well in advance here and you can find some truly absurdly cheap accommodation in what is a pretty decent Vegas hotel and Casino.

To get a good view of how things had changed we stayed in the same two hotels we stayed at before. That started with the Exclibur Hotel & Casino at the southern end of the Strip. It's a 4000+ room hotel with four swimming pools, over 20,000 square feet of gaming space, a shopping arcade, food court, underground jousting arena(!) and all of it based around a medieval castle theme. They've just recently refurbished a number of their rooms, fitting them out with big widescreen TVs, plush new furniture, MUCH better soundproofing and marble bathroom fixtures. The price for these rooms is quite a bit more, but they are very nice and the older rooms are still in pretty good shape, so either option has its rewards.

Vegas used to offer up to 4 people to a room for no extra charge, but that seems to have been largely dispensed with. There was a $20pp extra this time around. At under $40 per night for the room during the week though, it's still excellent value. This price was due to booking two months in advance. If we'd booked the week before it would have been double that.

Getting up to the room was an ordeal. It seems to be a new policy in many hotels around America right now, but our first experience of it - and worst experience of it - was at the Exclibur. As we walked in they asked if we were a couple and told us they were going to give us some free vouchers. This turned out to be a flat out lie though. We listened to a long spiel about enjoying the city and then were offered $175 in food vouchers for $50. We were going to be doing a lot of eating, so we took it. After that, they offered us a free breakfast at their new resort, so we said yes. After we had signed up for this the truth began to slowly seep out. To get the vouchers we had to sit through a 3 hour Timeshare ordeal, the free breakfast turned out to be a donut and the new resort turned out to be a development plot for their timeshare properties. These timeshare reps assailed us every time we walked through the casino all week, and although there were pretty bad in most of the hotels, they were worst in the Excalibur by a mile.

The customer service here was pretty bad. Everyone seemed tired and bored and ill-informed. This was a stark contrast to the previous visit, when the staff were outstanding.

The food court offers everything from MacDonald's and Krispy Creme to Steakhouse cuisine and - though the stores are almost exclusively for pretty standard souvenirs, there's some interesting stuff to be had in there too.

If youre looking to gamble, the casino offers some really good poker tournaments that represent a minimal buy-in (20-60 dollars) for a potentially high reward as well as all the other standard accoutrements like slot machines and craps and blackjack tables.

Booking for several days is a good plan as they give you a range of money-off vouchers which can come in very handy and their in-house show, the Tournament of Kings is very entertaining way to have your dinner if you don't mind eating with your fingers.

Word of warning though - the Excalibur seems to aiming a lot of its marketing at families, but the casino floor (which you have to go thorugh to get to anything within the hotel) is smoky, crowded, has half naked girls dancing on the stage next to Dick's Bar and is - all in all - a really inappropriate place to bring kids. I was amazed at the number of toddlers and young children who were being carted around Vegas on this visit. A city filled with people handing out call-girl cards, gambling, drinking, smoking and all night partying seems to me like a strange place to bring your three year old, but if you do take your kids the Excalibur is a rather grubby option right now.

I visited Las Vegas 6 years ago with my then-girlfriend, now-wife. It was an eye-opening place. You hear accounts and stories about Sin City from those who love it, those who hate it and those who've never even seen it, but you really can't understand it until you've been there and experienced it for yourself.

Our first visit was magical. We stayed for a week, didn't gamble, and spent the whole time wandering around, taking pictures, checking out the shows and enjoying the over-the-top splendour of it all. This time around a lot had changed.

The Strip isn't what it once was. At the moment there's a whole lot of construction going on for starters, which means that it's very dirty, very noisy and the famous skyline is somewhat marred by half finished buildings and cranes. It's not just the construction though. The last time I visited the Strip was very separate to the rest of Las Vegas. There was almost no litter, no police presence, excellent customer service everywhere, no crime ... you could walk around the streets at 4am and feel very safe and secure. That atmosphere has gone somewhat, unfortunately. I saw several arrests around the street in the week I was there this time, there was litter everywhere, customer service had gone downhill rapidly the price of everything had crept alarmingly upwards. Vegas used to be place you could stay and eat very cheaply - because they wanted you to stay and gamble - but the gambling has taken more of a back seat and there's more selling, more unreasonably priced food, more expensive room prices.

There is a broad range of options to choose from though, and particularly if you can drive around a little, there is still cheap accommodation to be had. There is a dizzying array of shows to choose from, many of them quite reasonably priced for what they are; and although the cheap food options have gone up in price, there's a lot of mid-range priced food that is a serious bargain for the quality you get.

If you are going to Vegas, look for specials. Useful websites are vegas-specials.com and expedia.com. They have a lot of really good deals on offer. The best way to get good deals is to look well ahead of time (at least 30 days in advance) and to go during the week. The price of rooms triples on Friday/Saturday, as do the crowds. If you have the means to go Sun-Thurs or during the offseason then it's well worth doing so.