The Incredible Hotels of Vegas:Part One

Fabulous umbrellas at the Bellagio Hotel.

We tried not to gawk. Seriously.

But this town was simply incredible. At this point, we had already seen a guy with a boa constrictor draped over his shoulders and had posed with Bumblebee.

This was just for my grandson. Really.

Yes, we are THOSE tourists. But please. We had never been to Vegas. This was all new and crazy and fascinating to us. It was crowded and turbulent and overwhelming and we loved every minute of it.

I have written about our completely fabulous Paris Hotel HERE, but I also wanted to write about some of the other hotels we saw because we were so surprised and amazed by them. We decided to spend one whole afternoon seeing as many of the amazing hotels in Vegas as possible. This resulted in exhaustion and seeking out the Vegas Monorail so we could get back but it was worth it.

The only mistake we made (aside from thinking we could walk the entire 7-mile strip in a day and see everything) was not asking for some sort of help in touring the hotels. We were naive enough to think we could just figure out where everything was and this resulted in us coming home and saying to our daughter that we thought there was a central park in the New York hotel and her replying that of course there is. But we never found it. So we’ll just have to go back. But we did see plenty of the New York hotel and it is incredible.

We were constantly amazed at all of the hotels we saw that they were not the kitschy, shabby mess we had expected but were gorgeous, well-maintained, amazing structures. The first thing we did was walk right across the street from the Paris hotel and wander around the Bellagio hotel.  The Bellagio is as beautiful as all the other hotels in Vegas, but the coolest thing they have going for them is the huge fountains out front, which are programmed to put on a water show during the day and the evening. It’s free – people just stand around and watch – and quite the spectacle. I never saw any signs with information, so you can check HERE for details about times, etc. We never made it back there to see the evening show which I understand is even more spectacular but here’s a video clip to give you an idea about the daytime show.

Now I’m going to give you the best advice possible about the Bellagio fountains, aside from see them because they are fantastic and that is to be very careful where you stand if it is the least bit windy. We didn’t know this, so as soon as the fountains shot way up in the air, water proceeded to blow over and soak the entire crowd. It was like a water ride without the benefit of the ride. So be careful.

The Cosmopolitan is right next to the Bellagio but we had already been there when we had our delicious lunch at Holstein’s so we strolled on by. It really is incredible though – very new, very glossy, very Sex-in-the-Cityish with its crystal chandeliers and gorgeous furnishings. But we were headed to New York, New York just down Las Vegas Boulevard a ways.

We crossed over this bridge which, thanks to the magic that is the Google Machine, I can tell you is a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, and were amazed by the shops, storefronts and restaurants that lined the walk.

Replica of the Brooklyn Bridge

New York shops

Now I do realize that this place is supposed to look just like New York and, as far as we were concerned, it did. In fact, we kept turning to each other and saying “This is just like New York”! Oh, we were truly a boon to the tourist business in Vegas. But we actually do know New York and have the dubious distinction of being tourists who had to leap out of the way when some guy tried to get a free taxi ride and the taxi driver ran after him, shrieking at us to catch him. Needless to say, we continued on our way. Rather quickly.

But honestly. How cool is this?

New York Tugboat

And this?

Seriously. Do I need a caption here?

This is the point where we went inside and wandered all around and never did discover the Central Park area. We finally decided we must have misunderstood about that. We did not misunderstand. We are just dorks. Don’t be dorks like us; ask for help. I’m sure they will direct you and may even give you a tour of the hotel. Just ask.

Now I have reached the point where I still have two hotels to tell you about, including what might possibly have been our favorite and our goal is to stay there at some point in the future and this blog post is going to be as long as “Gone with the Wind”. Or possibly one of the Harry Potter books. Anyway. Long. So I think I’ll go up there and add a Part One to my title and finish this in another post. Same time. Same station. Check back.

Full disclosure: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority helped to arrange our stay and the Paris Hotel provided our accommodations, but as always, I will share my honest opinion about any travel experiences I have.

Follow