48 Hours in Vegas
You knew what happened in Vegas was definitely not staying there. 48 hours was the plan but our Swoop flight was cancelled so it actually turned into 72 hours. I stand by saying that is way too long to spend in Vegas. We made the best of it but 48 hours is definitely all you need to have a bang up time and get into the right amount of trouble. Here is everything we loved, did, ate, saw, and / or wished we saw, while we were kid free in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now despite the hiccups with our flight home, Swoop was in fact the only direct flight option to and from Vegas and the actual flights themselves were smooth and easy so I wouldn’t not recommend them, but we will see what happens with our claim for all the crap we had to pay for post cancellation - I’ll report back on that. ANYWHO, that is not important. We arrived bright and early on the first day which was really ideal. We stayed at Mandalay Bay. This resort is at the end of the strip but turned out to be a great spot and I would highly recommend and stay again. I downloaded their app and we were able to pre-check in and our room ended up being ready before we landed which was super early and super amazing. The key to our room was directly on the app so upon arrival we didn’t have to speak with a single human or stand in a single line and truly that was an exceptional experience in itself.
After dropping off our things we got straight to it. We did a quick walk about Mandalay Bay, got our bearings a little if you will. We then made our way over to MGM where Top Golf is located (the first on our to-do list and a highlight of the trip). Quick tip: Mandalay Bay has a tram that goes all the way to “New York, New York” which is directly across from MGM. Saves you a bit of walking and gets you going up a little farther on the strip since our resort was at the very far end. Be prepared in general, no matter where you stay, to walk. Things on the strip look like they are close but I can assure you we were close to 30,000 steps every day we were there.
Okay, TOP GOLF. 10/10 recommend doing this, especially if you are in a group of people. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it is essentially a driving range that you can drink and party at while playing different target golf type games. Even if you don’t like golf it is seriously so much fun. It can get a little pricey depending on the number of people you are with (or lack there of). Because it was just the two of us and we ordered a few too many cocktails we had to extend our stay. What I mean by that is you pay by the hour (you can also do 30 minute time slots, we did 90 total). You pay between $60-$80 American dollars per hour depending on the time and floor you are on. That being said if you are with a group of 4-6 people that is super reasonable for a really fun time. Either way we have done this on both trips to Vegas and would def do it again. Total cost here was around $220 USD and worth it.
After this we went on another little walk about, took our time going back to our hotel, and then made having a shower and quick siesta a priority. When in Vegas without Children if you do not take advantage of at least one afternoon nap you are crazy. Remaining activities of the day / night included: Walking a million more miles, taking too many tequila shots, visiting Vanderpump Cocktail Garden (9/10 experience and totally recommend), outdoor patio people watching and margarita drinking, and ending the night gambling in the old downtown area. Pro tip: it is way cheaper down at Freemont St, if you aren’t big into gambling but want to have a bit of that in your Vegas experience this is the way to go. It is way less intimidating too. We love playing blackjack and it is a way to not lose $100 a hand. I actually was up on both our gambling nights, good for me I know! Remember that old Vegas (Freemont st) is a bit of a wild place and the later you go the more, let’s say, interesting characters come out to play, so be safe!
Day Two for us was set to start off with a bottomless mimosa brunch at a really cute little spot (Alexxa’s) but someone - fine, me, I’m the problem, it’s me - was too hungover. We ended up ditching the brunch idea. Allowing me to recover and come back from the dead and then set out on another day of exploring. We spent time exploring a bunch more resorts. The Cosmopolitan and Aria are two of my favourite places and if you are going to splurge on your stay this is definitely where I would recommend. Also if you win some cash and want to go treat yourself to some luxury goods there is the most gorgeous high end shopping centre right there (plus a million other places that host designer shops). The Cosmopolitan has a ton of really amazing restaurants and one of the coolest spots was Beauty & Essex. It is a super sexy lounge / restaurant. You have to enter through a secret door that is inside a little Pawn shop inside the hotel, fun right? Drinks and food were definitely pricey but it was such a cool experience and a really fun spot to try out. Would be great for a date night or a girls night, the bar is first come so you can always slip in for cocktail hour before your night gets going.
Another great spot on the strip is the Linq. It is a little less expensive in terms of food and alcohol but also just has a great vibe. There is a giant ferris wheel there (we have yet to do it but looks like a fun time, I am blanking on what it is called but hey, you can’t miss it LOL). Now the most important thing located here, and my main reason for going, was, In-N-Out burger. A west coast chain that has the best burgers of probably any fast food chain in history. Late night snacks or a greasy hangover lunch here is definitely a necessity for any trip to Vegas, actually just make that the west coast in general. Trust me on this, I know a good piece of meat when I see one.
We weren’t able to take in a show this time but obviously that is a very quintessential Vegas experience. There is always something happening, including hockey games, concerts, whatever, you name it, it is there. A lot of this doesn’t need to be pre-planned so you can always see how you are feeling and purchase tickets for whatever tickles your fancy in the moment.
The morning we were set to go home our flight was cancelled and that was a pretty hard one for me just because I was so set on getting home to the babies (especially Scottie as this was my first time leaving the little princess). But there was nothing we could do about it and we had to make the best of it. We made friends with 6 other passengers on our cancelled flight (most of whom were 25 and under LOL), so mom and dad hung out with the kids. We were put up on the other side of the strip so we were able to hit up a few places we didn’t make it to the days prior. Most notably the Venetian. A great spot to at least walk through and see. We also hit up Senior Frogs at our resort (Treasure Island) and let me just tell you that bartender gave zero Fs about how much alcohol he was pouring into our drinks. 7 day hangover, engaged.
In summation (wow that feels like a big word) . . .
1/10 do not recommend pretending to be 21 again when you are almost 33. Some questionable things might have happened, there could have been a garbage can puking incident on the first night but who am I to confirm or deny this . . . However, 10/10 recommend taking 48 hours of your life to go live a little in Vegas. You will never not find something new here. The restaurants and food are incredible and people watching here is NEXT LEVEL. OH, speaking of that, I know what I forgot. Right across from the Bellagio fountains there is a great rooftop patio (Beer Park, if I am not mistaken). It is the best spot for a great view of the strip and the people on it. You can sit up there and chill and take in a few beers while you see what is happening down below. Also located next the the Paris hotel which is another great spot. There is another Vanderpump restaurant in there that we did not make it to, so if you are going and make it there, please let me know how it is!
And one more note . . .
Nothing on the strip is cheap, drinks are insanely overpriced but honestly it feels like it is apart of the experience, just go with it. If you are sitting and gambling at any casino for more than probably 10/15 minutes you will be offered free alcohol which at least helps in that regard. Even if you end up losing say $100, to have the entertainment and experience, the “free” boos for a few hours is totally worth it and feels, again, like something that is authentically Vegas.
Well I think that covers everything for now. Does anyone feel the urge to book a Vegas vacay yet or what? If you have budget questions, specifics on spots we went to etc, HIT ME UP on the gram baby!
xo
