Las Vegas
My first visit to Las Vegas occurred back in 2017 for a conference that I was attending. Over the years I have had the opportunity to come back to this odd location in the desert multiple times. To date I have stayed at Planet Hollywood, The Mirage, Park MGM, Aria, Vdara, Caesars Palace and The Wynn. Las Vegas is a place of excess where you could easily spend exorbitant amounts of money, thankfully that is not a requirement if you know what you're looking for and can be flexible on the dates for your visit.
Food Options:
Las Vegas has a lot of food options ranging from outrageously expensive to bargain price deals. It's important to know where to look and how much you're looking to spend. One thing that always works for us is a fast casual lunch with a sit down dinner. For lunch's my favorite spots have been JaBurritos for sushi burritos I can't find back home and In N' Out, nothing fancy but an affordable burger on the strip is nothing to complain about. For Dinners we've tried out a few extra spots listed below.
Emeril's New Orleans Fish House: At Emeril's we had resort credit to burn so I enjoyed an awesome Jambalaya dish, while the dish did taste great it's a bit more than I'd normally like to spend for Jambalaya at around $38 plus with sides being extra the meal can quickly add up. If you're an Emeril fan it's worth a stop & you will enjoy the food but it's not a place that I have revisted when given the chance.
One of our better dinners in Las Vegas was at the Paris Hotel at a place called Hexx which has since been replaced by Alexxas. Here we enjoyed a languini for myself while my wife enjoyed a ginormous steak, normally we don't order too many steaks on the strip but after some winnings in the casino she was ready to celebrate with one of the best steaks we've ever had.
Our personal favorite dinner in Las Vegas is off the strip and a bargain for what you get. Back on Fremont we always make a stop at the El Cortez to Siegel's 1941 for their Prime Rib special. Over the last few years the price has climbed from around $12 to now just under $17 but the quality remains the same. With two sides and a juicy prime rib we haven't found a better deal yet and maybe that's why we've been here seven times.
Ora King Salmon from Emeril's
Jambalaya from Emeril's
Entertainment Options:
As far as entertainment goes Las Vegas has a lot of options. Some of our favorites over the years have been the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, The Bellagio gardens, and Thr Wynn's flower displays. While we have not been to a lot of show ourselves at this point there are an incredible amount of options so check out the concerts coming to town through a site like TickPick or some of the Cirque De Soleil options. One of our favorite shows to date was a trip over to the Comedy Cellar Las Vegas at the Rio.
Mandalay Bay's aquarium was fairly large for a Vegas attraction with some fairly cool displays like a large shipwreck that you walk through. If you like aquariums in general this is a fun unique experience.
The Bellagio gardens are constantly changing with five displays per year. The seasons for the garden are the Lunar New Year, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. These displays are made with tens of thousands of flowers. In my different visits I have seen a tribute to Muhammad Ali, Hello Kitty, and chinese new year displays. This exhibit is always incredible and free and should not be missed.
The Wynn's Flower displays are not nearly the size of the Bellagio but the detail is always gorgeous. On our last visit we saw flower balloons and a Merry-Go-Round and the Wynn also features some cool waterfalls. Along with the gardens the Wynn has been our favorite place to go to the actual casino in the past as well with some fun slot games and attentive servers with great drinks (Jack Daniels and Tito's compared to the normal well drinks at other casinos) we always make sure to stop in for some time at The Wynn.
The Comedy Cellar has always been on my bucket list and while I still have not been to New York City I could not turn down the chance to visit this replica in Las Vegas. The show featured multiple great comedians and a cool venue, if you have the chance and enjoy stand up comedy this is definitely worth a visit.
Pictured above are the fountains at the Mirage