LAS VEGAS
 Brian Comerford visited Las Vegas in February 2009.
This is Brian's description of a five-night stay in the
entertainment capital of the world, while based in the
world-famous
Bellagio Hotel.
"A previous, very rushed, two-night, group visit to Las
Vegas did not provide me with an ample opportunity to make a
judgment about Las Vegas.
When the opportunity came to make another visit to Las
Vegas I chose
a five-night option. When I was doing
preliminary research our Mairead drew my attention
to a public offer from
Sunway Holidays of 5 nights in
the Bellagio Hotel for the price of 4 at €598.
If I had booked direct with the Bellagio website I would have paid at least $500 more
for an inferior room!
Public offers like these come to Lillis Travel daily by
fax and e-mail, so it is always worthwhile
contacting us
by e-mail or phone (065-9051046 Mon-Fri 10-5.30) as every day brings different offers
and options.
My flights were with Continental Airlines via Newark.
Continental Airlines were recently chosen as Best
Transatlantic Carrier in the Irish Travel Trade Awards.
It was my experience on all four flights that
Continental Airlines were worthy winners of that award.
On arrival at
McCarron Airport, there are two transport
options. To the left of luggage carousel
number 8,
the exit leads to the
Gray Line shuttle, which serves
the hotels on the Strip for $6.50. Taxis
range from $15-$20 depending on distance.
The airport is located just at the foot of the Strip,
about 15-30 minutes journey from most Hotels, but
traffic can affect the journey time.
Las Vegas could be described as
architecture on
steroids.
The visual streetscape is very misleading. The
Strip
is
approximately five miles long, but due to the tricks of
perspective appears to be no more than one mile in
length. You could leave the
MGM Grand
on the
eastern side, turn right, see
Caesar's Palace on the
western side and think "That's no more than 10/15
minutes walk away!" 20 minutes later and you
are not even half-way there! The solution is
to buy a 24 hour ticket on the local bus -
The Deuce.
For $7 (exact change only) you can hop-on hop-off to you
heart's content and save acres of shoe leather on this
very frequent shuttle service.
There is also
a monorail service at the
east side leading to the
Convention
Centre, but it is located a long walk from
the Strip at the very rear of the various hotels
served.
The Bellagio is a five-star hotel modelled on a Pallazzo
in Lake Garda. In a desert location where
water is liquid gold it has an outstanding fountain
display at 15 to 30 minute intervals which are
accompanied by music, including "Lord of the Dance".
A heist from the Bellagio safe was the plot of the
movie
"Ocean's Eleven" starring
George Clooney,
Matt
Damon,
Andy Garcia,
Brad Pitt and
Julia Roberts.
The Bellagio deserves every one of its 5 stars.
The
buffet (just off the casino) has an outstanding
reputation. At $19.99 for lunch and $29.99
for dinner (weekdays) , the quality, range and presentation of dishes available
is quite superb. Make sure to arrive early or late to
avoid the queue.
While in Las Vegas I saw three shows,
David Copperfield
at the MGM Grand,
LOVE by Cirque du Soleil
featuring the music of the
Beatles at the
Mirage and
Cher in the Colosseum at
Caesar's Palace.
My $49.50 ticket at the
Tix
for tonight booth for David Copperfield
was the best value. It was the final show of
his current residency and I still have to work out how
he disappeared off the stage to appear right in front of
myself and the Canadian couple at our table!
Cirque du Soleil have several shows running in Vegas.
From discussions I have had, the consensus would be that the
O2 at the Bellagio is quite boring, but that the LOVE
show is the best of all. The precision
roller-skaters were the best of the acts in my opinion.
The only drawback was that the linking narration was
very amateurish. However, any Circus
lovers reading this, will get a great night's
entertainment at the Mirage. The sound
quality of the music of the Beatles is top-class.
Not too loud and almost of live-performance
standard.
The greatest disappointment was Cher. From
the moment she descended from what she described as "the
death chair" singing "The Streets Have No Name" by
U2,
very badly, the show went downhill. She
complained about the air being "very dry", told a
puerile joke about Coke (Coca Cola) during a technical
hitch and clearly mimed the rest of her songs.
Despite the presence of big screens which were used for
the acrobats, they were not deployed when she was on
stage so that those of us in the "Gods" could not see
her costumes from the distance, and that is supposed to
be a major feature of her shows. The fact that she did
no curtain call at the end of the show indicates that she knew it
was an "off" night. Apart from a line of
worshippers to the left of the front row, I could see that on an
"off" night, even the greatest and most experienced
entertainers can fail to connect with an audience.
There was no great enthusiasm in the 4,000 strong
audience at this performance.
February is an
ideal time to visit Las Vegas.
I would describe the
weather for my visit as gloriously
cool. It was also ideal for my
day-trip by
Coach, helicopter and boat to
the Grand Canyon
West Rim via the
Hoover Dam.
Read Brian's account of the
GRAND CANYON WEST RIM, HELICOPTER TO THE BASIN AND GRAND
CANYON SKYWALK.
Las Vegas is not known as "Sin City" for nothing and
parents of impressionable children should know that,
thanks to a judge's ruling, visitors have to run the
gauntlet of
"porn card solicitors"
on every sidewalk day
and night. While they do not obstruct you
directly or speak to you, the cigarette-card sized "porn
cards" are constantly flicked , flapped and thrust at you.
There can be up to 20 of them on either side of the
sidewalk, they create a mountain of litter and are a
public nuisance. It is also vital for visitors to
know that despite what they see in front of them
prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and Clark County.
This means that anyone phoning the supplied numbers and
who is robbed or worse, may not find the police very
helpful. You will not find this mentioned in any
brochures.
Every year there are pedestrian fatalities on the Strip.
When the sign says "Don't Walk"....DON'T WALK!
Remember that you could be taking a chance in front of a
drunken driver.
Smoking is permitted in the Casinos, but they are well
ventilated with oxygen to keep you awake!
Indeed, the hardest sign to find in a casino is the EXIT
sign"
The above cautionary notes apart, Las Vegas will give
you a great welcome this year as they need visitors due
to the economic downturn. With air fares
plummeting to the floor to fill aircraft and deals on
public offer like the one I got at the Bellagio...also
available for other hotels...you could not pick a better
year for a visit. Remember, that
sailing and
skiing are also just a little more than 30 minutes away
in either direction."
If you are considering a visit to Las Vegas, please phone (065)9051046
(Mon-Fri 10-5.30)
or e-mail us anytime.
Read also:
ROUND THE WORLD
NEW YORK |
This was the view from my room at the Bellagio.
Flight quotation for Las Vegas
The famous Las Vegas Sign.
Alternative flight quotation for Las Vegas
The Bellagio Hotel and the Fountains.
Car rental in Las Vegas
View of the Strip from The Deuce Shuttle Bus.
Travel Insurance for the USA
The Casino of the Bellagio Hotel
Alternative quote for Travel Insurance
Bellagio Hotel lobby.
Theatre, Entertainment, Excursion Tickets
The Las Vegas Monorail
Irish Stew available at New York, New York
The Excelsior Hotel, Las Vegas.
Ceaser's Palace and Resort, Las
Vegas
Las Vegas Strip by night
Nevada's Valley of Fire
Yosemite, Sierra Nevada
View of Grand Canyon and Colorado River from my
helicopter trip to the Colorado Basin.
Tutankhamen at the Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas
Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, although
these human sidewalk notices suggest otherwise!
Read also:
SAN FRANCISCO
LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA COAST DRIVE
GRAND CANYON |
