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5 BEST VEGAS LISTS
Check Out Our "5 Best" Lists Below For The Best Vegas Hotels, Pools, Attractions, Shows, Nightclubs, Shopping, Things To Do, Restaurants, Food, Drinks And Much More!
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5 BEST VEGAS
Must Do's
This is our list of 5 Best "Must Do's" in Las Vegas, whether you are a first time or repeat visitor, or even a local!
# 1 Take a picture by the Las Vegas Sign
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign is the perfect place for a picture or selfie. We like to try to take a picture each time we go to Vegas and it's fun to look back at these memories from all our Vegas vacations.
# 2 Watch the Bellagio Fountains
The Bellagio Fountains are one of our favorite things about Las Vegas and we love that they are FREE entertainment. We could watch them all day long, especially from our fave viewpoint, a room balcony at the Cosmopolitan hotel. Our other best spots to view them from are along the lake railing on the right side (as if facing the Bellagio) or at the exit of the Bellagio shops or at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
#3 Eat An In N Out Burger
Our first stop in Vegas is always at In N Out to have one of their awesome burgers! They have a new location on the Vegas strip on the Linq promenade by the High Roller. Prices are very cheap and make sure to try the Animal Style burgers and fries and a neopolitan shake!
#4 People Watching
People Watching is one of the best entertainment shows you can have in Vegas for free! It's always fun to sit back and enjoy the interesting crowds of people and dressed up characters along the Vegas strip. One of our fave spots to people watch is up on the balcony at Cabo Wabo in front of Planet Hollywood. The Park and Linq Promenade, as well as Fremont Street are also great people watching spots!
#5 Eat At A Vegas Buffet
The buffets in Vegas are not your average buffet. Some of the hotels offer a wide variety of food, including exotic dishes, expensive seafood and lavish desserts. Our tip is to go for a brunch buffet as the price is cheaper and you can get two meals for one price by having your breakfast and lunch together. A few of our fave buffets on the Vegas strip are Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, Aria and Wynn Buffets.
5 BEST VEGAS
Free Attractions
This is our list of 5 Best Free Attractions in Las Vegas. These are cool things to check out in Vegas and a great bonus is that they are all free!
# 1 The Fountains of Bellagio
The Fountains of Bellagio are iconic in Vegas and one of our favorite things to watch, especially since they are free! Their schedule varies but they usually play every half and hour to 15 minutes, depending on the day and time. You can watch them from several viewpoints including along the balcony by Bellagio or Las Vegas Blvd, or as high up as the Eiffel Tower or High Roller wheel. You can also have a great view while enjoying a meal at some of the Bellagio restaurants like Prime or Spago. We love to watch the fountains when staying at the Cosmopolitan hotel next door and their terrace balcony suites.
# 2 Mirage Volcano
The Mirage Volcano is a really cool free show in Vegas. They remodeled the show a few years back and it is better than ever! Show times are usually on the hour from 6pm to 11pm nightly, but check the Mirage website to confirm. Make sure to watch the show from different viewpoints such as the Mirage entrance and then on the other side, along Las Vegas Blvd or across the street by the Venetian.
#3 Palazzo and Venetian Waterfall Atrium
The Palazzo and Venetian Waterfall Atrium have beautiful free displays year round that change with the seasons. Right now one of their constant displays is the LOVE sign, a cool piece of art that was first featured at the Life is Beautiful Festival. The waterfall atrium is located in between Palazzo and the Grand Canal Shops in Venetian. This is a great spot for some Vegas selfies!
#4 Bellagio Conservatory
The Bellagio Conservatory is open year round and best of all it's free, no admission! The breathtaking floral displays here change with each season, at least 6 times a year or more. The attention to detail is amazing and we applaud all the hard workers that put many hours into these unique displays! Check it out early in the morning or late at night for the least busy times, it can get very crowded inside sometimes.
#5 Silverton Mermaids
The live mermaid show at the Silverton Casino is another unique Vegas attraction. It is free to view and showtimes vary, but usually Thursday to Sunday from Noon to 8pm. Check the Silverton website for more details. Silverton Hotel and Casino is located just off Las Vegas Blvd a few miles south on Blue Diamond Road. They also have a mermaid lounge you can hang out in and aquarium where the mermaids swim has lots of cool tropical fish to check out too! There
5 BEST VEGAS
Balcony Rooms
These are our choices for 5 Best Vegas Balcony Rooms. Bet you didn't even know there were 5 hotel choices that had balconies in Las Vegas?!
# 1 The Cosmopolitan Terrace Suite
Not only is this our #1 choice for balcony rooms in Las Vegas, it's also our #1 choice for a hotel room in Las Vegas overall. Make sure to ask for a terrace suite with a balcony that faces north, overlooking the Bellagio fountains and Vegas strip. Our fave tower is the Boulevard Tower and we like to stay between floors 25 to 40 as the higher you get past that, the fountains are not as close to view. We've taken many great pictures from this room and enjoyed many relaxing nights enjoying these views!tower
# 2 Hard Rock
Casino Tower
The Hard Rock hotel casino tower all have partial Juliet style balonies with doors that open. You can usually get very cheap rooms here by signing up for their email offers. Try to ask for a pool view, as you will also have a great view of the Vegas strip from your room. Soon to be Virgin Las Vegas hotel, we hope they keep these balcony options in this tower.
#3 The Signature Suites at MGM Grand
The Signature Suites are 3 separate towers beside MGM Grand and Top Golf, just off the Vegas strip. Not all the suites here have balconies, so make sure your room request has one. The rooms here also have a partial or full kitchen and nice jetted tub. Parking is valet only.
#4 The Platinum Hotel and Spa
The Platinum hotel and spa is located just off the Vegas strip behind Bally's, on the corner of Flamingo and Koval. The rooms here all have balconies! The rooms are also very large condo like suites with a kitchen and living room. The hotel has a rooftop pool and valet only parking.
#5 Tahiti Village
Tahiti Village is located on Las Vegas Blvd South, just down from Mandalay Bay and Town Square. Tahiti Village is a great place for families and longer stays in Vegas. They have large condo like suites with partial or full kitchens. The larger rooms here have a balcony, we suggest asking for one that faces the pool or the Vegas strip. The hotel is also located across from the South Outlet Mall, so a great location for shopping and restaurants. They also have a free shuttle to the Vegas strip and some surrounding areas and free parking.
5 BEST VEGAS
Pools
This is our list of 5 Best Pools in Las Vegas. The pools in Vegas are some of the best out there, with lazy rivers, pool parties, real sand beaches and some are even heated year round!
# 1 Tahiti Village
Tahiti Village is a resort located on Las Vegas Blvd South, just down from Mandalay Bay a few miles and right next door to the South Outlet mall. The pool at Tahiti Village is very large with sand beach areas and 24 hour hot tubs! But their main star is the beautiful lazy river. It's over 1/8 mile long with fountains, bridges and free floating tubes to relax on. Their pool and lazy river is also heated year round, which is very rare in Vegas. They have 2 tiki bars and summer poolside luaus. Open to hotel guests only.
# 2 Hard Rock
The Hard Rock Hotel pool area is full of palm trees and separated in the middle by relaxing side and pool party side. The Breathe pool is open daily from 9am until sunset, seasonally. Open to hotel guests and the public. Soon to become Virgin hotels in 2020, we will see what they have in store, but hope they keep all the beautiful palm trees! Soon
#3 Red Rock Resort
Red Rock Hotel and Resort has a very cool pool style and beautiful backdrop scenery of the Red Rock Canyon and mountains. They don't allow float toys or tubes in their pools but they do have cabanas and daybeds for rental. The pool is open in the winter until 4pm daily but check Red Rock hotel website for more details. Open to hotel guests and the public (for an extra charge). and
#4 Wyndham Desert Blue
Wyndham Desert Blue is one of the prettiest pools in our opinion in Las Vegas. They have some lounge chairs that sit right in the pool (as you can see G in the pic). They also have a waterfall area, second pool and hot tub areas. You can rent cabanas and they have a small beach bar and grill. It's very relaxing here as we have never found the pools to be too busy. Located across from the Rio hotel. Open to hotel guests only.
#5 Mandalay Bay
Mandalay Bay has a really nice large pool area known as Mandalay Bay Beach. They have a wave pool, shallow pool and lazy river as well. They don't provide float toys or tubes, so you need to purchase them separately. They also offer many daybeds and cabanas for purchase. Chairs are often very hard to find here as it's a busy and popular pool. There is also an upstairs beach club that is topless called Moorea. The pool area is open to hotel guests and the public (for an extra charge). In the summer, they offer poolside concerts (also at an extra charge). Check Mandalay Bay website for more details. Pool is closed seasonally. They
5 BEST VEGAS
Free Parking
Las Vegas used to have pretty much all free parking, but unfortunately over the years that has changed. These are our top 5 picks for the best free parking spots in Vegas. You can also sometimes get free parking with certain tier rewards cards at some hotels and casinos. Most off the strip hotels and casinos still offer free parking. And
# 1 PH Miracle Mile Shops
The Miracle Miles Shops at Planet Hollywood offer free parking for their mall. Entrance to the parking garage is located around the side of PH. This is a good central parking spot for many of the surrounding hotels and casinos. Plus it's a great shopping mall too!
# 2 Venetian & Palazzo
The Venetian and Palazzo have always offered free parking and we love them for this! They each have their own parking garages and you can access the Grand Canal Shoppes from either of these too. We prefer parking at the Palazzo for ease of getting in and out quickly.
#3 Fashion Show Mall
The Fashion Show Mall offers free parking and is located across from the Wynn, Venetian, Palazzo and Treasure Island and Mirage area. So it's another great central Vegas strip location and a large mall to explore as well. The Sugar Factory at the mall is a cool spot for lunch or crazy milkshakes and many other good restaurants in the area too.
#4 Treasure Island
Treasure Island is another Vegas hotel that has always offered free parking. They are located next to Mirage and across from the Wynn, Venetian and Palazzo, so a great central location too. Overall pretty quick to get in and out of as it's not too big.
#5 The Strat
The Strat (previously known as the Stratosphere) still continues to offer free parking overall. They have a large parking garage that is fairly quick to get in and out of. Located at the far north end of the Vegas strip, it's not close to much so it's best to have a rental car here and we appreciate the free parking because of that.
5 BEST VEGAS
Budget Hotel Rooms
These are our choices for the 5 Best Vegas Budget Hotel Rooms on the Vegas Strip.
# 1 The Linq
The Linq is fairly recently renovated throughout, including the rooms here. They have unique decor and the bathrooms have pump dispensers for shampoo, etc which is a bit different but practical. They have a nice open casino floor and fun O'Shea's bar. One of the best things about The Linq is their central location on the Vegas Strip. It's also right next door to the Linq Promenade area which has some cool restaurants and shops as well as the High Roller wheel to check out, preferably at night on their happy hour pod!.
# 2 Flamingo
The Flamingo is also a great budget hotel on the Vegas strip. Rooms can be as low as $30 here sometimes! They have done a lot of recent renovations to the rooms here. The Go Room is a fave of our friends who have never stayed at another Vegas hotel, they love it here so much. We would suggest asking for a room close to the elevator here as some of the hallways are quite long. The central location on the Vegas Strip is a big plus though.
#3 The Strat
The Strat, previously known as the Stratosphere, has recently done a number of upgrades on their whole property. Not all the rooms here have been renovated yet, so make sure to ask for a renovated one when checking in. You usually get discounted or free admission to the top of the Strat with your room. Here you can see great views of the Vegas strip and try some of their thrilling rides or do a freefall jump experience off the side of the tower! They have a great restaurant and bar located up at the top here too with amazing views. The location is a bit far north away from most of the other hotels, but parking here is free. It is a central location in between the Vegas strip and Fremont Street though.
#4 MGM Grand
MGM is so big it has several different hotel towers, so they are always offering great deals. Known as one of the largest hotels in the world, you never even need to leave here while on your Vegas vacation, there is so much to do and see inside! They have a large pool complex here including a lazy river and party pool with DJ's. Their nightclub Hakkasan here is a show in itself! Many great restaurants and shows here to see, including Ka, David Copperfield and some of the big fights throughout the year. We would recommend extra walking time to get through here to anywhere else outside, on the Vegas strip.
#5 Sahara Las Vegas
Sahara Las Vegas, previously known as SLS (and before that as Sahara!) is a good option if you like a smaller place to stay at. It's very quick and easy to get in and out of the hotel and parking is free. It also has close access to the Tram to get around on the Vegas strip, as it's located a bit far north from the other hotels. They have a very popular high end restaurant here called Bazaar Meat. The hotel rooms here are smaller boutique style and have very unique decor. Sahara Las Vegas room offers are usually very low with extra perks like daily resort or food credits.
5 BEST VEGAS
Luxury Hotel Rooms
These are our 5 Best choices for luxury hotel rooms on the Vegas Strip.
# 1 The Cosmopolitan
The Cosmopolitan is our fave hotel in Las Vegas overall! So it is also our #1 pick for top Vegas luxury room. The suites here are large and we only recommend getting one that has a terrace. Having a balcony on your hotel room in Vegas is very rare but even rare is having a great view like these ones do! We recommend asking for a north facing room that overlooks the Bellagio fountains and also has amazing Vegas strip views. If you can afford the upgrade, try to get a wraparound suite which has a very large terrace balcony with corner multi views. We also suggest asking for a room in the Boulevard Tower as it is closer to the strip instead of the Chelsea Tower. Some of the rooms here have deep soaking tubs and there are also suites that connect to the pool area. All the restaurants, Wicked Spoon buffet and Block 16 Food Hall in the hotel are amazing. Plus make sure to check out the Secret Pizza and Ghost Donkey Tequila Bar here! Ou
# 2 Encore At The Wynn
Encore At The Wynn is a very nice luxury room in Vegas. We prefer the decor in the Encore tower over the Wynn, but it is a personal preference, they are both nice. The rooms here are all large suites with a separate living area and have luxury bathrooms with marble tubs. The whole resort is very luxury overall, with a great buffet, restaurants and nightclubs. The water Cirque style show La Reve here is a must see. Parking here is free and it is a close location to the Fashion Show Mall and a few other hotels along the mid north end of the strip.
#3 Aria
Aria is another great luxury hotel and resort in Las Vegas. The rooms here are very high tech with electronic controls for most things, from the comfort of your own tablet. If you can afford the upgrade, check out their Sky Suites that are in a league of their own! Aria has a good buffet along with some other great high end restaurants and cool desserts in their patisserie. It's located in City Center, just a bit off the Vegas strip but very close access to Vdara, The Cosmopolitan, Crystals Mall and the tram to Park MGM.
#4 The Palazzo at The Venetian
The Palazzo is one of the Vegas strip's newest hotels over the years and we love their large suites here. The style here is very luxury Italian with an open bedroom, sunken living room and marble bathroom with oversized tub. The Palazzo is connected to the Venetian hotel, so you could spend all your time just at these 2 resorts and all they have to offer (together they are one of the largest hotels in the world). They both have so many great restaurants and a shopping mall in the middle called Grand Canal Shoppes. There are beautiful seasonal displays in the waterfall atrium, including the red LOVE sculpture. Also make sure to check out the indoor and outdoor romantic gondola ride.
#5 Vdara
Vdara is a unique Las Vegas hotel as it is non gaming with no casino. The rooms here are all suites and even have a small kitchen area with fridges that come in handy! We recommend trying to get a Bellagio view room here if possible. The views are great of the Vegas Strip as well from some of the suites. It's very easy to get in and out of here as the hotel is small. There is a small bar with appetizers, but no restaurants on site. They have a club lounge level and spa in the hotel that is very popular. Parking is valet only. Vdara is located in City Center but very close to The Cosmopolitan, Aria, Crystals Mall and the tram to Park MGM.
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5 BEST VEGAS
Day Trips
This is our list of top 5 Vegas Day Trips. Most of these places are an hour or less from Las Vegas. We love to explore off the Vegas strip and the surrounding areas, there are lots of interesting places out there to see!
# 1 Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon is a natural conservation area and park in the Mojave Desert. It's located about 20 min SW of the Vegas strip near Summerlin. There are several hiking paths in the area or you can even just drive through the area on a nice 13 mile scenic loop (for a small cost per car). Many great photo ops in this area as well. We would recommend renting a car and exploring for the day.
# 2 Lake Las Vegas
Lake Las Vegas is truly a peaceful paradise, only about 30 minutes from the Vegas strip. You would never realize you are so close to the hustle and bustle of Vegas when you are here. This man made lake is 320 acres. There is a small Mediterranean style village of restaurants and shops along the water, and a stage on the beach for summer concerts. They have a water sports rental and even their own yacht that goes out on the lake for special cruise events like their Romance Cruise on Valentine's Day and Santa Cruise for Christmas. There are 2 main hotels to stay at here, The Hilton and Westin, plus some condo rentals. Some of the houses here are multi million dollar homes and worth just driving around exploring the area for. They also have 2 golf clubs here for all the avid golfers out there.
#3 Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is a short 30 minute drive from Las Vegas. You can book a tour through a company, but we recommend renting a car and going out there to explore on your own time. There is a cool new pedestrian walkway on the Memorial bridge at the top of the dam. It's the second highest bridge in the US and the world's highest concrete arch bridge! This is a view from there and you can get some great selfies from this angle too. There is no cost to walk on the bridge but you can take paid tours down at the actual Hoover Dam area. If you have time, also check out the nearby Boulder City, that was created just for the people that built the Dam.
#4 Goodsprings
Pioneer Saloon
Goodsprings is considered a ghost town and has the oldest saloon in Southern Nevada called Pioneer Saloon. Located about 30 minutes south of the Vegas strip, this is a cool spot to check out and have a drink in the old western style bar. There are lots of original newspaper articles that line the walls as well as a bullet hole and story to check out inside. The saloon also has a memory wall dedicated to Clark Gable and his wife Carole Lombard that died in a nearby plane crash. It's said Clark drank here and waited 3 days to hear the news about his wife. The saloon has been featured in many TV shows and movies and even a video game. They also have a haunted lockdown event on the weekend evenings if you are brave enough to check out! to h
#5 Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a full day trip from Las Vegas but worth the drive. You can take a tour bus or do the drive yourself, which we prefer as you get to be on your own schedule and car rentals are very cheap in Vegas. Or if you really want to splurge, the best way to see it is by helicopter, we would recommend Maverick for this. The Grand Canyon West Rim is the side closest to Vegas, a 2 hour drive. You can also check out the South Rim, but it is a 4 hour drive. The West Rim fees are about double, but they also have the cool glass floor skywalk observation area, if you aren't too afraid of heights!
5 BEST VEGAS
Downtown Photo Spots
There are so many cool photo spots in downtown Las Vegas, as art is very prevelent in the area, so it was hard to choose our top 5!
# 1 Neon Museum and Brilliant Show
The Neon Museum in downtown Las Vegas is a must see when in the area. The additional add on of the Brilliant show though is even more worth it in our eyes. It's hard to explain in words, but it was a very powerful 25 minute show mixing lights onto unlit old neon signs with music and images through the eras of Las Vegas. Guided tours are only available at The Neon Museum. They are about an hour long and available anytime during the day, but we would recommend taking a night tour to get the full effect of the restored neon signs. Make sure to also check out their cool gift shop for some unique retro Vegas gifts and memorabilia.
# 2 City of Las Vegas Showgirls Sign
Many of you have told us you didn't even know about this fairly new photo op area in downtown Las Vegas. It's a showgirls, dice and casino theme sign by the city of Las Vegas and a welcome to the downtown area. It's located just north of the Strat hotel, across the street. There is a small parking area by the Denny's as well to access it from. You may have recognized it from some of our YouTube videos filmed here!
#3 Symphony Park
Symphony Park has a very cool multicolor tubes art display that is a great photo spot in downtown Las Vegas. Symphony Park is located beside the Smith Center of Performing Arts, where you can watch Broadway plays and other musical and dancing performances. It's also farily close to the North Outlet Mall. These rainbow tubes art are called Pipe Dream by Tim Bavington. We think it's a perfect backdrop for Vegas selfies and pics!
#4 Fremont Street
Fremont Street has a neverending amount of photo spots in downtown Las Vegas. We especially like this huge Slotzilla display for the zipline area. Many of the casinos here have the old style neon lights still which are great for photo ops. The newly remodeled Viva Vision led light show on the canopy area above Fremont is awesome free entertainment and very photogenic. The shows run nightly on the hour, usually between 6pm and midnight but check their website for more details. There are a lot of unique bars and restaurants in this area as well like Park on Fremont, their decor is as unique as it gets! Not necessarily on Fremont Street, but closeby, is also the cool Container Park area that has a fire breathing preying mantis sculpture to check out at night! z
#5 Big Rig Jig Semi Trucks Art
The Big Rig Jig Semi Trucks are a very unique art exhibit in downtown Las Vegas at Ferguson's motel. This was originally a sculpture at a Burning Man Festival by artist Mike Ross. It features two 18 wheeler semi trucks in the air and stands 4 storeys tall! They are located in the center courtyard area of Ferguson's motel on the corner of Fremont and 11th Street. Ferguson's has been renovating the whole area and also has a new Market in the Alley event here to check out more local artwork.
5 BEST VEGAS
Shopping
Shopping is always fun in Las Vegas and there are several options to check out along the Vegas strip and nearby. These are our top 5 choices of places to shop until you drop!
# 1 North AND South Premium Outlets
The North and South Outlets in Vegas are both great. We picked them both as they are somehwat similar but also very different. The North Premium Outlets are an outdoor mall style area, so not always the best choice for the hot summer months in the Vegas sun. Parking here is free but limited and they have a bit more higher end brand stores here. The North Outlets are located north of the Stratosphere. Our fave location is the South Outlets as they are more in an indoor mall setting. During the summer months this is really nice to have AC! There is tons of free parking and also a lot more restaurants by the South Oulets. They are located a few miles south of Mandalay Bay on Las Vegas Blvd. sty
# 2 Fashion Show Mall
The Fashion Show Mall is located right on the Vegas Strip, across from the Wynn. There is lots of free parking above and underground. It is a large mall with several stores and restaurants, including a food court. It's called Fashion Show mall as they sometimes have actual fashion shows in the middle of the mall. This is the biggest shopping mall on the Vegas strip so it's nice that you don't have to leave the strip to shop!
#3 Downtown Summerlin
Downtown Summerlin is located about 20 minutes west of the Vegas strip. It's very close to Red Rock hotel and resort. This is another open air style outdoor shopping mall. They have several retail shops, restaurants and a movie theater in the area. It's also located where the Vegas Golden Knights practice at the City National Arena. You can watch their scheduled practices for free, just check out their Twitter page for times. Another new edition very close by is the Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the Aviators ball team. Game tickets are very reasonable and the stadium is brand new and very comfortable.
#4 Grand Canal Shoppes
The Grand Canal Shoppes are located in the middle of the Venetian and Palazzo on the Vegas Strip. They have some unique shops and restaurants here to check out.
T has been known to buy a few pairs of shoes here in the past lol (G is pictured carrying them!). There is also an indoor gondola water ride and the waterfall atrium area which has beautiful seasonal displays. Parking here is free.
#5 Town Square
Town Square is another outdoor shopping area with several retail shops, a grocery store, several restaurants, bars, a movie theater and large guitar center! It's located very close to the south end of the Vegas strip, just down from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and Mandalay Bay. There is paid parking on some of the street spots but mostly free parking garages and areas around the complex.
