The Best of Las Vegas – for Everyone
We’ve made this simple: The best of Las Vegas in 5 different categories, broken down by price. Remember, just because something is super cheap or free does not mean it’s inferior to the most expensive option! Find what you want to find.
Most of the action in Las Vegas happens on The Strip, a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that runs north-south through the center of the valley. The closer you can get to the middle of The Strip, the closer you’ll be to the energy and fun.
The Best Hotels:
In fierce competition for the title of “Most Expensive Hotel in Las Vegas,” the Mandarin Oriental is also currently The Strip’s finest. Control the room’s temperature and natural light levels via the TV, let the tub’s jets massage away stress, gaze out over the 8.4 billion dollar CityCenter development, and revel in a service with roots in centuries of Asian tradition. The Mandarin Oriental does everything well. From the hotel, a stroll through the modern-art-filled Crystals shopping mall ends at the heart of The Strip.
Enjoy a massive casino floor, a free tram towards the central part of The Strip, and just about the best swimming pool complex in the whole city. Mandalay Bay also hosts the Shark Reef, a massive aquarium filled with deadly sea life. An underwater glass tunnel enables close and comfortable observation. A long row of shops separates Mandalay Bay from its neighbour, the Luxor, so travelers won’t even have to set foot outside to see the sights.
While still expensive during holidays and some weekends (stay at casinos off the Strip for rock-bottom prices), Planet Hollywood is usually one of the best deals in the heart of Las Vegas. Formerly the Aladdin, the resort’s shops have been extended, now reaching over a mile. Three theatres hosting upwards of ten shows combined grace the property, and as a centrally-located casino, it is central to everything else on the Strip. Enjoy the young life and vibrant energy always on display throughout the area.
The Best Restaurants:
The only Michelin 3 Star winner in Las Vegas is Joel Robuchon’s self-named restaurant. It’s still Las Vegas… enjoy pink and purple decor and over-the-top ribbons. They’ll wheel the bread cart around from time to time, and no one can complain about the type of baked goods served. In fact, all of the food is knock-your-socks-off delicious. The price, of course, echoes the quality… expect to spend close to $400 per person. Thrifty diners can escape for under $200, but that requires some forethought and manoeuvring.
Sammy Hagar’s latest tax shelter is loud, rollicking, and delicious. It may come as a surprise to some that a restaurant that prominently features its daisy duke-clad wait staff dancing on the bar can serve a delicious burrito, but they can. Enjoy Las Vegas’ finest tourists shouting along to the jukebox, or at night, the live band. Sammy Hagar himself shows up from time to time, playing not with Van Halen, but with the Wabos or Chickenfoot. Don’t go to relax or get romantic, do go to have a great time and eat some killer Tex-Mex.
The Feast Buffet, Palace Station
As Las Vegas buffets go, The Feast at Palace Station (And most other Station Casinos) is an average submission. What’s not average is the price: breakfast and lunch are well under ten dollars, and with the addition of a player’s club card, dinner can be too. Anyone doing Las Vegas on the cheap will welcome The Feast with open arms, especially those on the one-meal-a-day vacation plan (college students, I know who you are). A wide range of buffet standards like pizza, big salads, and limited seafood take their places around an excellent carving station.
The Best Family Activities:
The highest thrill rides in the world spin, wobble, and tilt on top of the highest tower west of the Mississippi river. Guests can freak out over the height from two observation decks, one outdoors, and one indoors featuring a disconcerting outward-leaning glass perimeter. View the entire las Vegas valley from almost 900 feet in the air. Try and convince the member of your family that’s the most afraid of heights to come up with you… they will provide more entertainment by panicking than any ride or attraction.
Since the 1970s, the Adventuredome at Circus Circus has been widely recognized as the main place to take the kids in Las Vegas. The indoor amusement park is giant and loud, with the screams from the roller coasters echoing off the walls and ceiling in an eerily disconnected way. Kiosks and restaurants crowd the walkways, and navigation can be difficult on the weekends, or during the summer when school is out. A full day pass is around $25, making the Adventuredome a good place to play for hours at a stretch.
No one should miss the Nevada desert at its most interesting and beautiful, and Red Rock Canyon is the best example within thirty miles of the Strip. Pay the entrance fee of $7 to drive around the scenic loop, or choose a different parking lot near the Red Rock Canyon entrance and just start walking. Keep an eye out for wild burros that will approach automobiles, and big-horned sheep that will stare back at visitors from high up in the mountains. Enjoy the peace of hiking, but remember to take plenty of water.
The Best Nights:
The current monarch of the club scene, XS features a large indoor area for partying and an outdoor deck with a beautiful swimming pool. Frolicking in the shallow end is encouraged, so club goers are nightly treated to the sight of knockouts in tiny dresses, splashing and laughing and dancing all at the same time. The price varies, from about $20 on a slow weeknight, to well over $100 during events and holidays. The space is ample, but will fill up quickly, so early arrival is encouraged by the XS staff.
Liquidity, at the Luxor, is a cleverly-built bar centering on the theme of flowing liquid. The location is the main thing, though, as the bar is dead in the center of the Luxor’s casino floor. Three separate lounge areas jut off from the main area, making the whole complex a bright spot until the wee hours of the morning. A live DJ spins Wednesday through Sunday, making the atmosphere club like but pretense-free. All are welcome, and traffic flows from the adjoining Mandalay Bay and Excalibur, ensuring a constant stream of new faces and smiles.
The best people-watching in Las Vegas happens here. Fremont Street is Old Las Vegas, and a lot of the history of the city still exists in the form of crazy-cheap shrimp cocktails and beer. After dark, the canopy covering the street blows up in lights, putting on show after show while music throbs. Everyone visits Fremont, making it the best place to see Indian tourists next to Texans, or cross-dressing schoolteachers next to Buddhist Monks. Just be ready with a camera, and keep an open mind.
The Best Shows:
Cirque Du Soleil has taken on the music, history, and culture of the Beatles and turned it into something completely original. Love, the biggest show at the Mirage, is a loose retelling of the Beatles’ life and career, with many departures enabled by the different song lyrics. Trampolines, ribbons, silhouettes, and a sheet that puts the entire audience to bed are only a small part of the fantasies that emerge. Most of the hits and a few of the b sides are brought to life. The walrus makes an appearance, as does the queen, the war, and in a moving, dreamlike trapeze act, Lucy. In the Sky.
No, Seriously! Come back!
If you’ve seen Carrot Top’s photos in recent times, you’re probably a little afraid of him. If you saw Carrot Top in the nineties, you’re probably a little sick of him. If you’ve seen Carrot Top perform at the Luxor, you’re probably out trying to convert all your friends to C-T love. His show is surprising, fast, hilarious, friendly, shocking, and joyful. One of the top reviewed shows in Las Vegas
This one’s free, and it’s a must-see. Even visitors willing to shell out hundreds to see all the top shows in Las Vegas need to stop by at least once. The Bellagio Fountains dance, leap, and play to synchronized music on an 8-acre lake. Ample viewing room is available on the sidewalk in front of the lake, and the best spots are available in the restaurants that line the shore. The music varies from classical to Frank Sinatra to top forty, with different songs and shows happening regularly all day.
