Las Vegas Baby!
The glitz the glam and the extortionate price tags, I will share it all with you! What a huge contrast after travelling through three national parks in three days. We had a hotel booked but a few days before changed our minds and decided to splurge and have the real Las Vegas experience. We chose the Flamingo, right on the strip, the mafia history and the authentic old school Las Vegas experience.
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| View of Caesar's Palace from our room at the Flamingo, Las Vegas |
The arrival was a little complicated as we really didn't know where to park or what to do. I dropped off half the family at the back entrance and drove half a block away to the nearest place I could park and waited for them to check in and give us the instructions. The check in was a kiosk, but they got there in the end!
If you are staying at the Flamingo you can enter the parking garage on the left as you enter the back entrance of the hotel and collect a ticket. Watch the parking charges as it was included in our room, so I did have to call the parking garage and they were very helpful in sorting it out.
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| View from the parking garage at the Flamingo, Las Vegas |
Our room was on the 8th floor on the strip view side. It had to two queen beds, great views and a small fridge. It did not have any coffee making facilities, but there is a very expensive Starbucks right by the elevator in the lobby. It cost NZ$33.88 (US$19.62 / €18.27) for TWO coffees. The coffee is very weak tasting but packs a strong caffeine hit, this seemed to be the norm across the USA. I did later learn that you can just order hot water for US$2 for the largest size, Venti I think. Since we had been travelling on the road we had instant coffee with us. It was still annoying having to get dressed and go downstairs to get your morning coffee. Next time I would by a small kettle and bring it on our road trip!
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| Flamingo at night from walking bridge to Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas |
Things to watch out for staying at the Flamingo - or many of the other resorts
- Resort Fees - This is not included in your per night rate. You pay a fee per room around NZ$86.21 (US$50.00 / €46.55) per night. This is for amenities like the gym, pool and WiFi.
- Wifi is only included for two devices - Even if you have booked the room for 4 people. You can add additional devices for US$15 per device per 24 hours...that is a little steep.
- Paying the resort fee does not mean that the amenities will be available and you won't be compensated if they are not. During our stay the pool was closed and under renovation. That was disappointing especially for the teens who had been looking forward to it.
- Parking - We had issues exiting the car garage as the number plate was not being recognized, we should have pressed the call button on the machine and told them our room number and name but we did not know that and took a ticket instead. I called the company and it was sorted quickly.
- No roll-away beds are allowed in the rooms.
- We requested a higher floor but ended up on the 8th floor, I am not sure the request was even read.
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| Paris Paris, Las Vegas |
There is just so much to see and do in Las Vegas it was hard to know where to start! Walking the strip seemed the logical choice. The temperature in winter was great. It was not too hot or cold, we could walk around happily with a jersey on and be very comfortable. I have heard stories of the stifling heat in summer and being glued to the motel pool.
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| Day time view form our room at the Flamingo, Las Vegas |
Just walking around was insane! There is something happening all the time. We checked out the fountain at Bellagio, and the shops inside and Caesar's Palace. Walked through all the casinos and kept our eyes open for all the sports cars and limos. The opulence is stunning one minute and then the next you find yourself in a tacky neon kitsch place, it is wonderful!
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| Caesar Statue at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas |
We left the teens in the motel with In and Out Burger NZ$38.31 (US$22.22 / €20.69), and went for an evening stroll to check out all the lights and sights. We had a turn at roulette in the casino, and as very novice gamblers it went exactly as expected! Not coming home millionaires I am afraid! But it was fun to have a turn even if I had no idea what I was doing.
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| Flamingo Side Entry at Night, Las Vegas |
Even in the off season the lines for attractions and food were still very long. We gave up on riding the high roller or the zipline in favour of more walking around. Walking the strip is just an incredible experience. You see so many sights, strange people, people trying to sell you things and people dressed up for photo opportunities. Just be aware, nothing is free! If you take a photo you will be expected to pay. There was a rodeo championship on in town so there were cowboys everywhere, such a fun contrast to the Las Vegas vibe. I felt safe walking around at night, the cowboys definitely added to that.
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| The Strip at Night, Las Vegas |
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| Bellagio at Night, Las Vegas |
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| Flamingo Garden at the Flaming Hotel, Las Vegas |
Even if you are not staying at the Flamingo you can go check out the flamingos for free. It a nice little place of calm in the crazy of Las Vegas. There were even sturgeon fish too!
Visiting Hoover Dam from Las Vegas
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| Robert L. Mendenhall Scenic Overlook on the way to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead |
It was an easy short drive to Hoover Dam from Las Vegas. We left in the morning before the roads got too busy, but being winter time it was not too bad. We stopped at the scenic look out on the way. You can see how low the water level in the lake is. It became even more evident when we got to the Hoover Dam.
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| Hoover Dam, Nevada/Arizona |
I did not realize that you get to drive right over the dam. I had imagined that you had to stop park and get out to look around. We did that too but had to drive over the dam and park on the Arizona side before walking back to the dam to check it all out. The Hoover dam lies on the Colorado River which is the border between Nevada and Arizona, so half of the dam is in each state. There is a paid parking garage on the Nevada side, which I didn't even see, and free parking on the Arizona side. There was one parking lot closest to the dam on the Arizona side that was for paid/disabled parking, but we drove a few lots further and found a free spot.
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| Hoover Dam, Arizona Side |
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| Lake Mead / Colorado River, Hoover Dam, Arizona Side |
This is the view from our carpark. It is a paved footpath (sidewalk) down to the dam. It does involve a few sets of stairs, so if that is a problem for you the pay parking may be a better option. Personally I enjoyed the short walk, looking around and taking it all in. If you have smaller children who like to climb, you will want to watch them carefully. It is a steep drop on the other side of the wide concrete wall. Even one of the teens wanted to reach some of the coins thrown on the other side.
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| Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, Hoover Dam |
Unfortunately we could not enter the inside of the dam or the visitor center. They were under construction/renovation so you could only enter if you were part of a tour. I was not too keen on a tour as enclosed spaces are not my favourite (just like the silver mine in Tombstone!), and the signs clearly state you may not go on a tour if you are claustrophobic.
Instead we walked up to the cafe and had a delicious lunch sitting out on the terrace enjoying the views on offer. For four meals and drinks it came to NZ$130.17 (US$$75.50 / €70.29), not too bad for a tourist location. But maybe I am just adjusting to the sticker shock from when we arrived!
Battlefield Las Vegas
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| Battlefield, Las Vegas |
Two of our crew love hunting and fishing and guns of many varieties. In New Zealand we have strict gun laws and restrictions on the types of firearms you can own or even shoot in a range. There were several combo style deals for the shooting range.
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| Humvee from Battlefield Las Vegas |
They will pick you up from your motel in a Humvee to take you to the indoor shooting range, not far from the strip. There is also a museum on site which you can look around included in your price. The options are endless depending on what you are interested in, so probably best to check out their website for yourself. All the photos are links to the Battlefield Las Vegas website.
Getting Married in Las Vegas
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| Graceland Wedding Chapel, Las Vegas |
We did do something else while we were in Las Vegas, we got married! This did take up a bit of our time but not all that much. It is a very straightforward process,
- Book your Chapel - Graceland Wedding Chapel was great. Elvis is tall, sings beautifully and has his own real hair! The chapel is cute and it is where many famous people have tied the knot, including Elvis. The limo pick up is part of the deal too which is awesome.
- Take your ID to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau to get your license, we did this the day before.
- Take the envelope with all the paperwork to the chapel, and get married.
- Done! The paperwork will be completed by the chapel and you marriage certificate will arrive at your home address.
This was a great experience and we laughed so much!
Total Costs
We did not do any grocery shopping as there were no facilities to cook or make anything. We did have a few left overs from road trip from Bryce National park to finish while we were there. We did buy snacks from small convenience style stores but I have counted them as part of eating out. Rental car is 3 days of a 14 day rental. Wedding costs are not included. Miscellaneous includes parking and Las Vegas Hoodies.
We travelled to Las Vegas in December 2024, so costs are from that time.