Viva Las Vegas, Indeed
Jul. 24th, 2011 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serindeThere is much to say about this little swath of desert that has had its fantastic, luxurious habitat pastede on yay. Others have said most of it, so here's a laundry-list of impressions.
The Bellagio is huge, stately, and one of the more expensive hotels (excuse me, resorts) on the Strip. Its appearance inside and out would appear to uphold this reputation, but on the whole I could have done with more real luxury and less veneer to impress the punters. E.g.:
- You are nickel-and-dimed to death on everything.
- Although there is a lovely large pool complex, there is no place in the room to hang up your friggin' swimsuit.
- ...also, the pool closes at 8pm.
- Various fixtures around our room needed repair; the sink tap leaked, two lights didn't work at all, a drawer handle was loose, several of the escalators to the Strip were out of service the whole length of the stay, etc.
- The soundproofing was terrible.
- ...and there was a workman banging nails into the wall nearby before 7am. Enough to wake me up, and I'm not prone to that sort of disturbance. When I called the front desk to say "please make it stop", I was told, quote, "It's not going to stop. We are renovating and it's a 24-7 operation". After about three sentences of being talked down to there was an offhand, perfunctory apology-for-the-inconvenience. Riiiiight.
- The hotel has about ten very high-end restaurants (complete with celebrity chefs) which charge prices that made me stretch my eyes; I who have dined at Nobu and Bouley and Montrachet. Which I don't have a problem with, you are on vacation after all; but even the "standard" (low-end) places in house were charging sums that would still be a pricey dinner in NYC.
- Also. $3.50 for weak coffee at the "snack bar". No.
- ...and there was no coffee pot in the room, but further reading suggests that this is rather common on the Strip, so I shouldn't mark Big B down for it. Still. I ACTUALLY PACKED MY OWN COFFEE THIS TIME.
These are, by and large, nitpicks. I would be completely indifferent to them if I was staying at, I don't know, a Courtyard by Marriott or something. But at the Bellagio? at the prices I know they charge? You're paying for a luxurious experience and I rather feel that's what you should get. (In spite of the fact that I'm not footing the bill on this trip.) If it so happens that I ever come back to Vegas, I would definitely stay elsewhere.
The fountains are indeed marvellous, however.
We spent much of our days wandering through the other hotels (of which I have taken an infinite number of pictures). There's the obvious differences in theme, of course, but equally fascinating are the different vibes / markets aimed at...which may or may not seem incongruous with said theme. Excalibur looks like a kid's castle play set, but it's clearly aiming for the trashier, frat-tastic demographic. Treasure Island is trying to downplay the pirates thing and replace it with bQQbies. Monte Carlo looks as if it was built to be high-end, but based on the stores inside they're trying for the middlin' market. And then there's the newest places like Aria and Cosmopolitan, which are eschewing themes at all other than "sleek and modernistic".
I was surprised at how many older, skeevier-looking places are still interspersed with the mondo huge resorts. I'd just assumed they'd all been bulldozed in, but not so. Some have been borged by them--e.g., O'Shea's, at which outside bar I left my camera, is actually owned by the Flamingo next door; but you wouldn't know unless you happened to go on a merry backstage quest with a security guy to the Place of Lost And Found which leads you into the guts of the Flamingo--but I think some are still independent.
The tourist demographics taken as a whole are fascinating to watch. For one thing, there is a higher proportion here of foreign tourists than I think I've seen anywhere in the US, including Disney. I'd no idea that Las Vegas was such a destination; but then, I am here tagging along behind an elderly British couple, so perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised? Beyond that, there are the clusters, which can be roughly divided into:
a) Couples
b) Bachelorette parties, and/or groups of girls having A Weekend Out
c) Bachelor parties, and/or groups of guys having A Weekend Out
d) Families. I don't get why.
Category b) are dressed to the nines, sometimes inappropriately, and sometimes do not know how to be walking on those 4" heels. c) are either dressed down, or are in their unbuttoned oxford shirts (and possibly will eat the gyro of shame later). Neither one is congruous with their surroundings, for the most part.
This is not a cocktail society. Nearly everything is a stupidtini with flavored vodka. Save your effort and just get cheap frozen daiquiris. Though I made a connection with a bartender, who used to live on 79th and Amsterdam, and I said "here, do me a solid. Make this French 75 you have here on your menu, but give it to me in a champagne flute not a wine glass, and DON'T PUT ICE IN IT." We got on famously. I do not blame him for his employer's weird-ass ideas of what a drink looks like as long as he'll fix it my way on request.
Coffee is weak like most of the US. But there are Starbucks in many of the hotels (though not ours), so you can get something that doesn't taste like brown crayon. Exception: the French bistro in Paris Las Vegas had nice strong coffee.
The Grand Canyon is everything it says on the box. You get a hell of a view flying in by helicopter, I can tell you. I would like to go visit on foot at some point, though. And Lake Mead looks incredibly inviting when it is 115 fucking degrees.
So even when it's well over 100, you jump in the pool, and you're cold when you get out because the wind is usually so strong. Then there's a period of an hour or so where you're staying cool through evaporation (unless you're in direct sunlight, in which case you fry in about 15 minutes). Then it's suddenly too hot to breathe and you jump back in the pool and start all over again. But what really drives you back inside? You get so dried out from the 11% humidity that you feel like your skin is cracking...even when it's still wet from the pool. Terribly odd feeling, this.
We have not visited Fremont St. and the old downtown. Could have today, but opted for a lazy day instead. That's okay.
I have not gambled yet. The games seem to fall into two categories: "for suckers" and "for big-time suckers". Tonight I may try Bond's method on the roulette wheel (back two of 1-12, 13-24, 25-36; they pay 2:1) or I may not. Do you know, the baccarat they play here, you do not get to choose whether to draw another card or not? What bullshit is this?
It's been a really fascinating and fun vacation, but I think I'm ready to come home and get back to my modest city mouse ways.
The Bellagio is huge, stately, and one of the more expensive hotels (excuse me, resorts) on the Strip. Its appearance inside and out would appear to uphold this reputation, but on the whole I could have done with more real luxury and less veneer to impress the punters. E.g.:
- You are nickel-and-dimed to death on everything.
- Although there is a lovely large pool complex, there is no place in the room to hang up your friggin' swimsuit.
- ...also, the pool closes at 8pm.
- Various fixtures around our room needed repair; the sink tap leaked, two lights didn't work at all, a drawer handle was loose, several of the escalators to the Strip were out of service the whole length of the stay, etc.
- The soundproofing was terrible.
- ...and there was a workman banging nails into the wall nearby before 7am. Enough to wake me up, and I'm not prone to that sort of disturbance. When I called the front desk to say "please make it stop", I was told, quote, "It's not going to stop. We are renovating and it's a 24-7 operation". After about three sentences of being talked down to there was an offhand, perfunctory apology-for-the-inconvenience. Riiiiight.
- The hotel has about ten very high-end restaurants (complete with celebrity chefs) which charge prices that made me stretch my eyes; I who have dined at Nobu and Bouley and Montrachet. Which I don't have a problem with, you are on vacation after all; but even the "standard" (low-end) places in house were charging sums that would still be a pricey dinner in NYC.
- Also. $3.50 for weak coffee at the "snack bar". No.
- ...and there was no coffee pot in the room, but further reading suggests that this is rather common on the Strip, so I shouldn't mark Big B down for it. Still. I ACTUALLY PACKED MY OWN COFFEE THIS TIME.
These are, by and large, nitpicks. I would be completely indifferent to them if I was staying at, I don't know, a Courtyard by Marriott or something. But at the Bellagio? at the prices I know they charge? You're paying for a luxurious experience and I rather feel that's what you should get. (In spite of the fact that I'm not footing the bill on this trip.) If it so happens that I ever come back to Vegas, I would definitely stay elsewhere.
The fountains are indeed marvellous, however.
We spent much of our days wandering through the other hotels (of which I have taken an infinite number of pictures). There's the obvious differences in theme, of course, but equally fascinating are the different vibes / markets aimed at...which may or may not seem incongruous with said theme. Excalibur looks like a kid's castle play set, but it's clearly aiming for the trashier, frat-tastic demographic. Treasure Island is trying to downplay the pirates thing and replace it with bQQbies. Monte Carlo looks as if it was built to be high-end, but based on the stores inside they're trying for the middlin' market. And then there's the newest places like Aria and Cosmopolitan, which are eschewing themes at all other than "sleek and modernistic".
I was surprised at how many older, skeevier-looking places are still interspersed with the mondo huge resorts. I'd just assumed they'd all been bulldozed in, but not so. Some have been borged by them--e.g., O'Shea's, at which outside bar I left my camera, is actually owned by the Flamingo next door; but you wouldn't know unless you happened to go on a merry backstage quest with a security guy to the Place of Lost And Found which leads you into the guts of the Flamingo--but I think some are still independent.
The tourist demographics taken as a whole are fascinating to watch. For one thing, there is a higher proportion here of foreign tourists than I think I've seen anywhere in the US, including Disney. I'd no idea that Las Vegas was such a destination; but then, I am here tagging along behind an elderly British couple, so perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised? Beyond that, there are the clusters, which can be roughly divided into:
a) Couples
b) Bachelorette parties, and/or groups of girls having A Weekend Out
c) Bachelor parties, and/or groups of guys having A Weekend Out
d) Families. I don't get why.
Category b) are dressed to the nines, sometimes inappropriately, and sometimes do not know how to be walking on those 4" heels. c) are either dressed down, or are in their unbuttoned oxford shirts (and possibly will eat the gyro of shame later). Neither one is congruous with their surroundings, for the most part.
This is not a cocktail society. Nearly everything is a stupidtini with flavored vodka. Save your effort and just get cheap frozen daiquiris. Though I made a connection with a bartender, who used to live on 79th and Amsterdam, and I said "here, do me a solid. Make this French 75 you have here on your menu, but give it to me in a champagne flute not a wine glass, and DON'T PUT ICE IN IT." We got on famously. I do not blame him for his employer's weird-ass ideas of what a drink looks like as long as he'll fix it my way on request.
Coffee is weak like most of the US. But there are Starbucks in many of the hotels (though not ours), so you can get something that doesn't taste like brown crayon. Exception: the French bistro in Paris Las Vegas had nice strong coffee.
The Grand Canyon is everything it says on the box. You get a hell of a view flying in by helicopter, I can tell you. I would like to go visit on foot at some point, though. And Lake Mead looks incredibly inviting when it is 115 fucking degrees.
So even when it's well over 100, you jump in the pool, and you're cold when you get out because the wind is usually so strong. Then there's a period of an hour or so where you're staying cool through evaporation (unless you're in direct sunlight, in which case you fry in about 15 minutes). Then it's suddenly too hot to breathe and you jump back in the pool and start all over again. But what really drives you back inside? You get so dried out from the 11% humidity that you feel like your skin is cracking...even when it's still wet from the pool. Terribly odd feeling, this.
We have not visited Fremont St. and the old downtown. Could have today, but opted for a lazy day instead. That's okay.
I have not gambled yet. The games seem to fall into two categories: "for suckers" and "for big-time suckers". Tonight I may try Bond's method on the roulette wheel (back two of 1-12, 13-24, 25-36; they pay 2:1) or I may not. Do you know, the baccarat they play here, you do not get to choose whether to draw another card or not? What bullshit is this?
It's been a really fascinating and fun vacation, but I think I'm ready to come home and get back to my modest city mouse ways.
