What happens in Vegas…

Attention: This is a spoiler of the wonders of Las Vegas, NV.

Over three years ago I had to change planes in the Las Vegas airport. Back then I thought  that if I'd ever visit LV I will be horrified by the falseness of the resorts that imitate among others impressive cities of the world – New York, Venice, Paris, etc. And... as life went on..., it came a time when I didn't get to visit the city once, but two times – in October and November 2009. First time I flew to Vegas, second time I drove, and both times I was fascinated by the unexpected appearance. I found myself more and more fascinated, while arriving, with the luminous image that laid in front of my eyes, at sunset – when LV actually wakes up –, and it continued to make me smile as I took my steps out of the plane into the terminal where I was welcomed by slot machines!!!..., on to the streets, shops, hotels, and casinos… This admiration was about to grow with every step, until the moment the plane took off again. So much, that it made me wanna return.

My trip to Vegas couldn't be anything, but some sort of field trip to admire hotels, shops, and the human genius that made this real – tfter all, the greatest pleasures of my life (giving the fact that you cannot speak about culture here…). Therefore, as soon as I arrived at the hotel and checked-in, my friends took me on a convertible Mustang and drove to the Strip (a.k.a. the Las Vegas Blvd.). We stroll down the street while I was fighting with one hand with the inevitable wind [that was blowing my hair away], and with the other with the camera, bubbling with excitement and snapping pictures of those famous hotels I read in books and websites about for so many years... Aaaah, this is the way any arrival in Vegas: drive, especially at night, from one end to the other of the Strip - it is a Show on its own!

All I wanted to see first was the Bellagio fountains' show. So, that's where we stopped. And there, looking over the fountains and over the Las Vegas Blvd. to Paris resort I remained astonished at what human force and especially financial power can do out of nothing. The Paris Las Vegas represents a Eiffel Tower of 20 stories (so, not a perfect replica) built over a building that looks like the Latin Quarter's buildings, next to Palais Elyssée and the Arc de Triumph.

Yes! everything at a replica level, but a very good one! This is what impressed me the most, my aha! moment – the amount of work used for some replicas of some truly amazing masterpieces built in a relatively small space(!) through inside everything seams built at gigantic scales and even more grandiose in the night's lights. Not really the falseness I was expecting, when I was wondering why these people would choose to come here rather than seeing the real Paris.

NOTE: Las Vegas has mainly hotels with a specific theme where everything gravitates around that theme. Plus, all hotels include shopping gallerias and casinos. The later being the local economy engine, while all the other facilities become amenities. The crowd is mixed and anybody, indifferent of the provenience is treated at the highest rank of hospitality. Another amazing thing is the pampering the guests receive here – free parking, free monorail from one resort to another, local bus that runs 24 hours, casinos open 24 hours, malls that are designed to keep you inside forever...

The Las Vegas Blvd. starts with Mandalay Bay. Mandalay in reality is a beautiful place which use to be the last royal capital of Burma. Therefore, all statues in the Mandalay hotel in LV look like Asian dragon-dogs, all entrances seam to be temples, and you can see even waterfalls with luxuriant vegetation in the gardens...  This is also the home of a giant shark reef aquarium ($16.95) and to Disney's Lion King Broadway show. I toured the lobby, passed through the casino, and the shops which form a passage that leads to the next hotel.

Luxor ...was built in an Egyptian style, black shaped pyramid that covers the tallest atrium lobby in the world. In other words, when stepping out of a room guests have the entire lobby at their feet no matter what floor they are staying at. Inside, of course, stand Egyptians columns, tombs keeper dogs, and stone walls that resemble the real pyramids. Details go as far as the door knobs shaped as pyramids. The exit takes you through the Sphinx paws to the suspended monorail stop, which rides to the next hotel. 

Excalibur ... was obviously built as a Medieval Castle and has a knights and ladies type of theme. However, the finished product, with splashy colors and reduced dimensions makes it look more like a Lego job than a trip to the dark ages. I avoided it, as I found it tacky, tasteless and annoying, unfitted for this place. Therefore, I crossed another suspended pedestrian bridge, that helps avoiding traffic on the boulevard, and stopped at the next attraction.

New York, New York ...inspires bad taste at first sight and the strongest feeling that Vegas is fake, raising questions about the people that chose to come here instead of stretching the finance a little bit and visit the real NY or the real Paris or the real Venice... Still the details impressed me – here also, details of NYC go all the way to the door knobs, or souvenirs, or typical food, ethnic influences, just like in the city... Another must of this resort is the newest Cirque du Solei show, Zumanity or the newest club in town, Rok. We kicked it at the Irish pub, which really felt like somewhere else!

From here I crossed the next pedestrian bridge and found myself in front of a long lost love – MGM Grant. This hotel still holds the yardstick in the industry. It is the hotel we learned about in college books, the one I first saw from the skies before I landed in Vegas, and the one that probably was well outperformed by other resorts in Dubai or Macao. The property has over 5000 rooms, is the home of Cirque du Solei shows, the new Studio 54 which copies the one in NY, and even of a lions habitat. It is huge and the services reach impressive levels, as there is even a limos only parking!!

Out on the street, shops and markets are aligned; where by far the most attractive is the M&M's World store who manages to open the door to fantasy. Next hotel worth visiting is Planet Hollywood, mainly because here lays the first decent prices mall – Miracle Mile – spread over a mile of shops, attractive deals, plus a ceiling painting like the sky, and completed with lights and sounds that imitate the out doors (thunder, rain or dusk).

In front of it, just across the Strip there's Bellagio (which is the name of small town in the north of Italy by Lake Como). Bellagio is amazing, and the fountain show is impressive day or night! Inside, the lobby exceeded all expectations and surprised because of the unique ceiling sculpture in the shape of suspended glass flowers by Dale Chihuly. Another attraction of the lobby is the Conservatory, decorated for fall holidays with huge pumpkins, talking trees and unusual flower arrangements (chrysanthemums, wild mint and chilies)...

Turning around I noticed this is where people stopped exploring and taking picture..., but not me! I continued walking by Jean Philippe the chocolate shop, where melted chocolate is displayed on a real life fountain based on communicating vessels principles, awarded in the past with the Guinness World Records.  I kept walking the hallway that circles an interior courtyard with pools, cabanas, gazebos, statues, and fountains all influenced by the Italian style, and all built with raw materials from this same name small town. Along the tall windows with long heavy curtains I found coffee tables and armchairs just ready to have guests sipping warm drinks in winter or refreshing ones in the summer gazing to the grandiose garden.

Walking through the sparkling shopping galleria one crosses into Caesars Palace – a Rome themed hotel. Allot of buildings, a Forum, showrooms, restaurants, casino, shops, long hallways resembling the ones in the greatest world's museums, with pictures of Roman gods like in the Louver, and painted ceilings like in the Vatican take guests into a different mood. At a crossroad there is even a real life replica of the Michelangelo’s statue of David from Florence. But what makes your breath stop is the pool... immensely large, with a massive fountain in the middle of it!! and statues that raise from the water like the fountains of Versailles. Stunning were the lavishing flat sun bathing beds of a queen size dimension lying around the pools. Forget about cabanas!...

The Venetian... lies across the Strip, and as the name announces it depicts an almost ridiculous Venice, Italy theme resort. It is an opulent copy of the main attractions of the lagoon city – piazza San Marco, the gondolas, the channel, the Rialto Bridge and the dodges' palace all together. Stepping in you're amazed by the painted ceilings typical to Italian museum, the columns, or by the Grand Canale Galleria which has a sparkling clean water and a sky-like painted ceiling where you can stroll in a gondola through the indoor channel, along the top designers boutiques.

The hotel lobby is the fair copy of the dodges' palace, transpiring a Louver or Vatican feeling – ceilings' paintings, golden columns, marble on the floors, massive chandeliers, murals... Even the valet parking canopy has Renascence ceiling paintings!

Next is Treasure Island – a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme resort. Amazingly kitschy, the resort is the home of Mystère Cirque du Solei show, as well as the less attractive children inappropriate Sirens of TI – a waste of the front water pool and two massive sailors and pirates' battleships. The only remarkable reuse of the pirates’ ship comes to Christian Audigier's club (designer Ed Hardy's real name) where the club's terrace opens on the ship's deck.

Walking away from ti leads to the Fashion Show Mall, one of the great attractions in LV.  This is the better sister of Ala Moana, just because it has something rare in US – a mix of American and European brands under the same roof.

Where I stop was the Wynn Hotel is an easy one. There is nothing too complicated on this resort. There is a general flow, a freshness, a breath of clean air everywhere. The exterior has a nice oval shape. The white ceiling and floor are completed with gold flowers, and the lobby with fresh flower bowls.

I finished my walk on the Strip at this end. The alternative to a tour bus or a long walk of the Las Vegas Blvd. was recommended by a witty concierge lady as the Deuce - the covered double decker city bus that links the Stratosphere to the outlet malls at the southern end of the city. This bus rides non stop, mainly along the Strip, for a 24hrs pass of $7 and offers a reliable, cheap and comfortable transportation.

Impressions on LV are still fuzzy. I tried to avoid the kitsch and appreciate only the impressionability force and imagination of humans who built a new word out of nothing. Still! the thing that impressed me the most was the level of hospitality of this industry. I heard repeatedly that LV is the place to toughen your skin as a tourism professional, because this place demands everything to the impossible. Thus, absolutely anybody that comes here is treated with the kindness and the respect of a five diamonds resort*. 

* There is no hotels and resorts global standard classification, but in North America AAA offers diamonds to luxury properties, not stars.