In 2014 my family had the opportunity to visit Las Vegas. It’s one of the most unique cities in the world and really cool to visit. While Vegas is not exactly known for the best reasons, you can visit without participating in everything it’s become known for, and it’s one of my favorite cities in the US. I actually returned in August this year after my week-long road trip across Utah because I was flying out from McCarran Airport. Since I only had half a day there, one of my main priorities was to retake many pictures from my first visit, as none of them really turned out that great. My other goal was to visit a few places I missed the first time that I’ve been wanting to see ever since. The timing was also interesting because I got to witness how Las Vegas is handling Covid, and I’ll share some of that too. I was definitely curious to see how the city would tackle Covid as most places known for tourism are struggling this year.
Driving into Vegas from Hurricane, Utah, my plan was to revisit the Hoover Dam before doing anything else. I went about 30 minutes out of my way to get to Boulder City where the dam is located, but once I got there I saw that it was closed due to Covid. This was very disappointing and really didn’t make sense to me. It’s all outside, and social distancing would be easy to enforce. It’s a property of the National Park Service, included in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and could easily be opened with a mask mandate for extra caution. But I eventually got over it and turned around to head back to the Strip.
I drove to The Venetian first for several reasons. First of all, it offers free parking for guests and is one of the only places in Vegas where you can still find that. But second, I had more sentimental reasons for going there first as that’s where my family stayed back in 2014. As I came walking into the casino from the parking garage, I passed by a thermal temperature scanner to make sure I didn’t have a fever. It was very efficient in keeping those with high temperatures from coming in without making anyone stop or slow down on their way in. From there, masks were required everywhere inside the building. The Venetian is one of my favorite casinos in Vegas. The inside is designed to look as if you’re walking along the canals of Venice. They did a really good job creating the Venetian atmosphere, complete with realistic blue skies and gondola rides through the canals. (And of course the singing gondoliers were wearing masks 😷).
After stopping for some pictures, I continued into the Palazzo which is connected to the Venetian. The Palazzo is actually the tallest building in Nevada currently and has an Italian Renaissance theme. The casino seemed empty compared to my last visit, but it had nothing to do with Covid. I was there early in the morning while most tourists were asleep from partying the night before. I was able to remove my mask once leaving the casino which I was relieved about because of the extreme heat advisory in place. Temperatures were soaring into the 110s, and the design of the Strip creates a wind tunnel-like effect that makes it feel like a giant blow dryer all the time. As I started walking the Strip, I noticed a homeless man relaxing in the fountain in front of the Venetian. While I was impressed with Vegas’s ability to safely stay open during a pandemic, I was not impressed with the homelessness throughout the city. But it makes sense that homelessness would be an issue in a city like Vegas.
From there, I headed across the street to Caesars Palace, my favorite casino in Vegas. Caesars Palace has an Ancient Roman theme, and the entire casino is very well-designed. Walking into the Forum Shops has almost a dreamlike feel to it. There are tall Roman statues and a dark blue sky mixing together the history and fantasy surrounding ancient Rome. I walked throughout the entire casino before coming out front to see Caesar wearing a mask too.
From there, I headed into the Bellagio. Bellagio is another Italian-themed casino (4th in a row) which is themed after the town of Bellagio on Lake Como. I loved the classical theme of the casino here and thought it worked well. One of the main attractions inside Bellagio is the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens which had an Asian theme while I was there.
After leaving Bellagio, I walked through Cosmopolitan and Aria which both have a metropolitan theme. They’re both very nice luxury hotels. Aria is most known for their large digital sign out front.
New York-New York was next. I like this casino better than the actual New York after visiting both twice. The inside of New York-New York makes you feel like you’re in the middle of the city with high-rise buildings along the walls, reaching up to the tall ceilings. If you’re looking for a casino to spend time in while also escaping the cigarette smells, this is where to go because of the high ceilings. One of the coolest things about this casino is the roller coaster. I didn’t ride it on this visit, but I did back in 2014, and I really enjoyed it! Leaving New York-New York, I noticed that the Statue of Liberty was also wearing a mask.
From there I headed to Excalibur, the medieval-themed casino. If you’re looking for a good deal on a room in Vegas, this is likely the one you’ll look at because it’s cheaper than the rest while still being a nice Vegas casino.
From Excalibur, there is a walkway to Luxor, which is obviously themed after Luxor, Egypt. This is one that I missed back in 2014 and have wanted to visit ever since. The entire building is shaped like a pyramid, and a strong beam of light shines into the sky every night. Once inside, the Egyptian theme is done well without being too cheesy. I liked the upstairs portion of the casino where there’s an obelisk in the middle.
The walkway continues from Luxor to Mandalay Bay. While the name suggests either a Burmese or Asian theme, it’s actually said to have a tropical theme instead. I didn’t really notice a tropical theme while I was there, though it was still nice.
From there I headed back to Bellagio for the famous Fountains of Bellagio show they have several times a day. I really enjoyed it. The entire show is synchronized to music, and every part of it was done perfectly. It’s the best fountain show I’ve ever seen! But as soon as the show ended, a homeless man ran up to the edge and just cannonballed himself into the fountain in front of everyone. 😱
I walked through a few more casinos as I headed back to the Venetian. To name a few, I went through Paris, Flamingo, and the Linq. And once I returned to my car parked at the Venetian, I drove down to the Vegas sign for a picture there. (If you plan to visit the sign, expect to wait in line behind a group of 12 or so college girls that each have to have an entire photoshoot in front of the sign).
My last stop was another place I missed on my last visit but wanted to see this time, Fremont Street. Fremont Street is known as the original Vegas Strip. Iconic casinos like the Golden Nugget and Fremont Casino are found here, along with the old Vegas Vic Sign seen in a lot of movies. There is a light show over the street which makes it very unique. There are also street performers set up all along this road. Another option here is a zipline ride over the street, but I didn’t do it.
Overall I really enjoyed my time in Vegas. I like how they found a way to stay open during Covid-19 while many sites around the world that rely on tourism have closed. This is really important to Vegas as a whole because MGM Resorts is the largest employer in the state of Nevada. After the shooting in 2017, Vegas came together to get through a difficult situation with the slogan #VegasStrong, and they have seemed to come together again during this pandemic in order to continue moving forward without having to shut everything down. Everywhere I went, there was someone opening doors for me or cleaning escalator rails before I got on. They are really doing everything they can to make visitors feel safe, and whether or not you’re afraid of Covid or agree with some of the rules in place, it’s impressive how much they’re committed to providing a safe vacation experience during this time of uncertainty. They say in Vegas that you’re supposed to play the hand you’re dealt, and that’s exactly what they have done with 2020. While I don’t approve of everything Vegas is known for, I do recommend visiting the city at least once to experience what makes it so special.
Tyler's Travels 