Tag: Las Vegas

For anyone interested, which I suspect is very likely nobody, I’ve temporarily ditched the day number of the trip in the post title as I can’t remember what happened on what day in Las Vegas. What I did do early on in my week long stay was to meander down the Strip in the evening and have a little look at what was happening on the LINQ, which is a row of shops and restaurants which usually has something to tempt me.

I was surprised and pleased, as well as being delighted although that’s not rare with food, to see another of my favourite chains has now reached Las Vegas. The delightful mostly Californian chain make excellent burgers, with welcoming customer service to match. This was a busy location, but it seemed ordered and it’s very well reviewed with an average of 4.5 on Google, which is astoundingly good for any fast food restaurant with high footfall.

Very reasonable prices.

And this didn’t disappoint, meaty burgers and suitably salty fries which were crispy on the exterior and fluffy on the interior. The restaurant was at near capacity, but I asked if I could sit at a table where there was just one person and fortunately she was happy with that idea. I didn’t much fancy trying to prop my snack outside somewhere as Las Vegas isn’t exactly packed with seating options. Well, there are lots of seats in casinos, but they’re not keen for people to bring burgers. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had any problems with food at this chain, this was no exception and the dining environment felt inviting and comfortable.

I’m missing Las Vegas again. And indeed the United States. I also accept that there’s more to the country than the food, but it is a strong selling point to me.

I’m conscious that there are likely hundreds of thousands of videos of the Bellagio Fountains, but that hasn’t stopped me adding one more to the pile. I’ve seen this display many times, but I always find it exciting to watch again if I’m walking by and it’s about to start. Incidentally, I also haven’t added an audio backtrack to this video above, I was standing near to one of the speakers. They are really quite something to watch and the free display is consistently one of the best rated attractions in Las Vegas.

And some photos….. There’s a Wikipedia article about the fountains which shows just how complex this operation is.

This relatively small hotel for Las Vegas, albeit large anywhere else, is rather dwarfed by Circus Circus in which it stands in front of. It has the benefit of not having a resort fee and being a cheap location in which to stay. On check-in I was disappointed to hear from the staff member that they needed a $100 deposit in cash, which is the first time I’ve ever encountered that. To be fair, if you looking at the booking e-mail and then clicked on the “go to terms and conditions” it is buried in the middle of that, but it wasn’t made obvious so I was pre-annoyed at the whole arrangement.

However, the staff member was lovely and seemed very apologetic, admitting many other guests had similar issues. It wasn’t an issue insomuch I could walk to Circus Circus and withdraw money from their ATM, but although I don’t pay a charge to my card provider for that (thanks Chase) there was a service fee of a few dollars from the casino. It also meant that the next morning I was stuck with $100 dollars in cash, although I was able to rid myself of that in New Orleans. It was all a bit pointless, they put the $100 in a sealed envelope and then after radioing a housekeeper who checks the room they give it back on check-out. There’s also something odd about standing in reception thinking just how good their staff member is and how annoying the deposit situation is.

Just for reference, this is Circus Circus where I spent a few nights during the week, it’s a bit higher than the Travelodge which is just three floors high. I don’t have a picture with them both in unfortunately…

The room was basic albeit functional and there were a few bits that were falling off, but it was clean. I was happy though since I had entered the room with a Dr Pepper Cream Soda, although I’ve mentioned those several times already…. Most notably the wi-fi didn’t work and I was trying to limit my data usage so I was annoyed again, but the room rate was very cheap and so I didn’t feel the need to complain. Well, I’ve complained on here and to myself, but it was too much hassle to query it then when I could go just go to Circus Circus and use their wi-fi. I was pleased though that the air conditioning made the room freezing cold as that’s how I like it and Las Vegas is too hot in October. I’ve often thought Americans seem to accept a lot with these cheaper hotels, but they won’t accept failing air conditioning and I quite like that approach.

There was also a price list on the door of nearly everything in the room, a passive aggressive way of telling customers to not steal anything. They had thought of just about everything in the room, including the television. I wonder just how many of those have been taken from rooms over the years to justify their entry onto this price list.

My lovely view and I could have hung things on those wires if I had wanted as they were so close. I wonder whether this hotel will be here in a few years as it’s taking up a relatively large footprint and perhaps a developer feels that they could do more with the site.The set-up was motel style and so there was a walkway in front of the rooms and I enjoyed listening to the very odd chat of the people sitting outside on the floor below, they were spending a lot of time talking about their favourite breed of dog. That’s actually my abiding memory of this hotel, the dog chat and the annoying deposit.

On my early visits to Las Vegas I thought that they only offered Budweiser as the free beer in casinos (free other than the tips), but I was pleased to see that there’s actually much more variety if you ask for it. And below is a little sample of what can be ordered, although the choice of course varies in each casino. Unfortunately some are draft pours and it’s not entirely clear what they were, I had to work that out so that I could put them on Untappd….

Two of my favourite soft drinks are perhaps Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda, so I was surprised and delighted to see this being sold in Walgreens. And talk about the nectar of the Gods, this was decadent, rich and quite beautiful. I wonder if there’s a way of turning this flavour into a beer? The company themselves describe this drink as “the symphony of deliciousness”. They’re not wrong.

I had a few more hours before I could check-into Circus Circus where I was staying, but my first problem was that my phone battery wouldn’t survive that long. It’s surprisingly difficult to find somewhere to charge a phone in Las Vegas and so I went back to the airport as they have several high desks with power and wi-fi. It was slightly odd to have taken the bus from the airport to the city before going back after a trip to some casinos and White Castle, but much about my life isn’t very logical.

When I got back from the airport dawn had broken and I got off the bus outside the Strat, a hotel where I’ve stayed before (and would stay again on this trip). It’s a subtle little building, visible in the rear of this photo.

It was still early morning, but people were milling about, although there wasn’t much traffic on the roads.

Oops…. I don’t much like McDonald’s breakfast and would rather they ditched it from the menu (perhaps replacing it with something more chicken strips related), but they had a cheap offer on two sausage McMuffins, so I forced myself to eat them. Along with eight free refills of Fanta, which is a lovely bright orange colour in the United States.

Inflation has taken its toll judging by the past offers that have been crossed out on the signage.

My room at Circus Circus, where I’ve stayed before as well, was cheap and so I headed there to amuse myself for a couple of hours before I could actually get in it.

It’s unlikely to be a surprise to anyone that the theme of Circus Circus is, well, circus things. Clever branding there.

It’s all a bit dated and is situated at the far end of the Strip, so it tends to be one of the cheaper accommodation options. It’s also one of the few casinos which has made an effort to appeal to families, although I question just how exciting a trip to Las Vegas is with young children.

There are meant to be live performances here, but I didn’t see any actually taking place.

Wooo! I started with $1 and left with $2, that was suitably agreeable. At midday I went to reception to ask what time check-in was available from and the helpful receptionist told me that free early check-in began at 14:00. The staff member was personable and keen to assist, and she processed all the paperwork bits immediately and told me to collect my key from her a little later, which I did after a little sit down in the food court of the casino. This travel isn’t all glamorous it has to be said, but I remember the entire night with some fondness as there’s something different about a late night White Castle and casino trip. You don’t get that on a day trip to Fakenham.