VIVA LAS VEGAS
Our ‘Gold’ conference this year took place over 5 days in Las Vegas in June. I have to say that Las Vegas was never on my wish list, but I thought it was the most fantastic place and I can see why it is so popular with clients of all age groups.
We arrived on a Thursday and were transferred to our hotel in a stretch limousine. The strip was buzzing and we just sat back and enjoyed the view whilst sipping a glass of champagne. We checked into the Encore Hotel – WOW! There were people everywhere – sitting in the bars, eating in the restaurants, trying their luck at the Casino. The place was hopping. We went up to our rooms – absolutely enormous – wall to wall and floor to ceiling window looking down on the Las Vegas strip from the 58th floor. What a view.
We had a wonderful time at the welcome party that night catching up with old friends. The next morning, we were up bright and early in time for the World Cup game England - V- USA. We gathered at the Sports Bar at the Venetian Palazzo Hotel. We were drinking beer at 11am convincing ourselves that it was ok because it was 7pm in the evening at home! The atmosphere was brilliant as we were in the company of almost 100 of our UK Travel Counsellor colleagues nd there were lots of Americans around to keep the banter going.
That night, we headed to the Aria Hotel to see the Cirque du Soleil performance of ‘Viva Elvis’. The singing and dancing were amazing! We were up bright and early on the Sunday morning for our helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon. We headed off by minibus – a rowdy bunch of 10 of us and having passed over the Hoover Dam, we arrived at the ranch where we were due to have lunch and take the long awaited helicopter trip. We were not disappointed. The journey time to the Canyon from the ranch was approx 10 minutes in the helicopter and then we were hovering over the Canyon. What an amazing sight. The helicopter dipped into the Canyon below the rim and we had the most fabulous views. Unfortunately, the trip ended too soon and we headed back to the ranch and from there, took the long drive back to Las Vegas where we were stuck in Sunday afternoon traffic on the Hoover Dam for over an hour. I would strongly recommend clients that if the budget permitted, to book one of the trips from Las Vegas which included either helicopter or small plane direct from Vegas to the Canyon.
That night, it was off to see the show ‘La Reve’ which was on at the Wynn Hotel. This show has to be the best show I have ever seen. It was a water based show and the acrobatics were simply spectacular and it has to be on everybodys wish list.
Our trip was almost over. We spent some time visiting other hotels along the Strip. There were some great entertainment spots but I have to say, I never made it to the night clubs! On the final day, as our flight was not until the evening, I headed off to the Outlet centre to do some shopping for the family back home. There was great value there for the kids – all the usual Nike, Adidas and other sports stores. Hubbie got a full wardrobe from Timberland at a fraction of the prices over here and I treated myself to some nice evening wear at the Mall across the road from the hotel.
I think I was amazed that I loved Las Vegas so much. I expected it to be brash, in your face and totally over the top and in fact it was. However, I really enjoyed the glitz and the glamour and it had so much to offer from fabulous hotels, great shopping, brilliant nightlife and of course, it is the gateway to the Grand Canyon. I will definitely be back!