Julie was in Las Vegas in April 2010 and toured 10 hotel/resorts, plus saw several shows. Here are a few things she learned this time around in Vegas...
Planet Hollywood has joined Harrah's Entertainment- this is great news! Harrah's pretty much owns the entire east side of the Strip now. But Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin) has been remodeled and redesigned to be fresh, new and vibrant. Not only do they have the Miracle Mile Shops, but they just opened the new PH Towers, a hotel in it's own right connected to the shops and casino. And, yes....your Total Rewards cards work already- I checked it out! Here are some of the rooms in the PH Towers.
A suite in the PH Towers. See the world through rose colored glass...literally!
View from a corner suite at PH Towers. Great view of the new City Center from PH Towers.
A great family resort about 20 minutes from the Strip is Red Rock Resort and Casino. It does have a casino for the adults, but it also has a 16 theater cinema, a 72 lane bowling alley, a food court besides restaurants, a night club, a spa and hiking trails in Red Rock Canyon. It also has a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport and the Strip. It's a good choice for a short family vacation when the airfare to Vegas is good.
Room with two queen size beds. View from the room of the pool area at Red Rock Resort.
Down at poolside at Red Rock Resort. The bowling lanes at Red Rock Resort.
Another new activity I tried was a helicopter ride over the Strip by Maverick Aviation. It was about a 12 minute ride in a pretty cool helicopter. They specialize in Grand Canyon tours and they take a video of your trip for you to purchase afterwards. It works good because everyone can watch in real time and not worry about missing anything while trying to take photos.
As you can see, my photos didn't turn out that good, so you may want to purchase the DVD, but you still get a great idea of how spread out Vegas is now!
We saw two Cirque Du Soleil shows, "La Reve" at the Wynn and "Ka" at the MGM Grand. Both shows were amazing, stunning, fantastic.... all those adjectives that get over used but fit these shows. "La Reve" is overhead flying, water diving and dancing below, with some fire and great music. "Ka" is martial arts, dancing and swinging on an unbelievable stage that transforms right before your eyes- with drums beating and music that makes your heart race. If you do get the chance to see either of these shows- DO IT!
The City Center is impressive in size and scope. There is a monorail that travels from the Monte Carlo to Aria (in the City Center) to the Bellagio. You can walk between them as well. Aria, Vadara and Mandarin Oriental are the hotels in the City Center. The other buildings are condos.... got cash?
Just in front of the Aria, looking up. Inside Aria...it's all about the size.... Outside Aria & Vdara is a sculpture of canoes...