What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas

Recently I went to Vegas with a group of friends. It was the perfect time for us all to let our hair down, party too much, eat and drink too much, gain money, lose money..it’s Vegas after all 😉

Even though my liver hating me, my purse considerably lighter and functioning on a mere 3 hours sleep per night, I had the time of my life.

After a lot of research and planning, (it’s what I do best!) I finally decided on the best place to stay, eat and party:

Stay

We stayed at the Palms Casino Resort. After a lot of umming and ahing since it’s not on the main Strip, it ended up being a great choice. It seemed the place to stay for the young and beautiful, the crowd mostly consisting of party-ready college students. This makes sense as the hotel has a lot of fabulous package deals, the nightly rate won’t break the bank (in comparison to the luxury hotels such as the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay Resort and Caesars Palace) and it’s only an easy 5 minute taxi ride to the happening Strip.

There are 2 great pool areas to lounge in. The first located at Palms Place, where we stayed, is pretty huge with a funky bar in the middle and a VIP area. The pool at the Fantasy Tower next door has a more sophisticated, chic feel. If I stayed here again I’d definitely check out one of the glamarous and unique suites at the Fantasy Tower: Barbie Suite, Kingpin Suite (there’s actually a bowling alley in there, no joke), Erotic Suite (honeymoon anyone?), to name a few.

Kingpin Suite at the Fantasy Tower, Palms Hotel

Eat

We had the most delicious light dinner at the Simon Restaurant within the Fantasy Tower, next door to the pool area on the first night – edamame beans and sushi paired perfectly by cocktails recommended by our very attentive waiter. We all just loved the decor, simple and sophisticated.

On the second night we had dinner at the 1 michelin starred Alize Restaurant at the Palms Place. This was a more luxurious dining experience, one we were glad to have been more dressed up for.

It was just so convenient having so many restaurants to choose from all minutes from our hotel room. There’s also a more relaxed food court on the ground floor, perfect for a cheap and cheerful bite to eat or for late-night munchies after a long night of dancing!

My favourite restaurant by far in Vegas was the 800 ft high and rotating Top of the World. A rooftop, white table-cloth, fine-dining affair. The restaurant rotates gives you stunning 360 views of the dramatic Vegas skyline throughout your meal. All the bright and sparkling lights with wine flowing was enough to keep me happy. Also the occasional sight of a mad bunjy jumper whizzing past our window from the hotels rooftop (bit of a shock at first) made for some excellent dinner entertainment. I decided on the 4 course tasting menu. A delightful combination of Lobster bisque (to die for), crab-cake and a huge steak, giving us sufficient sustenance for the night ahead. See the dinner menu here.

Top of the World restaurant (Photo credit: www.spyonvegas.com)

Party

On our first night we headed to the Palms Moon Nightclub, a ‘sexy, sultry penthouse with a massive, retractable roof!’ Again a pretty spectacular back drop to be partying and dancing to. Although expensive (drinks are not cheap in Vegas) we had drinks flowing and danced non-stop to the Dj until 4am.

Moon nightclub (photo credit: www.jackcolton.com)

There’s an over whelming (in a good way) number of hotel nightclubs to choose from in Vegas, especially as you walk down the strip having club night leaflets being thrust at you left, right and centre. What I love about partying here is the open and welcoming approach to the high-end hotel bars and clubs, unlike NYC or London where a woman with a clipboard will take great pleasure in turning you away at the door for not wearing the right shoes. Yep, this happened to me.

After watching the spectacular Cirque du Soleil show ‘O’ at the Bellagio hotel (a must see!) we headed to the fancy and seductive Bank within the hotel for cocktails, complete with plush, velvet sofas, surrounding cosy little tables glowing in candle light.
Next was the most unique concept for a bar that I just loved! Without being sleazy, at the back of the bar were girls dancing behind a coloured screen, only to reveal there silhouette and seriously sexy dance moves. We all kind of stared in awe while sipping on round 3 of cocktails. I was mentally recording the girls moves in preparation for our next dancing stop, the famous Pure nightclub. Apparently it’s frequented by celebrities but no celeb-spotting for us sadly. We practised our moves on the dance floor all night until close.

Pure nightclub (photo credit: www.london2vegasvip.com

Do/See

There are more shows going on in Vegas than you could possibly squeeze into a few days, however we chose the Cirque du soleil show ‘O’ due to its rave reviews. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to who’s been to Vegas recommended the show. I’m so glad they did as it was amazing. The water theme was very magical and certainly left us scratching our heads as to how they managed to dive in to such a small pool of water at such a great heights, never mind switch the stage settings within a blink of an eye, literally. A very impressive show in true Vegas style.

Cirque du Soleil show ‘O’ (photo credit: www.vegaspartyscenes.com)

We decided to be brave and do all 3 of the heart-pounding rides at the top of the Stratosphere, called Insanity, X-Scream and Big Shot. I’ll admit they were pretty dam scary! One of which the ride (at super high speed) thrusts you over the side of the tower, exposing you to the dazzling city lights and plunging depth beneath you. Just don’t look down! Only in Vegas..

Thrill rides at the top of the Stratosphere (photo credit: www.lasvegas.com)

A long leisurely walk down the strip is a must. We popped in to almost every hotel, and it’s truly like Disneyland for adults as my best friend put it. The Venetian is great fun with singing men in gondolaz, of course the Bellagio with it’s stunning fountain show, the Luxor’s grand interior, the list goes on.