Ben and I are not gamblers and it is not the reason we enjoy going to Las Vegas. Many people don't understand that Las Vegas is so much more than casinos and gambling. Las Vegas has fabulous food with many celebrity restaurants, great shows, exhibits and the hotels are huge beautiful resorts and priced much lower than you would find anywhere else.
So we decided to stay at the Four Seasons which is a non-smoking, non-casino hotel on the south end of the Las Vegas strip. We booked a strip view room which looked awesome on the website. We planned on seeing a Cirque du Soleil show and we both wanted to eat at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill since we are huge Food Network fans. Other than that, we were just going to see where Vegas took us!
We had an uneventful flight from DFW on AA. We landed in Vegas before 8:00 am and found our way through the airport to catch the Gray Lines shuttle. Although the shuttle ended up working just fine, we wouldn't do it again. We know now that it's better to take a cab or even better, have a limo waiting for you!
Our plan was to drop off our bags and then head to eat breakfast. But when we got to the hotel, to my surprise we were able to check in right away at 8:30 a.m.! We were greeted right away and walked into the lobby to head to the check-in desk where there were 3 clerks waiting there. (When I saw the other hotels where the check-in desks seemed to stretch for miles, I found this really funny.)
We get to our room and head straight to the windows to see the view.
It looked better at night but it was hard to take a picture of it. I thought the picture on the website looked a lot better.
Some pictures of our room. We loved our room and the bed was one of the most comfortable I have ever slept in.
We went down to explore the hotel a little.
The pool area was awesome and is thought to be one of the best pools in Vegas. We agreed and spent every morning at the pool.
We had the Four Seasons house car take us to breakfast the Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. We thought the Cosmo looked very cool and almost wished we had stayed there.
We enjoyed our breakfast but decided right then that we aren't buffet fans and haven't eaten at one since. The desserts were really good though.
So we wandered around a bit but on a Thursday morning, the casino was a bit dead. I decided this would be a good time to try our hand at some slots. So we stuck a $20 bill in some random machine, only to see it disappear in the blink of an eye. We cashed out with $.10. I think we might be the worst gamblers ever!
We wandered next door to the Bellagio to see the famous conservatory. I loved it and thought the Bellagio big and beautiful, although crowded since everyone wants to see the famous fountains and conservatory.
We made our way back down the strip and picked up our Cirque du Soleil tickets. Back at the Four Seasons, we took naps and showered and then went down to Verandah for Happy Hour. We had some great $5 cocktails and appetizers. With no dinner plans we decided to just wander around and see what happened. We threw some more money at slots, had a drink at Aurora at Luxor, and a slice of pizza at NYNY before calling it a night.
The next morning, Ben woke up at 7:30 and announced it was time to get up. I needed a bit longer so he went and worked out at the gym. We needed some things from CVS which I thought was not too far away and since it was so nice outside, why not walk. Well 20+ minutes we finally made it--everything in Vegas looks so much closer than it really is!
We decided to go to the pool so we went down around 11:00 am and picked 2 shady secluded chairs by the hot tub. The pool staff got us all settled and I ordered my first of many Valley of Fires -- which is a pina colada with strawberry puree. Delish. We relaxed and enjoyed the pool and hot tub and as I was lying there all I could think of was I would much rather be doing this than spending time in a dark casino throwing my money away!
The service at the pool was great with very attentive waitresses and the staff coming by from time to time with frozen Snickers, ice pops, and Evian spritzers.
We shared some pool nachos for lunch but the shade ran out about 1:30 so we paid our $50 tab and went up to our rooms to shower, nap and get ready for our dinner at Mesa Grill.
We each ordered an appetizer and when it arrived, I immediately knew we were in trouble--both apps were huge and we could have easily shared them. I liked mine, the black bean and smoked chicken quesadilla and Ben loved his, the smoked chicken tacos.
Then our entrees--a filet for Ben, the pork tenderloin for me. We also ordered a side of the creamiest mashed potatoes ever. Everything was cooked perfectly, the quality was excellent and everything was wonderful. I could hardly make a dent in mine though with 2 of the 3 pork medallions still on my plate and me stuffed. Ben started conspiring on how we could possibly get my leftovers back to the hotel. The waiter came over and practically insisted that we find a way to take it, saying he would wrap it up in foil and I could stuff it in my purse. I grabbed my dainty black handbag and held it up and said, "In THIS?" Ben then said he'd just stuff them in his pockets. So that is what we did and he carried my pork around all night until we got back to the Four Seasons. He ate the pork cold the next morning for breakfast and declared it delicious.
I took some pictures of the famous Caesar's Palace
I wanted to go have a drink at the famous Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan. On our way, we
stopped at the Bellagio to see a fountain show. We got there as one was ending so we got a spot and waited for the next one to begin. Neither of us had seen a show on our first trip. I loved it and fell in love with the Bellagio and the fountains right then.
Over to the Chandelier Bar we went and had a drink. I really wanted the S'mores martini I had read about on Trip Advisor but they didn't have it so I just got a regular chocolate martini which was yummy. We sat and people watched until we were ready to go.
We slept until almost 10:00 the next morning. We got ready and went to the gym for a quick workout then headed straight to the pool. Settled in at our same chairs, had several Valleys of Fire and split a delicious burger with parmesan truffle fries for lunch. We enjoyed the same great service and stayed until the shade ran out at 2:00 pm. After naps/showers, we decided to hit the Four Seasons happy hour again for cocktails and apps to hold us over until our late dinner after our show.
We had tickets for Zumanity sitting front row on the "duo sofas." The Four Seasons house car was available so we got to ride to NYNY in style, which was great since this was the one night I dared to wear heels. We really enjoyed the show and while it was a little risqué there was nothing about it that made me uncomfortable and it still ranks as one of my favorite Cirque shows.
After the show, we made our way back to Mandalay Bay for dinner at a tapas restaurant, Fleur, which I had read about on Trip Advisor. I had wanted it to be great but it wasn't. It was a fusion of cuisine, but none of it was very good. This still ranks as the only disappointing meal I've had in Las Vegas.
Sunday was our last full day and on the itinerary was the brunch buffet at Verandah at the Four Seasons and the pool. We were up at 8:00 am and took care of some packing, arranging for our transfer the next day, etc. We got down to Verandah around 9:30 and asked for a table on the patio. We waited about 5 minutes and were led to a lovely table with cushioned loveseats for chairs. The waiter suggested we have the juice of the day which was the most delicious juice ever. Everything we had was really good, from the eggs to the sausage to the best hash browns I’ve ever had to the homemade-right-in-front-of-you donuts. We could have sat out there all day!
We got to the pool at 10:30 and by now the pool staff knew right where to put us! We enjoyed our last day at the pool and hot tub, had our drinks, and at one point moved to the pool bar to watch our Dallas Cowboys lose to Detroit and left around 3:30.
In our hotel were two bars with great views of the strip, Mix and the Foundation Room. Since it was a Sunday night, I figured the lounges would be kind of slow and it would be easy for us to get in since we are not fans of crowded clubs or waiting behind a velvet rope.
We went up to Mix which has an outdoor patio. Unfortunately, it was closed for a private event so that was disappointing. I had to take a picture from inside, bummer.
So we went over to the Foundation Room but discovered you have to be "members" to get in. So we asked politely if we could go in anyway since it's 6:00 p.m. and the place is dead anyway. The hostess agreed so we went in and saw that it was more of our kind of place--very swanky with comfortable seating and a great outdoor patio with a great view of the strip. So we spent our last evening out there having cocktails and bar food and watching the strip light up.
Our first trip to Vegas together was a great success! As it turned out, this would be the first of many more to come!
