MY USA TRIP – Vegas Baby!

It was with a heavy heart I left lovely Seattle to set off for the bright lights of Las Vegas. The last time I had visited Vegas was as a 10 year old the same year that Charles & Di got married (so now I’ve given my age away). My parents always had the travel bug & took my sister and I to San Francisco, L.A. and Las Vegas. I couldn’t wait to see how much Las Vegas had changed and oh my…it has definitely changed!

On arrival at our hotel, the 5 star Vdara we were welcomed like VIP’s with a cocktail and whisked off to our own VIP check-in area. This was a sign of things to come as we were treated like this during our whole stay, with little gifts left in our suites every evening and the special events & extravagant meals that were put on for us. The Vdara is a beautiful hotel, but one that doesn’t have a casino, so good for the non-smoking community. Even the standard suites are huge and I had a great view down the strip. It’s part of the MGM group which I learned own 13 hotels in Vegas including the Aria, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Mirage, New York New York, Circus Circus, Bellagio, Luxor and the Excaliber as well as the MGM Grand  and Signature MGM.

That evening we had a reception in a private room in the beautiful glassed lobby area with free-flowing drinks, canapes and a very posh buffet. They even had a harpist playing for us. No partying for me as I was just about getting to grips with US time and we had an early start for our conference the following day.

I’m not going to bore you with the details of conference, only to tell you that I learned a lot about where the other 3 groups had stayed before we met up in Vegas (Utah & Salt Lake City, San Diego and the Deep South). All looked to have had almost as good a time as our group did in Seattle. We finished early & managed a couple of hours round the pool before getting ready for our dinner which was to be at the Bellagio.

The VIP treatment continued as we were met in the lobby by 2 beautiful plumed up showgirls and escorted through the walkway that connects the Vdara and the Bellagio. We were taken for drinks & canapes in a lovely area on the Grand Patio then they opened up a beautifully decorated dining area full of fresh flowers and satin-covered furniture & walls. The food was amazing, with personalised desserts on the menu and to top it off they had 2 top notch tribute acts that came out and entertained us during dinner – Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. They were both phenominal.

After several post-dinner drinks we went to watch the fountain show then headed off to Fremont Street to get a feel of old Las Vegas which is more of what I remember from my first trip. I had a little flutter on the roulette table (well..when in Vegas)! I should have quit whilst I was ahead, but alas I lost in the end. and so to bed. Ready to be up to explore the bright lights of Las Vegas as we had the whole day free before more VIP antics  on our last night.

And that was a night to remember which I’ll fill you in on in my next blog. Until next time….