72 hours in Vegas: here you eat, sleep, and drink

I just pimped the cliché for convenience. What happens in Vegas… I tell everyone, dude! On June 6, KLM flew for the very first time with a direct flight to Vegas, and my lucky butt got to go along on invitation. No idea what to expect from Vegas (although the association with The Hangover, marrying Elvis, and gambling was quickly made) I stepped onto the plane semi-blank. Four days later, I arrived back at Schiphol totally brainwashed. Holy lordy, where to start.

Now, Las Vegas is quite a city that you need to learn to understand. There is no city in the world that is so strongly focused on entertaining people as this enormous oasis in the Nevada desert. Even if you don't drink a drop of alcohol and don't like gambling, the city is a sight in itself. It's just... Viva las Vegas. You can't take your eyes off it. Or as they write on the blog lasvegasvoorbeginners.nl (a recommendation to read up on as far as I'm concerned) say: ‘It's all so over the top that it has actually become a kind of caricature of a side of American society that is mainly looking for entertainment, the suppression of reality, the search for freedom, or throwing money around in the most ostentatious way possible.’ Well, why come up with a sentence yourself if you can't phrase it better than this?

Whatever your reason is to go to Vegas: this is a city you want to have seen in your life. It seemed you all wanted that too, because on Instagram I was OVERWHELMED with where to eat/sleep/rave/repeat questions. So, buckle up sweethearts. Here it comes in a nutshell.

Where do you sleep?

– The Venetian Resort (where they literally built Venice with gondolas, lights, ‘o sole mio’ scenes, and clouds in the ceiling. I kid you not.) It's super central on the strip, so at the end of the day, you can just roll back into bed. Oh, and speaking of that bed: heavenly. If you have a slightly larger budget, The Wynn is a recommendation. Also just for a spa day, by the way.

Where do you drink cocktails?

– The APEX Social Club at The Palms (on the 55th floor). Be sure to catch that golden hour.
– The Chandelier Bar. An iconic place in the Cosmopolitan hotel. A gigantic, three-story bar in the middle of a casino that looks like a sparkling chandelier. #IWannaSwingFromTheChandelieeehieeeer.
– Electra Cocktail Club.
– Still in the mood to shake your booty? Ha. Go for it. We went to Marquee Nightclub and let’s just say that Americans love a party. VIP tables, spraying bottles of champagne with fireworks, the whole shebang. Sorry, but part of the whole Vegas experience is crawling home wasted from a club, you get that. These are the most popular in Vegas and their corresponding hotels.

Tryst and XS – Wynn and Encore
Marquee – The Cosmopolitan
Tao and Lavo – The Venetian and Palazzo
The Bank – Bellagio
Pure – Caesar’s Palace
Rain, Playboy and Moon Club – Palms
Haze – Aria
Studio 54 and Tabu – MGM Grand
Voodoo Lounge – Rio

Where do you eat?

Breakfast: Primrose at Park MGM. A cute spot to brunch with friends too.
Lunch: Gordon Ramsay’s HELL’S KITCHEN at Caesars Palace. For the tastiest lobster risotto, beef wellington, and practically eh, everything in your life.
Casual dinner: Carson Kitchen. Urban dining at its best in downtown. A place that is almost always packed and serves seriously original tapas-like recipes. Note: Bacon. Overload. You. Can. Thank. Me. Later.
Fancy lunch or dinner: Spago at the Bellagio resort. You sit on the balcony, by the water at the fountains where a show takes place every fifteen minutes, and I can't remember ever having eaten such delicious seafood in my life. Even if you just go for a glass of wine: you want to go here.

What else is cool to do?

– On the roller coaster at Hotel New York-New York. Just a quick round, because you can.
– A ‘Lip Smacking Foodie tour.’ A super fun concept where you have lunch at four different restaurants by eating a small dish each time and moving on.

– Also: go to Downtown. The arty vibe there is nice and you can take many beautiful photos.
– To the MOB Museum (cultural sniffing at a beautiful location) & the Neon Museum (where really funny signs from old casinos and other businesses are displayed outside on a gigantic terrain.)
– A helicopter tour. Read here again how that went for me.
– If you want to marry Elvis, of course, you hop by the Graceland Wedding Chapel.
– If you're looking for a spectacular acrobatics/burlesque fun show in the evening, then Absinthe at Caesars Palace is a recommendation.

If you have any questions, you can always send me a message at @kikiduren. HAVE FUN IN VEGAS!!