Quiet Las Vegas? I'm not kidding!

If you love to party... but want to be able to "turn it off" at times, there is more to Vegas than the circus-like atmosphere of The Strip. As I wrote about a year ago in my Quieter Side of Las Vegas blog post, there are hotels or sections of hotel complexes where you don't need to wade through throngs of gamblers in a cavernous casinos to get to the elevator to your room. A good example is the new Palazzo Towers at the Venetian. It features a private off-Strip entrance and quiet elegance - still you are just a 5-minute walk to the main attractions of the Venetian. Link back to that post for descriptions of such meccas as THE hotel at Mandalay Bay or the Signature Towers adjacent to the MGM Grand.

On my visit last week, I ventured out to Lake Las Vegas and the incomparable Ritz-Carlton Resort Hotel. This place is magnificent! (What else would you expect from Ritz-Carlton?) The casino is not actually in the hotel, but is adjacent as part of the Italian Village with numerous restaurants and shops. So, you can have the excitement that most go to Las Vegas for - when you want it! And, for a night on The Strip for a major show or just to go for the whole enchilada, you only have a 25 minute drive. I stopped at the Ritz-Carlton for breakfast before playing the incredible Reflection Bay Golf Club. All through my stay in the dining room everybody - even the bus boys - addressed me by name. OK, so that's just very good training. Right? Here 's where they go way beyond training... I walked around the property and the Village including the lakeside stage where Andrea Bochelli performed a couple years ago. Almost an hour later, I came back through the restaurant and again was greeted by name by the hostess. That's cool!

The other Resort Hotel at "the Lake" is Loew's. It's not a bad place but, with the R-C just down the road, don't bother. Very confining since the Reflection Bay golf course wraps around it. There is no comparison! Whatever the price, the Ritz-Carlton is well worth it!

Cheers,

Dick


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Hello from Las Vegas!

This place is ridiculous! My annual sojourn for a technology conference is underway and, as usual, the landscape changes from my last visit are absurd. In just one year, the Wynn Las Vegas has opened a second tower called "Encore", the Trump Hotel & Casino is open, The Venetian has opened a new tower called Palazzo, the second tower at Bellagio is now open as is the 3rd new tower at Caesar's Palace, the massive City Center project (almost 8,000 new rooms) which was just a (huge) hole in the ground 12 months ago is almost half way completed, and the Stardust and Frontier hotels have been bulldozed.

The construction cranes - too numerous to count - have been dubbed Nevada's State Bird!

The ridiculously upscale shops at Caesar's, The Venetian, Planet Hollywood and Bellagio have all been expanded and more are coming. I walked through several of them and, unlike the malls at home, did not spot one single vacancy.

For anybody that worries about our economy, come here for a few days! The place is full with a 94% rooms occupancy - the highest rate in the entire world!

Cheers,

Dick

To comment, please click the "comments" link below, type in your comments then, under “Choose an Identity”, select “Nickname" if you want to leave a name (your name or a ‘blog handle’) or just leave it blank. OR, you can select ‘Anonymous’. I would love to hear from you!