Every once in a while, we make our way to Vegas. It’s not our favorite destination by any means, but you can’t deny that there’s an allure and that there are a lot of things to do on and around the Strip.

There’s so much to do indeed, that we had to skip some things on our original itinerary. Most people associate Las Vegas with gambling, but that’s not us. We go there for shows, food, city visuals, concerts, golf, and skiing. And to top if off, we ended up staying at three different resorts.

One thing though…damn restaurants got expensive!! Vegas used to be like one of our least expensive destinations, both in terms of hotels and restaurants. But I guess inflation has hit Vegas too, because our restaurant bills sure were high. Hotels are still relatively reasonable though.

The resorts we stayed at…

Signature at MGM

Last time we were in Vegas, we stayed at the MGM Grand. Signature if connected, but way different. Signature are time shares only, and there is no casino. There’s a long walkway down to the MGM Grand casino, and that is pretty much the way you would talk to the Strip as well. You can walk out the front door and take a side street over to the Strip, but it doesn’t feel very safe to me, specially at night. So most people take the route through the MGM Grand casino, which is the way I’m sure the management prefer that you take. It’s all about keeping inside the casino.

The room we had at the Signature MGM was pretty nice. It wasn’t outstanding, but it was clean and spacious. It had a small kitchenette, which is useful. We ended up eating breakfast in the room every day. Otherwise, there’s a Starbucks in the lobby (only open for breakfast). There’s also a bar in the lobby, if you feel that you need a drink close to your room. Looks like a nice bar, but I didn’t try it, and it was very empty every time I walked by.

There’s no self parking at the Signature, but the valet parking is free if it’s included in your room. If not, there’s a parking fee just like a lot of the other resorts near the Strip. We ended up tipping them every day we took the car out though, so not totally free.

Virgin Hotels Hotels

The Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas used to be a Hard Rock Hotel up until 2021, when it closed for renovations and opened up as Virgin Hotels. Despite the fact that I like rock and never visited the Hard Rock Hotel, I have to say they did a great job with the renovations. It’s very fresh, clean, and warmly colored. Its theme blends in with the desert that surrounds Las Vegas. That said, I found two areas that I believe are remnants of Hard Rock Hotel….the restrooms near the parking garage and also the elevators in the garage. They two areas still have the feel of hard rock!

Mandalay Bay

The last resort we stayed at before departing Las Vegas, was Mandalay Bay at the south end of the strip. I would say it’s one of the better known hotels in Vegas, and they do deserve having some great features, such as the pool area that has a “sand beach” and wave machine, to make it feel like you’re not in the desert, but at an ocean beach. we visited that pool beach, but it was way too crowded for my taste, so we mostly stayed away.

To be honest, we didn’t spend much time at Mandalay Bay other than sleeping and checking out some things. The only place we ate at was the food court, which was decent. Otherwise, we mostly hung out in the shopping area jetting over towards the Luxor Hotel across the street. If you like walking, like us, the very south location of the Mandalay Bay is not that bad. It doesn’t take too long of a walk to reach the more central parts of the Strip.

We liked our room at the Mandalay. It was spacious and comfortable, although our bathroom door wouldn’t stay open (good thing I travel with a doorstop). Elevators were fast. I loved that in the conference area, that they had water bottle refilling stations. However, if there was one downside to this resort, it was finding your way to the parking garage. I don’t know how many times we got lost. As with all large resorts in Vegas, they make it really difficult to leave.

Until next time!