Hello Friends! long time no chat. Life, love and social have been crazy lately so I took a little break to gather my thoughts but now I’m back, refreshed and ready to go. If you follow me on Instagram (@ashmarieanderson) then you know that Sean and I recently got back from an AH-MAZING 4 day trip to Las Vegas. I’ve never been to Vegas before but my husband has been a couple of times for work. This trip was all about the fun, the adventure and all about us. This trip was the first in YEARS that just Sean and I have been on a vacation. It’s crazy to think about but it’s true. We’ve traveled with our friends, my family and his family but nothing in the last couple of years was just us, until now. : )
Today I’m sharing all the deets and spilling all the beans on the good and the not so good. First and foremost, Vegas is for everyone in my opinion. There is literally something that every single person on this planet will love to do and you can find it all in Vegas. I was very overwhelmed when we arrived and I found that time went very slowly while we were there, which was amazing but it as still over too quick. Read on!
We stayed on the strip.
The Aria resort is a part of the MGM Resorts. Click here to see all the MGM resort hotels in Las Vegas. It’s an absolutely stunning hotel with high ceilings in the casino, mountain and strip views and just about any amenity that you can think of. It’s on the pricier side of hotels in the area. There are 3 pools and a hot tub, as well as lots of shopping and restaurants.
I booked our stay through the Aria website and it was effortless. I called and was able to book our room, book all our reservations (if they were in an MGM resort hotel) if the restaurant was not in any MGM resort then they easily transferred me so I could make a reservation and I could book shows through the concierge as well. They made it so easy.
We were advised to make all reservations for food and shows prior to showing up because of covid and the work force in Vegas is still not back at 100% so capacity was limited due to being understaffed. The only drawback to our stay is that checkin was CRAZY! I would advise to download the MGM resort app and check in that way. You can mobile check in and get your room key right on your phone. We didn’t know about this until we arrived and had to wait for awhile. The concierge desk was also understaffed and waiting times were long but when we called from our room we were able to speak to someone quickly.
I want to mention that the MGM resorts make it easy to get rewards for stay, play and food. I recommend getting signed up for an M-Life card which earns you rewards when you stay at an MGM resort, eat at an MGM resort restaurant and gamble at an MGM resort casino. We were able to charge everything to our room (as long as it was a hotel or restaurant that was part of MGM) and paid for everything when we checked out. Speaking of checkout, easy. We could use the TV in our room or call down to the front desk. No need to stand in line.
How We Got Around.
We used Uber from the airport to the Aria because it was easy and there were a lot around. Once we got into the city, most people walk so the Uber’s were more scarce. We soon found out that a lot of Uber and Lyft drivers are still collecting unemployment so drivers were limited. Taxis were more readily and easily available; the only drawback is that they cost more.
There was a tram system that can take you from the Aria to the Bellagio so we used that which made it so easy! We also walked around a lot.
Where We Ate.
I made dinner reservations using recommendations from the concierge, for each night. Again, they made it so easy. I simply told her what we liked and she gave us suggestions.
Night 1 – SUSHI! We has sushi at Yellowtail which is located in the Bellagio Hotel. Getting between the Bellagio and the Aria was so easy with the tram system. The restaurant was beautiful and had big windows and a patio all facing the fountains. Not only was the food amazing but the drink menu was crazy good.
Night 2 – The Strat: Top of the World. When I first heard about the Strat I thought it was just a restaurant. Nope, turns out it’s a hotel too. The restaurant on the top is call Top Of the World and it is located at the end of the strip so you can see just about everything. It takes about 80 minutes to make a full rotation. The food is steak and seafood and it was really good. I don’t recommend the street corn side though, it’s too sweet. Everything you order is a la carte. The views alone make this place worth it. Check out my Vegas highlight here for the incredible view we had at dinner.
Night 3 – Lago in the Bellagio. It’s an Italian restaurant with amazing fountain views too. This restaurant was a little brighter in mood. We ordered the lobster ravioli and the chicken parmesan that were both fantastic. The ravioli was perfect in every way; portion, flavor, presentation and not too rich. The chicken parmesan was crispy, flavorful and the perfect portion. We also ordered a small margarita pizza that I would highly recommend. The caesar salad was not the best and I probably wouldn’t order again. Check out the last video here for our dinner view at Lago!
Night 4 – Jean George’s Steakhouse in the Aria. This was a beautiful steakhouse that was very fancy. We shared apps and a salad, Sean got a filet and I got crab legs and everything was fabulous. They are also a unique restaurant that offers Kobe A5 and F1 Wagyu.
Lunches – We hit the ‘food court’ in Caesar’s because it was quick and cheap. They have noodles, pizza, gyros and a coffee shop among other things. It’s about a 15 minute walk from the Aria. You take the bridge from the Bellagio over the highway.
Breakfast – We ordered a lot of room service. It was easy and quick because most restaurants in the hotel had long waits with some not taking reservations. There was a delivery charge to the room but worth it!
What We Did.
We gambled in both the Aria and Bellagio casinos. Since they are both part of the MGM resorts you can use your players card and the chips in both casinos. Roulette is our game of choice and we did pretty well until the last day.
Pool day! We sat by the pool an entire day. The Aria is nice that it has 3 pools all spaced out so not everyone is on top of one another. We found great seats right by the pools edge with palm tree views. Poolside drink and food service was excellent. We were hydrated and fed all day long; again charged to the room so it was easy. No need to bring any cash or your card out of the room to get lost.
We walked around to check out the Bellagio and Caesars Palace. The Bellagio had a courtyard with a coy pond, Dutch windmills, beautiful floral displays and a butterfly garden. We stopped there to walk through and check it out. Caesars was beautiful too with all the statues and a huge section of the casino had a ceiling of diamond chandeliers hanging down.
We rented a Lamborghini from LVC Exotics. This was my husbands idea and I’m so glad we did it. This company has rates for 2 hour – 24 hour rentals. We rented a white Lamborghini Huracan and had the best time driving around. We paid to have the car dropped off to us at the hotel but you can choose to pick it up. Drop off is back at the rentals location.
We visited the Hoover Dam and drove on the desert highway towards the Valley of Fire. Our first stop was the Hoover Dam which is about 40 minutes from the Aria. It was remarkable to see. The tours were closed but they hope to open up soon. There is so much to see and do. We walked most of the dam and took a ton of photos. After the dam we headed to the desert. We had to drive through a National Park and you need to pay for a day pass. The roads were windy, the views were breathtaking and there were no people around. It was so cool to see the city and then be around nothing but mountains and red rocks as far as the eye can see.
We loved our trip and would go back for sure. There is so much that we didn’t get to see or do. We would have loved to do some hiking and see a show. I would have enjoyed another pool day and to explore more of the hotels. Have you been to Las Vegas before? What would you recommend doing?
More videos and photos are located on my Vegas IG highlight.
Thank you all so much for reading. Until next time,
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