Vegas for an almost rookie

I’ve really never spent any time in Las Vegas so now that I will have the opportunity, I don’t know where to stay, what shows to see, or where to eat. I’ll be there for business all day Saturday, but my wife and I will make it a long weekend and arrive late Thursday and leave early Monday. I’m not a gambler so that is not what I’m looking for. The one visit I have made, I did make a pilgrimage to Lotus of Siam. I have read through the other threads but had some additional questions. So here are my questions:

  1. What hotel would you stay at to be close to where you want to be (shows/restaurants)?

  2. If you could pick two shows to see, what would they be?

  3. Where would you go for Sunday Brunch?

  4. What two places are must eat restaurants for you?

  5. Where are the best values for wine in restaurants in Vegas?

Thanks in advance for your input.

I like Estiatorio Milos for lunch in the cosmo.

I have enjoyed the Beatles’ LOVE show twice. Beatles meets Cirque de Soleil.

Fun evening, especially if you’re a fan of their music at all.

Cosmopolitan has good dining choices.

Zuma (Japanese-ish) is a reasonably good choice and had some good wine selections, including by the glass JJ Prum 15 Graacher Kab or Krug MV. I wouldn’t have called the pricing reasonable but it was not exorbitant by Vegas standards.

Scarpetta also has good food. I don’t recall much about the wine list.

This was a useful resource when I was deciding where to dine and BYOB.

Fan of the Wynn here … it feels a bit less frantic and I think they turn down the sound on the slots some so it’s more relaxing to my mind. Last time I went, they offered some decent options for room upgrades and for not much a night ($10 or $20?) i had an amazing room with view. It all just felt more civilized than much of the Strip has felt to me before - depends if you want that or not. Liked their spa and loved the little outdoor patio bar with the light show in the evening.

Otherwise no advice.

Beatles Love- if you ate a Beatles fan, there’s nothing close
I prefer Mystere to O or La Reve

We always stay at the Encore. As Siun noted the Wynn property isn’t as frantic as most of the other and the Encore is even a little quieter than the Wynn.

For dining, I am still a fan of Picasso and L’atelier Joel Robuchon but neither is cheap.

Best values for wine

  • Hugo’s cellar in the Four Queens. A great list with lots of older Bordeaux at a fair price. Great Somm
  • Cut in the Palazzo always seems to have an interesting and fair list. At one point I thought the Somm there was great not sure if she still works there
  • BYOB to Echo & Rig out in summerlin. Call ahead and ask about byob and they may charge a corkage but will let you. There is a total wine across the street. Will save you $100s of dollar.

Best experiences if money is no option

  • love Delmonico by Emril its in the Venetian
  • also love Prime in the Bellagio, call ahead and request a table by the window so you can see the bellagio fountain show from the table.

I can name some more but that should give you some options. DM me if you want more.

Just don’t plan on buying wine on the strip.

If your not a big gambler and dont mind a louder lobby experience I like to get a room at the cosmopolitan high up with a wrap around balcony. Not much cooler than hanging over the 50th floor with a glass of champagne, watching the strip and Bellagio fountains (must be on the right side). The one time we stayed at Encore we wondered where everyone was, it’s a very very nice place and also had a great view, but it’s away from action/buzz so could be good/bad depending what your looking for.

Definitely use corkage, most places allow and even if it’s 25-35 bucks you’ll save a fortune. We have always had good meals at l’atelier. If you want to eat late check out Raku and for something different Andreas E is fun. Go have a drink at the Mandarin bar if you don’t have a room with a view.

Some great ideas here. I have always gotten some great tips from posting here.

I’ll wait until we survive Harvey (we are in NW Houston and just saw a forecast that we’ll have 20"-25" of rain between now and Tuesday night) then finalize some bookings. E by Jose Andres looks pretty amazing and the Cosmopolitan might fit the bill.

Thanks to all for their suggestions.

I agree with the Cosmo rec. I try to stay at the newest hotels because they are almost always out of style the moment they open.

For wine, I highly recommend you take a Lyft to Chada Street. Very cool wine list.

E was fun and a good experience. If I recall correctly you need to book 60 days out or something like that.

I saw someone recommended Kabuto. It was good but Kame Omakase is much better.

I think e does require advanced booking due to the space limitations obviously, but last time we called and told them when we would be in town and to let us know if they had a cancellation. They called at some point when we were in town with an opening, so it’s worth a shot to try

I’m a big fan of bazaar meat, quite good and pretty decent wine list if $

  1. What hotel would you stay at to be close to where you want to be (shows/restaurants)? I like the Bellagio.

  2. If you could pick two shows to see, what would they be? Beatles Love is awesome. Not sure what the other would be but it wouldn’t be those blue men.

  3. Where would you go for Sunday Brunch? Bouchon

  4. What two places are must eat restaurants for you? Twist and é by José Andrés

  5. Where are the best values for wine in restaurants in Vegas? Lotus of Siam

Probably Lindsey. She’s moved on. Still in the area though.