So let me start off by saying, this is not a trip of bar crawls or sitting in the casino for hours. That may be your kind of vacation, but not ours.
There is also SO much to Las Vegas that this trip has to be broken down into a series of posts.
Let the Las Vegas adventure begin!
Any trip for us normally has some sort of experience that forces me outside of my nice little planned vacation box. If you know me, you know that I am perfectly happy in my nice little planned box and don’t really enjoy deviating from it. But alas, this is what happened soon after this adventure began.
Now we have experienced the Atlanta airport which I thought would prepare me for anything. I also naively thought that an hour between flights in Dallas would be a breeze. NEVER allow only an hour. We were the final ones on that plane after running through the airport like nobody’s business. It’s a little stressful when they close the door to the plane as soon as your bag clears it.
Other than this snafu, I would say that the trip went exactly as planned.
After much deliberation I decided that we should stay at the Mirage. It is very conveniently located on the strip and there’s not so much going on there that you have to fight for an elevator or to get to your room.
Each hotel on the strip has their own signature attraction. The Mirage is no different. They have a volcano show out front that erupts every evening from 6:00 to 11:00 on the hour. It’s pretty entertaining as evidenced by the vehicles that would stop traffic in the middle of the strip so they could film the show. If you’re staying at the Mirage you don’t have to stand on the street for a good view. We stayed in the Tower Suite and had quite the view of it from our room as well.
Now, the main attraction at the Mirage is Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The first section that you come to is the dolphin pools. They don’t have “shows” per say. However, the trainers are constantly out working with the different dolphins and do explain what they are doing. They also have the dolphins perform tricks if there is a crowd. We didn’t participate in any of the optional interaction activities but they are available. They would be particularly interesting for families with small children. The second section of Siegfried and Roy’s is their claim to fame. This enclosure has lions, tigers, and leopards. If you are expecting something more exciting, this is not for you.
Our suite was very nice and clean (huge plus), although a little dated. The staff was very courteous as well. Another plus is the curb side baggage storage. If you arrive early or wish to stay later than your check in or out time, they will storage all of your baggage complimentary. The only negative that I could really point out is in regards to the check in experience. For a resort of this size there should be more employees assisting in the check in process. They also should not advertise mobile check in through the app if you utilize it only to get a notification that you have to see the mobile check in help desk upon arrival. I would have thought that this was an issue with us or my app in particular had it not been for the line at the mobile check in help desk that wound a quarter of the way across the lobby.
Now that we’re all situated. Stay tuned for great food!
