If you’ve been following along for a minute now you’ve seen a number of recent Las Vegas reviews that I’ve posted from our recent stay in Las Vegas. This is by no means our first trip to the area and definitely wont be our last. There is so much tp see and do that it’s always a great time and we always finding unique new places and things to do. It really os Fabulous Las Vegas!
I thought I would take a minute to address some of the post- or near post-pandemic atmosphere on the strip as we had recently experienced it. It is definitely not the same place this time around.
Lets start with restaurants. This is probably one of the greatest hurdles in Las Vegas right now. The restaurants and bars are only allowed 50% capacity and they fill up fast! We thankfully knew this in advance and we made reservations at least 1 per day for a sit down meal. If we hadn’t I think we would have waited in LONG lines for fast food, which in this foodies opinion is the WORST! Do yourself a favor about 1 week before you arrive…you read that right 1 week in advance plan a few reservations. I highly recommend using the “OpenTable” App (no financial interest) make a ton of reservations you can always cancel them later if you need to. This could be particularly important if you have issues with diabetes. Because it is a long wait to get into quick bites and sit down restaurants are booked to capacity on the day of! Book early! Also know the policy of the restaurant or bar when it comes to minimums, being at 50% capacity a few of the more popular establishments instituted minimum food and drink orders and some of them are PRICEY! For example Barbershop cuts and cocktails at cosmopolitan will only seat two people with a $250 minimum order!!! So know what your signing up for! Open table seems to have good info on most places when it comes to minimums!
Now let’s talk about coffee…my husband is a 4 cup a day coffee drinker. (i know it’s a lot) but there are no Starbucks open on the strip right now and they don’t expect that to change until at least May 2021. The large resorts no longer provide free coffee and coffee makers in the room and you pay $18 for 2 simple cups of coffee via room service after tax, service fee, and gratuity. Buy a cheap 1 cup coffee maker and some k-cups and pack that to go with you!! The smaller coffee shops on the strip in the morning or really anytime of day are at least a 30-45minute wait in line to get coffee! You can find a single cup brewer with the tumbler for $20 on amazon it’s well worth it if you’re a coffee drinker!
Ok so we covered restaurants and coffee. Let’ talk about the crowds. It’s incredibly busy here! Like pre-pandemic busy! The only difference is people can’t get into the restaurants and bars as readily and so they’re crowded in lines and walking everywhere! Bring a couple masks, they are required in the casinos and hotels, and even on the streets where it’s crowded there are police standing there telling people to mask up! So be prepared with a mask at all times! We pulled ours down for and occasional photo. I’m vaccinated, low risk and I still wore my mask! It’s important to everyone’s health and wellbeing. If you choose to travel then travel safely!
Ok so I hit on all the rough stuff…let’s talk about something great! We found some great values amd easy entry quick line places one of which is Eatily in the Park MGM formerly Monte Carlo complex. Eatily is a 100% authentic italian eatery with stations featuring pasta, pizza, panini’s and desserts. It’s quick to get food and there are lots of options. The prices were good and the food was amazing!
By far the best bang for your buck right now that we found though was the POOL! Normally a day at the pool would not maybe be categorized this way. It can be very pricey, however, we were able to rent a day bed for the day for $250 this minimum is met by including all of our food and drinks from 11a-5p. We arrived around 11 am on Sunday and had iced coffee and chorizo breakfast sandwiches served right to our day bed! No lines, no waiting.
It was a delicious start to a great day! The menu was great they had fresh fruit, salads, sandwiches, a wide variety to choose from for your whole day! It was awesome. The staff was amazing, they were attentive, quick, and so so friendly! We didn’t quite make the minimum at the end of our time so they packed us a bag full of large bottled waters and a cocktail to go to make sure we got every penny out of our investment for the day! Even though we had the day bed till 5p we were warm, tan, relaxed, a little tipsy, and ready to get around for our evening. So we left around 230p feeling like we really got our monies worth out of that investment. I highly recommend a pool day!
My final tip take advantage of the free sites! If there are lines they seem to move fast and you can walk an afternoon out quick just stopping here and there to see a few things. One of my favorites is the conservatory at Bellagio! They change it regularly so it’s never the same thing twice and it’s always stunning! This time around they had two our favorite things koi and butterflies! Be sure to check it out!
Barnwood and Baked Goods 