I was planning to head out to Vegas for my friend Alex’s Bachelorette party. I’m in her wedding this summer. When I looked up flights for Friday afternoon to Sunday night, I quickly realized that they were over double the price of weekday flights. I decided then and there I was going to Vegas early, a whole week in Vegas.
I worked out a partnership with the Venetian hotel, which was fantastic and I wrote a review about it here. I told Alex to change-up her schedule if need be and meet me in Vegas early! It all worked out really great. My hotel was compensated in exchange for a review, but even if I had paid it would have worked out the same to stay longer so it’s something to look into if you have to go on a weekend.
Because the weekend was going to be wild, we wanted to spend the few days before being well rested and not partying. Let me tell you, it’s hard not to drink in Vegas! Booze is everywhere!
The first thing we did was check out the LINQ High Roller and we went for the “happy half hour”. It takes 30 minutes to go around the ferris wheel and you can drink yourself silly if you want to. The views were incredible! You can do daylight or in the night if you’d like. I liked seeing it in the day mainly because I can’t take night-time photos haha!
Where I ate in Vegas
Off course I’ve got to talk about the food! There are so many famous chefs with restaurants in Vegas and I was dying to try them, especially Guys’ Kitchen (from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives)! It did not disappoint. There is no reservation here so come early. The wait was about 30 minutes when we went.
I also tried Off the Strip at the LINQ which was right outside where the LINQ High Roller was. It is all part of the LINQ hotel complex.
We had some appetizers and drinks at the Foundation Room in the top of the Mandalay Bay. I think other than the Soho House in Istanbul it’s the most exclusive place I’ve gone. A private table here is $500. We just did the happy hour deal which was two hours unlimited snacks and wine from 6pm-8pm. We left before the party starts. I think you need a membership to get a table here.
In the Venetian Hotel, I ate at B&B Ristorante which is owned by celebrity chefs. I had fried pickles and a chili dog. It was delicious, plus this place is very affordable.
One of the greatest things for food was Carmine’s which is family style dining. The group of 8 (over the weekend once the Bachelorette party started) hired a company Vegas Girls Night Out for one of their party packages. You could get a meal at Carmine’s with a glass of bubbly for $50 a person. In Vegas, that’s really unbeatable for a group dinner. We did this on Saturday night after the Encore pool party. Everyone was a little drunk and the huge piles of Italian food was just what we needed to get perked up for the night ahead (although I never did make it out that night!). We took bags of food back to the hotel with us.
We ate at Yellowtail. It was about $700 for a table of 8 girls and we didn’t order much. That gives you an idea of the Vegas prices! You can see why the Girl’s Night Out was such a great deal.
Lastly, we had Sunday brunch at STK in the Cosmopolitan. It’s meant to be one of the best brunches in Vegas. There is one in LA too. It was so tasty. I had the pork belly eggs Benedict. WOW, so good!
Parties in Vegas!
The first few days we did not party out of choice. One thing to know is that promoters will be a little annoying but if you do want to party they are NECESSARY. They will come up to you on the street to see if you want to go to clubs and it’s no scam. They’ll get you line cuts, free entry, tables, and bottle service all for free BUT the catch is if the table is $1000 you need to tip $200 so it’s not totally free. Sometimes that is worth it just to see the DJ who’s on.
The most memorable thing was the Encore Beach Club which is the most popular pool party in Vegas right now. Kaskade played and it was crazy. The promoter got us in but we had to be there at 1030 am after a Friday night out, which was rough but we managed. I guess it’s not a pool party unless you have a beer by 11 am.
The Friday before, we went to 1OAK at the Mirage for a bottle and table service thanks to a promoter offer which was pretty cool. We stopped after to see the light show at the Bellagio Fountain. You might know 1OAK from the Kardashians as they host parties there a lot. I didn’t even notice who the DJ was while we were there.
From there, we went to Omnia where Steve Angello (some Swedish DJ) was playing. We were in the center dancing part and it was a little annoying to be honest. It’s so packed that you can’t move to even dance if you wanted to. If you lifted your arms you would for sure punch someone in the face. I think working on getting tables with the promoters is definitely worth it.
Saturday after Carmine’s the girls went to Hakkasan to see Tiesto play and had worked out a table (from the people we met in the limo we casually ended up in after the pool party… it is Vegas, after all). I should have tried to rally harder to make this but the club scene was so over the top for me since I rarely party anymore I just didn’t think I could do it sober and I was hungover from the day party by dinner, so knew I couldn’t drink more. Hakkasan is in the MGM and it was some fight weekend. The girls saw Holly Holm, then at the airport I saw her on Sunday!
Hotels in Vegas
I stayed at the Venetian at first, which I reviewed. During the party we stayed at the Aria and had a deal through a friend who gambles in Vegas a lot to get rooms for $50 per girl per night. Obvi you have to put 4 girls in a room for that price! It was a fantastic price and that is a really nice modern hotel. I wasn’t there long enough to write a review though.
The Encore and Wynn are the newest on the strip and are gorgeous inside. When you go to the clubs and pool parties you’ll get to see a lot of the hotels and the casinos are in the lobby so you can walk through them.
I also recommend checking out the Chandelier bar at the Cosmopolitan; it’s crazy! If you want more tips on Vegas, check out my post on what to wear in Vegas.
Hello Rachel…I am a wanna-be travel blogger and would love to ask a few questions directly…is there a way to send you a direct message? Look forward to chatting :)
Yep just email me at rachel@hippie-inheels.com thanks!