Las Vegas Hotel Review: Kitchens, Washers, & Shark Tanks!
Hey everyone!
Thanks to all the amazing tips I've found in this group, my family had an incredible trip! I wanted to share some info about our 14-day adventure in California and Las Vegas. Hopefully, this helps someone else looking for information, just like I was.
In Las Vegas, you'll mostly find hotels and casinos with basic rooms. Many don't even have refrigerators (renting one can cost $40-50 per night!). Since we weren't focused on casinos and needed to do laundry for our next stop in Los Angeles, we chose to stay two nights at Club Wyndham Grand Desert (kitchen & washer!) and one night at Golden Nugget in downtown (for that awesome Shark Tank pool!).
Check out our Vegas adventures in this video!
Club Wyndham Grand Desert: Home Away From Home
- Pros: About a 5-7 minute drive to the Bellagio (free hotel shuttle runs every 30 minutes to the Strip, the main drag with all the big hotels!). The price was great (we got a 15% discount through Booking, making it about $100/night for a One-Bedroom Apartment for 3 people). No Resort Fees (which most Las Vegas hotels charge!). Free, easy parking outside, no underground garage hassles. A large kitchen with all the necessary tools. And they provide plenty of laundry detergent packets for your stay. I didn't have time to use the pools, but I checked them out (shown towards the end of the video): there are two separate pools, one for adults only, plus a hot tub! There's also a small play area for little kids, so parents can swim and keep an eye on them.
- Cons: About a 20-minute walk to the Strip (but we were there during a heatwave of 110-114°F, so walking wasn't happening – we used cars). The hotel doesn't have a casino, so it's relatively quiet (a plus for me, but if you're looking for excitement, it might be too tame compared to the Strip or downtown).
Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino: Shark Tank Experience
- This hotel is right in downtown and famous for its Shark Tank pool. However, compared to other hotels with huge pools like the Bellagio, it's small (and not as glamorous as it looks in booking photos). The highlight is a tank with sharks inside – you can swim and watch them! There's a waterslide that goes through the tank, but it's super fast, so you don't really get a good look. The room didn't have a fridge or microwave... I thought I'd have to pay for parking based on booking reviews, but it was free for hotel guests during my stay; not sure when that changed. If I stay downtown again, I'll probably try another hotel – this one didn't wow me enough to return.
Must-See Attractions in California and Las Vegas:
- 17-Mile Drive in Monterey: Worth the $10-11 entry fee to drive through! About 17 stops for photo ops. My favorite was the beautiful rows of trees – just mesmerizing!
- Bellagio Fountains: If it's your first time in Las Vegas, don't miss the fountain show in front of the Bellagio, especially at night when the Paris hotel's lights are on – it makes the scene even more dazzling (my video shows it closer to dusk, so you don't see the full effect).
- Hoover Dam: I was amazed by the sheer scale of it! Incredible that humans could create such a structure on a mountain. It's one of the seven great civil engineering achievements in the United States.
- Museum of Illusions: And if you have kids, consider visiting the Museum of Illusions. We took some really fun photos there!
My memorable summer vacation 2024
@hotellasvegas @ClubWyndhamGrandDesert @TankPool @BellagioFountain @17DriveMotereyCA
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