Our Amazing Holiday Part 4 - Las Vegas the Encore Days

Now if you know me or if your a long time follower of this blog you will know just how much Tom and I both love Vegas, and with this trip completed we have now been there 8 times. People often ask us what it is we like so much about it and to be honest I really cannot answer that question. We don't gamble that much, we don't go to pool parties or night clubs and we don't drink to excess. I don't know what it is but there is just something about Vegas that is slightly bewitching and its this that draws us back time after time. I have lost count of the number of times I have said that we wont be going back for a few years as we are taking a break from it and we end up booking another trip. Anyway this was our first trip to our happy place since Oct 2015 and although that was a great trip it was also quite draining as we were both carrying the ends of really heavy colds and chest/sinus infections. In hindsight I don't think we enjoyed that trip as much as we had hoped and we certainly didn't do as much as we had planned as we just didn't seem to have the energy or enthusiasm. Anyway as we did manage to do so much this trip this is another long and photo heavy post, hope you enjoy it.

So Thursday June 1st had finally arrived - it was time to get up, pack up and head off to Vegas baby (part 8)! After breakfast on the hotel terrace we set off on the 4+ hour journey through LA and the Mojave desert. Having been warned about the heat going through Death Valley we made sure that we had plenty of fuel and that we had water and snacks to keep us going. The drive wasn't that bad at all, we made one brief stop at Peggy Sues diner which was pretty cool to see, if your ever driving this way make sure you pop in and ladies make sure you check out the toilets. The scenery in parts was amazing, the desert was stunning to look at but as we got further out of LA and closer to Vegas the outside temperature was climbing higher and higher, it was getting HOT out there.

In the end the drive took us a little over 4.5 hours, seeing Vegas glistening in the distance as we were approaching was pretty cool and certainly got out excitement levels rising. When we were planning this trip we were pretty undecided on where we wanted to stay this time, and in the end we had two hotels (the Encore and the Cosmopolitan) on our shortlist. As we couldn't narrow it down to one we made the decision to split our trip and spend three nights at each with our first three nights at the Encore. As we pulled up to the valet station we were totally wowed by the level of customer service and as we entered the hotel the wows didn't stop coming. The hotel is stunningly beautiful, its most definitely the best hotel we have ever stayed in. Check in was a breeze, our host was lovely and she made sure that we had a great room on the 61st floor with a view towards downtown Vegas and the mountains. We even received a gift of a little box of chocolates from her as she knew we were there to celebrate our anniversary. The room was beautiful and the view from the floor to ceiling windows was pretty amazing. The Encore is one of the top, and therefore more expensive hotels in Vegas but that title and the price tag are very well deserved. I could not fault the hotel in any way, shape or form and going forward this will now be our Vegas home, even if I have to sell a body part to be able to stay here.

After we had unpacked we headed out to the North Outlet village for a spot of shopping. There are two outlet villages in Vegas but the North one is by far our fave. We spent a good few hours wandering around and buying ourselves some new clothes etc. With the weak exchange rate things are certainly not as cheap as they used to be but there are still plenty of bargains to be had if you shop around. We headed back to the hotel to drop off all our goodies and then made our way down to the Vegas icon that is the Peppermill. We have been here once before on a previous trip but that was to the main restaurant, on this visit we were going to try the Fireside Lounge. This is somewhere that was recommended to us and it was fab, a really lovely laid back cocktail lounge with a indoor fire pit. We spent a couple of hours just chilling out and enjoying some drinks and the biggest plate of nachos ever! The night was finished off with a couple more drinks in the lobby bar of our hotel.

The first full Vegas day dawned and although we had plans we were in no rush so we just enjoyed the comfort of our room and took our time getting showered and dressed. We took a leisurely stroll along the Strip and ended up at the Bellagio as we wanted to see the display in the Botanical Gardens, as usual it looked and smelt amazing.

We also walked through Caesars Forum shops where I shopped a little more (yes I love to shop and I LOVE to shop in the States). I picked up some bits in Sephora, A&F and Victoria's Secret before we realized we needed to dash over to Harrahs Piano Bar for to catch the Big Elvis show. Pete Vallee has been performing as Elvis for years and years and every time we go to Vegas we say we will go and catch one of his shows but we have never managed it until now. Its a free show although its in a bar so I guess you are expected to buy a couple of drinks. I am so pleased that we finally managed to see the show, I even got a picture with the man himself. Honestly if your in Vegas and you like Elvis and fancy a fun hour singing along get yourself down to Harrahs, just check the show times before you go as they are subject to change.

We went back to the hotel to chill out and freshen up before heading out for the evening. Our plans for tonight didn't involve us going to far, we just walked down to the Linq where we did a ride on the High Roller (like the London Eye but higher). Last time we were in Vegas we did a night time ride which was amazing and we decided before we went away that we would like to do it again but this time during daylight hours. Its a pretty cool way of getting a birds eye view of Vegas and the surrounding area. Dinner tonight was in one of our fave Vegas restaurants - Margaritaville. We both love it here, its a really cool, fun place to eat and the food is great too. After dinner we went next door to the 5 o'clock somewhere bar which is also part of Margaritaville and is somewhere that we like to go. However on this occasion we didn't like it as much as previous years, service wasn't as attentive as it usually is and the bar area was filthy, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in god knows how long. Anyway we had one drink and then headed off to finish our night elsewhere.

Saturday dawned and we were up and out early as we had tickets to the Neon Museum in Downtown Las Vegas. Now I have wanted to visit here for ages and I am so glad that we finally managed it, honestly if you are into Vegas history you have to come here. For now I am just sharing a couple of pics as I plan to do a separate post on the museum at a later date. We also went to the Mob Museum which was ok but after about 20/30 mins I was a little bored. Tom enjoyed it though as he is pretty interested in the mob and all that.

Once back at the hotel we decided to have a little pool time but that only lasted about 1.5 hours as it was sooooo hot, I think it was around 104 degrees! Far too hot for us.

Saturday night was our big night out to celebrate our anniversary in Vegas. We had made a reservation at a restaurant in the Encore called Sinatra which is Italian with a modern twist. The restaurant was really busy but we were given a fab table by the windows that overlooked the outdoor patio and we were also given cards to wish us a happy anniversary and Tom a happy birthday. The food and service were amazing and the chocolate dessert which we shared was the best, I am so glad that we chose to have a pudding in the end as we very nearly opted not to have one. Its not a cheap restaurant but if your celebrating a special occasion or you just want to treat yourselves then give it a try.

After the meal we took a stroll over to the Wynn where we had a couple of drinks on the outside terrace in Parasol Down. Its the perfect place to just sit back and enjoy a cocktail or two in beautiful and relaxing surroundings. We finished the night off by playing (and winning) on the slots. Sadly this was our last night in the Encore, tomorrow morning we would be packing up and heading to the Cosmopolitan for our last 3 nights.

Thanks for stopping by, and if you made it all the way through this post I thank you! Please feel free to leave a comment.

Love and hugs, Jane xx