So we were now in the last 3 days of our holiday, our adventure was sadly coming to a close, but not without us moving to one more hotel before we left. For the last part of our trip we chose to stay in the Cosmopolitan which is one of the newer hotels on the Strip. The main reason that we wanted to stay here is that some of the rooms have terraces that overlook the Bellagio fountains. Hotels rooms with terraces are a real rarity in Las Vegas as the hotels don't want you sitting out there admiring the view, they want you on the casino floor gambling, or drinking in one of their bars. The reason that you will find them on some of the Cosmopolitan rooms is that this was never intended to be a hotel, when it was originally built it was to be condo's but then the crash came and no one wanted to buy them so the building was turned into a hotel.
Anyway after a hassle free check out we waved goodbye to the Encore we headed down to the famous Las Vegas sign so we could have our picture taken. It was very hot and the queue was quite long but we were done in about 20 mins. Luckily there was a guy on hand who would take your picture for you using your camera or phone. He was there last time we went and is a pretty good photographer who will take loads of pics so we didn't mind having to tip him for his efforts.
Next stop was a little more shopping, but this time rather than general items of clothing etc I had my eyes on something a bit more specific. For years now I have wanted a pair of cowboy boots, something that its impossible to get in the UK unless you want a pair that look like something you would wear to a fancy dress party. Anyway I was pretty overjoyed and excited to see a huge great store called the Boot Barn a just a little bit further down the road from the sign so with time to spare we made a little detour so I could take a look. At first I was a little overwhelmed as the store is huge but a lovely assistant called Betty came to my aid and between us we found me the perfect pair of boots. I had been looking online before we went away and the ones I liked the most were by a company called Ariat which are exactly what I got. Everything about the boots is of the highest quality from the leather to the stitching and even better they are super comfortable. Now I just need someplace over here to wear them - am thinking the Lady Antebellum concert that I am going to in Sept could be the perfect outing.
Shopping done we headed back to the Encore to collect our bags which we had left with concierge. We stopped at the first Wynn to have lunch in the Terrace Point Café, there was quite a lot of people in front of us as we seemed to have arrived at the same time as a load of conference delegates but we didn't have to wait too long for a table. We chose to sit inside as it was around 106 degrees on the outside terrace. The food and service here were fab and we would love to try it out again, maybe when its not so hot so we can sit outside and enjoy the pool views.
We arrived at the Cosmo around 3pm and left the car with valet parking as we couldn't be bothered to find self parking and then trek back with our cases. There were quite a lot of people in the lobby and it was a little difficult to work out who was trying to check-in and who was trying to check out. The whole atmosphere here was completely different to that at the Encore, it was noisy, a little disorganized and not relaxing or welcoming at all. The room we were given a Premium View Terrace Studio on the 31st floor of the Chelsea Tower floor facing the Bellagio fountains and the Strip. As we made our way up to our room we both already knew that we didn't really like the Cosmo and that to change that thought the room would have to blow us away. Our room was lovely, it was a lot nicer and a little bigger than we expected and the views from the terrace were amazing but that was about it. I am glad that we stayed there and experienced it and we would stay there again if it was the only option, however as far as we are concerned the terrace is the only thing it has going for it, if it wasn't for that it wouldn't even be a contender. After unpacking and freshening up we went for a wander around the hotel and further down the Strip. We walked down to NYNY and made a few purchases in the Hershey shop, it was here that Tom found the biggest KitKat we have ever seen! Honestly it was the size of a small suitcase (and no we didn't buy it). Next stop was the Chocolate Bar where we both had a chocolate martini - delicious and not too sickly sweet at all. We mooched about for a little longer and then headed back to the hotel where we stopped for a drink in the Chandelier Bar - we didn't stay here too long though as it was so busy and noisy that we couldn't really hear ourselves think. I will also add that the service here wasn't all that, the waitress really didn't seem that interested in serving us at all. In the end we gave up and headed to our room to have a drink and a couple of slices of 'secret' pizza on our terrace.
We spent the next couple of days just relaxing on the balcony, chilling out, wandering around and enjoying Vegas. We took a trip down to Fremont Street to see the light/canopy show which this year had a very patriotic theme, all stars and strips and the national anthem. We walked down to the new Container Park area where we had planned to have a drink and something to eat but it was so quiet we didn't bother, instead we decided to just head back to the Strip. We ended up in
Virgil's BBQ in the Linq which was really, really nice. Food and service were great and it was pretty reasonably priced too. Afterwards we went to
Ghiradelli for ice creams and to stock up on chocolate supplies for home. Whenever we are in America we always hunt down a Ghiradelli, as far as we are concerned its just the best chocolate and ice cream in the world. Once back at the hotel we headed for the Chandelier bar again but it was heaving, there wasn't a table to be had anywhere so we wandered on and eventually found the Vesper bar which is right by the hotel lobby. This is possibly the nicest bar in the hotel, its a lot quieter and because of where it is it feels a lot more open and not so 'clubby'. We sat at the bar and our barman was really nice and chatty, in fact he was probably the only Cosmo employee who actually made us feel welcome.
For our last night we had originally booked a table in Top of the World at the Stratosphere but as neither of us fancied getting dressed up and travelling down to the other end of the Strip we cancelled it and opted to go to the Cheesecake Factory for one final blowout. As anticipated the meal was lovely the portions were huge but we still managed to make some room for cheesecake, although we did share it. Our chosen flavor this time was Lemon Raspberry - delicious. After dinner we took a slow walk back to the hotel taking one final night time look around, we stopped to watch the fountains, Tom had his photo taken with a couple of showgirls and we sat and played some slots before heading to Vesper again for drinks. We ended the night with a bottle of wine on the balcony , had to enjoy that view one last time. We sat there talking about the holiday and how we couldn't quite believe this was our last night and that our holiday was over, it had gone way too fast.
On our last morning we went to the Wicked Spoon for a breakfast buffet and although it was nice it was no where near as good as the Bacchanal buffet in Caesars Palace.We headed down to reception to check out and once again we were met with total chaos, the queue was huge as it was the same line to check in and check out. Seriously Cosmo your front desk and customer services need a little looking at! We dropped the car off at the car hire terminal and made our way to the main airport where we were told that we had a 1.5 hour delay - boo, who wants that on the way home. Luckily in the end it was only about an hours delay so it wasn't too bad. The flight home was fine, no major turbulence and we both managed to get some sleep which was an added bonus.
So that's it, the end of our our trip - I hope you enjoyed my report. If your thinking of planning a trip to Vegas and you have any questions please feel free to ask me, I am more than happy to help out if I can.
Thanks for stopping by to read. I will be back to 'normal' everyday blogging soon.
Jane xx
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