If you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas in the near future, I’ve got tons of recommendations and advice for you! Overall we had an amazing trip. We saw, ate and did everything we wanted in the two days we were there.
First off, I want to emphasize how important it is to plan for extra time in Vegas. We made reservations everywhere, and 100% of the time they were running about 30 minutes behind. Also plan for traffic if you’re going to be there on the weekend!
Food
On Friday night, we ate at Carbone which is located in the Aria. It was incredible Italian food. If you want to get into Carbone, you need to make a reservation 2-3 months ahead of time. I stalked the reservations for a whole month waiting for a spot to open up and was so excited to get one. If you’re planning on visiting during the week, it’s not as difficult to get a reservation, but definitely plan ahead if you’re wanting a Friday or Saturday resy.
Another thing to plan for when dining at Carbone is to have at least 3 hours to dine with them. The whole experience was so wonderful, but we had an 8:15 reservation and a show that started at 11. We almost missed our show and had to rush through our dinner because we didn’t know this information, so again, plan ahead!
On Saturday, we dined at the Wynn Buffet for brunch. I can easily say it was my favorite buffet I’ve ever eaten at! Everything was so yummy. They have food and desserts from just about everywhere. Truly, any food you could ever want existed at this buffet and every single dish was five-star.
If you’re planning to dine at the Wynn Buffet, I’d suggest reserving your spot and paying ahead of time on their website. We pre-payed for our entire party, (Bottomless drink package too, of course!) and it let us skip about 75 people in line who were “walk-ins”.
For dinner on Saturday evening, we went to Beauty & Essex. This restaurant is located in The Cosmopolitan and is a speak-easy of sorts. You walk up to what looks like a pawn shop, and they walk you through it to a door which leads to the restaurant. Beauty & Essex was my favorite restaurant we dined at! Everything is meant to be shareable, and I would absolutely suggest doing this. We all got to try about eight different dishes from the menu and they were all incredible. If you’re still hungry after your meal, definitely get the dessert wheel! It was full of delicious desserts curated by the chef, all in a lit-up, spinning mini ferris wheel.
Bars
On Saturday, we went to the SkyBar located in the Waldorf Astoria. They had an incredible view of Vegas, and it was a really nice place to “take a beat.” It was very chill and more slower-paced, which is needed in Vegas!
After dinner on Saturday, we went to The Chandelier Bar – also located in The Cosmopolitan. This bar is beautiful! It’s quite literally a giant chandelier (great photo-opp!). You can stand and drink in the bar or take your drink out to gamble.
Spa
On Friday morning, we had a girl’s spa day. We ended up at The Spa at The Encore. All of our experiences were wonderful! We all got 50-minute massages, then spent about 2 hours enjoying the spa amenities. They had a steam room, sauna, giant jacuzzis, several luxury showers and two plunge pools. I’d highly recommended following the steps to “rejuvenate” your body that are located on the wall of the spa. We all had never felt better after doing the steps in order!
Definitely book ahead at the spa as well, especially if you’re planning to have your spa day in the morning. Originally we wanted to go to the spa at Resort World, but most spas were booked up until about 3 PM.
On Friday, we had appointments at The Dry Bar located in The Cosmopolitan. They, as well, were running behind. We booked appointments at 5 PM and did not get seated until 6:15. Luckily, we had time built-in to accommodate this, but many girls missed their dinner reservations because of it. Again, build in extra time!
Hotel
We stayed at The Vdara which is connected to The Aria. I preferred this side of the strip over the opposite side because it felt newer and had more of the trendy activities. If I were going back, I’d most likely stay at The Vdara, The Aria or The Cosmopolitan.
Shows
We went to Absinthe which took place in a smaller venue in Caesar’s. We loved this show! Although heads up, it’s very raunchy! We were all laughing and entertained the whole show. It was like a giant variety show with comedy, improv, dancing, singing, and crazy acrobat stunts. Head’s up: don’t buy tickets towards the front if you don’t want to be involved in the show. There was tons of audience participation!
There is a sister show, Opium, that I would love to see next time we’re in town.
Outfits
Vegas was much more casual than I anticipated. However, I don’t regret dressing up at all! I’d say about 30% of the girls went all-out, but again it was very normal dress attire for the most part. Most important piece of advice I can give you ladies, wear kitten heels or comfortable shoes! Vegas has lots of walking.
On Friday night, I wore a dress from Club L London. They have tons of loud, Vegas-approved outfits. Linking my outfit here.
My Saturday outfit reminded me a lot of Taylor Swift’s VMA look when she won for “Bad Blood.” I’m obsessed with the houndstooth trend, so when I found the sequin look I had to have it!
Linking the top here, and matching skirt here.
My shoes I cannot rave about enough! They were so comfortable and practical. Excited to have these in my closet for a while! Linking them here.
I didn’t have my bag in this photo, but I loved it. It was so spacious and easy to carry for a clutch! Linking it here.
After leaving Vegas, I can definitely say it’s like Disney World for adults. We had such a great time and can’t wait to go back! Cheers to 30! 🥂💞
Xo Megan