Summer in Review: Las Vegas

My annual girls' trip to Vegas for Labor Day Weekend might be my favorite part of the summer since we started the tradition in 2019. This year didn't disappoint, so let's get into it.

Where we stayed: Wynn Las Vegas

Go Confidently Score: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Pros: I mean, where do I even begin? The Wynn is the epitome of luxury. The decor is gorgeous. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The restaurants are fantastic. The pool complex is great. We stayed in a standard double room and still felt pampered. As someone who pretty much always stays mid-strip, I was a little worried about being on the south end and feeling like I had to trek to get to the other side but honestly, I never felt like it was super hard to get anywhere. Ten out of ten.

Cons: The Wynn is not cheap. It was definitely a splurge for us, and there are tons of other options if you're looking to maximize your budget. But if you're in the mood to treat yourself? IMO it was worth every cent.

What we did:

Just going to be honest here, my Vegas trips don't involve too many activities other than eating great food, drinking, and hitting the pool but this time around we did see a show and try a new club.

Awakening

Go Confidently Score: ☀️☀️

This is The Wynn's in-house show that apparently costed $120 million to produce. It was described as a "must-see Las Vegas event that revolutionizes the live-theater experience." When you land at LAS you'll probably watch the Awakening ad on the screens at baggage claim at least three times while you wait for your bag. The 360-degree circular stage was called an architectural marvel. And even with all of this...I was just kind of bored? There were some fun moments, and the performers were no doubt very talented, but I just couldn't stay that engaged. And quite frankly, besides some cool effects with the stage this did not feel like a produciton that costed hundreds of million of dollars. I'd say unless you get free tickets like we did, maybe skip this one for one of the more established shows on the strip.

TAO Las Vegas

Go Confidently Score: ☀️☀️☀️☀️

While I'm not the spry chicken I once was I can usually pull it together enough to make it to the club at least once while in Vegas. This year's winner was TAO, an olide but goodie as far as LV nightlife is concerned. One big plus of choosing TAO was their table share option. Standing in heels for five hours is not the vibe anymore (see above re: being old ) and since there were just two of us heading out that night we weren't trying to spend $1500+ to have somewhere to sit. So with the table share we were able to spend $100 each and have access to a shared table space that had a waitress, a busser and shared mixers and liquor. We had a great time, made some new friends and escaped with our feet still in tact. Fantastic option for smaller groups! I believe this option is also available at other Tao Group venues in Vegas like Hakkasan and Marquee. Music-wise, TAO is going to give you Top-40 and hip hop and is on the smaller side, so if you prefer an EDM-focused, sprawling megaclub environment I'd skip. But all in all, we enjoyed!

Things we ate:

Okay here's where it gets really good. We tried a number of new places this trip (while still making time for our faves) and they. were. all. amazing. I love Vegas.

Delilah (@ Wynn)

GC Score: ☀️☀️☀️☀️

By a stroke of luck we were able to snag a notoriously hard to get Friday night reservation at Delilah. It bills itself as a "modern day supper club" and delivered on that vibe quite beautifully. The decor is dark and moody with beautiful gilded accents that feel very hollywood. There's also a stage in the front with a live band and singer. We decided to split appetizers, and shared the famous chicken tenders, pigs in a blanket and fries. Which sounds like the meal served at a 10 year old's birthday party but it was all delicious. The cocktails and service were also great. If you're looking to snag a res, you'll have the best chance if you're staying at Wynn or Encore and try to book through the concierge. If not, I believe reservatins open up 30 days in advance and set an alarm and may the odds every be in your favor!

Stanton Social Prime (@ Caesars Palace)

GC Score: ☀️☀️☀️☀️

For any Food Network fans like myself, Stanton Social Prime is the newest Vegas eatery from Chef Chris Santos. At its core it's a steak house with a yummy spread of appetizers, salads and raw options that can be shared by the table. They're signature app was the french onion soup dumplings which we ordered along with the black truffle ribeye sliders. The sliders were a 'meh' and were pretty overpowered by the garlicky spread/aoli they had on them (which is a lot coming from me because I LOVE garlic). But those soup dumplings??? DIVINE. If you go there and you like to eat delicious things you need to order them.

CHICA (@ Venetian)

GC Score: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

CHICA was actually our final dinner in town and boy did we end on a high note. It features hearty proteins like steak, short ribs, rotisserie chicken and salmon but with a modern Mexican twist. I ordered the short rib which was served with cotija mashed potatoes and I added a side of roasted street corn and all three were incredible. It was one of those meals where I wished I had a second stomach like a cow because I didn't want to stop eating even though I was full. Also fun bonus, they have a very popular dessert that involves a chocolate skull that they set on fire so look forward to that as well.

Vegas just never does me wrong (if we don't count that fact that I never win any money gambling). Until next year!

xoxo

Nicole