Fremont Street or The Strip? (Part 2)

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Yesterday, we examined the pros and cons of staying on Fremont. Today we will discuss The Strip.

History

The mother of the strip is the El Rancho Las Vegas which opened her doors on April 3^rd 1941 with a grand total of 63 rooms. A couple of years later a fellow by the name of “Bugsy” Siegel opened the Flamingo and the Strip has been getting bigger and better ever since. Well, at least bigger.

The mega-resorts of today arrived in the early 1990’s. They along with their fabulous properties have led to a destination like no other. The Strip is an entity onto itself. Honestly, where else in the world can you visit New York, Ancient Egypt, Rome, Paris, Venice and more, all in one day.

Pros                                               

The Strip has everything. It doesn’t matter what you are looking for, if it’s shopping, the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace offer more than 160 boutiques and shops, as well as 13 restaurants and specialty food shops. While across the street at the Aladdin, the Desert Passage offers another 500,000 square feet of shopping. There is also hundreds of ‘kiosks’ as you walk down the strip. Here you have the advantage of haggling over the price of your merchandise, ranging from dice keychains to designer clothes.

Almost every casino in Vegas offers some type of entertainment, whether you are looking for a free lounge act or a several hundred dollar Broadway-like play, you will find what you desire at one of the hotels on the strip. The strip is also unique with many interesting and free sights as you walk Las Vegas Boulevard. From active volcanoes, water and light shows, to pirate ships, the strip is as fascinating a sight as any hundred dollar show.

Finding a room shouldn’t be a problem, as Las Vegas is home to over 151,000 hotel rooms with over half of them are on the Las Vegas Strip. Add to this that the Casinos are fabulously wealthy and happy to give their favourite guest as many “comps” as they can handle, and you have a destination like no other in the world.

Cons

Too much. This is usually the first and last complaint from anyone who dislikes the Strip. The excessive crowds, noise and waits can be overwhelming for some people, as hundreds of thousands of travellers seek Vegas’s charms each week.

There are amenities everywhere and every last one is crawling with people. With this many people in one place, the chances for accidents or criminal activities multiply. Personally, I have never had ANY problems on the Strip; I believe if you pay attention to your surroundings, most if not all problems, can be avoided.

Another downfall of the Las Vegas Strip is the price. Vegas is no longer a cheap getaway. Expect your rooms to be in the hundreds of dollars; expect to pay top dollar for your meals; and expect to pay top dollar for entertainment.

This doesn’t mean that you cannot find a quieter, cheaper weekend for yourself on The Strip. It’s just that you have to work for it.

Tomorrow, we will be concluding our look at Fremont Street or The Strip.

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