[bethereds82]

Had an opportunity to visit Vegas over the 4th of July weekend.

I was really interested to see how Vegas was off the strip, considering I've vacationed in Vegas no less than 6 times and never really explored other parts of the city.

We stayed at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. Absolutely loved the place. Family friendly while still having some areas for adults and younger people. If it was up to me, I'd choose to never stay on the strip again. My girlfriend enjoys staying where the action is, but the value of off strip resorts are endless.

- Free bottled water everywhere
- Free valet parking
- Amazingly cheap buffets (that are actually a value)
- AMAZING spa.
- Nice rooms
- Great pools (they actually had 4-5 pools)
- Workout room complimentary with stay
- Reasonable prices for drinks and food by the pool
- Excellent service

I do realize that they have a resort fee of I believe $25/day, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I also realize that there are nice hotels on the strip, but I always feel like I'm getting nickel and dimed at those places.


As for Vegas itself, it was beautiful. Love the mountains and scenery, but I would like to retract my notion of desert "dry" heat not being as bad as humid heat we have back home in Kansas City.

115 degrees is still 115 degrees!

Wow. It was like an oven. Not intolerable, but hot. But hey, it's the summertime in the desert. I just kept thinking to myself how I'd deal with the heat for almost half the year.

Some other observations:

- Love the Spanish styled architecture of the SW and Vegas
- Tons of food options! Love In and Out, and the abundance of Asian cuisine ranging from Viet, Korean, Chinese food was spectacular on Spring Mountain!
- Roads look meticulously maintained, (probably because of lack of freezing temps contracting the concrete and no snow)
- You get a lot of house for the money
- Areas like Henderson look like a great place to raise kids

- VEGAS IS MORE THAN JUST THE STRIP.

The one thing that did concern me were the lack of tenants in some newer shopping centers. We all understand the current economic downturn, so it wasn't a surprise, but it looks like the from the eye test that KC is weathering the downturn a little better.

ON A SIDE NOTE*
If you're from the Midwest or other parts of the country, and are not used to the desert, it will be an adjustment. You HAVE to stay hydrated. Don't take the desert heat or setting for granted, you only need to drive 30 min. away to the Hoover dam to realize that Vegas was indeed built in the middle of the desert.


Anyways, hope I wasn't too critical of Vegas. It was a great place to visit and someplace I have not crossed off my list to reside in someday.

[olecapt]

Actually you were a week late for the dry heat bit. You got here with the arrival of the monsoon from down south. That is actually the time when Las Vegas is least pleasant. The humidity is simply too high. A week before we had 100 and 1% which was quite pleasant. Note though that it does not get to 115 when the monsoon is around tops in the low 100s.

[macgeek]

+1 You are right, the strip is just a teeny weenie itsy bitsy piece of LAS VEGAS
and that if you look past the glitz and glitter you see a heart!

I <3 LV!

Jonathan

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by skim82

Had an opportunity to visit Vegas over the 4th of July weekend.

I was really interested to see how Vegas was off the strip, considering I've vacationed in Vegas no less than 6 times and never really explored other parts of the city.

We stayed at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. Absolutely loved the place. Family friendly while still having some areas for adults and younger people. If it was up to me, I'd choose to never stay on the strip again. My girlfriend enjoys staying where the action is, but the value of off strip resorts are endless.

- Free bottled water everywhere
- Free valet parking
- Amazingly cheap buffets (that are actually a value)
- AMAZING spa.
- Nice rooms
- Great pools (they actually had 4-5 pools)
- Workout room complimentary with stay
- Reasonable prices for drinks and food by the pool
- Excellent service

I do realize that they have a resort fee of I believe $25/day, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I also realize that there are nice hotels on the strip, but I always feel like I'm getting nickel and dimed at those places.


As for Vegas itself, it was beautiful. Love the mountains and scenery, but I would like to retract my notion of desert "dry" heat not being as bad as humid heat we have back home in Kansas City.

115 degrees is still 115 degrees!

Wow. It was like an oven. Not intolerable, but hot. But hey, it's the summertime in the desert. I just kept thinking to myself how I'd deal with the heat for almost half the year.

Some other observations:

- Love the Spanish styled architecture of the SW and Vegas
- Tons of food options! Love In and Out, and the abundance of Asian cuisine ranging from Viet, Korean, Chinese food was spectacular on Spring Mountain!
- Roads look meticulously maintained, (probably because of lack of freezing temps contracting the concrete and no snow)
- You get a lot of house for the money
- Areas like Henderson look like a great place to raise kids

- VEGAS IS MORE THAN JUST THE STRIP.

The one thing that did concern me were the lack of tenants in some newer shopping centers. We all understand the current economic downturn, so it wasn't a surprise, but it looks like the from the eye test that KC is weathering the downturn a little better.

ON A SIDE NOTE*
If you're from the Midwest or other parts of the country, and are not used to the desert, it will be an adjustment. You HAVE to stay hydrated. Don't take the desert heat or setting for granted, you only need to drive 30 min. away to the Hoover dam to realize that Vegas was indeed built in the middle of the desert.


Anyways, hope I wasn't too critical of Vegas. It was a great place to visit and someplace I have not crossed off my list to reside in someday.

Your post is total B.S. It has never gotten even close to 115 degrees this year. The highest was 111, and that was only one day. Also, a $25 resort fee is reasonable? Give me a break.

[dynimagelv]

Not total BS....it has approached 115 in some parts of town and the op may have seen that temp on an outside sign. [notoriously unreliable]
$25 resort fee MAY be unreasonable, but not unusual....that kind of fee is in place in MANY hotels.

[radraja]

I actually agree with most of what the OP said.

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay in Henderson, skim82. There are plenty of wonderful resorts off the strip, located in beautiful, family friendly neighborhoods. The Red Rock Casino is another option to consider for any future vacations (it's located in a very happening area of Summerlin and it's very convenient to hiking in Red Rock Canyon). The JW Marriott on Rampart is also nice (it has more of a traditional feel, compared to the ultra-modern Red Rock).

I also don't think that a $25 resort fee is too bad, assuming that the OP saved a lot more than that by staying off strip.

That being said, I will refute the statement that half of the year is 115 degrees - not true at all. Temperatures of over 100 degrees are really only common June through August or so, which is only about a fourth of the year. And even during those months, it's usually closer to 105 or 110. Spring, fall, and winter are generally quite mild.

[olecapt]

Actually very illustrative of how the heat works here. The week before the 4th of July was actually ten degrees or so warmer than the fourth of July week..yet the earlier week, when it got to 111 though the RH was in small single digits was much more pleasant. Starting on the fourth the temperature dropped below 100 but the RH at that point was 26%. And it stayed that way for the week.

[radraja]

Originally Posted by skim82

The one thing that did concern me were the lack of tenants in some newer shopping centers. We all understand the current economic downturn, so it wasn't a surprise, but it looks like the from the eye test that KC is weathering the downturn a little better.

Out of curiosity, where did you shop?

I don't want to make assumptions, but if you're by chance talking about the District, I'd like to point out that the District really caters to more of a niche market. It isn't necessarily representative of shopping in Las Vegas.

Some of the shopping centers on Eastern would be a huge contrast. Those shopping centers are always packed. (Although that too might be different during the 4th of July weekend.)

[doolish1]

I enjoyed reading this post from someone who is being open minded about LV as an outsider. Good insight.

[MSchu]

definitely try the RED ROCK ... it is also a station casino. it's my favorite/most comfortable casino.
station casinos just do a great job for us locals.