Grand Chateau is a Vegas location worth visiting. Located just off the strip for a little added quiet and calm when you need to relax. It is great to refresh before you get back to the fun. There are many advantages of staying close to the strip, but not right on it. One of those is sleep. Some places right on the strip are just too loud and active. In my mind, that is why some visitors do it.
In order to have fun, you also need to have a great place to relax and recover from the super high energy and attention of the Vegas traveler lifestyle. So here you have the chance to get the best of both worlds. Access and peace of mind.
Video by Island Hopper TV
Day One: Arrival at the Grand Chateau
Like most day one started with a flight to Vegas. While some from neighboring states do drive to Vegas, the majority of us come in on flights.
Of the major airports in the area, the International Airport at McCarran is like your flight’s destination in unless you are flying private. It is a large airport with 3 major terminals and its own tram transit system. That is how busy flight traffic can be at this airport for Vegas.
From the airport to the resort is a very short trip. It is less than 3 miles via cab. This means you do not have to worry about a rental car or anything at the start of your trip if you do not want to. Like me, you can just grab a cab from the airport to the resort and check in.
It is nice to be so close to everything and even the airport. This puts you literally in the center of it all in Vegas. After the flight it was very nice to get settled fast shower, and head to the strip.
I do not gamble a great deal, but this trip I did want to gamble some for sure. For me gambling is fun, the shows and entertainment are great, and a town that is up at all hours is enjoyable too. I am a bit of a night owl and always have been. Having lived in communities that almost completely shut down at 10 PM, it is nice to visit vacation spots that give you that late-night option.
After check-in, it was time to hit the strip and get this all-hours party started.
I started with a visit to Bally’s since I already had a Bally’s card with some juice on it. By that I mean I had built up a solid playing history under my name with Bally’s including a decent win the last time I was in Atlantic City. This meant that I was closer to getting them to comp-free food and fun here than I was at other resorts. The idea was to gamble some, then grab some free vouchers for a buffet or other meal here.
I started playing blackjack and I kind of just broke even. So, then I went to my old stand by which is to choose some machines in high-traffic areas. I do this because I believe the odds on these very visible machines (while still in house favor) are much better than machines tucked in the corner somewhere.
I put $500 in and got $650 out. By the time I had done that hunger got the best of me, so I used the winnings to get something to eat, instead of playing longer for the free meal comp.
After dinner and a few more drinks, I was ready for Bally’s sex-topless review. A stage show with some amazingly attractive Vegas dancers who were also gifted in the top-heavy department. I do not think any male that likes the ladies should miss this show.
Dancing just keeps anyone so fit, wow. I will not describe the show to you, but if that is your thing, make sure to see it. Wives take your husbands, you will thank me later.
For me afterward, it was back to the resort to get a few hours of sleep before a full day of gambling fun tomorrow.
Day Two at the Grand Chateau
Waking here, you feel a little like Vegas royalty. It is just that nice of a resort. The rooms here are modern, big, and well sexy if a room can be such a thing. Maybe it was just the memories of the women in the stage show last night.
Vegas is the town that never sleeps, and also the adult playground where you are supposed to make and keep secrets about your trip. Here I am writing about my trip, but let’s just say there are things that should stay in Vegas or in just your mind as well. Do not tell it all when you get home, or if you write a blog.
Before any adult fun started, I wanted to find a great breakfast buffet, something to get in my stomach before any alcohol for the day. For breakfast buffets, there are many options, but few are better than the buffet at the Wynn. It is just over-the-top fancy and good at the same time.
I jumped in here and had an amazing meal that turned into more of a semi-Olympic event. I was hungry, and the food was great, which should be a perfect combination. Well, that is unless you want to be mobile and awake later in the day.
After stuffing myself, and likely making some kind of noises as I ate (mmm-good or something), I headed back to the casino. This time at the Golden Nugget. The smart thing would be to put as much on my card with Bally’s as I could since I had already run some money through that tracking account, but I wanted to go to several casinos while I was in town. It was a see the sites and gamble kind of trip.
I started at the slot machines and spent a few hours there before moving to blackjack. While at blackjack I was cleverly roped into coaching a female player at the table. She asked for tips as a not-so-subtle way to start a conversation. I immediately thought she might be a pro, and by that, I do not mean a gambler. As the conversation progressed I found out instead that she was a school teacher from Ohio, and here on a vacation after a recent divorce. That seemed like a lot to find out over just two drinks, but I got it: she was oversharing because she was going through something.
I will not dive too far into this part of my journey but safe to say that I am not a pickup artist, or even wise with flirting. In Vegas, however, you do not have to be since the town itself markets itself as Sin City. If you are lonely and have something to offer. Like a smile and a good attitude, you might do well here. It is a collision though of two groups. Many overweight tourists, and many super-fit locals. Which is an off combination. What it does mean is that if you are a tad out of shape like me, you stand out as a tourist, and that may not be a bad thing if you are careful on your trip.
This town is fun and I can completely see how people come here and end up getting in trouble or waking up married to someone they fell in love with while in party mode. It is likely also why the divorce and annulment laws in this state are pretty flexible.
It is possible to get married to Elvis and divorced by the King on the same trip, I think.
Now with my new best trip friend in tow, I chose to head out to eat and then see a show. At first, I considered going to a Hypnosis show because I know hypnosis and I like seeing the stage performers do their thing. It could also lead to some good conversations with my guest. But then I thought about the larger shows and decided to play the role of high roller and get us some great seats to a big show in town.
I had enjoyed some TV episodes of Chris Angel Mindfreak so I worked on getting some good seats for his show. Close to but too close would be great for this kind of show. His shows are at Planet Hollywood, so we went over there for an early dinner and some more gambling before the show.
Do not put yourself in the position of gambling to impress someone, ever. It is just not a good call. I started playing for more money than I normally would, which was silly. I think most of the time a fool and his money would have parted company right there, but I got lucky and did a little more than OK. Not enough to have to drop the dime on me, to the IRS, but it did boost my fun and confidence some.
The show was great, and it was a fun night.
Day Three Vegas
Remember that whole what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas thing, yeah well it is a thing, OK. Let’s just say my new friend and I met that morning for some more fun on the town.
She was a great gal, and we had fun out on the town. Good times.
The day started with breakfast we went to the Ameri brunch Café which served brunch items but did not have a buffet. It was great and I could tell why it has a 4.7-star level even on Google. It was affordable good food in a nice clean environment. It has the one-dollar sign for cost but at the current time 685 reviews and that high of a score. So, you know it has to be good.
I had French toast, and she chose the same. I am old school if I am spending time with a lady; I feel most comfortable buying the food, tickets whatever. I know that makes me a dinosaur these days, but it is how I roll.
If you see me these days, I am like an older out of shape lineman from the NFL. I am 6’4” and too many pounds, so having nice company on this trip was a surprise and bonus I certainly had not counted on. In addition to not being a model type while I can talk a great game, my true relationship skill show I have no game whatsoever. Maybe everything was just something I should write off as Vegas Magic.
As the day went on, I thought about things some. Here I was having a great time, but tomorrow I would be leaving after tonight’s stay at the resort. Would this be a thing, or would it just be a polite exchange of numbers and emails, then never talking again? The old “we will always have Vegas” kind of situation.
Who knows? Anyway, it was time to do something else other than gamble, eat, or enjoy the resort. There are tons to do in Vegas, but I was up a little on the gambling, and part of me wanted to show off a little more. Not that I normally am one, (a show off that is) but because one of the things I enjoy most in life is enjoying new experiences with people. Helping them do things they would have otherwise not done without my influence or prompting.
This meant it was time again for a Helicopter ride. Here is where I did something a little crazy and well way overboard. I chose an all-day trip that was part Helicopter ride, boat ride, and Airplane tour. It was basically everything you can imagine all packaged into about 7 hours of fun. Expensive as heck, but there are tours you can take in Vegas in a Helicopter for as little as $89. This was just not one of those.
Before any tips, this was about $500 each, so it was going to be at the minimum $1,000 dollar a day. But I looked at it like this (to give myself an excuse) I had already won some money, if I went back and gambled trying to show off even subconsciously, I may have lost thousands. So, by spending $1k, I might be (likely was) saving money in the long run. Also, I was going to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with someone I did not really know, but whom I thought was special.
She said she would try it, but that she did have a fear of heights. I confessed that while I had been in Helicopters before, heights also bothered me some. I said I think you will like it and let’s give this a try. She was down with the idea, so I booked it last minute and in 30 minutes the limo came to pick us up. I say limo and it was a nice car like a Lincoln, but it was not an 8-person limo on anything. I would not wait to book these all-day trips last minute like this. In my case it worked out, but there are no guarantees it will for you. If you plan to do something huge like this book ahead.
Over the next 7 hours, we saw the Grand Canyon, and Hover Dam, and even went on boats in the Colorado River. You take a plane to tour first, then ride in the Helicopter down to the river and then get on the boats.
From the company website, here is the itinerary.
Tour Highlights
Complimentary pickup and drop-off from most major hotels in Downtown Las Vegas and on the Strip
Board a fixed-wing airplane for a breathtaking flight from the Las Vegas area to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.
At the West Rim, hop on a state-of-the-art helicopter for a thrilling descent 4,000 feet below the West Rim. Your helicopter ride will land on a private plateau at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Enjoy a peaceful pontoon boat cruise along the Colorado River. Gaze up as the skyscraping canyon walls tower on every side.
Return to the rim via helicopter flight, then board a shuttle for visits to spectacular views and photo opportunities like Guano Point and Eagle Point.
After your airplane return flight, simply check in at the terminal transportation desk to hop on a shuttle back to your Las Vegas hotel.
Once the trip was over it was so special, I thought well if this thing ever became a relationship, I could not top that. It was that over-the-top kind of experience.
It was going to be very strange tomorrow to say goodbye after all this. Goodbye to my school teacher from Ohio, and goodbye to Vegas and the resort.
Thanks to TZort I can always afford to come back. Maybe life will give me another trip like this one again.
