Hilton Grand Vacations at The Flamingo

Going back to Vegas. I enjoy Vegas and staying at a Hilton Grand Resort just makes the entire trip better.

Saving by booking through Tzort.com and with the low cost of airfare and even car rentals now makes Vegas a great destination choice for some fun in the sun.

If you are tired of winter, Vegas is a great place to warm up and have some fun. In the summertime, Vegas is an over-the-top party spot.

Video by TRIP XTREME

Day One Travel and Arrival

Like most trips to Vegas, mine started with a flight from my local airport. So many flights go to Vegas daily that many airports like my own offer straight flights without a layover, which is great.

To be honest, the mask thing on planes makes no sense to me, but I will not comment on it during the flight. It is what it is. Just seems crazy that now we can buy, sell, and wear magical cloth that is supposed to help you when you are in a tube with recirculating air. I want to travel more than I want to talk about that, but I am honest and direct so I mention it while passing here. They also do not serve nuts or drinks on flights to the main cabin now, but hey those were just time killers, anyway.

When you reach the Vegas Airport, you are just minutes from the strip and from this resort. You could certainly skip car rentals without any problem. I am just getting one on this trip because I also want to see Hoover dam this time.

Check-in at the resort was fast and easy, and the staff was very kind. I know I mention it many times on these travel blogs but you really appreciate the good staff when sometimes you just do not mention the experience. The staff can make or break a vacation stay at a resort if you let it.

The rooms here are great and my 1 bedroom suite with jetted tub and a full kitchen was very large and clean. Now that I have stayed in about 8 Hilton Grand Resorts, I must say everyone was very clean and very well maintained. That makes a difference when you travel and spend your hard-earned money.

Villa Amenities

Resort Amenities

My idea for this trip is to gamble and have fun on the strip today and tomorrow, then drive out of town to Hoover dam on the 3^rd day at the resort.

My resort accommodations are great. The rooms have a 42-inch screen TV in the bedroom and a 50-inch in the living room area, which is nice when you want to wake up to watch the weather or the news. I am a creature of habit and to me, that bit of TV a few times a week is peaceful.

I also really like the jetted tub. Since I have been walking more over the last week, a nightly soak in the hot tub will help a ton. I hit the water and relaxed in the tub after returning from dinner.

After my bath, it was time to put one of my casino player cards to use. All the major casinos now offer some form of the player card. These are the way casinos track how much money you play with, so they can offer incentives to keep you happy and playing in their casinos. When you run your gambling purchases through the card, you can earn free meals, entertainment, and even accommodations. The great news for me and for you if you are staying at a TZort resort is that you can spend all of your points and benefits on entertainment, or meals.

I headed to Caesars since I have a Bally’s card that has a good deal of stored point value on it from several trips to casinos here and in Atlantic City. My goal with my points is to earn a free show tomorrow and a really nice dinner. I can pay for it but it seems more fun to get the fun as a benefit of my gambling. I can stop the points effort if I win enough that I do not care about the freebies.

Like most casinos in Vegas, the parent companies own more than one casino, so your player card make works at several locations. I was at Bally’s and Caesars is part of the same ownership.

Caesar’s palace is the flagship of their brand and one of the great old ladies on the Vegas Strip. This was my last stop for the night before headed back to the resort. I was focused on the casino and luckily did well at blackjack. Not well enough to ignore my player card, but enough to earn the meal and show.

Day Two The Strip

Today I was back on the strip for some fun. The first stop for me today was the Stratosphere Tower the deck here gives you a great 360 view of the Vegas Strip.

After my time in the tower, I wanted to get some breakfast,, and I opted for brunch at one of the amazing buffets in town. I chose the Wynn Buffet for brunch. For less than $45.99 a person, you get access to virtually everything you can imagine for breakfast. Brunch is from 10AM-3PM.

The meal was amazing, and worth the price. It is interesting that the way they control things at the buffets is that they time you in Vegas. From the time you enter, most buffets give you 90 minutes to eat. Even eating all I could handle, I spent maybe half of that time, so the time seems generous.

After brunch I thought about staying and playing some but decided against it since I do not have a player’s card here and I did not want to start building value on yet another card since I already have 4 of them.

Instead, I decided to head to Caesars again and make sure I have enough for what I wanted to do later today. When you have a good amount of points or value built up on your player’s card, you can then speak with a host about spending that and getting tickets or coupons. For shows, if Caesars or Ballys do not have a show, you want to see the hosts can often get you passes or tickets to other shows in town. Think of the casino hosts as a very powerful concierge. These folks have the juice to really get things done.

A Vegas Show

I was able to score some tickets to a sold-out show for Paranormal Mind Reading Magic at Bally’s. That should be fun. I have a background in hypnosis, having learned it, practiced, and later trained it years ago. It was one of the things in life I was interested in and then went forward to earn a certification. Mind reading is similar to a skillset, and a kind combination of behavioral studies or psychology.

The skills that you see a performer use on stage with hypnosis or mind reading are not the same used by cutting-edge science, or the therapeutic practitioner. Research into real mind reading is fascinating and does exist, but it is not what you will see in Vegas.

Mind Reading is a new technology that allows people to read minds. People who use this technology can see the thoughts and feelings of others. This technology can be used by doctors to help diagnose illnesses and by parents to help children learn.

A child’s brainwave patterns can predict how well he/she will do in school. This knowledge could help parents make better decisions about what subjects to teach their children. Knowing someone’s mind could also help them choose careers.

Neuroscientists are now able to read people’s minds by analyzing their brains’ electrical signals. This technology allows them to know exactly what someone is thinking. The fun with a great stage performance is that they can make you think they are using the powers of suggestion, and real mind reading. This can shock and amaze you. My show was good, and the performer was very gifted with his art.

Dinner at Ramsay’s Pub & Grill

Noted Chef Gordon Ramsay has a British-style pub and grill here. He also has a Hells Kitchen, and Bobby Flay has his restaurant at Caesars as well. I chose the pub and grill because I enjoy fish and chips when it is done right.

Since the meal was comped, I had plenty of credit to spend here. I could have had his 4 course, but I really wanted the fish and chips for some reason. So I had that and a few beers, as well as the lobster mac and cheese.

I think I was as full after this meal as I was at the buffet this morning. I had to almost roll myself back to the resort.

It was nice to come back to the resort, away from the action of the strip, to relax. I like that disconnection, and I think it helps you decompress from all the sights and sounds.

Day Three Hoover Dam

I wanted to visit the Hoover Dam I have been to before, but that was many years ago. So today I have my rental car and I will drive out to the dam and, if possible, drive over the dam as well, just to say I did it.

I imagine that this may be one of the last chances to cross the dam in a car. I remember going up to the top of Lady Liberty to the internal observation deck in the torch, thinking if I had a child I would bring them to do that one day. Or going up to the Washington Monument. Those are experiences we can’t have anymore since access was closed. I think driving across the dam will someday be the same.

Hoover Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) in 1935. It took almost 10 years to complete this project. The BOR hired thousands of workers to build the dam. This project was very expensive. The construction cost $400 million dollars. The dam was named after Herbert Hoover, who served as president during the time the dam was being constructed. The dam was completed in 1936. The dam is located near Las Vegas, Nevada. Hoover Dam Historical Collection includes many artifacts such as old photos, newspaper clippings, and other historical documents about the dam.

Hoover Dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1936-1937. It is located near Boulder City, Nevada. It is the largest concrete arch dam in the world. It is named after Herbert Hoover.

Look for the warning signs before crossing the Hoover Dam. Do some research on the important information. You might be surprised that RVs and rental cars can cross the dam, but they may be inspected.

Hoover Dam is a huge structure built across the Colorado River. It is located in the US state of Nevada. The road over the top of the dam is called the Boulder Highway. The road is very long and goes all the way to Las Vegas. There is also a lake named after the dam. The lake is about 200 miles long and covers an area of about 6,000 square miles.

Visitors to the Hoover Dam can get an idea of how difficult building this dam was. People died during construction, but there is a free museum and a gift shop. Check on the status of guided tours given the concerns with COVID or other issues. Just check for availability on the website.

Even if you are not an engineering fan, the size and scale of the dam will impress you.

You can travel to the dam by car, tour bus, or helicopter. The last time I came I took a tour bus and came with a group which is a great way to visit. Here is one of the many bus tour providers.

Save on your next vacation by booking with TZort.