Las Vegas (Summer 2023)
A few more Vegas places during a visit in late August. It was blistering hot for most of the time until some showers brought a little relief. The hot weather was good for the pool, bad for walking too far.
High Roller
I have never ridden this ferris wheel before but having gotten some free tickets, decided to hop on. Would I pay full price for the ride? I’m not sure but totally worth it for free!
It is nice that you can grab a drink before you board and can enjoy the view with some refreshments.
The ride is a 1/2 hour and they do a good job of not overcrowding the pods so there is plenty of space to walk around and take in different views.
One thing though - maybe wash the windows more often since people are here for the views?
I guess this wheel is taller than the London Eye. People recommend going up at night to get a view of the Vegas lights. The new sphere was lit but during the ride it was just a U2 ad vs the more clever animations that they were showing at other times.
Peppermill (Strip)
Finally got around to going to the Peppermill. It’s become a constant fixture in an everchanging strip. The actual Fireside Lounge bar portion of the restaurant was closed at the time we were there.
The happy hour deals are pretty good and you can see the portions are pretty big in the above photos. The normal sizes for meals are enormous. The breakfasts that you can get all day seem like they all should be shared meals.
Super friendly staff and fun atmosphere here. Located at the far end of north strip, they have their own parking lot if you have a car and feel that walk is too far.
Proper Eats Food Hall - Bar (Aria)
There are a lot of good food options at the Aria food court but we were there to take advantage of the oyster happy hour. Pretty good deal and the area is spacious. There are a lot of Vegas happy hour deals where the seating fills up because the happy hour deals only apply to a small bar area but it’s not a problem at this spot.
Vespers (Cosmopolitan)
This is really just a lobby bar but they do a great job with the cocktails here. I recall getting the Vesper here a while ago and it’s where I learned to put some Regan’s orange bitters in it. Maybe they tweaked the recipe since the menu now lists grapefruit oil instead.
They have a secret menu which pops up if you ask the waitstaff to shine a black light on the empty space on the menu.