The sun shines all year round.
The dazzle from the casinos and hotels on The Strip makes it the brightest place on Earth according to NASA.
The cultural and arts scene is legendary; its museums range from Mob culture to natural history, atomic testing to erotica.
The Mojave Desert is an ecological historical and visual wonder.
Elvis and Adele, Elton John and Mariah Carey, Sinatra and his Rat Pack are among its superstar alumni.
Las Vegas baby!
The entertainment capital of the world and the destination on many a traveller’s bucket list. So why wasn’t it on mine?
Because:
• If I wanted to experience the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Canal, the Statue of Liberty... why would I want to see a facsimile?
• I learned from an early age, in the amusement arcades of Blackpool and Llandudno, that gambling doesn’t pay.
• Friends who’d already ticked Sin City off their wish list, saying they loved it, hadn’t convinced me I would too.
But, when the invitation came to a four-day celebration of Virgin Atlantic’s 40th birthday, travelling on the new thrice-weekly summer service from Manchester to Vegas, I could only repeat one of the mantras of that airline’s maverick founder, Sir Richard Branson: ‘Screw it – let’s do it.’ To Manchester Airport then, and a Premium Class seat on an Airbus A350-1000 for the nine-plus hour flight from Terminal 2 to Harry Reid International.
Richard Branson’s belief, as founder of Virgin Atlantic, is – above all else – that it is the people who work for his company that make the difference. And given the loyalty, professionalism and joie de vivre of his staff, it seems the admiration is mutual.
James Stoops, who looked after my section of Premium, exemplifies Virgin’s team spirit – charming, professional, and attentive, never missing a beat or a passenger request. He and the rest of the flight attendants weren’t just flying out to work, they too had been invited to the truly glittering party two days later, to mark the ruby anniversary.
So far (4,766 air miles), so good. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, our base for the trip, is just over a mile from the centre of the Strip, and like everything else in this giant of a destination is very, very big. It’s a resort in itself with 1,500 guest rooms and suites across three towers, a 60,000sq-ft casino and sportsbook, a five-acre desert pool oasis, a music and entertainment theatre, and 12 food and drink outlets including Nobu.
It’s also entered through that most Vegas of experiences, a sea of gaming machines, but there was no time to take a bet on whether or not I was going to become as addicted to the Sin City experience as the other half-a-million Brits who visit annually. (The UK is Vegas’s largest overseas market.) After checking in to my very spacious and comfortable Ruby Tower suite there was lunch in the sunshine at the hotel’s Kassi Beach House and Beach Club, and then it was off to adults-only Play Playground at the Luxor Hotel – the perfect antidote for jetlag with its giant versions of favourite childhood games such as Operation and Perfection, fast food, cocktails and the chance to put on a Velcroed suit and throw yourself at a sticky wall.
A packed second day included a press conference with Richard Branson and then on to the Punk Museum. Why did I choose it? Because it was part of a trip to the Arts District that encompassed lunch at renowned neighbourhood restaurant Esther’s Kitchen, vintage shops and galleries, and a drive down the Strip. The Punk Museum is among the many Las Vegas attractions that give the lie to the misconception – my misconception – that Vegas is nothing but fakery and having a flutter... Punk was never my thing, but I will swear, on a copy of Sniffin’ Glue, that fan or not, this place takes you on a fascinating adventure into the lives, and (often early) deaths, music, fashions and ideologies that tell the story of the subculture.
Other journalists on the trip who visited the Mob Museum billed as ‘a non-profit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime’s history and impact on American society,’ found it equally fascinating. Although they didn’t get a chance to lie on Kurt Cobain’s sofa.
At the Virgin 40th anniversary party that night at the hotel’s Dish Pool, where Sir Richard and his crew jumped fully clothed into the pool, we danced to the brilliant Sway Allstars, flown in from London for the gig, and then after-partied in the hotel’s Shag Room... (you’ll need to go to find out).
Day three outing options included Sporty Las Vegas, and the 7.30am start Natural Las Vegas tour to Red Rock Canyon, the natural choice for those of us who hadn’t lingered in the Shag Room. This excursion took us on a short drive – and a world away – from the synthetic sensory overload that is the 4.2-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard known as the Strip.
And yet, at first glance, the extraordinarily cinematic ancient rock formations rising out of the haze of the desert heat look as fake as the Grand Canal that flows through the famed Venetian hotel.
The ecosystem, and the flora and fauna surviving in the extreme temperatures are a true wonder to behold and our guide on the award-winning Pink Jeep Adventure Tour was a fount of funny and fascinating facts. It was a remarkable experience.
And what better for a final Sin City hurrah than a Strip show?
This was the raunchy, rowdy Absinthe at the most famous of Sin City entertainment venues, Caesars Palace, a sinful circus for adults with amazing acts – many of them British, all of them scantily clad – and an extremely provocative host.
A stroll past the dancing Bellagio Fountains, through the crazy crowds and a late-night karaoke session and cocktails at The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails at the Cosmopolitan Hotel... and so to bed before breakfast and a drive in the Virgin Hotels courtesy car to the Bonanza Gift Shop to buy silly souvenirs.
Then to Harry Reid International and the flight home, in the safe hands of Virgin Atlantic, with James Stoops dispensing good food and good humour and strong coffee for an editor getting off a red-eye to do a day shift on Cheshire Life. There was also the gift of herbal tea to take home to lull her off to sleep that night, dreaming of the next trip to this most surprising of cities, where there is much more to see and do. Would she return? You can bet on it.
