Las Vegas is known for having some of the most spectacular hotels in the world. Most of these hotels are located in the area known as "The Strip" which is four miles long. The Stratosphere Hotel is at the northern end while the Mandalay Bay is at the southern end of the Strip.
The first hotel to be built in Las Vegas actually was on Fremont Street where it all began at a small railroad stop at the turn of the century to become one of the lightest and brightest streets in the world. Fremont Street has now been closed off to traffic and caters to pedestrians - offering ten hotels and casinos:
Golden Nugget
Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel
Fremont Hotel and Casino
California Hotel and Casino
Main Street Casino
Fitzgerald Casino Hotel
Four Queens Hotel and Casino
Golden Gate
Las Vegas Club
Lady Luck
as well as retail shops, kiosks, restaurants, bars and lounges.
The Fremont Street Experience is one of the most famous and historic streets, and has been the site of numerous "firsts" in Las Vegas:
First paved street 1925.
First Nevada gaming license which was issued to the Northern Club located at 15 E. Fremont Street.
First traffic light and first elevator at the Apache Hotel in 1932.
The first high rise which was the Fremont Hotel in 1956.
Binion's was the first casino to install carpeting.
The Golden Nugget was the first building that was actually designed to be a casino.
Fremont Street, which is five blocks long, has a 90 foot high canopy of lights that goes on every night at dusk providing a fabulous light and sound show. During the day, concert quality music is played throughout the mall.
The newer and more expensive hotels are on the Strip. Many of these are built around a theme such as the Luxor which is a 30 story pyramid shaped architectural wonder with a 110 foot Sphinx guarding the entrance and is probably the most photographed hotel on the Strip. The décor depicts daily life in Ancient Egypt and guests entering the main entrance are greeted with a recreation of the temple at Abu Simbel. The original cost of this magnificent hotel was $375 million and it boasts 4,408 guest rooms which include 447 suites with more than 120,000 square feet of gaming area.
Another magnificent hotel is the Bellagio which boasts its 1,200 world-famous dancing fountains on an 8.5 acre lake. The fountains offer a union of water, music and light providing opera, classical and whimsical music to delighted listeners. The hotel, which opened in 1998, originally cost $1.6 billion and has 3,933 guest rooms including 512 suites with over 100,000 square feet of gambling space. The ceiling of the lobby has a display of 2,000 hand blown glass flowers and is truly a spectacular sight.
All in all, Las Vegas - with its myriad luxury hotels such as Caesar's Palace, the Venetian, New York, NY, the MGM Mirage and many more - is one of the world's most enjoyable adult playgrounds and should not be missed.
