Posts from ‘September, 2009’

Las Vegas Week – The Golden Nugget

golden-nugget

The Golden Nugget is the largest of the Las Vegas Downtown casinos consisting of just over 1900 guest rooms and 3500 square metres of gaming space. The casino is currently undergoing a major expansion to increase the hotel space by 500 rooms. The Golden Nugget opened in August of 1946 and is famous for its huge gold nuggets on display including the worlds largest, called the Hand of Faith it weighs in at a whopping 27.21 kilograms and was found in Australia. The Golden Nugget has some great dining options including a branch of the world famous Houston steak house Vic & Anthonys. There is also one of the best buffets downtown with live cooking stations and a huge array of tasty foods.

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Las Vegas Week – Wynn Las Vegas Resort

wynn

The Wynn is one of the most beautiful and luxurious of the Las Vegas casino resort complexes. Located on the Las Vegas Boulevard between Riviera and Spanish styled Palazzo and opposite the Fashion Show Mall the hotel has over 2700 rooms, 10300 square metres of gaming space, and huge conference, theatre and convention facilities. It is sister to the adjacent Encore which has just been completed and doubles the facility. The complex features some amazing shopping and even is home to a Ferrari dealership- very handy after a huge win. The gardens are spectacular and grounds make up the Wynn Golf Club. For partygoers there are several great nightclubs including Tryst which includes a 90ft waterfall and lake in the centre of the club- it is quiet spectacular. For diners there is no better in Vegas, with choices like Ristorante di Mare, Bartolotta and the world famous French Alex which holds two Michelin Stars and is the restaurant of Iron Chef USA Alessandra Stratta.

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Las Vegas Week – Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon

bills-gamblin-hall

Bills Gamblin Hall and Saloon was one of the smaller entertainment complexes on the Las Vegas Boulevard and doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of the big resorts but has a great old time charm which makes it very popular with the young and elderly. Their signature attraction was one of the Strips ‘best’ Big Elvis yes you heard it right, he is a 500 plus pound impersonator of Elvis Presley and boy is he talented. The casino featured just under 200 rooms and has around 1600 square metres of gaming space with all the favorites including slots, poker and a race room. There is plenty of free entertainment in the gaming rooms and drinks and food are very reasonable.

Update 2014: Bills has now been renovated into an upmarket Hotel known as The Cromwell

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Las Vegas Week – Planet Hollywood Vegas Style

planet-hollywood

The Aladdin was one of the first of the theme resorts on the Vegas strip, but that has made way for one of the most exciting Planet Hollywood Las Vegas. This 2600 room resort has 9300 square metres of gaming and huge show rooms and shopping strips. Just renovated the resort has one of the freshest looks on the strip. A drink or two at the Mezzanine is a must for any visitor it has spectacular views of the video walls and neon of the gaming lounge and a great way to escape the Vegas heat. Planet Hollywood has some great dining too, the Spice Market Buffet is a must for anyone hungry with an international selection of dishes. For fine Japanese its hard to go past KOI it has an amazing candle lit atmosphere and for steak lovers the Strip House offers some of Vegas’ juiciest steaks.

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Las Vegas Week – Excalibur Hotel and Casino

excallabur

The medieval themed Excalibur opened in 1990 and has been a favorite on the Las Vegas Strip. Having just over 4000 rooms and over 9300 metres of beautifully themed gaming space the casino is a treat for young and old alike. The hotel was the worlds biggest hotel at opening but many more Vegas mega hotels have claimed that title since. The resort features one of Las Vegas’ longest running and most popular shows THE Tournament of Kings. This amazing show features medieval jousting and is a lot of fun and can be done as a medieval dinner show. For the ladies there’s plenty of buff action with the Thunder from Downunder show and there is always some entertainment playing around the complex. Being a family hotel the kids haven’t been forgotten either underwater legend Sponge Bob Square Pants features in an incredible 4D adventure ride and the huge pool is one of Vegas’s best.

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Berlin Week along the Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden is one of Berlin’s premier and grandest streets. Travelling through the city east to west the street is home to some of Berlin’s most impressive buildings and monuments including the German Historic Museum and Humboldt University and the Staatsoper. The street is lined with linden trees which give the street its name, they date back to the mid 1600’s although have all been replanted several times including after the Second World War when the street was severely damaged. The Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Palace of the Republic and makes a fantastic walking tour when visiting the German capital, there are several great coffee shops or Kaffeehaus along the way where you can kick back and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping a Latte Macchiato- a Berlin specialty.

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Berlin Week – Sony Centre

sony-berlin

Unter den Linden is one of Berlin’s premier and grandest streets. Travelling through the city east to west the street is home to some of Berlin’s most impressive buildings and monuments including the German Historic Museum and Humboldt University and the Staatsoper. The street is lined with linden trees which give the street its name, they date back to the mid 1600’s although have all been replanted several times including after the Second World War when the street was severely damaged. The Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Palace of the Republic and makes a fantastic walking tour when visiting the German capital, there are several great coffee shops or Kaffeehaus along the way where you can kick back and enjoy the beautiful scenery while sipping a Latte Macchiato- a Berlin specialty.

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Berlin week – Berleskanzleramt

Berleskanzleramt

One of the things you notice most about Berlin is the huge and striking new architecture which has been created since the fall of the Berlin Wall. One of the most striking is the Bundeskanzleramt or Chancellery which opened in 2001 as part of the government’s move from Bonn to Berlin. This huge exposed concreted masterpiece of modern architecture is opposite the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate and is just as imposing. Taking four years to construct and nearly quarter of a million Euro to build it was designed by German architects Alex Shultes and Charlotte Frank. The 300 plus office building is home to the German cabinet and office of the German Chancellor who has his office on the seventh floor of the building while living on the top floor. Due to security issues the Bundeskanzleramt is not open to the public but the just to view the impressive architecture outside is well worth the visit to see it.

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Berlin Week – Berliner Dom

Berliner Dom

The beautiful Baroque Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral was built on Museum Island on the river Spree between 1894 and 1905 but the site has been a church for over 600 years and has been home to many churches since. The Berliner Dom was constructed under Emperor Willem II’s reign and designed by Julius Raschdorff who had the task to design something as impressive as St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Second World War saw much damage to Berlin and the Dom was no exception, it suffered serious damage after a fire bomb hit the structure and destroyed much of the building including the dome roof. 1975 saw the start of the painstaking restoration project which saw the church reopen in 1993. The interior is not as elaborative as it was before the war but it is still simply stunning. The church has a magnificent organ and some amazing stained glass windows and also has an alter from the previous cathedral which was raised to build this new one.

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