What's New on the Las Vegas Strip?

As a native Californian, Las Vegas was my home away from home. But we'd been out-of-touch with Las Vegas while living near Walt Disney World in Florida. Now that we're actually living in Las Vegas, our first order of business was to see some properties for the first time and revisit several more after hearing of major changes to them.

Wynn Las Vegas was our first stop. Our two favorite Las Vegas properties previously were the Mirage and the Bellagio, both created by Steve Wynn, so we were anxious to give Wynn Las Vegas a first look.

It was simply gorgeous. We loved the red used throughout and it was very classy and so like Steve Wynn. There were pieces of it that reminded us of Bellagio. If we were flying in from out-of-town as before, we'd stay here. But for an Elvis fan, the most exciting part was learning that Elvis' right-hand man, Joe Esposito, is now a casino host at Wynn. Wow! I was on the lookout for Joe. He autographs copies of his book, Remembering Elvis, and I felt like I was going to meet Elvis himself. But, alas, it was not to be-yet.

We'd read that the Luxor was no longer featuring their Egyptian theming and I had to go over there to see for myself. I parked in self-park and wandered past the pool area and into the casino. Yes, the first thing you notice from that entry was the lack of theming and general lack of attraction. Once I made it to the front of the hotel, I could see some remnants of the old theming, which I miss.

It has been awhile since they took out the boat ride, ala Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, that ran through the front of the casino, and the Luxor has gone downhill for my taste. We've enjoyed many fun trips to the Luxor, staying in a fabulous Jacuzzi suite. But the Luxor is a big turnoff to me now.

The good news is the Luxor is connected to Mandalay Bay via the new (to me) Mandalay Place- it's simply fabulous. Restaurants, bars, and cabaret theatre are interspersed with the shops. I wandered into The Reading Room--a quaint little book store--and bought a novel, recommended by the friendly and helpful staff.

I continued on through Mandalay Bay and was quite impressed with their version of House of Blues, perhaps even better than the Disney World version. I've eaten here before and I recalled how much I enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Mandalay Bay is at the top of my list of hotels to book during the hot, hot, hot summer-even as a local. They have a fabulous wave pool and water park area that rivals Disney World's. And then there are the amazing Margarita shakers and yummy Mexican food served alfresco overlooking the river pool at Border Grill, from Celebrity Chefs Mary Sue and Susan from "Too Hot Tamales."

Next on our list was to check out the new Planet Hollywood, replacing the previously "updated" Aladdin Hotel. The original Aladdin is where Elvis and Priscilla were married. The "new Aladdin," along with the adjoining Desert Passage wasn't a hit with us and it seems we were not alone. But the new Planet Hollywood replacing the Aladdin is awesome, very sleek and contemporary, cool and hip.

Besides the Planet Hollywood Casino, the new incarnation of Desert Passage, now called Miracle Mile, is fabulous. And the restaurants are even better. The entire atmosphere feels Disneyesque with faux-painted daytime sky effects on the ceiling and a periodic thunderstorm and rain shower. And, Disney fans, there's even an Earl of Sandwich at one intersection of the Planet Hollywood casino and Miracle Mile Shops.

Where to have lunch was a tough choice but we chose the newly-opened Hawaiian Tropic Zone. With waitresses dressed like Hawaiian beach girls and giant video screens with gorgeous pictures of the islands, ocean, and waterfalls; we're ready to book a trip to Hawaii.

The lunch at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone was awesome, but no wonder, David Burke is a very creative and talented as well as famous celebrity chef. Known for his flair for presentation, he didn't disappoint when we saw the "Grilled Chicken and BLT Stack" delivered to the table. The same could be said for the "Chicken Lollipops" and the Blood Marys weren't bad either.

What I love about Las Vegas is the opportunity to dine at celebrity chef restaurants from around the world but all here right in Las Vegas. And this is just a small bite out of the possibilities.