Las Vegas moves fast, and when you are in town for just 24 hours you need to move fast too. It's one of those towns where you can really fit a lot into just one day and night. With so much to see, do, taste and experience, 24 hours in Las Vegas can be plenty of time to have some fun!
Here's our guide for making the most out of 24 hours in Las Vegas.
Who needs sleep, right? We've all heard the sayings. Sleep is overrated. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Etc. Well, we don't know about you, but we actually love to sleep and this itinerary for 24 hours in Las Vegas even accounts for some sweet dreams.
Even so, there's no reason why you can't have an action-packed visit to this wild and wonderful playground. Here's some suggestions to fill your time.
The newest hotel and casino complex on the Las Vegas Strip, Resorts World Las Vegas is impressive. It's actually three hotels in one, all operated by Hilton. The Conrad Las Vegas resort is where we stayed for the night, which is a luxury offering with well-appointed rooms, lux public spaces, and a design aesthetic Liberace would love. (I mean that in a good way - it's tastefully shiny!) Positioned on the upper floors of the resort, the views from these rooms at the Conrad seem to go on forever. Day or night, it's fun to view the action from your perch high above.
Our room was spacious, comfortable and perfect for our one-nighter but we would have loved to stay longer and explore more. We did walk through the casino on the lobby level to enjoy lunch at Famous Foods Street Eats, where the food hall options were delicious. They have a cool ordering system here, with kiosks placed all over for guests to electronically order and pay for meals from their restaurant(s) of choice. It was fun and easy to digitally place all of our orders from one spot, pay and wait for the food to be prepared fresh.
We particularly loved the dumplings at Shandong Au Chun Dumpling restaurant, and Harajuku Ramen, where you can build your own. With so many choices, we need to go back and try more because everything looked so delicious.
Just like everything in Las Vegas, Fashion Show Mall is bigger than life. With nearly 250 stores and almost 2 million square feet on three floors, this shopping mecca has something for everyone. Perhaps you packed too lightly for your 24 hours in Las Vegas, or you decided you need a little extra sparkle for the evening's festivities. Whatever the reason, starting your adventure with a little shopping therapy puts you off on the right foot.
Just next door to Resorts World, Fashion Show was the ideal way to kick off what we knew was going to be a fun evening. We (and by we that means Sophia) successfully wandered through the options at Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Nike, Lululemon, PacSun and more. With several bags on our arms, we made our way to our next experience.
Off the strip and standing proud in a reclaimed and energized warehouse complex full of wildly entertaining pastimes sits Omega Mart by Meow Wolf. If you have not heard of the creative wonders of Meow Wolf, now's your chance to lose your mind. This trippy group of powerhouse "experiences" got its start in Santa Fe, NM and now has branched to locations in Las Vegas and Denver. The Las Vegas installation is massive and mind-bending, full of colorful creations that seem extracted from the mind of a madman. We absolutely loved it.
Omega Mart is nothing short of outstanding. It begins with visitors entering a mini-market. The shelves of this make-believe market are stocked with insane and hilarious "products", each funnier and crazier than the last. Visitors could literally spend hours in just this part of the experience, but there is so much more hidden behind secret doors, through tunnels and around corners. The primary space is on three floors behind the market, and hard to even describe. Mystery doors open on to rooms full of odd experiences. Cavernous areas entertain with projected videos of lights and images that throw you off kilter. It's an Instagram dream. You just have to go - plan on spending at least a couple of hours here. You must reserve tickets in advance and be assigned a specific time to enter.
Part of Resorts World is a fun-filled mall that includes shops, bars and restaurants all centered around a giant sphere of digital art. Tucked inside this arcade of color and light is Wally's Restaurant Las Vegas, a Los Angeles staple expanded with a Las Vegas location. Wally's is known for its wine collection, with bottles numbering more than 20,000. A special high rollers wine room contained special vintages of extreme value and renowned reputation. For example, one particular bottle in this collection was priced at $35,000.
Although that's great for those moneybags out there, we opted for more approachable wines by the glass with dinner. And dinner was spectacular, with each course dazzling us in presentation and flavor. The classic Caesar salad was a work of art here, with lettuce leaves wrapped in a column and croutons tucked into the folds. The Wagyu Rib Eye Steak was another stand-out, perfectly prepared medium-rare as ordered and served with crispy fries in a Steak Frites presentation.
We could have stayed far longer to enjoy our meal and surroundings, and especially that dessert menu. But we had places to go and people to see. Off to the next destination!
We've seen a lot of Cirque shows and enjoyed them all. In fact, no 24 hours in Las Vegas should be without a Cirque du Soleil experience. The newest kid on the strip is Mad Apple, an appropriately New York themed extravaganza in a more intimate theater setting. Highly immersive, the show encourages guests to come up on stage before the show and explore the space, order drinks from the stage-top bars and mingle with the performers before the show.
Once everyone is back in their seats and the show begins, it is a cavalcade of love letters to all things New York. From Old Hollywood references to yellow cabs to the Studio 54 disco years, Mad Apple packs in a lot of punches. In between some really quite good singing and dancing, the performers Cirque du Soleil has become famous for do their thing. A woman aerialist performs while hanging from her ponytail (ouch). Jugglers, acrobats, magicians and a snarkily funny comedian all had us ooohing and aaahing in all the best ways.
It's like they took some of the best parts of all the Cirque shows and melded them into one fantastic non-stop review. How could we do anything but feel energized after such a high-energy extravaganza?
What's a trip to Vegas without a little wagering thrown in? It just seems appropriate to win/lose some money on the casino floor, which is colorful and lively at Resorts World. The slot machine technology has gotten really amazing, and the graphics used are almost like virtual reality. No more handle pulling or coins. These are state-of-the-art machines that deliver music, animated video, lights and plenty of action. We may or may not have walked away with a few extra dollars in our pockets.
Yes, we did get a good night's sleep after nearly 24 Hours in Las Vegas. The beds at the Conrad Las Vegas are super comfortable, and the blackout curtains work wonders. After some decent shut-eye, a refreshing shower and a jolt of coffee from the in-room machine, a new day begins.
Downstairs just past the lobby of the Conrad, there is a fabulous breakfast spot with the best egg sandwiches on the strip. From the looks of things, we weren't the only ones that needed some tasty fuel to start the day off right.
Suns Out Buns Out is an all-day restaurant featuring egg sandwiches. They have other things too, but the egg sandwiches are a perfect way to start the day. (With coffee, of course.) We loved the Bacon Egg & Cheese Sandwich with chipotle ketchup. Another hearty winner is the Short Rib & Egg Sandwich with spicy mayo, potato latke and carmelized onion.
If you are needing a sugar jolt, there is also a bank of donuts to tempt you. All the usual suspects are offering on the donut menu, along with some fun and colorful surprises.
Fueled and coffee'd up, it was wonderful to go back upstairs to our luxurious room at the Conrad Las Vegas. We lounged in our beds, watched bad daytime TV, had a snack two and watched the view of the Strip from our window on the 32nd floor. After taking nice long showers and toweling off, we packed up our little overnight bags and were on our way.
I had asked the front desk at the Conrad Las Vegas for a late check-out. Not only did I want to make sure we officially spent 24 hours in Las Vegas, but we wanted a lazy morning. After a busy day and evening the night before.
Action packed and full of fun, our 24 hours in Las Vegas was a fantastic experience. It's easily possible to see and do a whole lot in just one day. We came, we ate, we shopped, we wandered, we laughed, we gambled. And yes, we even slept!
Next time you have the chance to spend just one day in Vegas, say yes. With so many things to do in Las Vegas, it's impossible to be bored.