The Wynn Hotel

May 1, 2017

14  comments

Leslie Anne Tarabella

A few weeks ago, Bob had a meeting in Las Vegas. Me? Why sure, I’d love to go!  The first several years we were married, we attended the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas as software exhibitors. We stood on our feet and talked to thousands of people for 10 hours each day. Although we were young, it was still exhausting, and for some reason, I felt compelled to wear heels.

Our hotels back then were okay, and although we stayed at nice places like The Luxor and The MGM Grand, there were a few others that weren’t so spiffy. So, my only request this time was, since we’re only going to be there two nights, let’s get an awesome hotel. My darling replied, “Then, you’ll love The Wynn.” Age has it’s benefits.

Leslie Anne TarabellaBut before I get to the hotel, can anyone please tell me what these circles are on the ground? We were about 30 minutes away from landing in Las Vegas, and they weren’t buildings, they weren’t plants (I don’t think there are any plants in the entire state). I felt like a goof-ball tourist taking a picture out the plane window, but after I did, the lady behind me also snapped a few shots. So, I’m not the only one.

The Wynn Hotel

Okay, so The Wynn is fabulous. We stayed on the top floor, just beneath the “W.” The Encore, just behind The Wynn is also owned by the same company.

Leslie Anne Tarabella The Wynn HotelThe main floor displays a breathtaking floral installment by Preston Bailey, who I just happened to meet years ago in Fairhope. No, the flowers aren’t real, except for a few stunning arrangements, including one that had more orchids than I’d ever seen before.

 

Leslie Anne Tarabella

The floral carousel was fun. Little ponies made of carnations.

 

Leslie Anne Tarabella

Our room was beautiful with a floor to ceiling window, looking out over all the twinkling lights of the city. In the distance were majestic mountains, which I can’t stare at long enough, since my town’s so small we don’t have room for mountains.

 

Leslie Anne TarabellaThere weren’t really any shows that appealed to us — we’ve seen Cirque du Soleil several times before, and although I love Donnie Osmond, it wasn’t a unanimous vote, so instead, as our treat, we feasted at the resort’s premier restaurant, Costa di Mare.

 

I know it’s rude to discuss $$$, but, for journalistic reasons of amazement, I think it was the most expensive dinner we’ve ever had. In my Southern-Protestant guilt of always thinking of the missionaries, I wasn’t happy about it at first, but then I remembered the Sunday school lesson where God said to kill the fatted calf and dance, so then I relaxed and  realized it was ahh-ma-zing!!! You know, every now and then you need to celebrate life’s little victories, right? (but I’ll put double in my Lottie Moon envelope next year – some of you know what I mean).

 

Leslie Anne TarabellaThe featured seafood is flown in twice a day from small fishing villages in Italy. It’s rolled out on a little cart to say hello, so you can meet your dinner before you eat it. Since we’d just dined on seafood straight from the Mediterranean in Italy a few months before, we were pretty good judges of the freshness, and I can tell you, it was perfect. Everything was beautifully prepared and the service was probably the best we’ve ever had. Our server, I think her name was Margaret, had even lived in Italy and was able to tell us about their authentic dishes and where the ingredients originated.

 

The Wynn HotelThis was our view out the window of Costa di Mare. We didn’t know to ask for a cabana table outside, but it was a little  chilly anyway.

 

Thanks to the power of social media, we realized we had three friends from Fairhope who were all in LV at the same time! One for a pharmacy meeting, one for a software seminar, and one for a chef’s show. Conventions run this town, and if we were all there at the same time from our small Fairhope, I question whether anything that happens in Vegas really and truly stays there!

The Wynn Hotel

And what’s Las Vegas without a buffet? The morning we left, we stopped by the Wynn’s stunning breakfast buffet, once again, designed by Preston Bailey. The buffet had everything you could possibly dream of for breakfast, and if you follow me on Instagram, you may remember that in addition to mounds of other things, I also had a tiny gourmet ice cream cone for breakfast. They had everything! If you think I’m exaggerating (me?) about EVERYTHING, they also had breakfast sushi.


Leslie Anne TarabellaWhile we were in LV, there was a terrible wind storm. The TV stations were going crazy, reporting 80 mph winds, with several 18 wheel trucks being blown over on their freeway. From our room, we could see the cloud of sand rolling in. (I just noticed, you can also see my reflexion. Kind of like a spooky vision in the sky. Oooo! Every time a tree was blown over, they’d show it on the news. They have so few trees, I guess it’s a big deal. Our window was rattling, and a window in the adjacent Encore hotel blew out! Yikes! It was like a tropical storm without the rain.

 

The Wynn HotelSmall town girl also loved seeing a curved escalator. What will they think of next?

 

The Wynn HotelThe entire hotel is exquisite with high-end shopping throughout the complex, just in case you hit the jackpot and want to buy a . . .


Leslie Anne Tarabella

$3,000 tricycle. Geez! And I felt guilty about dinner!

 

Leslie Anne TarabellaWe were on the 60th floor, but if you look closely, there are no floors in the 40’s. It seems that Asians love to visit and drop money in Las Vegas, and they are superstitious about any number beginning with “4.” And of course, there’s no “13” either. As close as we could tell, our 60th floor room was actually on the 49th floor.

 

Leslie Anne Tarabella“You know they have cameras in here.”

“Well, you should get me out of the house more often.”

I had fun at the Wynn. Can you tell?

 

 

 

  • Yes I can tell you had fun! I’ve never been there but one must really feel spoiled there.

    I not only remember the Lottie Moon envelopes but remember being enthralled when the missionaries would come and tell us about their work. And I certainly remember all the hard work in GAs reaching Queen level and that as I knelt to receive my crown in an evening dress my knees popped and cracked loudly enough for the back row to hear.

    $3K for a tricycle? Even a pink one? Whew!

  • Arlene Cocke says:

    Good Day “Small Town Girl”!
    As I have been to Vegas a few times, always enjoyed it, let me thank you for your travelogue! You are the Bomb, as a roving reporter! It was as if I was there, walking along with you! It has been a few yrs, since my last visit, Vegas would not be for everyone, when I was there, the Hubs was working and I was playing, looking for Antique spots, etc. Taking a cab in Vegas is not fun, however always managed!
    But——there is no place like HOME!
    Thank you for the fun trip!

    • Arlene Cocke says:

      Loved the Vegas story!

    • How I wish you were there with me! Las Vegas is changing so fast with old buildings coming down and new ones going up. I hardly recognized it since I was last there. Thanks for taking the “tour” with me!

  • We went to LV several years ago and spent the whole time visiting all the hotels and gawking in amazement! It looks like you had a fabulous time! I would have been terrified to get too close to the window in your room, wowza!

    • I was very trusting of the engineers who designed the window and it was only later I heard that the other building had a blow-out! Maybe I should question human construction a little more!

  • Savan Wilson says:

    The circles are crop circles made by the planting and irrigation methods near Denver and our in the West. I was fascinated with them as well when I just flew over a week or so ago on way to New Mexico. I’ll send you my pics by email as they are on my phone!

    • I’ve never heard of planting in a circle like that, but I guess if the irrigation is on one of those rotating arms, that makes sense. I’m surprised they can grow anything out there besides cactus. I mean, it’s beautiful in its own way, but I love the green -green hills of Alabama! Thanks for the info. I’ll look for your photos.

  • Leslie Anne, you should have gone to see Donnie and Marie! Their show is fabulous, I think you would have enjoyed! We always stay at the Venetian, but I have taken some walks through the Wynn. I do love the food in Las Vegas!

    • I knew it! Donnie would have wanted to see me there! Next time, I’ll go. He’s ageless.

  • Ellen Shook says:

    I laughed out loud about the “Lottie Moon envelope” — we used to go to VBS with my little cousins every year at Parker Memorial Baptist Church in Anniston when we were little tykes. We always had to pray for Lottie Moon and fill a little envelope with our pennies! My family was C of C but had no VBS at the time, so my parents said “it wouldn’t hurt us to go to the Baptist Church”. When I came home and said we had to pray for Lottie Moon, they asked, “Who is that?” I explained that she was a Baptist lady in China trying to convert the “heatherns” and I never could understand what was so funny when they asked me to explain it to all their friends and family. Glad you didn’t get hurt by the sandstorm, and no, I have no clue what those circles are.

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