Vegas Over 40 Ladies Trip

What do you do in Vegas when you are over 40, don’t gamble and aren’t really into shows? So much! My girlfriend and I plan a trip together each year and we are always in the same predicament. Where can we meet up that doesn’t waste a day getting there (from Minnesota and Idaho), has warm weather (and we typically shoot for January/February when not a lot else is going on) and has some sort of low-key activity where we can really focus on what we came to do...talk.

We’ve had some great trips over the years. A few to California, Seattle, of course to each other’s houses to meet babies and see the growing kids, and a couple of weekends spent entirely in Arizona pools drinking spicy watermelon margaritas, but this year we hit up Vegas. It checked a lot of boxes for us- direct, quick flights, great weather and lots to do, we just weren’t into the stuff Vegas is known for, but man did we find some gems. Below are the highlights from our 3 night stay in Sin City spent pretty sin-free and pretty fabulously.

Park MGM Hotel- We loved our hotel. It was centrally located and is the only smoke-free resort and casino on the strip. I’m not sure it made a ton of difference, but we stayed in the Stay Well rooms. They have an air purification system, aromatherapy (not sure we ever figured out how to use that properly), special lighting (which we found lovely), a shower infuser and most importantly a natural memory foam mattress. I can tell you we spent a lot of time in our beds- early (for Vegas standards) nights and late, lazy mornings and I loved my bed and pillows. We also spent a glorious day lounging at the pool. The East pool is 18 and older and we rented a daybed so we didn’t have to rush down in the morning to get one of the free chairs in the back. Totally worth it for a day lounging pool side.

Primrose (Park MGM Hotel & Casino)- We hadn’t planned in advance to brunch at the Primrose, but after walking by it a few times at our hotel and gawking about how cute it was (like actually taking photos while they were closed) we spent our last day there. We went in search of breakfast at this cute little spot and ended up closing down the place at 2pm after delicious food and bottomless mimosas. It’s a girly dream for brunch or a little garden party, and the bottomless mimosas helped us not spend a small fortune on drinks.

Mon Ami Gabi Bistro (Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino)- This brunch made you feel like you had entered a Parisian cafe! We definitely could’ve used a bottomless mimosa special and a reservation, but after waiting 40 minutes (and 2 mimosas later), we were seated outside with a view of the Bellagio fountains. We both had their yummy Eggs Benedict to soak up some of our celebration, weekend kick-off cocktails after our early flights in (I landed in Vegas at 6am!).

Chandelier Bar (The Cosmopolitan)- Oh baby! This place is so fun. It is just so gorgeous with a giant mulit-level chandelier. It’s everywhere you look! Hell sometimes you’re in the middle of it! You can hang in a comfy lounge area or belly up to the bar. Drinks weren’t insanely priced and we just ordered up a bottle of wine and spent the night chatting away in the twinkle of all the crystal, even moving around to different levels after leaving and realizing we just wanted to be back drinking and chatting in the middle of a chandelier.

We had two dinners worth mentioning…

Sushi Roku (The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace)- this was our least expensive meal in Vegas and one of our favorites. The sushi was fresh, incredible miso soup and it probably helped that somehow we timed sunset perfectly as we were dining and we had a full view down the strip as the sun went down and the lights of Vegas really lit up. Perfection!

Lago (Bellagio) is an upscale, but not pretentious, Italian restaurant located in the Bellagio. If you are really lucky you can get a patio table outside (based on availability), but you can see the fountain show from almost anywhere in the restaurant. Anissa had the lasagna of a lifetime, and we toasted the end of a great time together with a nice, big red wine.

It's also always a hit to walk through the Bellagio. The Conservatory is no joke with the smells and sights of all of the flowers, and their glass ceiling is always worth a stroll under.

Finally, not sure this would make any "must-see" lists in Vegas, but we sure loved The Bird Bar at The Flamingo for a cheap pitcher of beer and early 2000's hip hop. We had a blast sitting out on the strip people watching and chair dancing the afternoon away!

Hope you and your ladies find some fun, whatever it might be, in Vegas, or wherever it might be, on your next girls trip.