Vegas Vacation

The Good: Tao Nightclub, Venetian
Years ago, I went to Tao’s New York City restaurant and was very impressed. The decor was beautiful, sushi was excellent and our server was so great I still remember his name, Princeton Saunders. Princeton offered to get us into the nightclub as VIP later that night, but sadly, I was in town for only the afternoon and never got to experience Tao after dark. So when a promoter for the chain’s Vegas nightclub tracked two of my coworkers and I down while we shopped at the Venetian, I was very eager to see what it was like.

We arrived at 11:30pm to a line snaking out the door and into the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes. Despite the long lines to get in, the promoter fulfilled his promise to get us right in the door. Pools of floating rose petals lined the granite entryway and red spotlights flashed across the room in sync with the techno music.

Women in lingerie danced on platforms high above the red chandeliers while others posed on white silk beds lining the club. Our trio was immediately offered entry to a VIP lounge where we sipped on complimentary Absolut and mingled with young, trendy partygoers from all over the world.

Between complimentary drinks from bartenders, the VIP lounges and hospitable guests, my friends and I went until closing time without spending a dime. Instead we danced to great music and hung out on the balcony overlooking the pools in front of the Venetian. I’d recommend Tao to anyone looking for a fun night in Las Vegas.

www.taolasvegas.com/tao

The Great: GhostBar, The Palms
Fifty-five floors above the Las Vegas strip sits GhostBar, the fashionable nightclub that has played host to celebrities and movie scenes. Most recently, the bar’s open air deck was featured in the 2008 blockbuster film “21” with Jim Sturgess.

An elevator shoots patrons from the ground floor to the white-washed lounge where fully stocked bar and female bartenders dressed as angels wait to grant the wishes of each guest. The white walls serve as a blank canvas for alternative electric colors splashed across the lounge.
For those brave enough to look down, the skydeck gives guests a 360-degree view of Las Vegas’ famous landmarks lit up at night. A second bar is set up on the balcony, serving a hand-picked list of wine and imported beers. If you’re looking for something stronger, try GhostBar’s specialty drink “the ghostini,” made with Absolut, Midori and sour.

“This bar is amazing,” said Tom Oldham, a 27-year-old resident of Irvine, Calif. “I’m afraid of heights so I don’t want to look over the balcony but the floor-to-ceiling windows still offer an incredible view.”

In addition to unparalleled views and signature cocktails, GhostBar offers an eclectic mix of music spun by different deejays each night.

Although you must grab a cab to the Palms if you’re coming from the strip, a trip to GhostBar guarantees a trendy yet elegant evening in Las Vegas.

http://www.n9negroup.com/#/ghostbar/main/

The Ugly: Prive, Planet Hollywood
On our way to dinner at Koi, Planet Hollywood’s posh sushi restaurant, my friends and I were given wristbands promising open bar from 10pm-midnight at Prive, the hotel’s recently reopened nightclub. If my friends and I had the opportunity to read this article about Prive’s past http://blogs.lasvegascitylife.com/cityblog/2009/07/23/notes-from-vegas-clubland-planet-hollywoods-prive-misbehaves-gets-shut-down/, we would have steered clear but we were naïve and thought it sounded like a great deal to start our night.

We finished dinner around 9:30pm and hoped to be the first in line to take advantage of the open bar. 9:30 became 10 and 10 became 10:30 before the bouncer showed up. We weren’t admitted into the bar until after 11pm and by then our cocktails from dinner had worn off and we were in desperate need of a Red Bull Vodkas to keep our spirits up. Unfortunately for us, the “open bar” consisted of rail drinks served out in Solo cups, meaning RBVs weren’t on the menu. We drank vodka sodas as quickly as we could and watch the openly rude bartender insist Marines pay over fifty dollars for the Long Island Ice Teas they’d ordered in hopes of free drinks.

My frustrated friends and I were ready to leave and made a trip to the ladies’ room. The “new” club must have still been under construction because a stall in the women’s restroom was missing crucial pieces of its wooden door that left little to the imagination of a passing peeping tom.

As we left, the owner tried to lure us back in by offering us a spot at his VIP table... if we were willing to pay an additional $10 to reenter the club. If we hadn't made up our minds already, that was enough to ensure none of us will ever return to Prive.

www.privelv.com