Luxor, Las Vegas

...the major attractions to the Luxor, I am right in suggesting that although people do use the casino, they don’t always go here, this is because there are so many other casinos in and around Vegas, the MGM and Bellagio has the better ones, but the Luxor one is also nicely done. With a large selection of card tables, slots located around the hotel, and a live sports room, were you can bet on horse racing, soccer, tennis and anything else.
Overall ...
...was less about the gambling and casino aspect and more about the features, the food, the nightlife, the entertainment and the things to do, whereas other hotels namely the big two focus more on giving the casino wow factor. Be prepared to take some extra cash with you as you could soon find yourself on the blackjack table.
  ... more

This next review is about my experience at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas Nevada. I went to Las Vegas once before, which I think most people would no if they had read some of my previous reviews, however the excitement and thrill of Vegas once again attracted me to the Sin City. My previous review focused more about the whole experience of what can be done in Vegas, the next set of reviews will focus more on the two hotels I stayed at whilst on my trip, the first being the Luxor which I stayed in for 3 nights, followed by the Bellagio, which I stayed in for two nights. Now most people will probably ask how the hell he goes to so many places, well it does have a strain on the wallet, but I work dam hard so I don’t see why I can’t indulge in the nice life. Hopefully this review will be informative for anyone thinking of staying at the Luxor hotel and casino, so enjoy.

Hotel Information:
Ok so let’s give some background information about the hotel, the Luxor hotel is located in Paradise, Nevada, along the main Las Vegas Strip, which has the famous casinos and hotels. Construction began on the Luxor in 1991, with the idea of creating the first fully themed hotel resort in Las Vegas; the idea was to create an Egyptian theme, which revolved around creating a pyramid design for the main building to incorporate the name. As noted the hotel is named after the famous city of Luxor in Egypt. The Luxor was fully opened in 1993, and at the time the building was the tallest on the strip, with a total estimated cost of $375 million, however in 1998, two extra hotel towers were added along with a theatre, with an additional cost of $675million.
What most people may not know is that the Luxor has a bright beam of light that is magnified in the night time. The beam has over 7 million candle power, making it one of the brightest beams in the world. It has been said that the beam can be seen as far as California, some hundred of miles away.

I was excited about coming back to Vegas, I has such a brilliant time the first time round, I was imagining this trip being bigger and better than the previous one. Once we had landed at the main international airport you soon realise that you’re in Vegas, the bright lights, the music, the entertainment, and not to forget the hundreds and hundreds of casinos. So I and a few friends make are way into one of the million cabs that you instantly see when leaving the airport. Most cab drivers are very friendly, and I actually found them to be very cheap, it took us about 20 minutes from the airport to our hotel, and it only cost us about $20, which between 3 or 4 people is not that much at all. Upon arriving, we left the cab and found ourselves looking at this mammoth black pyramid that overpowers the Vegas skyline. We arrived in the night, and the full powered beam was lit at the bas of the pyramid, it sort of reminded me of the batman signal, I guess the hotel owners had other ideas. It really does give you the impression that you’re in Luxor Egypt rather than in Vegas, the pyramid, the Sphinx statue located outside the hotel, the palm trees, everything precisely situated around the outskirts to give you this impression.

Upon making your way inside the hotel you soon arrive in a dream fantasy, I have seen the normal conventional hotels, which are normally shaped, but when you enter the Luxor your standing in amazement, if the exterior looks amazing the interior is ten times more magnificent. The main lobby is shined with bright lights, palm trees, restaurants, small casinos and everything else you would expect. What really hits you in the face is that the rooms and levels get smaller and smaller as you go up and up, as you would expect with the design and shape of the building. We checked ourselves in and found our way making ourselves into our suite. We were staying in the QUEEN DELUXE ROOM, which is one of the standard rooms that you get at the hotel; it was located in the middle of the pyramid. We made are way from the reception area to the elevators. Now let me tell you, these elevators are like something out of a sci-fi movie, due to the shape of the hotel, the elevators climb up at an angle of 39 degrees. When you’re in the elevator, you get the experience of not only travelling upwards, but also at an angle, which really gives you the goose bumps and the butterflies. After about 45 seconds in the lift, we got to the floor we were suppose to be in. The corridor consisted of freshly laid flowers, nice yellow/ gold wallpaper, elegant red lavish carpets, and painting on the wall. The concierge opened our room door, put our belonging into our room, and we proceeded to just soak in our room. Info about the room;
TOWER DELUXE ROOM:
The room itself is 449 square feet long, which is actually quite a big room for three people to stay in it. You have the option of having either a large king size bed, or the option of two queen size beds. As there were three of us we opted for the two beds, and worked out the sleeping arrangements afterwards. What is also a bonus is that regardless of if you only have two beds; you are allowed to bring up to four additional guests into your room, which can be a bonus if you meet a nice lady friend. Anyway the room had the following features;
• 27” colour television
• AM/FM radio with alarm
• Separate tub and shower
• Lighted make-up mirror
• Spacious armoire
• Internet access available at an
additional charge
A Daily Resort Fee of $10.95 plus the current Clark County Room Tax will be charged to your stay which includes newspaper delivery, 2 bottles of water, Nurture Fitness Centre Admission, and unlimited local, toll free and domestic long distance telephone calls
Now the hotel comes with everything you really need I guess, you have a television if you wish to watch some films, however you have to pay for the pay per view events. They have both a shower and a tub, which is good because it allows you to do one or the other, or even both. To be honest, if you’re in Vegas, you don’t really care what type of room you have because you will spend the least amount of time inside it. The cost of the room set us back $145 per night, which for a total of 3 nights set us back $435, which between 3 of us worked out to $145, which isn’t bad at all, depending on the exchange rate at the time of your visit.
The room is spacious, and you can bring guests into it, the interior is pleasant, warm and welcoming, we were staying in one of the cheaper rooms, but it still looked like a brilliant place. As noted they do charge you an extra $10.95 everyday for resort fees but they change your sheets, ring up a daily newspaper and bottles of water, so it isn’t a big financial strain.

The other Hotel rooms The Luxor has to offer are listed below, I am not to sure about the total costs for these room per night, however I believe their website can help with those prices, Rooms are as followed;
PYRAMID DELUXE ROOM
• 27” colour television
• AM/FM radio with alarm
• Oversized showers
• Internet access available at an
additional charge
A Daily Resort Fee of $10.95 plus the current Clark County Room Tax will be charged to your stay which includes newspaper delivery, 2 bottles of water, Nurture Fitness Centre Admission, and unlimited local, toll free and domestic long distance telephone calls.
PYRAMID SPA SUITE

• 27” colour television
• AM/FM radio with alarm
• Spa tub
• Separate sitting room
• Internet access available at an
additional charge
A Daily Resort Fee of $10.95 plus the current Clark County Room Tax will be charged to your stay which includes newspaper delivery, 2 bottles of water, Nurture Fitness Centre Admission, and unlimited local, toll free and domestic long distance telephone calls.

The rooms generally come with bigger sizes, and a greater service, but this will obviously depend upon how much you have paid for the room.

Now what I really found great about the Luxor was that it had so much to see and do inside, you soon find yourself wanting to stay exclusive just in the hotel, all that you could ask for is inside, anything ranging from spa and health centres, casinos, restaurants and nightclubs and live shows, all of which will be detailed below. It can be pricey, but for me you can never really go to Vegas on a budget, you are always bound to spend more than you desired to in the first place.
DINNING:
The Luxor has a number of different restaurants, cafes and snack bars that you can visit whilst inside the hotel, and it caters for people with different pallets, you could find anything from pizza, burgers to fine dining cuisine.
The TENDER steak & seafood, was one of the restaurants that I found myself visiting once, I’m a huge fan of steak and thus I heard this was one of the best steak house restaurants in the whole of Vegas, so I thought what the heck lets give it a try.
The restaurant is open from 17:00 till 23:00 daily, however they have a bar lounge which is open slightly earlier. I would recommend you ring up or go down to make a reservation, as the seating tends to pack out daily, so it’s a worth while tip ringing from your room in the morning and asking the concierge to book you x amount of spaces.
The restaurant has a happy hour policy, much like all the bars in Vegas, and happy hour drinks cane range from anywhere from $4 to $6, but this is always subject to whatever they have on their drinks menu on that particular day. We opted for their $39 Prix Fixe Menu, which is available from Sunday through Thursday. The menu can varies depending on the time of month you go, but it usually includes a stake dish as well as a seafood dish, starter and a pick or ice cream, etc.
The food in this place is absolutely divine, the steak is really well cooked, it’s moist juicy, whilst at the same time chewy and mouth-watering. The service is fast paced as there is a lot of people they try and cater for, so you will probably expect you food to roll out like a production line, but that’s not to say that the cooking was rushed or slack, they done it very well. The waiters and waitresses and great hosts, they are very talkative and welcoming, if your from another country they go out of their way to get to no you, a bit about your country and lifestyle, it’s a nice feeling and a great service.
Hours of Operation
• Nightly 5:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
______________________________________
Lounge Hours
• Sunday – Thursday, 4:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
• Friday – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
______________________________________
FOOD COURT:
If you don’t fancy eating out in one of the post restaurants, or simply don’t want to waste time then the hotel also offers a food court, much like the ones you get in most shopping centres anywhere in the world. They offer a variety of different food styles, flavours catering for ones needs and tastes.
Conveniently located on the Atrium Level, the Luxor Food Court has the ultimate fast food on the Las Vegas Strip. For a quick snack or beverage, the Food Court offers a wide selection of Luxor restaurants:
• Quiznos Sub
• McDonald's
• Nathan's
• Little Caesars Pizza
• Swenson's Ice Cream
• Starbucks Coffee
It seems that anywhere you go you cant escape the Starbucks brand, there were countless number of people going in their day and night to get a quick fix for their hangover, I would no as I went their on a number of occasions. The prices are reasonable within the food court, and is what you would expect to pay anywhere in Las Vegas.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of America, well in my opinion anyway, there is so much to both see and so whilst your there, and becomes really hard to decide what you want to do. If you’re primarily looking for entertainment within the Luxor then you will be happy to no that they have a variety of things to see in terms of entertainment.
Believe:
A Haunting Journey inside the Mind of Criss Angel
This is one of the main entertainment attractions the Luxor offered whilst we were their, this is a Cirque du Soleil production and as I had never had the opportunity to see one of these shows, I felt the need to go once, if only once at all.
Ticket Prices
$59, $79, $99, $125, $160, the prices obviously depend upon were your sitting, the closer you are the more you inevitably pay, but regardless of where you sit, you have a huge screen that shows you up close of what is going on at the stage. The show was amazing; the mixture of lighting, acting, acrobatics, music and storytelling really makes you go through a journey with the cast.
CRISS ANGEL Believe is a haunting exploration deep inside the inventive mind of mystifier Criss Angel as he hovers between the land of the living and a surreal world uniquely woven together by the distinctive imaginations of Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil.
NIGHTLIFE:
The nightlife in the Hotel is amazing, I actually didn’t want to leave and found myself hopping from one club/ bar to the next. One of the most famous hotspots to go to is the LAX, which is a huge nightclub, which plays a variety of different music, ranging from techno and house, to r n b and hip hop. The complex is about 26,000 square feet long, which is huge, and consists of two main floors, along with a special VIP section. The clubs open from about 10: pm till the early hours, however do remember that the dress code is smart, so shirts and trousers, no shorts, and if your young make sure you have either your ID or your passport, because they have some really strict over 21 policies, and believe me they will have no hesitation in chucking you out.
Drinks were reasonably cheap, I remember paying about $4 for a bottle of corona, which isn’t that expensive, but cocktails and shots varies in price, and depending on the special promotion night, you could be lucky.
CATHOUSE:
Cathouse combines a world-class restaurant, orchestrated by Chef Kerry Simon, with an upscale lounge, creating a seductive nightlife venue. With luxe design inspired by the look and feel of a 19th century European bordello, Cathouse is a glamorous dining and nightlife destination made up of two adjoining rooms - a restaurant by celebrity chef Kerry Simon, and an intimate ultra-lounge.
Attire
Fashionable Nightlife
______________________________________Located
Casino Level
Hours
Wednesday, Friday - Monday:
10:30 pm - 4 am
______________________________________Reservations
Recommended
ATTRACTIONS:
The hotel also has several attractions within itself, as I stated you could happily just stay in the hotel without having a care of the outside world.
BODIES...The Exhibition
This is one of the main attractions the Luxor offers to its guests, and this specific attraction has had a lot of great reviews from both tourists and experts. The exhibition is open from 10 in the morning till about 10 in the evening, and general admission is in the region of $30, but this may have changed since I went. BODIES...The Exhibition, which showcases real full-bodies and organs, provides a detailed, three-dimensional vision of the human form rarely seen outside of an anatomy lab or a morgue.
The Exhibition showcases 13 whole-body specimens and more than 260 organs and partial body specimens. These real human bodies have been meticulously dissected, preserved through an innovative process and respectfully presented. It’s actually quiet an insightful tour, and something strange, weird and unique, its education in Las Vegas, something I never thought could be done, well in a hotel anyway. It’s like the human flesh tour they had in London when the famous artist used human flesh and muscles to do an exhibition.

SWIMMING POOL:
Like most hotels, the Luxor comes fully equipped with a swimming pool, and for those hot Nevada summer days you really do need a place to come and unwind, have a dip, make some friends and even do a bit of bird watching.
Hours
Mon - Thurs 9am - 7pm
Fri, Sat & Sun 9am - 8pm
Hours vary by season

There are also a number of shops within the hotel, some of which I have got a list off their website, just in case people find it useful, however I never really found myself doing shopping. But everyone is different.
Stores Luxor:
• Threads
• LX Fashions
• Luxor Kid’s
• LX Logo
• Luxor Pool Store
• Pyramid Shop
• Essentials and 24/7
• Criss Angel MINDFREAK – The Official Store @ Luxor
• CRISS ANGEL Believe
How can I leave the main Casino out, its one of the major attractions to the Luxor, I am right in suggesting that although people do use the casino, they don’t always go here, this is because there are so many other casinos in and around Vegas, the MGM and Bellagio has the better ones, but the Luxor one is also nicely done. With a large selection of card tables, slots located around the hotel, and a live sports room, were you can bet on horse racing, soccer, tennis and anything else.
Overall it’s a great hotel to stay in, for me it was less about the gambling and casino aspect and more about the features, the food, the nightlife, the entertainment and the things to do, whereas other hotels namely the big two focus more on giving the casino wow factor. Be prepared to take some extra cash with you as you could soon find yourself on the blackjack table.
 

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