I had a lot of questions going into a late August trip to Las Vegas. We'd booked back in the Spring when my sister-in-law, who lives in Philly was nominated as a finalist in the North American Hairstyling Awards. Her 60th birthday just so happened to coincide with this big gala event at Mandalay Bay. How could we pass up celebrating with her?
Late August seemed a long way off and didn't we all hope back in Spring that the pandemic would be better contained by the end of summer? That was before the Delta Variant morphed onto the international scene.
Flash forward a few months and I wasn't sure if a gala event would still be a go given the rampage of Delta here in the U.S. and reports of Vegas being a hot spot in the short period where masking was dropped. Needless to say, event and conference organizers who had booked hundreds of thousands of people into the desert city to repopulate its hotels and restaurants and casinos had little choice but to jump back on board with indoor masking mandates and the stepping up of pandemic safety protocol.
Flying from San Francisco to Vegas is a little like taking a mini-trip to the moon. The terrain is so dramatic. I had a window seat on Alaska Air and found the entire journey captivating in that one day, travelers may indeed take off for stranger landscapes still. I didn't experience any issues with any fellow passengers not conforming to wearing masks on both flights and there was nothing to make me feel uncomfortable at the airport during check in, security or at the gate.
During our visit, we took in the Mob Museum (The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement) in the old courthouse, downtown. This is an awesome museum (my second time) with its recent addition of a cellar speakeasy, which puts the whole Vegas concept into perspective given its detailed history of how the city of 3 million in the middle of nowhere came to be, back in 1905. To spend time in Vegas today and think that it's only 116 years old is astonishing.
My Lyft driver, as we chatted on arrival shared her background as a water scientist. This was especially interesting during the current drought conditions in California and Nevada. A Navaho Nation woman, she spoke of her passion for educating the public as to critical water awareness. Working with numbers and equations and graphs during her day job had become so intense she said she welcomed a few hours of interacting with passengers (masked and following all of the protocol one would expect). I asked her how she coped with Las Vegas and its water consumption and she explained that the casinos and most all of the businesses on the STRIP were extremely compliant in water economy and conservation. That made me feel better about my quick shower in the hotel the next morning and a leisurely swim, despite the fact is was 109 degrees F during our stay.
If you're looking for a non-gaming oasis when visiting Vegas, The Four Seasons, tucked away in the Mandalay Bay Complex is just the place. We took advantage of special summer rates and it was worth every penny. Having never stayed at a Four Seasons in my life, it was a perfect opportunity to experience the luxury hotel brand without spending nearly as much as it would set me back in most other of its many locations.
I'm not a gambler so was more than happy to remove myself from the casino floors. I especially appreciated the outdoor dining for breakfast and lunch in close proximity to the private pool. Staff were super friendly and helpful.
Outdoor staff were more than ready for seasonal temperatures to begin to drop and I can only imagine how hard its been to mask up in that heat for months. If you visit in the fall through Spring it'll be a lot less intense with regards to masking outside in the high temperatures.
Estiatori Milos was the one big restaurant splash for my husband, Timo and me after a three mile walk from Mandalay Bay down a pretty much mostly masked outdoor Strip and we were blown away by the exquisite new space for this popular Greek fish restaurant, which moved from its previous spot into a prime spot in The Venetian this Spring. Tables were well spaced and with masked servers, high ceilings and state of the art air conditioning, we felt comfortable dining in.
If You Go
In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Las Vegas, the State of Nevada has mandated that everyone including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings, including resorts and casinos, restaurants, bars, showrooms and meeting spaces.
The directive aligns with the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance related to mask requirements.
The NAHA event we were attending did require masks, though if you're attending any large gathering in Vegas in the coming months its wise to be advised that as of Aug. 16, all large indoor events with 4,000 or more attendees are able to show proof of vaccination as an exception to the indoor mask requirement. However, individual event organizers are able to choose between requiring masks indoors for all attendees or ensuring that all attendees are vaccinated (in which case they can remove their masks).
Here's one of the photos from my sister-in-law Francesca's fantastic finalist nomination in the NAHA 2021 Avant Garde category. Click here for more.
Photo: Francesca Rivetti Hair Art
Masks are also still required on all public transportation and transportation hubs per CDC guidance.
Those planning to visit Las Vegas should regularly check Nevada Health Response for updates on state and county requirement changes. Visitors should check directly with resorts, attractions and other experiences for full details around operations. Contact your event producer with any questions about your specific event.
My sister-in-law's birthday gathering with a group of vaccinated & tested friends was a blast and I even managed to transport a homemade lemoncello birthday cake all the way from my Sonoma County kitchen with frosting that I'd packed in a cooler in my checked bag.
Viva Las Vegas!
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