The Perpetual Tourist

My husband and I arrived in Las Vegas at 1am this morning. Our trip here was uneventful and painless, which I decided to interpret as a good omen.

We’re here for the 2008 Summer North American Bridge Championships, and we have reservations with our team to stay at Circus Circus. I’ve never stayed at Circus Circus before, but it’s got kind of a cruddy reputation. It’s located at the ass end of the strip, it’s one of the older, less fabulous casino/hotels here, and it’s billed as the most family friendly place in Sin City, so it’s overrun with children.

But it’s cheap.

When we checked in, the front desk attendant told us that the rooms were sold out for the night, so they’d upgraded us to “one of the nicest rooms in the hotel!” Shame our reservation is broken into two parts, and this one is only for one night. After signing all the check-in documents, we were directed to the Honeymoon Suite. Hey, we are sort of newlyweds. Perfect!

So what does “one of the nicest rooms” at Circus Circus look like? Well, it’s not exactly out of the pages of a magazine. The room would be classified “luxury” at just about any hotel, but Vegas luxury is a much higher standard. This room is indeed very nice. It has a small kitchen, large living area, huge bedroom, and a large bathroom, all decorated with only the finest fake flowers and strange artwork.

There’s no balcony swimming pool or jacuzzi in the room, no bottles of champagne and scattered rose petals to greet us upon our arrival, and the toilet paper is still single ply. But the room smells good and looks clean. It’s far from what I imagine when I think of Vegas luxury, but for $42, it’s like hitting a modest jackpot on the nickel slots.

But then there’s the bed. Granted, after a nine-hour drive and then eleven more hours of air travel/waiting in airports, we would have slept comfortably in any bed. But the bed in the Honeymoon Suite at Circus Circus is, I am sure, the most comfortable bed that has ever existed. It is like sleeping on a very supportive king-sized cloud. If I could spend the rest of my week in this bed, I don’t think I’d even miss the casinos, the games, the shows, and the food.

And let’s not forget the pillows. I’ve got expensive, fancy pillows at home. Comfort is definitely something worth investing in, and I think my bedding is quite nice. But these pillows are a whole new world of comfort. I’ve never stolen from a hotel before, but I’m not sure I can live without these pillows now, having tasted the experience for one night. I am not going to steal these. I’m just going to hope someone will tell me where I can buy them, and then that I win enough money playing blackjack that I can afford them.

We have to check out of our Honeymoon Suite in a few hours, but we’re here in Vegas for the next seven days. Here’s hoping our luck continues!