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Our a perfect trip series helps you plan your Vegas vacation by offering one potentially perfect itinerary for your trip. We choose a hotel, a theme, and a number of days and plan a theoretical itinerary for an upcoming trip. View all our perfect trips here.
It’s almost Independence Day and we need some independence from this quarantined house. Where better to escape the monotony than a Vegas trip at the Wynn over the 4th of July weekend.
We will be planning this trip for July 4th Weekend (July 2nd – 5th) and be staying at the Wynn and Encore. Because it’s a holiday weekend and we expect their to be a pretty large crowd, we will keep it low key: pool during the day, a little partying at night, and some amazing food at one of the best hotels in the world. Sounds fun!
We will arrive in Vegas with enough time for a late dinner on Thursday, July 2nd, so we will just check-in, grab a bite to eat, & hit up the casino for a bit before hitting the hay to get prepared for Friday.
We will start our trip off with the newly re-imagined Wynn Buffet. It’s open till 9:00PM, so we will just check-in and head down to check out the new options. The tuna poke nachos & crab legs are on our must try list and we will sample the full array. Here’s the full menu.
After dinner, we will likely crash pretty quickly coming from the eastern timezone, but we may sit down with our Vegas-inspired gaiter and try to win a little to start the trip off right. I typically play $25-hand blackjack or if I’m feeling lucky will hit the slots. No matter, we’ll play a bit before heading to bed to prepare for a big weekend.
Friday morning it’s up early (again, the east coast timeframe) and off to breakfast. I want to start my day off with a nice, light breakfast so I’ll be heading to Jardin for the Morning Energizer Smoothie (apple, ginger, lemon, carrot, pineapple) with 2 scrambled eggs.
Next, it’s hot and we need a pool. Because of the holiday weekend and my need to socialize, I will head to the Encore Beach Club to partake in some social distancing at the pool. I’ll get their early and will have booked at Beach Couches with a hefty $750.00 minimum spend. It allows for 4, so split 4 ways, it will run about $250/person.
Some other options include daybeds (4 people), gaming (4 people), lily pads(4 people), and L couches (6 people) for $1,500, upper cabanas (8 people) for $2,000, lower cabanas for $2,500, upper bungalows (10 people) for $4,000 and lower bungalows (10 people) for $8,000. It’s a holiday weekend and the pricing is steep.
After a day in the sun, it’s time to head back to the room for a nap and getting ready for dinner. Hopefully a nap perks me back up, because we are going to my most anticipated late dinner of the trip at Elio.
This upscale Mexican concept is the newest at Encore and took over the space that used to be Andreas. This just opened earlier in June, but quickly hit my radar as a place that I had to try ASAP!
As with any new restaurant, the tasting menu is the go-to option, so I let the chef lead me through the flavors of Mexico!
FIRST COURSE
choice of
Striped bass, ginger mojo, cucumber*
Tuna tataki, nopal, scallion*
Carrots al pastor, piña
‘SECOND COURSE
choice of
Branzino a la talla
Lamb Barbacoa
DESSERT
choice of
Churros, cajeta, Mexican chocolate
Tres leches, white chocolate, lime
Assuming the sun didn’t totally zap me, I’m dying to try the Rider or Die ($19) w/Toki, Mal Bien, Piloncillo, House-made Coffee-Tobacco Bitters.
Overall, Elio is one of the main reasons that I will be staying at the Wynn for this trip, so I can’t wait to try this amazing looking meal!
While Friday night may have a way of changing plans, a long day in the sun and amazing Mexican meal will likely again send me to bed early.
Saturday, it’s up a little later and brunch by the pool at Terrace Pointe Café. I alway look to sit on the patio and enjoy the peaceful setting before the craziness.
Assuming I don’t need something a little bit more substantial (i.e. the not hungover option) will include the Housemade Granola & Seasonal Berries
with honey and vanilla Greek yogurt ($13). That eye roll was my reaction to the first time my wife got this, but it’s absolutely magical!
If I need something with a bit more grease, the Huevos Rancheros Skillet ($21) with eggs over-easy, tostada, peppers, onions, chorizo, Cotija cheese, country potatoes, sour cream, spicy chile de árbol, & avocado salsas will certainly do the job.
After brunch, decision time will again need to be made. I could go to the Encore pool and relax with a bucket of beers, head out to walk the strip and get in some steps, get some quality time in at the tables, or head across the street to the Fashion Mall and find some gifts. Likely I will do a combination of pool time and casino crawl.
After getting cleaned up and ready for dinner, it’s time for another restaurant that I’ve been dying to try. Mizumi offers beautiful, scenic overlook of Japanese gardens and Koi pond.
Again, since this is a new restaurant, I will order the tasting menu to get a full spectrum of what Mizumi has to offer. This 3-course, $65 option fits in the budget and gives some very nice offerings. I will likely also add at least one sushi roll for the table and enjoy a saki paring with my meal.
Since I’m planning on a fairly early dinner on Saturday, it’ll leave plenty of time to hit the tables before heading out for the night to Intrigue Lounge or EBC at Night. I will likely make an in Vegas decision on which way I go based on the intel from the weekend, as this is a strange time for partying.
Sunday morning, it’s time for a quick bite to eat and then off to my flight back across country and back to the monotony. In this trip I will:
- Hit up two of my favorite breakfast/brunch places and maybe not order the all you care to drink mimosas
- Try two of the hottest restaurants in Vegas including the newly opened Elio Mexican
- Hit up a pool party, a day at the pool, and a night under partying under the stars.
I would book the Encore Tower King Suite for $325/night including free breakfast each day. The total for three nights including taxes and fees would be $1257.39 as a basic redcard member. There is definiately less expensive options at Encore or across the strip, but the upgraded, high-floor suite was too good to pass up.
If I was looking for the more budget friendly room option, the Encore Resort King + $75 Daily Beverage credit would be $839.01. This option would save about $420 and offset $225 of drinking cost, so it’s a pretty good offer.
So what do you think? Tell us what your perfect Vegas trip looks like on our Facebook Group here.
