The Las Vegas Premium Outlets
By traveltripz on Mar 10, 2008 in Las Vegas, USA
Today we set off for a final look around Downtown Las Vegas and ended up deciding to go to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. Once again we waited for the shuttle only to have a repeat performance of Sunday.
As we once again sat and waited we began to chat with two women from Southern California. When the bus didn’t arrive yet again, the ladies decided to drive and they kindly offered us a lift. The bus finally came just as the valet arrived with their car.
So be prepared if you are waiting for the shuttle to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets, there is every chance that the shuttle may not arrive even though the sign states that it will arrive every 30 minutes.
If you are driving the address is 875 South Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas. It wasn’t as far as we thought it was going to be and after thanking the ladies for the lift we set of to stroll around this rather large complex of shops that sell clothing, shoes, kitchenware, perfume, jewellery, Disney merchandise etc, all at reduced prices.
In fact there is around 435,000 square feet of shopping complex to walk around comprising of 120 outlets with plans to extend this great shopping experience to 150 shops.
You can expect to save 25% - 65 % off brand name clothing such as AIX Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Levi’s/Dockers Outlet, Liz Cliborne, Kenneth Cole, Polo Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, Rip Curl, Tommy Hilfiger, OshKosh B’Gosh and many more. Then there are the speciality stores such as Bose, Franklin Mint, Samsonite, Kitchen Collection, Royal Doulton, Swarovski and Le Gourmet Chef. So much to see and some great buys to be had.
We are travelling with very small backpack type bags so we have to be practical and are unable to take advantage of the bargains to be had. As we are here at the end of winter the weather is reasonably mild, if you were to visit in the summertime you would be advised to make sure you keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water. There is a food court for when you need to take a break and re-fuel.
Pick up a directory from the information counter so that you can work out where you want to go. The complex is divided into courts and each is color-coordinated on the directories that are placed conveniently around the center.
There is also plenty of parking - just take care to remember the number of the lot you park in so that you can find your car again when you have finished shopping.
For those who don’t have the luxury of a car for the return journey here is something you will need to be aware of if you are staying in the Downtown Las Vegas area. We set off to the shuttle stop and after a while a lady approached us and asked if we were waiting for the suttle as the driver had told her when he dropped her off that he only stopped at the centre twice a day and would be back at three o’clock. As it was only 1:30pm this meant we had a wait of another hour and a half. As it was a beautiful day for walking, we set off to walk back to the Golden Nugget hotel.
There is a railway that runs through the Downtown area so make sure you keep to the road and don’t try to take any short cuts through the car parks, as I wanted to do, because there isn’t a bridge crossing and you will have to backtrack. Fortunately Paula insisted on following the road around to Main St.
I have a tendency to want to take ’shortcuts’ and sometimes this turns out to be advantageous and we find things to see and do that we would otherwise have missed, however, on other occassions we find our way blocked and have to backtrack which can be quite inconvenient and time consuming.
So our advice is to ignore what you are told regarding the bus timetable and unless you don’t mind a long wait we suggest you either walk or take a taxi.
On the way back we passed an antique store full of memorabilia of a bygone era - the days of The Rat Pack, Elvis and many more. The place was huge and we spent quite some time browsing. There is just so much stuff to see.
It’s not long and we arrive back at the hotel and decide to catch up on some work.
This is our last night in Las Vegas as we are off to San Francisco in the morning. So it is with reluctance that we have our last meal at the lucky 7’s buffet at the Plaza. If you are staying in Downtown Las Vegas we recommend this buffet for both price and the great tasting food.
Then it’s over the road to experience the fantastic Freemont Experience laser light show which is an absolute must see event on the hour every hour from 7pm until midnight. Each show over the night has a different theme.
Then it’s back to the room to pack as we have to be up at 4:30am to make sure we catch our flight to San Francisco.
