After action report! How was it?
I was at Elara at the end of October just before the pool closed, when HGV grandstand construction was in full swing.
Other than the road closures, how difficult was it to navigate the crowds and the immediate area (on-property, Miracle Mile, etc.)?
Just arrived back home today. We flew down Thursday and arrived around 7 pm so had to come in on Paradise. Traffic was heavy and I’d recommend getting into the inner loop by 3 pm on days when it goes “hot track” to avoid the longest delays.
To be honest, the crowds seemed lighter than the two previous years. I think they’ve finally gotten some of the logistics worked out. They also had a lot of cops and security out who were making sure people were moving. They’ve also put up metal sheets across the pedestrian bridges so people can’t stop to view the race from above the track.
Unfortunately the escalators going up/down to the pedestrian bridge from the MM to the Cosmo over the strip were out of service (the up one was working briefly). As a result it was difficult to go over the strip unless you were willing to do a roundabout through the second floor of the MM shops (by rainforest cafe) and brave the stairs, or alternatively wait for the elevator.
This year it didn’t seem as “festive” for some reason. They didn’t have as many F1 cars throughout the different strip resorts and even the Elara wasn’t playing it up as much with the lobby decorating.
Other than that, we ended up with a 2BR corner room mid-tower in the Elara towards the strip. We decided to watch the race from our room since the we’d have a better view of a longer section of track.
It is a busy weekend, but overall the mall area seemed surprisingly dead aside from when people were coming back from the race.
Other items of note:
1) The F1 stewards were not kind when it came to my wagers
2) Blackjack was decent.
3) the concerts being held for the Ultimate Access events at the Elara are super loud. Friday night they ended the DJ set around 10:15. Saturday night it was 11:15.
4) The F1 Hub in the Venetian has a lot of merch and some of the better prices relative to selection; however, plan on waiting about an 60 to 90 minutes in line just to get inside. The line snakes outside the front of the Venetian.
