As a frequent Vegas goer, I was so curious about Las Vegas during COVID. Initially when it reopened, COVID cases skyrocketed, so I wanted to wait until Vegas ‘got used to’ the changes. Come September, I had the opportunity to take a road trip from Los Angeles to a destination of my choice (read about the road trip from Los Angeles to Vegas) and decided on Vegas! I did a lot of research and talked to friends that had gone a few times in the last few months, deciding that it was safe enough to visit at this point (September 2020).
Dining in Las Vegas During COVID
Since I live in California and the state is currently only allowing outdoor dining (click here for outdoor dining options in Los Angeles), I was anxious to see how the indoor dining worked in Vegas.
Buffets
Since buffets are a huge part of Vegas, I was definitely looking forward to seeing how those worked. Turns out, a lot of them are actually closed as I assume the logistics is too complicated. Thanks to friends, I found out that the Buffet (Wynn) and Wicked Spoon Buffet (Cosmopolitan) were still open!
Interestingly enough, the two buffets operated differently. The Buffet at the Wynn was seated dining with an electronic menu. You order off the menu and your waiter would bring the plates to you. As long as you can get past the judgment of ordering a lot, it was great! Our waitress in particular was so sweet and kept pushing us to order more with absolutely no judgment. At the Wicked Spoon Buffet inside the Cosmopolitan, it was still the typical buffet style where you go up to grab what you want. The difference was that there was a belt barrier and the staff would hand you what you want.
Dine-in Restaurants
As for regular restaurants, the only difference I noticed is that the tables were far apart and not crammed. While I was there, I dined at Catch inside Aria and Meat Bazaar inside the Sahara. The tables were all 6 feet apart from each other (or more) and staff members were wearing masks.
Keep in mind that almost all dine-in restaurants require a reservation, which is different from the norm in Vegas. Lastly, masks are required at all times other than when seated, drinking and eating.
Casinos in Las Vegas During COVID
It was definitely strange but at the same time comforting, to see the differences in the casinos. For all table games, tables had plexiglass between players and the dealer, as well as having less seats per table. As for the slot machines, every other slot machine was shut down to allow space between players.
There was definitely a lot more sanitizing going on as well as the monitoring of mask-wearing. It’s so funny because I am the most compliant about masks, but was approached twice by staff about putting my mask back on literally as I took a sip of my drink! If I’m being honest, I was annoyed at first. I’m so compliant and I was truly just taking a sip of my drink! But in the grand scheme of things I guess I’m grateful that they’re so on top of it. The mask-wearing compliance was as close to 100% as I’ve seen in cities I’ve visited so far. Pretty impressive considering the diversity of people Vegas brings!
Speaking of masks and sanitizing, there were new hand-washing stations as well as sanitizing stations and free mask dispensers throughout the casinos. I loved being able to replace my mask and sanitize my hands!
Hotels
For this trip, I stayed at Aria, an MGM property located on the strip. I’ve stayed in approximately 10 different hotels on the strip and Aria is one of my favorites! Speaking of Aria, while it’s closed right now, I’m obsessed with their buffet and can’t wait for it open back up when it’s safe to do so.
The check-in process was as expected. Plexiglass at the front-desk and confirming that we were not experiencing any COVID symptoms or that we’ve been in contact with someone that had it.
Once we got to the room, we noticed the stickers on the door indicating that the room was clean, sanitized and nobody had entered after the housekeepers.
Immediately as we entered, we found a letter and a bag filled with masks, hand sanitizers and no-touch door openers/screen touchers (they are so cool and useful!).
Typical for hotels during these times, there’s no housekeeping services but new towels, amenities and sheets could be ordered via their in-room tablet. However, they did have in-room dining unlike California hotels!
Would you be willing to visit Vegas right now with these precautions in place? Have you been recently? Let me know in the comments!
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