The Flamingo Las Vegas IS Las Vegas... that's all ...

The Flamingo Las Vegas IS Las Vegas... that's all there is to it.

One of the few remaining bastions of the past, it has undergone renovations in recent years, successfully recovering it's former position at the forefront of luxury accommodations available on the Strip in Vegas.

The first time I ever visited Las Vegas was in the mid-80s and I was about six years old. My parents were visiting for a tourism conference, and were booked to stay at The Flamingo Hilton.

I will never forget pulling up to the hotel that night. Following our arrival at Las Vegas airport, we took a taxi over to the strip and arrived at our hotel. I can still see this image in my mind: twinkling pink lights mixed with bigger, glowing bulbs, shiny marble surfaces, sparkling finishes- it was flashy, swanky, and ALL style. This was my kind of place.

Of course, the mid-80s in Las Vegas was no place for children, and my parents promptly shipped me off to stay with some family friends outside of town for the duration of their stay. I never forgot that special feeling I felt during that short visit to this hotel, it was an experience that stayed with me for the next 30 years.

As fate would have it, my family relocated to Utah in the mid 90s. With closer proximity to Las Vegas and I would travel through or to the town numerous times over the course of the next ten or so years. It was during those years that the flamingo Hilton experienced its downfall. The hotel was starting to become tired and worn down. Unlike it's newer competitors at that time, the Flamingo was not investing money into rebranding or marketing of any kind, so it's no surprise that I never happened to stay there in all those times I was in town.

In fact it wasn't until this past fall that I would return to this place of magic I so fondly recalled from my childhood. Much to my dismay, we touched down in that lobby and I relived those moments from 33 years prior.

And that's one of the many things I love about this resort. They have managed to do what is ultimately in the best interest of both the hotel as well as the city of Las Vegas itself. That is, they have successfully captured the essence of the original style and appearance that made the Flamingo Hilton famous, and subsequently put Las Vegas on the map.

Today this hotel is a perfect combination of that style from the past, combined with the modern luxury and convenience of our present. Here lies the epicenter of Las Vegas tourism: a smorgasbord of everything this town has to offer, served up on a hot pink platter.

Indeed,Flamingo Las Vegas is the embodiment of Las Vegas history, future, culture, style and energy. For these reasons, among others, I will only stay at the Flamingo when I travel to Las Vegas and I highly recommend that you pursue this experience for yourself.