It’s been nearly a year since we attended the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and now that it’s coming up again, I wanted to sit down and write a post about our experience. There was so much negative and conflicting information online and in the media, and we wanted to set the record straight.

The Las Vegas GP was AMAZING!

Contrary to what you may have heard about the race last year, it was most definitely NOT a disaster. It was executed incredibly well by the entire city of Las Vegas and other than the minor drain hole cover incident, it all went off without a hitch!

If you are interested in attending, I would highly recommend reading through this post, where I’ve laid out everything we learned during our experience.

It doesn’t have to be expensive:

When we first started looking at flights and hotels in Vegas, they were astronomically expensive. As time went on and the race approached, prices dropped significantly. Because of this, we decided to book refundable flights and a hotel, and just decide if we wanted to go as it got closer. For this, we booked cheap flights on Southwest Airlines (which can be cancelled and refunded up until 10 minutes prior to flight time). We then examined the circuit map and looked at prices for hotels lining the track, and decided to take a chance on Treasure Island (which is right on turn 12). Our room was only about $120 per night and refundable up until one day before our stay.

Although we didn’t have tickets to the race, it was Greg’s birthday weekend and we just love Las Vegas in general, so we decided to keep our reservations and go! Upon arriving at Treasure Island, we were offered a room upgrade for about $100 extra per night, which would have given us a track facing room! However, we opted for a cheaper option, with a partial view. We were unsure how much of the track we would be able to see, but to our surprise, we ended up having a wonderful view!

During practice and qualifying, we ordered takeout, put the live feed on the tv in our room, and watched the action from our window!

See below for a photo of the circuit layout with Treasure Island circled, and check out the view from our window of turn 12! :)

You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on tickets or hospitality packages to see the racing action:

The circuit is not entirely blocked from public view. Because a large part of the circuit runs down Las Vegas Boulevard, you can walk right alongside the straight and still see the cars decently well through the protective fencing and netting lining the sides of the track. There are also various escalators that offer brief views of the cars - particularly on turn 12 (where Treasure Island connects to Fashion Show Mall and where Fashion Show Mall connects to the Wynn). We saw dozens of people riding up and down the escalators multiple times to catch glimpses of the cars racing by!

On race day, our plans of watching the race from our hotel window were very luckily interrupted when a friend of Greg’s that works for McLaren was able to get us two free paddock passes! Since this was something we’d dreamt of, but never would’ve been able to afford normally, we were absolutely blown away to have the opportunity to enjoy the race in such a special and unique way. While I probably wouldn’t recommend spending $20K on paddock passes, or even several thousands of dollars on race/hospitality tickets, I would recommend waiting until closer to the race to purchase any sort of tickets. Prices dropped sharply on race day and continued to decrease as the day went on and the start of the race approached. If you are already planning to be in Las Vegas during race weekend and don’t have race tickets, wait until the last minute to score some ticket deals!

Travel Tips:

The Las Vegas GP brings in some of the biggest DJs and musical acts in the world. If you are hoping to see some of these big name acts, I would recommend purchasing a ticket through the club’s website. We purchased an “All Access” ticket for Diplo and Calvin Harris at XS last year, and we immediately got to bypass the VERY long lines of people waiting in both the normal ticketed line and the promoter line. While you can get in for free or for a discounted price with a promoter (if you are a girl), you will have to stand in very long lines and may miss out on the performances.
During race weekend, Las Vegas was buzzing with celebrities. We decided to get dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Bouchon, that Friday night for Greg’s birthday. To our surprise, chef Thomas Keller was wandering around the restaurant, supervising and talking with guests. We were able to snap a photo and talk with him for a few minutes, which made our whole night! On race night, we also walked right by Carlos Sainz and his girlfriend while we were leaving XS! Be on the lookout - you never know who you might run into. :)
Speaking of restaurants, many of the Vegas restaurants raise their prices significantly for race weekend. We found out the hard way at Javier’s last year, where what would have been an already pricey meal, turned into a completely unaffordable meal. Thankfully we realized this before ordering anything and then changed our plans. Many of these restaurants don’t publish these surge menu prices online beforehand, so be prepared to pay extra when you arrive.

See below for a few photos from our Las Vegas GP experience!