I like to stay on Fremont St. when in Vegas. Staying on the strip is just too long of a walk to get elsewhere for me, or dealing with the traffic. On Fremont St. you can just walk out the door and have bands, restaurants, gambling, shows (I often head to the strip for many shows though), etc. right there. I often stay at the California hotel (1 block off Fremont), but also have had no problems with the Golden Nugget where I stayed last time. I always eat at Hugo's Cellar steak house in the Four Queens hotel on Fremont St. when I am there. Great old school steak house experience. It is where the Rat Pack used to hang! You lady will get a rose upon entry!! For a good low key "non-casino like" corner bar experience, just after the end of the "Fremont St. Experience" there is a bar called the Griffin that has an excellent selection of beer, booze and the jukebox is one of the best stocked boxes I have ever seen! They often have bands on the weekends, but I have never experienced any of those shows in the back room but I did drink there nearly every night that last few times I have been to Vegas. Heartbreaker guitars is cool, but you need to make an appointment and it is about a 10-15 minute drive/ride from Fremont st. Also, next to Area 51 just off the strip, there is a distillery called "Lost Spirits Distillery". I thought it was a really cool experience. You tour the distillery, and there are different types of shows in different rooms of this warehouse. Cabaret, aerials, mind reader, comedians, etc. As you travel through the experience at your own pace, you sample their different offerings. One of the owners used to design carnival props and facades, and he has done a great job on the stuff he has built here!
