Journey to Respite – Las Vegas, Nevada

I love exploring new places and spaces with my kids but sometimes I need a little break to reset and recharge my mind and body. Sometimes that break is by myself and sometimes it is with my husband. I try to fit in at least one of each per year. My husband and I went to Las Vegas, Nevada for our couples respite this year. Las Vegas was the first trip we went on as a couple over twenty years ago, and it had been over ten years since we last visited. 

My husband is the more frugal one in our relationship, so it helps to sell him an idea if I can show him how great a deal it is. When I received a Vegas timeshare offer from a major hotel brand, I thought this would be the perfect inexpensive vacation we were looking for. A word of warning, unless you are fully prepared and able to say no under pressure, do not take this vacation offer. The salespeople are skilled at what they do and will have you signing up for a long-term commitment you may not want or need. On that same note, some people have timeshares and love them. Please do your research before booking and going to the presentation so you know what to expect. The deal we received was a 3-night, 4-day stay at a Las Vegas property for $129 and once we attended the sales presentation, we would be refunded the $129 whether we bought anything or not. I had airline points I had been hoarding that would get us two roundtrip tickets to Vegas. I also had a free night hotel certificate that we were able to use to book a night at the Bellagio to extend our trip to four nights. We had a free trip other than food and transportation around town.

We had a 6:30 am EST flight and with the time difference arrived at the hotel before 11 am. We were pleasantly surprised that our room was ready. Our hotel was connected to the Miracle Mile Shops, which meant we had a bunch of food options available without setting foot into the 105-degree Vegas heat. On our first day, we discovered Ocean One Bar & Grille which offered breakfast and lunch entrees for $5.99. We ate there every day of our trip. We also picked up a card from the concierge at the hotel that gave us 20% off for various restaurants and services around Las Vegas. We used this at a couple of other restaurants throughout our trip. Groupon is your friend. Before we left, we checked out a few deals that were offered on Groupon in Las Vegas. We booked a comedy show before we arrived and saved $20 off the box office quoted price of another comedy show we purchased while in Las Vegas. If you can’t tell, we are big fans of stand-up comedy.

The last time we were in Vegas every hotel had a buffet and you could eat good without spending a fortune. Now, every hotel has a celebrity chef restaurant, and you can spend a week’s grocery money on dinner for two. We skipped all of them except one that wasn’t even in a hotel proper. We went to a fish and chips place at The LINQ Promenade which is owned by a famous chef and were not very impressed by the food. As someone who has had fish and chips in London at an authentic English pub, I thought there was too much batter and no seasoning. The best thing we had was lemonade. I could have guzzled a gallon of it! This was our most expensive meal and our least favorite.

Respite is defined as a short period of rest or relief from something difficult. Raising autistic kids can be difficult. Married or single we all need a bit of respite from caring for our kids. It is a part of self-care. Whether it is a yearly trip away from home or a monthly trip to the spa, we all need some time away from the day-to-day stressors of parenting. For us, this trip was all about relaxing and reconnecting with each other. We didn’t have any big to-do list items. We spent our days watching what we wanted to watch on television, laying out at the pool without having to have an eagle eye on anyone, and eating at places that did not specialize in chicken nuggets. It was paradise! Of course, we checked in on the kids and Grandma, but our focus was mainly on having quality time with each other. Mission accomplished!

*Donna’s Travel Tip: If you attend a timeshare presentation and think it is something you and your family are interested in, you can purchase a timeshare on the resale market a lot cheaper than at a timeshare presentation.