A Grand weekend

Thanks to the missus’ connections, we were able to swing a brief stay at the Downtown Grand last weekend. The liveliness of the atmosphere was at just the right level, not Fremont Street-manic. There are certain inherent design flaws that couldn’t avoided but still bug. Mainly it’s that the porte cochere is on the wrong side of the property, forcing one to traipse — bags in hand — to the check-in desk, all the way across the casino floor. The bathroom shower stalls (no tub) lack a sliding glass door, which is disconcerting. The cabanas on the rooftop-pool area are hardly worthy of the name and room service arrives not on a tray but in a plastic bag.

So there’s a bit of work to be done. And newly reconfigured management seems to realize that. (One change supposedly in the works is the phase-out of Chinese restaurant Red Mansion, although it was still doing business while we were there.) To the Grand’s credit, the redecoration job has been done in the best of taste. The rooms are cozy but not crowded, with beds conducive to a good night’s sleep. It would be a sin to pass up the shave ice at Ninth Island and although its menu is not daring, Triple George Grill puts a convincing flourish on old standards. For instance, a Caprese Salad can taste like chilled rubber but Triple George’s employs the tastiest of ingredients. When our ‘staycation’ at the Grand was up, we were genuinely loath to leave — and I can remember some hotels where that was very much not the case.

We also took in as much as we could of the Mob Museum, a veritable embarrassment of riches. In three-and-a-quarter hours we were only able to take in half the exhibits. Although there elements of playfulness, like the fire-a-Tommy-gun exhibit, the Mob Museum never descends into the kitsch that was the Mob Experience, long gone and largely forgotten. The interactive exhibits are state of the art and there’s plenty of video history (featuring everybody from Frank Cullotta to Dr. David G. Schwartz) intermingled with the many plaques and photos. Crime and punishment get equal time in this Louvre of American lawbreaking. It surely the definitive museum on organized crime and an achievement of which Las Vegas should be proud. If you haven’t been, go. If your friends from out of town haven’t seen it, take them. It’s that good.