A view from the top: Stratosphere Tower – Las Vegas, USA

View from the top - the bright lights of Vegas from the top of the Stratosphere.

Following my post A View from the Top: Sky Tower Auckland, I thought I’d throw a #throwbackthursday at you, because I’m in a nostalgic kinda mood.

Stratosphere Tower – Las Vegas

The Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas

The Stratosphere is one of the many hotels that sit twinkling on the Las Vegas strip. If you’ve ever been to Vegas then you’ll know that each hotel has it’s own theme, e.g. there are gondolas at The Venetian, circus acts at Circus Circus and flamingoes at The Flamingo (well, duh!). The Stratosphere’s claim to fame is its tower – the tallest freestanding tower in the USA, standing at 1149 ft.

The Stratosphere Tower on the Las Vegas strip. Head up for the perfect view from the top!

Pros

The views from the 360 degree observation deck are fantastic. You get iconic views of the strip and it looks especially magical if you head up there at night time when you can see Vegas in all its glittering glory!

View from the top - the bright lights of Vegas from the top of the Stratosphere.
The photos don’t do it justice

Cons

The lights up on the deck indoors make it quite tricky to get decent photos without random glares in them and if you go outside, be prepared for it to be crazy windy out there (or at least it was when I visited) – I felt like I was going to get blown away!

The photos don't do it justice! View from the Stratosphere in Vegas
Not the best of photos!

Surprises

There are not only bars, restaurants and a sky jump up there but there’s also three thrill rides! There’s the Big Shot which shoots you straight up even higher, Insanity – where a mechanical arm spins you around 900ft above the strip and then there’s X-scream where you are catapulted off the tower edge! I couldn’t decide which would scare the crap out of me the most and just stuck to the thrill of the views!

One of the 3 terrifying rides at the top of the Stratosphere Tower
X-Scream

Verdict

It was just magic to see Las Vegas from this height and if I ever got to go back I would love to dine at the Top of the World restaurant. I would even go as far to say that I think The Stratosphere may be one of, if not the favourite of all my View from the Top adventures!

For more of my View from the Top series, click here.

Some of the hotels on the Vegas strip. View from The Stratosphere Tower.

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3 Comments

  1. Las Vegas is such a funny place, because at night it is so dazzling with the lights and the energy, but in the light of the day, things appear a bit of the seamy side, and I always wonder, what on earth were they thinking, putting a city in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a stinking desert. Made the mistake of going in August one year, oh my – was it HOT!!!!

    1. It’s a funny old place, isn’t it? I dunno… there’s just something about America that makes me buzz! Las Vegas is like a toy town – total kitsch 😉

      1. It really is!!!! It’s over the top, and I am always glad to go (except in August when it is blazing hot) but then I am always glad to get out of there as well.

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