There’s a Very Special Guy Coming to Town!

His name is Carlos Melia and he’s one of the world’s most popular LGBT travel writers and bloggers. Carlos has been an independent Travel Agent for more than 20 years and travels all over the world to review the hottest gay cities, and this week he’s in our town!

He specializes in Argentina, New York City and Uruguay and this will be the first time he’s blogged about Las Vegas. He’ll be checking out Le Reve at Encore, Krave, Piranha, Marquee at Cosmopolitan, Rumor among other Las Vegas gay favorites. Carlos says the theme of his blog is Been There Done That and he plans to personally experience, test and approve as much of Gay Vegas as he can over the next two days.

Former Mr Gay International 2008, and current member of the Board of Directors for Mr Gay World, Carlos says “I work along the main LGBT organizations worldwide, in pro of our rights and to assure everyone that indeed It will be Better.”

Take a look at the photo above and if you see Carlos (he’s so cute, he’ll be hard to miss!) in any of our day spots or night spots over the next few days, show him a real Las Vegas welcome, because that’s the message we hope he’ll share with his thousands of followers all over the world. Also check out the GayVegasTravel.com Social Feed to read Carlos’ daily review of Las Vegas.

And don't forget that as a GayVegasTravel.com member, you can email Carlos with your suggestions as to things he can do while in town (maybe hang out with you!).

All The President's Men Coming to Blush

“Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are designed to be explored and discovered, to excite the senses of each and every guest.” This will all be true come President’s Day weekend when the Wynn and Encore open their arms and doors to the LGBT Community and host a very gay weekend! The Wynn and Encore hotels are not strangers to the gay community; they stand strong being LGBT friendly, providing not only luxurious amenities but a staff of Pride concierges, (the only hotel on the Las Vegas Strip to do so).

The “All the President’s Men Party” will be hosted at the fabulous Blush Boutique Nightclub on Sunday, February 20, with DJ Lisa Pittman and DJ Axis spinning the hits! Now I’ve been to a few nightclubs here and there, but I’ve never noticed how great a DJ could be, until DJ Lisa Pittman rocked my world! Her mixes and transitions are sick and will keep you dancing “FA DAYS!”

Did I almost forget to mention that locals and hotel guests will receive free admission and there will be a hosted vodka and tequila bar from 10:30-11:30 pm! If that wasn’t enough to get you to the hottest place on the strip come the 20^th, I don’t know what else will... So Mr. Presidents I will be attending and saluting while I dance and wave the flag with PRIDE!

More Reasons to say Oui! Oui!

Need more options when it comes to finding a place to party? It's Vegas…of course you do! Paris Hotel welcomes the newest mega club "Chateau Nightclub and Gardens at Paris." Scheduled to open its doors March 5th, this nightclub will put you in the romantic mood with a 10,000 square-foot terrace over looking the Strip. According to the Las Vegas Sun, "The club includes 20,000 square feet outdoors in a garden setting under the Eiffel Tower replica."

With all the construction going on in front of the Paris, I'm definitely excited to see this new club and the huge Sugar Factory store right next to it! In my opinion it is about time the Paris hotel got a hip nightclub and with Drake set to host opening night, you know this is going to be the place to be!

What I am looking forward to the most is the view of the Strip. The Paris Hotel is across the street from the famous Bellagio Fountains, so I hope the view is extravagant. What could be better than enjoying the Vegas night air, sipping on a cocktail watching the fountain show with some friends? This could be better than one night in Gay Paree!

“Gentlemen Start Your Engines! All NEW… All RU… ALRIGHT!”

The racers are back for a brand new season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race! The first episode premiered on Logo January24th, and it certainly did not disappoint. The queens are fierce and Ru Paul is all to thank for it. I got an opportunity to preview all the queens on the casting special which got me pumped for this premier! Guest judge Vanessa Williams graced the show with her presence along with Mike Ruiz for the traditional first photo shoot. This season the girls had to strike a pose while jumping on a trampoline, praying nothing fell off or out! Strong impressions were made by Raja who won both the photo shoot and the thrift store challenge. A new twist this season involved Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 2, Shangela Laquifa Wadley returning to the race for a second chance! This second chance was almost short lived when Shangela had to lip-sync for her life, until Ru told Venus D-Lite a queen from the open casting call, to sashay away.

This season is literally bigger and better than ever! We got some big personalities and a little more to love this season, with 2 big girls representing. Mimi Imfurst, who had the first breakdown of the season due to her outfit, served it in the end doing her own version of the Virgin Mary. A personal favorite would be Manila Luzon all the way from New York, New York! We will just have to wait and see who is serving it this season! Mondays may be a drag but it will have you talking until the next week! Be sure to tune into Logo and may the best woman WIN!

And if we’re lucky the queens will come to Las Vegas again, like they did last year. What fun it was to meet Tyra Sanchez, Raven and the others. That’s the cool part about Las Vegas, EVERYONE comes here, we really are the hottest place on earth to be!

Gorgeous is An Understatement for The Cosmopolitan Hotel

As a long time Las Vegan, I thought I had seen it all, but even I was surprised by how cool the new The Cosmopolitan Hotel was, starting from the 8’ tall space heaters shaped like white ceramic table lamps that greeted us at the main entrance (and if you’re guessing the heat came out of the shade, you’re right!). Upon entering the lobby, we were greeted by glass columns with constantly changing computer graphics that are one minute, bookshelves, the next, abstract graphics and if you’ve had a few cocktails you may be shocked by the images of naked people desperately trying to escape. If you’re an arriving hotel guest, you don’t step up to a long sterile registration desk, instead there’s a row of beautiful red, French provincial tables and equally beautiful staff waiting to check you into the hottest new spot on Las Vegas Blvd.

Unlike most Las Vegas hotels, you aren’t obligated to walk through the casino to get to your room, but why wouldn’t you want to? Sure there’s the 21 and crap tables, roulette wheels and lots and lots of slot machines, but there’s so much more. Ever seen a casino where you can drape off a private gaming area just for you and your guests? Well The Cosmopolitan offers this experience as one of the ‘where’d they get that idea?’ cool options to be found throughout the property. There’s glass and mirrors everywhere including the famous Chandelier Bar boasting a 3-story chandelier with over 2 million Swarovski crystals draped in amazing patterns that truly are a feast for the eyes. Just as you’re thinking…wow! I’ve never seen anything like this, you realize there’s a winding staircase the takes you through the middle of the chandelier to bars, private conversations areas and eventually to the retail floor of the hotel.

The retail outlets are very cool. I’ve never seen any of these stores before and I’m already planning to spend my next paycheck on an awesome outfit I tried on at Stitched. I also like the rhinestone paintings by former Rap artist Fabulous Freddy. Priced at over $5,000 each, they, unfortunately, were a bit out of my price range. I love to eat and the dining options are numerous and affordably priced. There’s everything from Moussaka to Sushi, and in the French restaurant, you look out the window at the Eiffel Tower across the street…magnifique!

There are so many kick-back areas, some with pool tables and record players (complete with 45 RPM records of your choice) and my favorite was the “art-a-mat” cigarette vending machine that dispenses beautiful pieces of art for $5 each. Way cool! On my way out, I visited the art gallery on the main floor, which was a mind-blower. I loved the bench of 1,000 marbles. The seat was a Frisbee and we slid from one end to the other for half an hour!

The Cosmopolitan is amazing and I plan to hang out there a lot…especially in The Marquee Nightclub. With over 60,000 square feet, it’s the largest in the world and the city’s premier lesbian DJ – Lisa Pittman spins there…so what’s not to like?

Love The Legend Cher!

The well-anticipated movie “Burlesque” sure did not disappoint, all the built up suspense only made it better. The brilliant idea to pair pop superstar Christina Aguilera with legendary Cher only could result in a phenomenal movie. I sat in the theater wide eyed and blown away by the performances and of course Christina’s voice. I was expecting just to be wowed by the performances alone, but the plot kept me guessing and hoping for what I wanted to happen.

Cher’s song “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” felt like a subtle message to her fans and the gays. We all know Christina has a voice but Cher is the total package. The love story weaves perfectly with her burlesque dreams and who wouldn’t love to see Twilight hunk Cam Gigandet with his sexy eyeliner? I went with friends who had been counting down the weeks and days until the release. I’m not going to ruin the movie for everyone, but it was overall a good time and I would definitely watch it again and again.

Lucky for the people visiting Vegas there are multiple options for burlesque shows that are sure to tantalize the mind. On top of that you can also just see the legend herself Cher on the Strip! The movie ad was right…it takes a legend...to make a star…to make a FABULOUS M

She's Coming Back!

I never thought it would happen, but Celine Dion is coming back to Las Vegas and she’ll be here for at least 3 years! Taking over in March 2011, magazines say the show is bigger and better than ever. With sold-out Las Vegas shows for 5 consecutive years, it’s no wonder she’s returning to The Coliseum at Caesars Palace. Celine will be replacing Cher, another infamous legend who is performing her last shows in February 2011. It has always been a dream to see Celine live and now I have a second chance!

Dion herself told Oprah: "It's not a rumor. I'm going back to Las Vegas. It's a brand new show, 31 musicians…a big orchestra. Obviously, I'm going to be doing my hits, but also a tribute to movies, Hollywood movies with amazing visuals." With multiple timeless songs that still give people the chills, Celine’s voice and natural talent is what everyone admires about this Canadian legend.

Get ready Las Vegas! It’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to us now… What a better thing to look forward to in 2011 than the power of Celine!