8 Ways to Romance Your Lady in Las Vegas

While Las Vegas may have a reputation for wild bachelor parties and secret indiscretions, it’s a great destination to experience as a couple and make your own secrets. Plan a fun and romantic trip that she’ll love and you’ll be much luckier in the bedroom than at the tables. Start with this cheat sheet and the rest is up to you…

1. Pamper her: Take note, women love going to spas… and since Las Vegas has some of the best spas in the world, she’ll be spoiled for choice. You may even want to join her and indulge in a couple’s massage in a Spa Suite at The Spa at ARIA . You’ll have your own relaxation lounge with flat screen TVs, hydrotherapy tub, steam showers and amenities. Kick it up a notch with the lavish Couples Romance Package, which includes a 50-min. couples massage, 80-min. Couples Face & Body Experience, a coconut milk bath and champagne and chocolate ganache for two.

2. Feed her: Make your way to Blossom, an authentic fine dining Chinese restaurant at ARIA, with over 100 menu items to choose from. This elegant restaurant has a welcoming ambience and the service is superb. You’ll find delicious dumplings, wonton soup, Peking duck, Chilean sea bass, Kung Pao chicken and beef tenderloin, along with plenty of vegetarian dishes, like braised tofu with black mushrooms and Chinese broccoli. End on a sweet note with some Mochi ice creams.

3. Comfort her: After a busy day or night out on The Strip, you’ll both love returning to the tranquility of Vdara Hotel & Spa, a non-smoking/non-gaming hotel, conveniently located in City Center (across from ARIA). Each luxurious suite comes with a kitchenette, dining table for two, a King-size bed with pillow-top mattress, living room with sofa bed and large spa-style soaking tub. Use the digital tablet in your room to order room service, show tickets or an in-room romance package to set the mood (think rose petals strewn across the bed). Most rooms have views of The Strip and the Bellagio fountains, which come alive at night.

4. Entertain her: All you need is LOVE, specifically the Beatles™ LOVE™ by Cirque du Soleil® at The Mirage Hotel & Casino. It’s an amazing production with stunning visual effects and multi-talented performers jumping, dancing and swinging through the air to the beat of the band’s classics. The creative use of the stage and sets is impressive as well. Sgt. Pepper Reprise is one of the many vibrant acts featured in the show. Catch the artists Thursday through Monday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. nightly.

5. Drink (and eat) with her: Start out with a farm-fresh infusion cocktail built for two at Harvest by Roy Ellamar (Bellagio), with cold-pressed juices and homegrown herbs. Chef Roy’s market-inspired menu is filled with fresh, creative dishes, including sustainable seafood, vegetarian dishes, grass-fed beef and organic poultry. It comes as no surprise that salads really shine here—try the arugula and citrus salad or the baby kale salad with seared tofu and a miso and yuzu dressing. “Snack Wagon” is a fun way to enjoy small innovative delights, such as jars of Smoked Salmon Belly Dip and Broccoli Rabe Pesto.

6. Get high with her… and elevate your view: Take a ride on the world’s tallest observation wheel, the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade measuring 520 feet in diameter with 28 glass-enclosed cabins. One revolution takes 30 minutes, plenty of time to enjoy the views of the glittering strip below. Some cabins even have an open bar inside for High Roller Happy Half Hour, too.

7. Kiss her… on the Eiffel Tower: Paris and romance go hand-in-hand, so a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower Experience at Paris Las Vegas is a must. The elevator ride takes you 46 stories up and is a half scale replica of the world-famous landmark. At the top of the observation deck are 360-degree city views, which are especially romantic at night. Stick around for a great view of the bright, colorful lights and “dancing fountains” water show across the street or return to the comfort of your suite and watch the mesmerizing water and light show back at Vdara.

8. Pamper her (again!): At 134,000 square feet, The Canyon Ranch Spa Club offers an extensive menu of treatments and services with highly skilled therapists. Double the fun with a Couple’s Canyon Ranch Massage. Afterwards, relax in the co-ed areas together— the Conservatory, Salt Grotto and Wave Room, which projects mesmerizing reflections of water on the circular ceiling. Then make the rounds at the spa’s renowned Aquavana, a European-inspired aqua thermal oasis with a range of therapeutic water features, such as Experiential Rains, a Herbal Laconium, and even an Igloo.

The 10 Best Steakhouses in America

All across this red meat-fueled country of ours, there exist many great steakhouses. Old-school steakhouses, modern takes and everything in between. So if you’re hungry and have a little cash to spend, you can eat something medium-rare and delicious just about anywhere. That said: Some do a particularly fine job of making us full. Which brings us to these 10 steakhouses. From their meticulous sourcing, variety of cuts and top-notch cooking, they represent some of the best spots to eat steak in America.

CUT, Los Angeles: This Wolfgang Puck institution offers a modern twist on classic steakhouse fare, and it does so in a bright, all-white interior that’s a major departure from the dim lighting and dark leathers of its old-school brethren. The big menu’s got plenty of non-steak options, in case you chose your company poorly. Otherwise, look forward to 35-day dry-aged ribeyes and delicious Japanese Wagyu.

American Cut, multiple locations: Chef Marc Forgione’s ode to red meat is a popular spot for intimate dinners and testing the limits of one’s expense account. The menu features a variety of cuts, including the 42-ounce tomahawk chop. And you can top that steak with a choice of sauces, a fried egg or, what the hell, some foie gras and chili lobster.

SW Steakhouse, Las Vegas: Steve Wynn’s upscale steakhouse serves a wide variety of perfectly-cooked steaks, but you’re going here for the real Kobe beef. They’re one of only a handful of restaurants with the bona fide Japanese cut, and are even registered with the Kobe Beef Federation.

Urban Farmer, Portland, Oregon: Urban Farmer is a distinctly modern steakhouse with an emphasis on varied cuts, sustainable sourcing and local everything. Located on the eighth floor of a hotel, the open and airy dining room features lots of greenery, reclaimed wood and a 20-foot communal table made from a Douglas fir. We are talking about Portland, after all.

Knife, Dallas: Led by John Tesar, this posh Dallas steakhouse offers a diverse selection of cuts, from your standard filets and bone-in sirloins to less common options like culotte and tri-tip. But for something completely different, try the 240-day dry-aged ribeye, which is one of the richest cuts of meat you’ll find anywhere. And if you’d like to see where your steak matures, you can walk up to the window and peer into the climate-controlled meat locker.

Red the Steakhouse, multiple locations: This perennial Ohio favorite with an outpost in Miami Beach is a refined spot for enjoying some red meat. And like SW Steakhouse, it’s one of the very few restaurants in America serving certified Japanese Kobe. So you really can’t go wrong. But if you’d like to keep things domestic, they’ve got all the prime bone-in classics (ribeye, Kansas City strip, porterhouse), plus a bevy of sauces and toppings to keep things interesting.

Barclay Prime, Philadelphia: With high ceilings, ornate chandeliers and sleek leather booths, Barclay Prime is a place to see and be seen. And eat steak. But first, snack on some oysters or a “colossal shrimp cocktail” from the raw bar. Dive into some caviar if you’re really going for it. Just be sure to leave plenty of room for a dry-aged New York strip or a Wagyu filet mignon. Otherwise this whole exercise was pointless.

Kevin Rathbun Steak, Atlanta: Here, the popular Atlanta chef pays just as much attention to his large selection of starters and seafood as he does his steaks. But still, get a steak. Those come from the famed Allen Brothers in Chicago, and include prime cuts that you can top with everything from Béarnaise and peppercorn sauce to compound butters bejeweled with foie gras and black truffle.

Bourbon Steak, Washington, D.C.: Located inside the Four Seasons, Chef Michael Mina’s steakhouse is a modern, eye-catching restaurant specializing in butter-poached meat cooked over a wood-burning grill. The dry-aged steaks range from 35 to 60 days, and the menu boasts a large selection of A5 Miyazaki Japanese Wagyu. If you can’t make a choice, opt for the tasting trio of three-ounce cuts.

Prime 112, Miami: Located in the historic Browns Hotel, Prime 112 is a bright, lively and modern steakhouse. The music is upbeat, the clientele is well-dressed, and the restaurant makes a point to keep things female-friendly. So bring a date. Preferably one who appreciates a robust potato menu and is interested in sharing the 48-ounce porterhouse for two.

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What I Learned River Rafting Through the Grand Canyon

Sometimes you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’ve done it. Like surviving a 200-mile river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, for instance. The 9 day journey—which was run by Outdoors Unlimited—involved braving massive rapids, hiking through the high desert, and living at the bottom of America’s most gobsmacking geographic landmark. I walked out of that canyon with a deep tan and a massive sense of accomplishment, as well as the following hard-earned lessons.

The weather is unpredictable: Welcome to the land of fire and ice, said our guide, and it didn’t take long for me to grasp what he meant. Temperatures in the Grand Canyon range from 60 to 115 degrees, and the river water averages a brisk 48 to 50 degrees. Cotton became my biggest frenemy—the slow drying material is great for evaporative cooling, but if the sun disappeared behind a cloud I’d rapidly find myself blue-lipped and shivering. On the other hand, there were windy desert nights where I felt like I was trying to sleep in a giant, infernal hairdryer.

Always pitch a tent: As we’ve just established, the weather is unpredictable. While you can and should sleep in the open under the stars (and, by the way, prepare to see more stars than you’ve ever seen in your life), you’ll be glad to have shelter nearby when it starts raining at 3am. If you do get caught in the rain without a tent, your best bet is to employ a move known as the Burrito, which involves wrapping yourself in a tarp or groundsheet and pretending not to notice that the foot of your sleeping bag is getting damp.

Tie everything down: Grand Canyon rapids are huge, which means it’s very likely you’ll end up going for a surprise swim at some point. Make sure you have straps on your sunglasses, a chinstrap on your hat, carabiners on your water bottles, and that your GoPro or camera is secured. It’s also not a bad idea to have some kind of cord attached to your personal soap bar in case your husband loses it in the river on the second day.

Respect the river: Like all adventure sports, the thrill of whitewater rafting is not without its risks. We ran more than 50 rapids without incident, but on a particularly difficult one 6 people were thrown out of their raft. Nobody was in the water for more than a minute and for many it was the trip’s most dramatic highlight. However, one person was so traumatized that it was 24 hours before they could pick up a paddle again, and unfortunately another injured their knee so badly they couldn’t walk for days.

Clean is a relative term: Wet wipes, hand sanitizer and camping soap are essential, but it’s important to recognize at the outset that while you can get clean-er, you cannot really get clean. The murky brown river is where we wash our bodies and our dishes, but it’s also where we urinate and dump the camp’s wastewater. (And get drinking water, once it’s been properly treated.) The cleanest you’ll ever feel on this trip is right after you rinse off in a waterfall, which you’ll have the opportunity to do almost daily. But don’t kid yourself: you’re still as grubby as the rest of us.

Dehydration can ruin your day: It goes without saying that when you’re spending time in the desert, you need to make sure you’re drinking plenty of fluids. But I’m saying it anyway because, as I discovered on two separate occasions, it’s surprisingly easy to become dehydrated even when you’re being vigilant. Guzzling gallons of water simply doesn’t cut it, you have to supplement with electrolyte drinks or risk getting sick on the river—not an ideal scenario when your bathroom consists of an army surplus ammo tin with a toilet seat attached.

The canyon is an outdoor classroom: Our guides were constantly schooling us, both on and off the river. While hiking down the many side canyons that branch off the main one, we learned about the geological mystery of the Great Unconformity and about the Ancestral Puebloan Indians who lived in the area more than a thousand years ago. I now know the difference between a petroglyph and a pictograph, and can identify at least two constellations in the night sky. And given a piece of duct tape, I will de-cactus a pair of pants with the brusque efficiency of a Russian bikini waxer.

There’s no “i” in “all forward:”Paddling isn’t about brawn (much to my relief), it’s actually about teamwork. The boat moves most effectively when everyone paddles as a unit, taking each stroke in unison and following the guide’s precise instructions. If you slack off or flex too hard, you will be immediately identified as the weak link since everyone else will have to compensate. And being an uncooperative A-hole will come back to haunt you when you’re running low on sunscreen and beer on day 7 of the trip.

River guides are a special breed: It’s a singular type of person that eschews job security and a steady paycheck, and chooses instead to wear the same pair of shorts for a week and get regular fungal foot infections. These guys love what they do, and to be a guide on the Grand Canyon, they have to be really good at it too. River guides are imminently capable people who possess technical river skills, leadership and communication skills, medical and culinary training, a great way with people and a damn good attitude. They also tell terrible jokes and have an extensive mental inventory of time-wasting games.

It’s not an easy trip, but we had it easy: When John Wesley Powell mounted an expedition to explore the unmapped canyon in 1869, he spent three months running the river in a wooden oar boat, nearly drowning and starving along the way. While we had all the benefits of modern technology (such as drops that will magically turn a bucket of silty river water into purified, drinkable H2O), we also had guides that catered to our every need. And we ate better than most of us are accustomed to at home. We’re talking fresh coffee, fruit and yoghurt, and a hot breakfast every morning; and three-course dinners featuring things like tuna steaks and burgers each night. Sure, we were dirty, tired, and my entire body was covered in heat rash. But this was backcountry glamping, if such a thing exists, and our suffering was of the most pampered sort.

Photo Credit: Ariel Jankelson