Buffet of Buffets, 24 Hours of Gluttony - Las Vegas Experience #1

The Buffet of Buffets is an interesting new concept in the food scene on the Las Vegas strip, not from being a new upscale restaurant or novelty dining experience, but rather being one of the most gluttonous events one can attempt throughout the entire city.  After hearing such rave reviews of the experience, we had to go check it out this past weekend.  Not surprisingly, the feast made such an impression that it gets a spot in our 5 Memorable Vegas Experiences series highlighting the best parts of our getaway.

Experience #1 - The Buffet of Buffets

Harrah's Entertainment is one of the largest companies on the Vegas strip with 7 popular hotel and casinos scattered throughout the busy walking trail.  Not surprising, each hotel offers an array of restaurants and buffets designed to bring the average traveler in and hopefully keep them well afterward to gamble the night away.  In a brilliant marketing move the Buffet of Buffets was created as a 24 hour revolving door pass to any of the 7 buffets throughout the chain for as little as $45 per person.

The price might seem a bit outrageous at first, but when you consider the average buffet price for lunch is $18 per person and $25+ for dinner, the price becomes justified very quickly.  Or if you were in our shoes, you would just get them for severely discounted when booking a special package at Harrah's owned Imperial Palace that amounted to two tickets for $40.  As we quickly found out, however, our stomachs were not as big as we once thought and have now grown to adapt.

Make Your Plan and Begin Feasting

The most difficult decision on the Buffet of Buffets is figuring out where to begin.  With only 24 hours and 7 buffets, it is impossible and irrational to try and hit them all.  A great part of the Vegas experience is the food, however a full day should not be given up just to eat upscale buffet food.  But to get the most out of the pass and maximize cost savings a general rule of thumb can be followed of dinner, breakfast, dinner.

Dinner, breakfast, dinner lets you not only get at least a $67 value out of the pass, but experience the best selections of foods at 3 unique buffets.  To make this work, however, the first dinner must be started later in the evening while the second one be started earlier in the following day to fit within the 24 hour time frame.  Luckily for you, most buffets open their dinner menu as early as 3:30 pm for those wanting to maximize their pass.  Once a general plan is set out, where can you go?  The 7 buffets include:

• Lago Buffet at Caesar's Palace

• Paradise Garden at Flamingo

• Flavors at Harrah's

• Emperor's Buffet at Imperial Palace

• Le Village Buffet at Paris

• Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood

• Carnival World Buffet at the Rio

• *Extra* Village Seafood Buffet at the Rio (for an added $15 pp)

In my two trips to Las Vegas, I have personally had food at the buffets at Caesar's, Rio (twice), Paris, and Planet Hollywood and found them all to be quite exceptional.  When considering the 24 hour pass, picking a varied selection of menu styles will keep the experience fresh while still sampling new items.  For our 24 hours we visited the World Buffet at the Rio the first night (free transport from Harrah's or Paris), Lago Buffet at Caesar's Palace for breakfast the following morning, and painfully finished the 24 hour pass at Le Village Buffet at Paris. 

Highlights of Each Buffet 

As previously mentioned, we chose our buffets to include new items on each menu for our entire feast and picked some of the highlights of each buffet as our reason for visiting.  It worked out wonderfully that we just so happen to visit Caesar's buffet on a Saturday morning which is a more expensive and more elaborate brunch, much to our stomach's happiness and dismay - still being free with the pass.  But regardless of your point of view, the food on the menu is incredibly enticing and was one absolute amazing period of feasting.  The top items included:

• Full Serviced Crepe Stand (sweet and savory) at Paris

• Dessert and Gelato Bar at the Rio

• Stock Crab Legs and Claws at most Dinner Buffets (and Caesar's Brunch)

• Asian Noodle, Meat, and Soup Selections at the Rio

• All French Cuisine at Paris

We could go on all day about why the food and experience was amazing however the thought of all the food we ate is a bit disgusting in retrospect (posted photos are only a fraction of my portions alone).  In either case, next time you visit Las Vegas be sure not to miss the Buffet of Buffets as it will be only one of the few small instances in the city that the house does not always win.  Just be prepared for the massive workout session that is to follow after you return home!