I used ChatGPT to plan a last-minute journey to Las Vegas

I usually love planning my journey all the way down to the little particulars. It is thrilling to determine prematurely the place to eat and how you can get there, and ensure I do not miss out on any must-see sights and points of interest.

Nonetheless, I just lately booked a last-minute journey to Las Vegas with a TPG colleague and located myself overwhelmed by the choices. Having by no means visited Sin Metropolis earlier than, I struggled to get my head across the sheer variety of eating, lodging, transport and leisure choices.

With little time to place collectively my weekend plans and with out feeling the identical enthusiasm or motivation I had for planning extra bucket-list holidays, I made a decision to roll the cube and put my religion in ChatGPT. With just a few prompts like dates, pursuits, funds and prebooked tickets, I let this more and more well-liked private assistant do the analysis for me.

So how did it go?

Some gambles paid off handsomely, whereas others had been spectacular failures.

Associated: I gave ChatGPT full management of my European metropolis break. This is why I would not do it once more

What labored: Straightforward to learn, nice concepts on paper

ChatGPT requested a handful of smart clarification questions as I fed it some primary details about my weekend in Vegas and my private preferences, similar to the kind of meals I favored consuming and the way a lot I wished to spend on meals.

Inside seconds, it was capable of lay out a neat, digestible and seemingly logical itinerary for my three-night journey. It additionally provided to provide a map displaying the placement of all the pieces it had steered, so I might see the place I might be going every day, which was a useful function and one thing I hadn’t thought of when planning my journey.

I confirmed my “AI-tinerary” to TPG’s managing editor of newsletters, Becky Blaine, who’s a Las Vegas skilled, prematurely of my journey.

She referred to as the itinerary “stellar” for a first-time customer, so I believed I used to be off to begin.

What labored: Improbable resort comparisons

I wished to redeem Hilton Honors factors for my keep in Las Vegas, and there have been loads of choices accessible. Primarily based primarily on pricing and areas, I narrowed them all the way down to the Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World and the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas and requested ChatGPT to clarify the variations and which might be extra appropriate for my journey, as they price related quantities of Hilton Honors factors every night time.

ChatGPT did a implausible job of summarizing this shortly, effortlessly and logically for me, with the principle variations being that the Waldorf Astoria doesn’t have a on line casino, has a quieter vibe and is a bit more upmarket than the Conrad.

As a first-time customer to Vegas, I sought the occurring, flashy on line casino expertise, so I opted for the Conrad, which proved to be an awesome alternative. I particularly cherished the huge array of meals and beverage choices accessible contained in the Resorts World complicated, and the pool space was superbly designed and really enjoyable within the Nevada sunshine.

I saved a number of time by combing via evaluations of each properties utilizing synthetic intelligence, and I’ll positively be utilizing this once more to match lodging choices sooner or later.

Associated: The very best accommodations in Las Vegas for a Sin Metropolis getaway

What labored: Eating choices with appropriate strategies and costs

I had heard horror tales about how this once-affordable vacation spot had develop into considerably costlier, and I used to be eager to not waste some huge cash on meals and drinks.

I used to be impressed with how ChatGPT was capable of take my easy need and discover appropriate eating choices, additionally offering particulars similar to delicacies, estimated costs and areas inside main accommodations.

It additionally recognized just a few completely happy hour choices that I might discover if I wished to save cash on drinks, together with Electra Cocktail Membership and Brera Osteria, each at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

We ended up going off-script at a few bars that weren’t on the itinerary, just because they “seemed enjoyable” as we walked previous. After I realized they served $15 beers and $30 cocktails (earlier than tax and tip), I knew I ought to have paid nearer consideration to my rigorously crafted itinerary.

As my resort reserving included a Hilton Honors Diamond day by day food-and-beverage credit score, I included this within the ChatGPT prompts, figuring I might avoid wasting cash every day.

My ChatGPT itinerary added a smart suggestion that I might seize a snack or welcome drink at Resorts World proper after checking in and use this credit score, as I used to be prone to be hungry after the lengthy flight from London.

This was an effective way to avoid wasting money earlier than the weekend actually kicked off.

What did not work: No consideration of main occasions

I included a immediate that I had booked a rental automotive for the day to drive out to Valley of Hearth State Park for mountain climbing. Distances, even between accommodations, will be huge in Las Vegas, so I discovered a automotive to gather at Circus Circus Resort & On line casino, which was proper subsequent door to Resorts World.

ChatGPT helpfully steered it was a simple, brief stroll from the Conrad throughout the street to Circus Circus. Though I had offered the placement and date and time of amassing the automotive, ChatGPT’s analysis didn’t account for a 60,000-person music competition that was opening its gates on the identical time on the Las Vegas Pageant Grounds, which may be very near Circus Circus and the place many festivalgoers had opted to remain.

Because of this, I encountered absolute chaos, with hundreds of music followers streaming via the resort, the resort automotive park (the place the automobile was) and close by roads. It additionally took considerably longer to drive out of and again into Vegas as there have been a number of street closures, diversions and really heavy visitors, which threw our schedule off at each the beginning and finish of the journey.

I want ChatGPT had been savvy sufficient to understand that this main occasion, which coincided with my particular location at the moment, would have an effect on our itinerary.

Associated: The most recent attraction in Vegas? Dynamic pricing at resort foyer retailers

What did not work: Suggesting one of the best technique of transport

From what little I knew, Las Vegas usually catches first-time guests off guard by making them suppose they will simply stroll the size of the Strip, underestimating its precise distance.

Due to this, I requested ChatGPT to recommend one of the best methods of getting round. It shortly steered utilizing a ride-hailing service each time I wanted to maneuver anyplace, which did not seem to be essentially the most cost-effective approach to spend the weekend. After I queried this and requested about strolling distances versus driving, a number of the choices had been a 15-minute stroll versus a 7-minute drive, and it appeared unusual that anybody would advocate ordering a automotive when factoring within the wait instances and the truth that with these big resort casinos, the designated ride-hailing service location was nowhere close to the foyer, nor my room.

For instance, after checking in at Conrad Las Vegas, I needed to get to Treasure Island Resort & On line casino, the place I had tickets to a Cirque du Soleil present at 6:30 p.m. Friday. I am glad I ignored the preliminary ChatGPT recommendation to take an Uber or Lyft as a result of:

• It was a simple, flat 25-minute stroll (I might see Treasure Island from my room on the Conrad).
• The timing was throughout sundown in October, when the climate was excellent and the “golden hour” lighting spectacular, for my first-ever foray onto the well-known Las Vegas Strip.
• It was in the course of the night visitors rush hour, when it would take a while for a automotive to reach on the resort, I would want to permit additional time for visitors (or threat lacking the beginning of the present), and the price of the trip throughout this peak time could possibly be larger than regular.

As a substitute, I took a magical sundown stroll alongside the Strip, which was nice to stretch my legs after the lengthy flight.

Associated: Affable service, glamorous frequent areas and mediocre rooms: My weekend on the Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World

What did not work: En route was not en route

The largest ChatGPT fail of my Las Vegas weekend was throughout our drive to Valley of Hearth. Whereas the state park itself is spectacular, extremely beneficial and properly definitely worth the hour or so drive from the town, I had requested ChatGPT to advocate someplace to cease on the best way again to the town to seize some lunch after our hike.

Including prompts that I would really like a themed diner expertise, it shortly steered Cablp, owned by well-known magician Criss Angel. This gave the impression of a good suggestion, but it surely wasn’t till we put the diner’s identify into Google Maps after our hike that we realized it was most positively not “en path to the town” as my ChatGPT itinerary had promised, however relatively a 20-minute drive in the other way.

We weren’t fascinated by including 40 minutes of driving to get a burger, so we needed to discover another choice on the final minute that was really en route again to the town.

I am mystified as to why ChatGPT would think about a 20-minute drive past the vacation spot to be “en route.”

What did not work: Vegas is not one of the best vacation spot for a structured itinerary

Finally, my largest lesson from utilizing ChatGPT for a protracted weekend was that Sin Metropolis wasn’t the precise vacation spot for a structured, hour-by-hour itinerary. Whereas ChatGPT offered detailed directions, it proved too inflexible for a metropolis the place we threw warning to the wind.

After just a few free-pour-strength cocktails and a few wins on the roulette desk, we quickly forgot the itinerary in favor of merely seeing the place the night would take us.

Moreover, since I used to be touring with somebody who had briefly reviewed the itinerary however not contributed considerably to it, it did not make sense to continually verify ChatGPT for directions and drive my colleague to observe the itinerary precisely; relatively, I might merely ask them what they most popular.

I count on that utilizing ChatGPT to create a journey itinerary would work higher for solo vacationers, who needn’t verify in with what others wish to do, in addition to for locations the place sticking to strict schedules is extra acceptable, similar to Tokyo or maybe Germany.

What did ChatGPT study from this expertise?

I loaded these ideas into ChatGPT and requested the platform to offer some commentary on my scorecard of what labored and what did not.

This is what it needed to say:

• Thanks for the considerate debrief. The plan was scaffolding, not a script. We iterated round your constraints so the framework might flex when you improvised.
• Concerning transportation, the preliminary itinerary steered utilizing a ride-hailing service. After you requested, it transformed rides underneath 20 minutes to strolling and pinned routes on a map, so you might select reside as a substitute of defaulting to vehicles.
• On the Circus Circus pickup: actual‑time occasion detection (e.g., the music competition) wasn’t enabled except we had been requested to browse native calendars; honest critique — I ought to proactively flag main‑occasion zones round pickup factors.
• On “en route” to Valley of Hearth: you requested a themed diner; decisions are sparse on that hall. CABLP match the temporary however was a detour; the map uncovered that. I ought to have labeled it clearly as non-compulsory with the space famous.

Backside line

Certain, I most likely might have squeezed a bit extra in and saved just a few extra {dollars} by following my ChatGPT Las Vegas itinerary to the letter, however I ticked off the principle objects and had an absolute blast for my first go to to Sin Metropolis.

I am eager to return, maybe subsequent yr, however I would additionally wish to discover extra of the outdated aspect of Vegas subsequent time. Whereas it was decadent staying at Conrad and attending exhibits on the glittering Bellagio Resort & On line casino and eating on the Venetian, I used to be charmed by the kitsch character of the likes of Circus Circus and Excalibur Resort & On line casino, to not point out they might be considerably cheaper than the place I stayed.

The buzzing Fremont Avenue Expertise was rather well executed, and bouncing across the Golden Nugget Resort & On line casino and making just a few wagers Saturday night time was terrific enjoyable, even when my reminiscences are a little bit hazy after the solar went down.

I might positively flip to ChatGPT for some help in placing collectively the journey subsequent time, however I would not be in search of hour-by-hour directions.

My finest recommendation for Las Vegas is to roll the cube and waft, and hopefully you may come up trumps.