Excalibur Hotel & Casino — Medieval Splendor in America
Las Vegas, NV
Viva Las Vegas! The glittery Sunset Strip of Las Vegas takes you to the time of the Egyptians in the Luxor, the canal lined waterways of Venice in the Bellagio, the busy streets of New York in New York, New York, and the Middle Ages is no different. Down the Las Vegas Strip, the Excalibur Hotel rises into view beckoning all to enter its castle walls.
Named after the legendary sword of King Arthur, the Excalibur Hotel and Casino covers an impressive seventy acres and comprises of the central castle flanked by two twenty-eight story L-shaped hotel towers with an over 4,000 room capacity. The castle, itself, has turrets and towers along with a moat, walls, and a portcullis gate where guests use to enter the castle confines. Behind the castle towers, Excalibur guests get to truly live like royalty with access to the 60,000 square foot pool area consisting of four luxurious pools, landscaped tropical landscaping, three spas, waterfalls, and pool restaurant to wile away the day in splendor.
Beginnings
The Excalibur Hotel first started out as the Xanadu development, a proposal by none other than the Donald himself, former President Donald Trump. Xanadu was a bizarre ziggurat style building named after the splendorous and hedonous capital of Kublai Khan in the East. It was immortalized by the 18th century poet Samuel Taylor Coledridge’s poem starting with:
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
a stately pleasure dome decree …”
The movie Citizen Kane also added to its fame naming the mega-estate of the magnate Charles Foster Kane after Kublai Khan’s capital. Nevertheless, financing fell through and in the ’80s, an entity named Circus Circus Enterprises announced they had acquired the land to build a castle-themed resort to be designed by architect Veldon Simpson.
In 1990, the Excalibur Hotel and Casino opened to great fanfare. At the beginning, the Excalibur had a much more explicit medieval theme. Hotel rooms had a more medieval flair complete with tapestries and medieval curtains, and the restaurants were named after knights of King Arthur’s Court or from the legends of the Middle Ages like the Lance-a-Lotta Pasta and the Sherwood Forest Café. There was even a famous life-size animatronic duel between the wizard Merlin and a fire-breathing dragon!
As time went on, other non-medieval themed attractions came to Excalibur including a wrestling themed restaurant. The now defunct World Championship Wrestling, once a rival to Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment, opened the WCW Nitro Grill in the Excalibur. There, guests were able to try bar food inspired by WCW wrestlers, buy WCW merchandise, and watch WCW programming and pay-per-views.
In 2005, MGM Enterprises, owners of the Luxor and Mandalay Bay, bought the Excalibur and added the mega-resort to their portfolio. They have since added a more contemporary flair eliminating the Merlin show in favor of other attractions and renovating the Excalibur hotel rooms and restaurant menus with a modern aesthetic.
Medieval Amenities
Even with the changes, the Excalibur still retains its medieval pedigree. The lobby in the castle portion of the Excalibur is a dazzling display of medieval splendor complete with turrets, battlement lined walkways, pillars, and fountains. A statue of a dragon guards the entrance to the lobby, a favorite among guests for photos. Kids can go to the Fun Dungeon, a carnival and arcade area, and the casino is surrounded by medieval décor.
Guests entering the Excalibur castle can try out the myriad of attractions including spa facilities, a fitness center, and a shopping area. Stores like Cashman Crystals, the Pearl Factory, Kids of the Kingdom, and the Dragon’s Lair is done in the style of a medieval bazaar adding to the medieval experience. Las Vegas is known for its nightlife, and the Excalibur Hotel offers The Lounge at Excalibur and the Octane Lounge for socializing and drinks. The Excalibur also offers plenty of restaurant options like the Zagat recommended The Steakhouse at Camelot, Johnny Rockets, and the more familiar fare of McDonald’s, Popeyes, and other fast food places at the Castle Walk Food Court.
Then, there’s the buffet! A king’s diet is available to all who go to the Excalibur buffet named simply The Buffet. The Buffet seats 1400 people serving heaping chunks of medieval fare like steak and ribs. Once called the Roundtable Buffet with a decidedly middle ages theme, the newly revamped Buffet exudes a more modern look. Cuisines are now arranged into seven stations including American, Italian, Asian, Latin, the “Carvery,” and a dessert and salad bar. The buffet changes to breakfast items in the morning so hurry, and on Fridays only, a seafood buffet is served. Libations are also available at the bar. It’s Vegas after all!
Medieval and Not so Medieval Live Entertainment
Undoubtedly, the star attraction of the Excalibur is its live shows. There’s the “Australian Bee Gees” show where a tribute band plays all the hits of 70’s supergroup the Bee Gees and guests can relive the Middle Ages at the “Tournament of Kings” dinner show retelling the tale of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. Lastly, there is the “Thunder from Down Under,” a decidedly un-medieval male burlesque show.
The Excalibur Hotel and Casino treats guests for a royal experience and for that, the Excalibur holds the distinction of giving people one of the best tastes of the middle ages!
