Had my baby sisters wedding here @ the Garden Chapel. First off let me say Why the heck is it so hard to find the parking!?! No sign saying Flamingo Parking or Park Here. Geezus! So after two U turns and a "I think it's this way honey" we turned in and were glad to find that we had made the right decision. After we drove through the most confusing self parking garage and actually ended up going the wrong way at one point, we ended up just parking and walking down a level to the elevators. These have to be some of the oldest elevators that exist in Las Vegas. And for me that is not a good thing. Due to this one moment in my life where I was stuck in an elevator - a story for another time. So once we get down and find our way to the casino we start searching for the garden chapel. Not many signs directing the way. If I wouldn't have been staring off into space out of the doors leading outside we would have missed it. We headed outside and looked rather out of place walking past the tourists in swimsuits. We continued on the beaten path and had to continue to follow signs around the outside area. We finally headed up to a little building that looked like it could possibly be the chapel.
We headed in and were greeted by our family members. My sister was in the brides quarters doing final touches. Not a bad sized room with plenty of mirrors. Total with the bride there were 7 of us and there was still a bit of room left over. We headed out to wait for the ceremony to begin. We were told by the minister NOT to take photos or video...ARE YOU SERIOUS! Yah I get they want you to buy the photos they take and the video they record, but honestly let me get a couple snaps in because I like raw photos. Anyway, the ceremony began and it was beautiful. I was bawling like a baby the whole time. Nothing over the top, but more simple and elegant. We were told to remain seated after the ceremony while they exited and signed papers and then they were to return and do complete photos with family. We all took turns getting our pictures taken with bride and groom and then we were to exit while they finished photos together. The brides stuff was taken out of the room and stored in the employee room as they had another bride scheduled immediately after. We actually saw the next bride walking up as we were exiting. As you exit the chapel and turn right down a couple steps there is a pretty waterfall. We decided to take our own photos in front of it while waiting. It did have a bit of a smell, maybe due to the birds and things.
After the bride and groom exited we made them take photos in front of the waterfall and then we headed out to the reception. You can exit down the chapel steps and follow the pool around to the valet which you can also access the self parking garage. (wish I would have known that before walking in a big circle through the casino) The whole place seemed pretty dirty and smelly. Would not be my suggestion for a first time tourist. The elevator felt sketchy as we were going back up to level 6. It was shaky and stuttering and there was an actual hole cut in the ceiling that you could watch the elevator going up. Yah I may have had a slight panic attack and practically jumped off the elevator as it came to our stop.
I am not sure if I will frequent the Flamingo or even go back unless there was something enticing. As far as the room reviews I have read, I don't think I'd have a staycation either. It's a staple of Las Vegas, just needs some cleaning and a bit updating.