Exploring the South End of the Strip at The Berkley, Las Vegas in Nevada

The view from the 15th floor at The Berkley, Las Vegas during a rain storm. You can see the strip sticking out from far away!

Story, photos and video by Cassie Hepler

I almost gave up on Las Vegas, Nevada. My first visit was with the vagtastic voyage gals via Philadelphia in 2010 I think for a blow out birthday bash at The Luxor which yes, some of those stories will forever stay in Vegas. Fast forward to the last couple of times I visited and honestly, it was giving Get Out vibes each time. I couldn’t see the allure or appeal of staying anywhere on the strip, it just seemed too fast and stressful. When you go from city to city, there is no downtime only chaos and confusion to the next spot. I used to love that crazy energy but now am a huge fan of slow travel!

So when we randomly booked this week at The Berkley, Las Vegas via a timeshare deal I picked up along my travels somewhere (honestly it’s a blur – was it Saint Martin maybe?), I wasn’t expecting much of a love connection. But alas, I think I found one of my favorite places! Apparently my favorite thing is to be about 20 minutes (or in this case 10 minutes) from any particular Center City. When I lived in Philly, I was 20 minutes North of the city in Manayunk. Now I’m 20 minutes north of Downtown Phoenix. There’s something to being just close enough for convenience but far enough for comfort. So I think I found my sweet spot at Silverton Casino. Since I rarely drink anymore unless it’s a special occasion, that didn’t even cross my mind. But they do have $3 Pacifico beer at the Silverton just in case!

Before someone tries to tear me a new one, the Silverton Casino Lodge has existed for forever. Formerly Boomtown Las Vegas, Silverton is a 300-room hotel and casino in Enterprise, Nevada, near the southern end of the Las Vegas Valley. It is a huge 65,556 square feet size with a quirky, un-Strip-like attitude which I found refreshing. Kind of like a hunting lodge with the Bass Pro Shops attached as well as a Cracker Barrel if you really want to get into it.

The Berkley is a luxury 18-story high-rise resort located directly behind Silverton with free parking and a rotating shuttle to get you downtown and around if you need a ride. Accommodations include spacious and nicely decorated one and two bedroom high-rise suites complete with living and dining rooms and fully stocked kitchens. Take the full suite tour on YouTube and argue about if it’s part of the Silverton in the comments!

My first view of The Berkley, Las Vegas. See how it says Silverton at the top?

This is how you know where to check in at The Berkley, Las Vegas. It was smooth and of course they offered more timeshare perks for a tour but we passed.

The 15th floor room tour at The Berkley! We were so happy with this South Vegas location. It was quiet and away from the Strip but also close enough that it was only a couple minutes to get most anywhere. Lots of space for us to unwind after working, a fully stocked kitchen to cook in if we were done people-ing for the day and plenty of space with a fold out couch to have separate spaces to relax and rest. It’s technically called The Berkley but Silverton Casino is legit connected to it in the back with walkways offering great free play a total of $25 each which is almost unheard of in Las Vegas nowadays. Free parking, cheap $2.50 beers, happy hours and the amazing free mermaid show (below) made it a total hidden gem. There was only one pool and hot tub but if you get there early when it opens, it’s all to yourself.

Some of the many things their sister property offers at The Berkley, Las Vegas. I think they were offering buffet and show tickets in exchange for our time.

As well as a medley of entertainment at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

Checking in the room with a rolling cart is always a good idea at The Berkley, Las Vegas. This is Photographer Brian Delfin being funny with my large modeling wardrobe for the week! I also packed a lot of groceries to cook at the condo to relax.

The living room was pretty dope and had a fold out couch bed at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

The bedroom at The Berkley, Las Vegas was whisper quiet, just the way I liked it with great views!

Looking out the The Berkley, Las Vegas bedroom views.

A sit down vanity came in clutch during modeling time at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

And for those longer stays, options to do laundry at The Berkley, Las Vegas. Soap included!

The fully stocked kitchen for cooking at The Berkley, Las Vegas. Don’t forget to bring water, I wouldn’t recommend drinking Vegas tap water.

The bathroom sink at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

The shower and the deep bath tub that gets scalding hot at The Berkley, Las Vegas. I loved those bubble baths!

The toilet in the corner of the bathroom at The Berkley, Las Vegas with doors on each side of the bedroom and kitchen.

The kitchen table where we enjoyed many tasty meals and edited many amazing photos at The Berkley, Las Vegas. I love a comfy, high back chair due to my metal spine.

The kitchen stove, microwave and fridge were new and excellent at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

Cooking with Cass at The Berkley, Las Vegas. It doesn’t happen often but here’s my rendition of curry chicken. A little spice was nice!

The view out the living room window when we arrived at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

Don’t miss the mermaid show at the aquarium at Silverton Casino in Vegas! This free Mermaid Swims show lasts about 20 minutes every half hour from Thursday to Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. If you get there early, go to the right in the little side nook to see all the action. The mermaids do take a break between 3:45 p.m. until 5 p.m. because Merfolk need to eat dinner too! Winning the title of “Best Free Attraction in Las Vegas,” the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada aquarium holds more than 117,000 gallons of water, and it’s home to thousands of tropical fish. The many mermaids have also assisted with Project Mermaids, a non-profit organization helping to bring awareness to Save Our Beach Foundation. Not a fan of mermaids but love fish? Go to the Interactive Stingray Feedings daily from 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Fun fact: When I lived in Philly, someone reached out to me to be a full time mermaid in Las Vegas! If Google is correct about $88K salaries, maybe I should have, haha.

So many fish at the Silverton Casino Vegas.

This guy swam by to say hello at the Silverton Casino Vegas.

This was so cool to just sit, watch and enjoy at the Silverton Casino Vegas. Meditative even! There’s a little hidden nook to the right of the aquarium where I found this hidden gem to create content.

You can’t miss the aquarium at the Silverton Casino Vegas.

The mermaid getting some air before she does her next trick at Silverton Casino Vegas.

She would then made bubble hearts for viewers at Silverton Casino Vegas.

And do some full mermaid flips in the water at the Silverton Casino Vegas.

This fish had his eye on me at the Silverton Casino Vegas.

Finally the mermaid was done for the day at Silverton Casino Vegas.

The next day or two, we went exploring for the blog at The Mob Museum and the Universal Horror Unleashed exhibit and made it back literally just in time to watch the rain pour down. I had never experienced a rain storm in Vegas so it was pretty cool to watch it from high in the sky!

The rain starts pouring as soon as we returned to The Berkley, Las Vegas.

It was actually an awesome experience as well at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

I was all relaxed and snuggled in bed during this storm at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

Fortunately the next morning was all sunshine and lollipops again and perfect for our day of shooting around the grounds at The Berkley, Las Vegas. I was modeling for a brand and needed those perfect pool shots so we woke up bright and early to snag the pool and hot tub before others arrived.

The hot tub at the pool at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

The view towards the front of The Berkley, Las Vegas. I especially liked the lounge chairs inside the water. There was also a restroom.

Before I knew I was going to be red and itchy on the grass at The Berkley, Las Vegas.

After this photoshoot spot, I found out I’m allergic to the grass in Las Vegas! There’s something perhaps hay-like about the tough grass on the West Coast and every time I roll around in it, I end up with painful red scratches and splotches for the day. I am allergic to hay so perhaps that’s it? It’s not like the fluffy soft East Coast grass. Regardless, me and Photos by Delfin rocked the photoshoot for this BodyGlove knitted sweater dress to throw on over your swimsuit so you can be clothing appropriate inside whatever resort you need to be. For me, throwing this on with a junky pair of sunglasses and flip flops is a whole ready to play vibe! And by the next day, it went away but damnnnnn I can’t have any fun lately. Somehow a week flew by in the blink of an eye but we sure made the most of it! Soon it was time to get on the road again.