The indoor portion of The Front Yard Beer Garden at Ellis Island was probably our favorite place to be during the evenings at the race when there wasn’t action on the track. The Beer Garden was nicely heated, and anywhere you sat had a direct view of any of 20 (YES 20) televisions around the venue. The staff, whether bartending, plating food, serving, or interacting with the guests were friendly, accommodating, and genuinely excited to be there. Of course, my favorite part, the food… I cannot fault one thing that I ate. There was an entire menu of options that I will detail in #3.
Takeaway: The Turn 4 at Ellis Island Front Yard Beer Garden is the perfect place for fans to enjoy the race without sacrificing comfort or access to the track. You always have the option of viewing the race directly outside on the viewing platform.
The second option for the Turn 4 Experience at Ellis Island are the 2 grandstand sections to the North and South of their iconic marquee. Initially, our team hadn’t planned on watching any part of the race weekend from the grandstands due to the cold, but the second we saw our view at night… we changed our minds. The proximity to the track, even at the top row, in the furthest corner (pictured above) was much closer than the other two races I’ve attended at COTA and in Montreal. Similarly to the Beer Garden experience, the activities, the food, the staff, and the ambiance were unrivaled.
Takeaway: The Turn 4 at Ellis Island Grandstand is the perfect place for fans to enjoy the race who want an elevated but ‘standard’ Grand Prix experience. While you get nearly identical amenities to the Beer Garden, the only thing ‘lacking’ is heat (bring a coat).
If you haven’t gathered it already, the food at Ellis Island far surpassed our expectations. There was a giant dessert table in the center of The Front Yard Beer Garden, the kitchen had a buffet style main dish set-up with chefs carving salmon and brisket, AND the staff circled the room with trays of various snacks including mac n’cheese, fried pickles, hummus and pita, and chicken tenders. Each table also had a full menu of drinks (including their FREE Turn 4 Lagers) and full food menu. To say we were blown away by the service and quality of food was an understatement. I eat salmon at least 3 times a week and this may have been among the best I’ve ever tasted. While we may have eaten our meals at the Front Yard Beer Garden, the Grandstands had very similar options.
* Each offering also had both vegetarian and gluten free options *
Takeaway: If you’re looking for a great deal that will help you save travel time and costs, stay at Ellis Island when attending their Turn 4 Experience.
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One of our team members, Josh (@BaristaJoshf1) stayed on site at the Ellis Island Hotel. From the general team point of view, this was a great base of operations to upload our fan interviews and content from each day. Here’s what Josh had to say about the room:
“Check-in and parking were both very easy and accessible. It was extremely convenient to park my car and not have to lug my luggage around a giant casino property to find my room. The room itself was simple but ‘well done’ with basic but higher end amenities. The bed was comfortable, the TV was a good size and worked well, everything was clean, there was a large fridge. There were also plenty of food options in the hotel itself including a number of restaurants. If you didn’t want to eat on the property, there were multiple restaurants that were within 10 minutes walking distance, as well as a close monorail stop to get onto the Strip.”
Takeaway: If you’re looking for a great deal that will help you save travel time and costs, stay at Ellis Island when attending their Turn 4 Experience.
The Turn 4 Experience at Ellis Island is truly one of the most unique and value-driven experiences in Las Vegas for the Inaugural Grand Prix. Our team was lucky enough to experience both The Front Yard Beer Garden and Grandstands with Ellis Island and I think either option take the cake for my favorite race offerings in Las Vegas.
In regards to the Beer Garden, we had access to the heated Beer Garden with over 20 TVs, an outdoor viewing platform on the straight, free food, a special Turn 4 Apex Lager and entertainment. For $1250 for the weekend, or $250, $500, $750 for single days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively), you get nearly the same experience as many other premium hospitality offerings at ⅛ th of the price.
The same exact thing is true for the Grandstands. For $1500 for the weekend, or $250, $500, $750 for single days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively), you are basically sitting on the track while enjoying an entire FREE village full of food, drinks, music, activities and more.
Takeaway: After comparing this experience with other race attendees, genuinely Ellis Island Turn 4 Experience takes the cake for the most ‘bang for your buck’ without sacrificing quality.
If you want to learn more about the Turn 4 Experience at Ellis Island check out our Know Before You Go article, listen to our staff interviews, or check out our fan interviews from the weekend [COMING SOON]!
OR if you want to read about my ENTIRE experience on track at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, check out my Las Vegas Grand Prix Travel Diary.
AND if you want to hear about other fan experiences from different offerings on-track, check out the Fan Takes Article [COMING SOON].
