Hola, chickadees! I just returned from a terrific girlfriend’s getaway at Horseshoe Casino Bossier City, which was highlighted by visits to the destination’s luxe pool lounge, Dare Dayclub. If you’re up for end-of-summer travel this month or next, you should consider investing a weekend in Louisiana to check out this hot outdoor lounge! Whether it’s a girlfriend’s getaway like I had, a romantic jaunt or just a road trip with your party posse (Shreveport/Bossier is just about three hours away), you can build the ideal visit due east. Here’s five reasons my stay was superb and yours can be, too:
1. The Dallas douche factor at this lounge is nonexistent.
I love Dallas. You know this by my blog name. But Dallas clubs attract a certain inescapable $30,000 millionaire situation. Thankfully, as you’re scanning the scene at Dare — packed as it is with a good number of visiting Dallasites — you’ll notice the folks in the cabanas and in lounge chairs are having a genuinely good time, focusing on their friends, dancing and enjoying the pool, as opposed to glowering and posing with their bottle of Ciroc. And that makes for a convivial party atmosphere.
2. The pool is actually swimmable!
Unlike the pool lounges I’ve found in Dallas, Dare’s pool is 4 feet deep, which makes swimming and contented floating possible and terrific (you’ll have to practice your dive technique elsewhere, alas). And the club throws in fun floatables like beach balls and inflatable sharks. Sweet!
3. There’s plenty to do away from your cabana.
In what was the perfect luxury travel touch, me and the gals were treated to fabulous massages at the Horseshoe’s peaceful on-site spa, Indulge, which also has facials and a slate of salon services on its menu. Plus, hello — the casino is right there. If you’re like me, you’ll hit the quarter slots and the poker room!
4. The music at Dare slays.
The DJ who held court the Saturday my group was there played a killer mix of pop hits, throwback hip-hop and serious R&B grooves. We couldn’t keep to our seats.
5. Drinks and eats at the pool are reasonable.
Costs for bottles of liquor are a nice change of pace from Dallas’ markups. A bottle of Grey Goose is way less than $300, whereas we’ve never seen it less than $400 in Big D clubs. And if you’re gonna get your drank on, it’s a better bet than ordering individual cups from the bar. As for eats, a fine shrimp cocktail and a couple California rolls will set you back way less than $30, and are delicious fuel for heading back to the pool!
Bonus: Drinks and eats at the Horseshoe restaurants are damn delish!
We stuffed our faces at both Four Winds, a high-end, pan-Asian restaurant, and at Jack Binion’s Steakhouse, a palace of meat and seafood. There’s a taste of our spread at Four Winds above. Crab rangoon, the best fried rice evah, Peking duck, orange scallops, and shrimp in lobster sauce were among the highlights.
From our spread at Jack Binion’s, seafood was the thang: Gigantic crab legs, marinated crab claws, escargots, fried crab claws and shrimp cocktail were some standouts. Another was our joyous and personable server, Jarvis, seen here with our generous selection of desserts …
What a charmer! He took great care of us and peppered our evening with great conversation. All in all, he helped make this a wonderful weekend at the Horseshoe.
And hey — the long weekend’s just begun — you still have time to travel east for a phenomenal time at the Horseshoe!
[Disclosure: The Horseshoe Casino Bossier City provided my accommodations, dining and cabana rental during my visit. But these opinions are all mine!]