Tahiti Village Vacation Club Owner Saundra Dexter

Tahiti Village Owner Spotlight

Family friendly Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise, is home to 50,000 happy vacation owners who return year after year to enjoy our relaxing lazy river, tropical beach pool, two 24-hour hot tubs, condo-style accommodations, convenient amenities, numerous onsite activities, and tempting menu choices at 17˚ South Booze & Bites. 

In our new monthly feature on the Tahiti Village blog, you will meet a Tahiti Village owner who has embraced vacation ownership and discover the reasons our Polynesian-styled resort on the south end of the world famous Las Vegas Strip is like a second home. We’re sure you’ll relate!   

For this, our premier owner profile, we present­­­ Saundra Dexter ­­­­, an original Tahiti Village owner from Minnesota.

When you live in the coldest city in the contiguous United States, as Saundra Dexter does, visiting tropical Tahiti Village Resort & Spa in sunny Las Vegas is like going from an icebox to an oasis.

Saundra is one of the 6,000 or so inhabitants of International Falls, Minn., the so-called “Icebox of the Nation” where the temperature dips below freezing more than 100 days a year.

So it always time to rejoice when she and her husband, Sandy, pay their twice yearly visits to family friendly Tahiti Village in Las Vegas.

Out Of The Cold

“We absolutely love it here,” Saundra says of Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise. “It’s just beautiful. Everyone’s so kind, and I like being away from everything yet having access to it all. We met a guy on the shuttle last night. He was staying at another resort and said he hadn’t slept in three nights. I said, `Honey, trust me. You’ll sleep here.’ That’s what I like about Tahiti Village. It’s peaceful; you can go into Vegas if you want to and still get away from the hustle and bustle. It’s like being away from everything yet having access to everything.”

Tahiti Village Vacation Club Owner Saundra Dexter
Owner Saundra Dexter poses by the waterfall inside the Tahiti Village pool on a recent visit.

Original Tahiti Village owners, the Dexters bought into vacation ownership here at Tahiti Village in 2003, three years before our grand opening. “It was just a lot of gravel,” Saundra says. She, Sandy and their two children were visiting Las Vegas and staying at Circus-Circus when they came across a vacation ownership booth in the casino.

“They asked us to take a tour. We said, `Sure, who not?’”

Vacation Ownership

The following day they visited Club de Soleil, a sister Somerpointe Resorts property that had an architectural model of the proposed Tahiti Village property.

“They showed us where it would be,” Saundra says, “and we bought the Bora Bora sight unseen. Later on we bought a second Bora because we have two children, and when we pass each of them could have their own. Then we made it two Royal Tahitians to get the most out of our time. With two Royals we can do a week in a Moorea and a week in a Bora. I could have four weeks if I wanted.”

For the Dexters, it has been nothing but good times ever since. Before they became Tahiti Village Vacation Club members, they rarely if ever left International Falls. As owners of Sandy’s Place, a 38-seat mom and pop restaurant, time away was almost nonexistent.

“When you own a restaurant you don’t take vacations,” Saundra says, citing all the responsibilities on her plate. “I cook, I waitress, I do the books.” If she doesn’t do it, it may not get done.

Vegas Calling

After years of staying close to home, Sandy made a corporate decision for the both of them. “He finally said, `We are buying a condo so it will force you to go on vacation’.”

And it worked, Saundra says. “If I have the weeks to use I’m not going to lose them. We’re definitely going!”

The Dexters typically split sides with their two grown children, who take the Moorea while mom and pop get dibs on the larger Bora Bora.

“That way we can all be together yet still have our own space,” says Saundra, who brought the entire Sandy’s Place staff to Tahiti Village as a Christmas bonus (“they had so much fun”) and her mother and sister on another visit. It was not only their first trip to Las Vegas, but her sister’s first time on an airplane.

“It’s very nice to be able to bring your family and friends to Las Vegas without it costing a huge amount,” she says.

Outdoor Dining at 17° South

As a restaurant owner, Saundra naturally compares other eating establishments to her own. She enjoys the tropical ambiance and spacious patio dining at 17° South Booze & Bites, Tahiti Village’s popular onsite restaurant.

“I love that it opens up to the outside, especially when we’re here over the holidays and the temperature is in the 50s or 60s,” she says. “We can’t eat outside at home in December, so it’s a nice treat.”

As original owners, the Dexters have witnessed numerous positive additions to the property over the years, including 17˚ South, an adults-only hot tub, comprehensive room renovations, a complete lobby remodel, a coffee and snack bar addition to the Wiki Wiki gift shop, and most recently an all-new game arcade in Tower 1.

“We’re always excited to see what they’ve done since the last time we were here,” Saundra says. “It’s one of the things that keep us coming back, in addition to the resort staff and management. Everyone is so nice.”

Sandy, a former U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, plays golf when he comes to Las Vegas, and the Dexters always see the sights, including the Fremont Street Experience, the Bellagio Fountains and Red Rock Canyon.

“We always have to go to Fremont Street to see the lights.”

But mainly, Saundra says, “we like to kick back and relax. It’s just so peaceful.”

Thank you, Saundra! We truly value your ownership.

Tahiti Village

Escape to paradise at family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa, Las Vegas’ premier tropical retreat. Situated on 27 acres at the south end of the world famous Strip, Tahiti Village offers a welcome respite in a gorgeous island setting. With three residential guest towers surrounding a lushly landscaped courtyard, Tahiti Village has numerous desirable amenities and attractions.

Guests can lounge by a sandy beach pool, float down a relaxing lazy river, or unwind in guest suites offering uncommon space, convenience and privacy. Each of Tahiti Village’s three unit configurations has separate bedrooms, with the one-bedroom Bora Bora and two-bedroom Royal Tahitian featuring full kitchens, washer-dryers, steam showers, jetted tubs and private balconies. The Bora Bora and one-bedroom Moorea can accommodate four people, while the deluxe Royal Tahitian – a combination of the two – can sleep eight.

The resort also offers enticing food and drink options at 17° South Booze & Bites, our onsite bar and bistro, and Wiki Wiki convenience store-gift shop with an adjacent food and beverage counter.

Whether you’re staying for a week or a weekend, Tahiti Village has everything you need for the time of your life.

Tahiti Village Easter egg hunt promises another mad scramble

Kid visitors to family friendly Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ tropical resort retreat, will scramble for hidden goodies at our annual Easter egg hunt on Sunday, April 21. Young collectors and their parents should meet at 9 a.m. inside the Island Courtyard (behind the lazy river) to receive their egg bags and prepare for the hunt, which will go off at approximately 9:15 a.m. for the first age group (up to five years old), 10 minutes later for the second age group (6-12), and 10 minutes after that for the third age group (13 and over).

Once the first group of intrepid hunters collects the eggs, deftly hidden throughout the lazy river, they will return to the Island Courtyard for games, crafts and live music. There they will be joined by the second and third groups sporting their own candy-filled eggs. Fortune will smile on a few lucky hunters in the form of special Golden Eggs, which will contain a voucher the holder can exchange for a special prize.

Here’s the one time of the year where it’s advisable to put all your eggs in one basket. Here’s wishing you a very happy Easter from all of us at Tahiti Village, your family friendly Las Vegas resort!

Plan a summer visit to Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ family friendly resort. We’ve got you covered!

With Las Vegas temperatures on the rise as winter gives way to spring and spring to summer, activity at family friendly Tahiti Village has started to stir in anticipation of the hot months ahead. Pool bars are beginning to reopen; the aquatics staff is reassembling en masse for another sizzling summer season at our tropical beach pool and Las Vegas’ largest lazy river; and everyone is counting the days till Memorial Day weekend, when our annual Summer Sunday Luau returns for another three months of dazzling entertainment and authentic, island-style cuisine.

The luau has been a popular summer event at Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ premier Tahitian-inspired resort, for the last 10 years. A 7 p.m. start time means the temperature is still well over 100 degrees, and the sun is still bearing down on hundreds of uncovered heads. This year, we’re upping the comfort quotient for attendees with the installation of a two-piece tent cover that will stretch the length and width of the Island Courtyard.

The project is slated to begin shortly, and we hope to have it completed in time for the first luau of 2019 in late May. Check back here for updates. You’ll have it made in the shade!

Also in the works but yet to be officially confirmed is a biweekly summer music festival. Tentatively earmarked for Friday or Saturday night inside the Island Courtyard, the festival will feature a different performer or group for your listening pleasure. We’re told the festival is a virtual certainty if the tent project is completed in time.

One event we can confirm is our Food Truck Frenzy on April 20 in and around the Island Courtyard. You’ll enjoy an array of tempting choices from popular local food trucks and a selection of spirits from a variety of liquid joy dispensers.

For a wonderful family friendly experience in Las Vegas, book a summer visit to Tahiti Village!

Tahiti Village is hosting shooting survivors Todd Wienke and Oshia Collins-Waters for their wedding reception on the 1 October anniversary.

Frequent Tahiti Village guests Todd Wienke and Oshia Collins-Waters are getting married in Las Vegas on the one-year anniversary of the 1 October tragedy and holding their reception at our resort.

“We are turning the memory of this day from a negative to a positive in the hopes that all survivors do the same,” said Todd, who was shot three times. “Together we will heal with each other’s help and prove that love will always prevail.”

Todd and Oshia, 1 October survivors, will hold their wedding reception at Tahiti Village on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.
Todd and Oshia, 1 October survivors, will hold their wedding reception at Tahiti Village on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.

Country music fans from California, Todd and Oshia were staying at Tahiti Village for the Route 91 Harvest festival. Todd was shot once in the left lower back shielding Oshia as they lay on the ground; once in the left arm as they fled their location near the stage; and once more on the left side during their desperate dash for cover.

Oshia survived without a physical scratch but Todd has shrapnel imbedded, perhaps permanently, on his left side from the shoulder to lower back. The pain he endures is a constant reminder of the senseless tragedy that changed their lives forever but also brought them closer together.

The outpouring of support Tahiti Village, a Somerpointe Resort, has received from its vendors eager to lend their services for the wedding and reception has been nothing short of overwhelming.

“With each phone call our banquets team made our vendors made it very clear they wanted to be a part of this love story,” said Nader Mossavi, Tahiti Village Food and Beverage Director.

What follows are some of the amazing examples of generosity exhibited by our vendors:

Cake Azure has discounted a $3,500 cake down to just its costs.

Lamb Weston, North America’s premier potato provider, has donated all the starch products.

Bacardi, Johnson Brothers and Patron have donated enough alcohol to make the reception a party the couple won’t forget.

US Foods has donated some of the food for the main course.

Good Vibrations has discounted its normal fee to keep the music flowing.

A’kaya Party Rentals has donated the linen to make the event the perfect “policeman blue.”

One of the biggest and most special donations of all has come from Las Vegas country music star Sam Riddle. Our bride heard his song “Vegas Strong,” which embodies all that is amazing about the people and the city we love so much, and knew immediately she wanted it played after Todd’s speech honoring the 58 innocent victims taken that night.

Angela Gimmellie, Somerpointe Resorts’ Director of Project Management, sent Sam a Facebook message with Oshia’s request. She received a reply within minutes. “He never hesitated once,” Angela said. “He immediately wanted to be a part of what he knows will be an amazing night. All he said was `count me in’.”

For the honeymoon, Somerpointe Resorts and exchange partner RCI will donate a week’s stay anywhere in the world RCI has a resort. We can’t think of two more deserving individuals than Todd an Oshia to experience the wedding and reception of a lifetime. Vegas Stronger!

Season-ending luau to benefit the hungry of Las Vegas a great success!

We at Tahiti Village extend our sincere thanks to everyone who helped make our 2018 season-ending luau to benefit Three Square food bank a great success. In case you missed it, we live-streamed the event on our Facebook page and for every share donated one meal to Three Square. We are happy to report that the final live stream had more than 37,000 views and enough engagement for us to donate 3,000 meals! We thank all our friends on social media who contributed to this great cause and helped feed the hungry of Las Vegas. Our weekly Sunday luau resumes next May, and we hope to see you here for another fun-filled summer of great food and entertainment.

 

It’ll be fun, fun, fun this Labor Day weekend at Tahiti Village!

The last long weekend of summer comes to a close at Tahiti Village with an abundance of enjoyable poolside activities and a special luau to benefit Three Square foodbank of Southern Nevada.

The fun starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at our tropical beach pool with a DJ playing tunes till 5 p.m. and Mermaid CaySea entertaining our younger guests from 1-2 p.m. CaySea will also lend her face painting talents from 2-5 p.m. At 6 p.m. singer-guitarist Nick Mattera from our weekly Acoustics & Ale show takes over for a full two hours of unplugged bliss.

On Sunday both the DJ and Nick Mattera return for another round of poolside entertainment. There will also be games, prizes and more on both days as well as Sno-Cones from 3-5 p.m. in our Manihi Isle, the long stretch of green between the pool and the lazy river.

On Sunday night our Bacardi-sponsored summer luau concludes for the year with a Facebook event to benefit Three Square food bank of Southern Nevada. For every person on social media who shares the live-stream event from our Facebook page, we will donate one meal to Three Square up to 10,000 meals to help feed hungry children in the Las Vegas area. As always, the show begins at 7 p.m. and features wonderful entertainment and delicious cuisine.

Las Vegas radio station 104.3NowFM and DJ Supa James will be broadcasting remotely from our luau location, the beautiful Island Courtyard. Be sure to share our Facebook event to benefit Three Square and the hungry children of Southern Nevada.

This weekend we are also unveiling our new signature Tahiti Village drink, the Bacardi Dragon Berry Limónade. It will be available at the main pool bar and 17 South Booze & Bites starting Saturday. The Bacardi girls will also be pouring samples of this delicious new drink at the luau – yet another good reason to attend!

 

Bring on the heat! Summer is officially here with the arrival of our Weekly Sunday Luau!

Luau 2018

Gorgeous girls in coconut bras! Daring fire twirlers! A guy with a ukulele! Our signature summer event, the popular Sunday Luau, is back for another great season beginning Sunday, May 27. Join us in our spacious Island Courtyard every Sunday all summer long for a great evening of entertainment from Hot Lava. New to the luau for 2018 is a rotating menu of Island-inspired cuisine from Chef Jason – you’ll never have the same thing twice (or at least not two weeks in row!) – and a new luau drink menu sponsored by Bacardi and Red Bull.

As always, the Hot Lava singers, dancers, and musicians will thrill, delight, and whisk you away to a tropical paradise right here in the desert. Their island offerings include a mix of fun Polynesian songs and hula dances with audience participation. Things really heat up when a master fire twirler hits the stage. You’ll be on the edge of your seat!

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. with the show to follow. For current VIP and general admission pricing and to reserve your tickets, please call the concierge at (702) 440-6915 or visit the concierge desk in the Tahiti Village main lobby.

No fooling: Annual Easter egg hunt set for this Sunday, April 1st!

Easter Sunday is shaping up to be a hopping good time for the entire family at Tahiti Village, starting with our annual Easter egg hunt on April 1. Young collectors and their parents should meet at 9 a.m. inside the Island Courtyard to receive their egg bags and prepare for the hunt, which will go off at approximately 9:15 a.m. for the first age group (up to five years old), 10 minutes later for the second age group (6-12), and 10 minutes after that for the third age group (13 and over).

Once the first group of intrepid hunters collects their eggs, deftly hidden throughout the lazy river, they will return to the Island Courtyard for games, crafts and live music. They will soon be joined there by the second and third groups sporting their own candy-filled eggs. Fortune will smile on a few lucky hunters in the form of special Golden Eggs, which will contain a voucher the holder can exchange for a special prize.

Here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Easter!

Enjoy an a-maze-ing Halloween at Tahiti Village!

Oct. 28 marks the start of a festive Halloween season at Tahiti Village with the opening of our Haunted Maze, where there’s a friendly fright around every turn. The maze will be open daily in Manihi Isle right through Halloween night, Oct. 31, when we raise the curtain on our third annual Haunted Carnival.

The Carnival is from 5-7 p.m. in the Island Courtyard and includes trick or treating and a costume contest. Please visit the front desk in the main lobby building starting at 4:30 p.m. to pick up trick-or-treat bags, maps, and goodies. The costume contest is slated for 6 p.m. back in the Island Courtyard, where we’ll also have music and games.

Unlike other Halloween attractions that try to stop your heart with terrifying shock tactics, our wholesome Haunted Carnival offers a fun time for the whole family. We hope to see you here!

Another big luau season is coming to a close this Sunday. See you again in May!

Sept. 3 marks our final Summer Sunday Luau of the season at Tahiti Village, and what a great summer it has been! Gorgeous dancers, wonderful music, and a brave fire twirler – to say nothing of a delicious island buffet – brought fun in the sun to our owners and guests each and every Sunday starting Memorial Day weekend.

This year’s luau was very well received and drew consistently large crowds all summer long. The fact that it’s ending this Labor Day weekend is no reason to mourn; it’s reason to rejoice in the knowledge that it will return in nine short months! To purchase tickets to our last luau of the year (Island Courtyard, 7 p.m.), please call our concierge at (702) 440-6915.

We look forward to another great luau season in 2018 and hope to see you here!