I have a business meeting in April in Las Colinas, TX. I thought it was going to be in Dallas, and I've done a search on the web but can't find out if Las Colinas is a neighborhood in Dallas, or a completely different city. The meeting is at the Omni Mandalay. Is there anything to do close to the hotel? Thanks.

Las Colinas is in Irving, TExas--not far from the Airport.

There is a lake there in Las Colinas and you can the
take a boat ride. There is GREAT shopping there also. You can walk to see the "Mustangs".. and dine at the Mustang Cafe.

There is a small man-made canal that winds its way through the development called Las Colinas. There are several small shops and restaurants here. I worked in Las Colinas for several years and wouldn't label the shopping as great.

Here's what the tourism bureau says: Las Colinas, Spanish for "the hills," is home to more than 2,000 companies, including 40 Fortune 500 companies. An urban Land Institute Award for Excellence winner, Las Colinas is a superb example of a high quality, master-planned community of balanced commercial, residential and environmental land uses.

In addition to the mustang sculpture, Las Colinas also counts the following among its most unique features: Las Colinas Flower Clock, Mandalay Canal, Las Colinas Equestrian Center, Harold Clayton's Marble Cows, Movie Studios at Las Colinas, and the Byron Nelson Golf School.

kcd ... Neither of these posts told you, but Las Colinas is VERY near Dallas -- just a short 10 minute drive down the interstate. Look it up on Mapquest and you'll see.

For what it's worth, kcd, the Omni is fantastic!

Dan can you tell me more about the Omni? I have reservations there soon. How is the dining there? Anything there for a special dinner? Also, what do you know about the rooms?
thanks!

The Omni is nice but if I was advising a tourist I would not suggest staying there. It is too far outside of Dallas. You will be in traffic depending on what time of the day you want to go to or leave Dallas. I would stay at either The Melrose Hotel, Stoneleigh or Crescent Court. Las Colinas is about 15 minutes outside of Dallas but when there is traffic it could take much longer. Trust me, there is nothing special about Las Colinas or Irving.

I know this is an old post, but I just found out that I will be staying at the Omni Las Colinas on business next week and have never been to Dallas. I won't have a car -- is there any form of public transportation that will get me to sites or shopping? I assume there is nothing within walking distance.

Thank you for advice!

I would definitely rent a car. I live in the area and we are not known for great public transportation. It's there, but I would rather drive myself and get there quickly. Eat at Jinbeh's (next door to the Omni) - great Japanese food. Any shopping will need to be done in north Dallas (very easy access from Las Colinas) and Fort Worth. I would strongly recommend visiting the Stockyards in north Fort Worth and Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth; the JFK museum in downtown Dallas and the West End is full of restaurants.

I have stayed at the Omni.There are a couple of places right across the street.Tex mex I think and a place called Cipriani.The Star of Las Colinas IMHO is Cool River Cafe but its a cab ride away 3 miles.Outstanding steaks, but the stuffed Belgian waffle for dessert is nothing short of devine.

The Omni Mandalay is a very nice hotel, but it is practically in the middle of a field. So, if you want to eat anywhere besides the hotel restaurants, and see anything at all besides the hotel, you'll need a car! Yes, you could do taxis, but the cost will quickly surpass the cost of a rental car.

Grapevine and Lewisville (both nearby) have lots of shopping. Downtown Grapevine is small shops and galleries, and the Grapevine Mills and Vista Ridge Malls are both very close by.

Actually Vista Ridge is where I do a loot of shopping as my TA lives just east of there.As I remember one of the main "drags" of Las Colinas is MacArthur Blvd and it goes straight up north, crosses hwy 121 and there is the mall,no?

Yes, MacArthur takes you right to Vista Ridge. How convenient! ;-)

I thought I remembered...And I do no "looting" but a lot of shopping there at Vista Ridge...My TA is NOT happy that Foleys will be rebranded as a Macy's....But he's original Texan to the core and I guess Foley's has been a leading department store in Texas for a long time.When I was at his place at Christmas he even pulled out of his closet a gift box labeled "Sanger Harris" and proceeded to give me the history of that store and the process of being merged into Foleys.But he'll get over it.

Sounds like the Rich's story in Atlanta. Became Rich's- Macy's and is no more. Just Macy's now.

What is TA?

TA = Travel Agent

What's a travel agent? LOL

Seriously Beach Boi, I've been reading your posts for some time and for some reason I've always translated that as Teaching Assistant. And it fit! Thanks for the question Starrsville.

Well, I thought it was Travel Agent, but when I read the post it didn't make sense. Guess some are friendlier with their TAs than I am - but I only use them for corporate travel. I wondered if there was another meaning I hadn't heard of.

Yes there are exceptions to every situation..My Travel Agent rescued my brother and I at Ohare when we were 10y/o and well we felt "stranded" but weren't.Since then we have been joined at the hip and he has handled all of our travels.And been a regular fit into our family.

KCD, I'm going to give you some specific information about public transportation in and out of Las Colinas.

Bus number 202 travels along Las Colinas boulevard which intersects the development. It will take you to downtown Dallas in about 15 minutes, according to the schedule. The downtown destination is at a bus transfer station, but is also next to a rail transit station which has trains going to many shopping and entertainment destinations such as Northpark Mall, Mockingbird Station, the West Village (Cityplace station) and the quaint antique shops in downtown Plano.

It is also next to the West End shopping and entertainment district in downtown, as well as the 6th floor Kennedy museum, the Dallas World Aquarium and the upcoming Dallas County museum.

Going in the other direction, bus 202 takes you to a bus transfer station just north of Las Colinas (not really walking distance, though) where you can transfer to buses that take you to many North Dallas locations.

Frequency for the 202 is every 15 to 20 minutes during rush hour, and one hour in the middle of the day... you need to schedule your transportation. Go to www.dart.org for schedule and route info. The fare is $2.50 for an all day pass which will carry you over most of the DART transit system.

The last time I rented a car in Dallas, I spent about $50 per day, after the many extras, such as damage waiver, taxes, etc were added.