Vegas Baby! Which to stay?
 

Ok so I wrangled a week off & I'm taking the fiancee to Vegas.

Trouble is I'm cheap, so MGM Sky Lofts is out of the question! :mrgreen:

Budget is circa $1000 give or take for flights/hotel package for 4 nights/5 days.

I'm thinking...

MGM Signature
Stratosphere
Palms Palace
Aliante Station
Aria
V'Dara
Trump
... and any other suggestions?

Any reef must see's? From a previous Vegas post the Mandalay Bay seems to have a nice aquarium.

Also, where's the best place to stay for such a short visit? On the strip? Near the strip? Far far away from the strip?

Feel free to give share your thoughts.

Many thanks,

.

We were just down and stayed at the Luxor, it's at the end of the strip next to Mandalay (the aquarium is worth a visit) I just got an e-mail from them with some deals if you want I will check out what they were, stay in the tower room not the pyramid. The Mirage has a large tank behind the front desk and off the strip the Silverton has a 117000 gallon tank (and free to look at as well) Down on Freemont the Golden Nugget has "The Tank" 200000 gallons and a waterslide that goes thru it. We had a blast, I am not really into the circus shows but "O" at the Belagio was amazing and well worth the ticket price. Have fun.

I went down a long time ago as a kid and will be going back for sure (soon as theres funds) Id personally stay on the strip, theres lots to do there and anything else is a bus ride from the strip. I wouldnt get to concerned about the room, agreed with above, stay in the towers, so much cheaper, rooms are blah but you dont really spend much time in there anyways. sleep during the day when its rediculous hot and go out in the evening/night when all the shows are, lots of the free shows on the strip (treasure island pirates, bellagio water fountain) dont start till 11pm and all are worth a watch. My parents dont even book rooms anymore, they say theres so many rooms on the strip theres no chance there going to get filled and when you book in advance there going to charge you more then if you go down there and grab a room because there always dropping the rates to try to fill the hotels up. 5000 rooms in the mgm alone. Really neat place and lots to do even if you dont gamble.

My wife and I went down in August of 2009 and stayed at Treasure Island on a great deal. It's on the north end of the strip, but still close to a lot of places. It is a very nice hotel, but not a lot of money.

We walked up to Circus Circus for dollar drinks right at the front sidewalk almost every day. I'm not sure if Circus Circus still does this, but it was a great deal then. Just some information, if you stay at Circus Circus, there was a tonne of kids in the hotel. This may not be a big deal to some people, but just something you should be aware of. We didn't see a lot near the sidewalk, but in the hotel, they were everywhere. We were both shocked to see so many kids in Sin City, but there were a lot.

Mandalay Bay was the best place to see aquariums when we went.

I'd recommend staying right on the strip as it is quite the experience. If you had to cab it every time you went to the strip, it would just become a pain and add to expenses.

Wow lots of great info! Thanks a lot guys!

I'm looking at Expedia as we speak... gonna change search to find on Strip only hotels.

Here goes...

.

Gotta be the Trump if I go again, No freaking smoke filled casino to pass through to get to my room. Was treated really great and a jaccuzzi bath that I fit into with a tv in the bathroom mirror to watch. Really nice. A little off the strip but not a real worry to me.

Oh, I forgot to mention, there is a big mall right beside Treasure Island that has a decent size food court. The prices were similar to our food courts, so it was a great way to get a cheap meal and have some variety.

The Stratosphere is on the same road as the strip, but it is a long ways away. It would be similar to staying off the strip in terms of getting to places on the strip.

I was just in vegas, I personally always stay at Bally's... Older hotel, but it is right in the middle of the strip, so you can easily get around. It is cheaper than other hotels, due to its age, but it is much nicer than the Imperial Palace which is also in the middle of the strip. Imperial is cheaper, but again not as nice.

If you go, great place for breakfasts is "Mon Ami Gami", next door to Ballys/Paris... It is great, fresh and priced well.

Table 10 for dinner is nice (Emeril's restaurant). I you want a cajun flair. It will be a hundred dollar bill for dinner/drinks, but well worth it. If you are going to splurge for one nice dinner.

Yeah its right beside the Trump too, Burger and fry joint there that is right out of the movie "Pulp Fiction" If you want a $5.00 {more like $7.00} Fricken shake its ok, but the litle Italian place next to it was much better, imo. Have some fun and go see "The Tournament of Kings" and cheer along your favorite knight and drink some dragons blood, see the wax museum and cop a feel with a young "Madonna" or "Jenna Jamenson" Florence can grab the "Rocks" a$$ and play with Elvis or Nick Cage too. The buffet in the Paris hotel was great, not bad in price, not like the good old days when you could eat and drink like a king for $20 a day if you played it right. If you get a chance although not cheap, see about the "Richard Petty " driving experience, 160 miles an hour against the wall at the speedway. They have a website for it too. Confused about what to do yet?? Have fun.

I've stayed at New York New York and Monte Carlo and would go back to either one. New York had a really great atmosphere in the casino with lots of young people around. It also had several decent bars (ESPN Zone, Coyote Ugly, Piano Bar) some decent restaurants and lots of stuff to do within the hotel (roller coaster was fun, and zumanity by cirque du solei was excellent).

The Monte Carlo was also a really nice hotel with a really diverse crowd. I went here May last year. It was very hot during the day so we spent most of our time at the pool which was a big plus for this hotel. It had a nice lazy river which you could float around on while drinking and relaxing. This hotel was really nice however we spent most of our trip wandering the strip and taking in the different shows. All depends what your looking for but I don't think you can go wrong picking anything along the strip.

just there 2 weeks ago at the Flamingo.$550 each throug Alegient in Bellingham.Its right in the middle which is good and has the best buffet on the strip(they say). Burger Bar is all I have to say ! google it

I would stay again at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay if I went to Vegas again. It is attached to the regular Mandalay Bay hotel but is quieter and nicer. The rooms and gym were great. It is out of the way at one end of the strip.

Just got back from there we stayed at the Flamingo great location right in the middle of the strip so you don't have to take expensive taxi's everywhere. I would stay there again, give it a thought.

I guess you have a few choices now. As you can see alot of us stay in the middle of the strip.

If you plan walking the strip and checking everything out, location can be critical... The STRIP is long, and can be very tiring to walk. That is why staying in the middle gives you best location. One time go one way, next go the other, next go across the street one way, then the other. Well I think you get it.

Personally I found walking kills me. With bad feet, I get huge blisters, etc... and after 2 days, I am crippled. Last trip I actually bought a 24 hour public bus pass. It was $7 for 24 hours, and with buses running every 5 minutes, you jump on, jump off... SAVE YOUR FEET.

Also the pass got me to YE OLE Downtown a couple times, so very well worth the money. Also went to the very old places like circus circus, etc... Not worth the walk, but taking a bus, well worth a visit.

Honestly if you are goting to LV, you aren't going to spend much time in the room. Unless you are planning to stay in it all day, then you want a nice place with decent suites. I would suggest The Rio, a bit off the strip, but you have full size ground to ceiling windows to see the lights all around. Only if you rent a car though, the club on the roof is decent.

Mandalay Bay is good as it has access to the trains too, and the aquarium. :)

The Motel8 behind the MGM is super cheap and 2 blocks away from the strip.

Just depends on your transportation, if you get a car, there are also a lot of houses/condos gotten for a great price.

If you are planning shows, book them now, as you get crap seats when booked last minute. I remember having 2 extra tickest for Cirque, somone offered me $1000 for them.

Ken

Doesn't it freak you out when they ask you how you want your burgers done? Raw, med, well done?

i stayed at the mgm last year and liked it... pool was a little small but other than that a good experince... as for the aquarium at mandaly... overpriced and smaller than i expected... but good enought for a quiet hour...

(Doesn't it freak you out when they ask you how you want your burgers done? Raw, med, well done?)

Not really,lots of buger joints in the US ask that.I got the Kobe beef and realized I payed too much when I tried the wifes angus burger,man was that good.Jalapino bacon and a fried egg,ahhhhhhh still fresh in my memory

I dont know how to quote properly as you see

Rio had the nicest drink runners when we were there. :wink:

Spending 2 days in the bathroom on vacation time freaks me out! No matter how many times I go to the states it always catches me off guard when the server asks how I want my burger done. We just had an american burger franchise open in the Park (5 Guys Burgers & Fries), it's really good but they don't ask how you want the meat cooked.

I've stayed at the MGM Grand, The Luxor and Treasure Island multilple times. I like TI because it's fairly central and it isn't HUGE. The MGM is nice but damn it takes forever to walk through that place. The Luxor was two far at the one end of the strip for my liking.

I'm away from Canreef for a day & there's lots & lots of good info & options!

Thanks for your input guys!

I'm definitely going to stay on the strip. Maybe somewhere near the middle as I'm not planning to rent a car.

Burger Bar sounds like my dream come true. I'll try to persuade the other half... talking of food, I'm hoping to hit a few of the foodie places with Joel Rubouchon, Craft, Shibuya, Wolfgang Puck etc.

Anyone try the high end gourmet places?

Expedia are throwing in 2 tickets for shows so I might go & see KA or Zumanity.

Anyway, thanks again for your ideas.

,

I don't think they have a choice, by law in Canada, or at least in Alberta.

Also with the buffets... Buy the Buffet pass. It was around $40 bucks but allowed you to have any buffet throughout the major hotel chains and all you can eat, anytime for a 24 hour timeframe. So if you want to put on 20 pounds and have a buffet marathon, that is a great deal!

As I stated prior, Table 10 - Emeril Legassi, was great... Will be about $100 bucks for 2 people with some drinks. Very good food, great portions, and of course Southern/Cajun if you like that stuff.

My wife had the scallops dish, and I must say it was TO DIE FOR!!!

I saw Zumanity... And I hated it, but the wife loved it. Very sexual, guys prancing around with BIG Dildos, etc... nakedness... That didn't bother me, but I found it very boring.

I always love the Blue Man Group, saw them twice now

Didn't see Carrot Top, as I think he looks Freakish, but people I talked to down there said he is hilarious... People coming out of the show just laughing and having a great time. So I will see him next time.

Thanks for the tip. Good to see a foodie on Canreef.

$100 for 2 is very good value for a 'celeb' chef's joint. I'm not a huge fan of Southern/Cajan cuisine but might have a look for the seafood.

mmmmmm..... s-c-a-l-l-o-p-s

.

KA and 'O' better then Zumanity

Blue man group is very entertaining splatter zone is not overly messy