Going to Las Vegas and need some advice

[beast/del]

I am planning a trip to Vegas for Christmas. Any help would be appreciated.
Discounted shows?
Best hotels to stay in?
Anything

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

There's too many hotels to say which is best. There are probably a hundred within 5 miles of the center of the strip. Please offer more information regarding your party, length of stay, budget and purpose of your trip.

As far as shows go, there are also a lot. What are your interests? Comedy? Cirque? Theatrical? Too many factors to point you in the right direction.

 

[gopher101]

I went though ebates, then to vegas.com (got 3.5 back). I stayed at Platinum Hotel and Spa. Average 170 a night. Included full size kitchen, washer and dryer, two queen beds, on sleeper sofa, and a huge bathroom. Basically a one bedroom apartment but a bit bigger.

 

[crazycatstacy]

If you are on Facebook there is a game called My Vegas Slots. You play slots (for free- you don't pay) and you earn tokens or whatever that you can then redeem for things in Vegas. My husband and I went last year and we had free tickets to the roller coaster at New York New York, free admission to the Secret Gardens at the Mirage, and free tickets to a Cirque show. My daughter and I are going next year for her 21st birthday and we will have enough for free rooms at the MGM

 

[Capang]

Check out Vegas.com. It is a good place to start and you can see what hotels are available and cheap, same with shows etc. there is so much to do there and it is all so varied. It really depends on what you want to do while there.

 

[potterfanatic]

I love Vegas! When we go we tell our kids that we are going to "Grown Up Disney" so I am enjoying that I saw this here. My husband and I got married in Vegas 11 years ago and try go back for anniversaries. (our last trip was August 2014) We have stayed at the Luxor, Paris, Jockey Club, Excaliber, Elara, and Embassy Suites (off strip). They each have their own perks (Excaliber is extremely cheap. While Paris, Jockey Club, and Elara are center strip) My two favorites have been The Elara, and Luxor. The Elara is owned by the Hilton and is bookable through Hilton.com even thought it is a timeshare property they also have rentals like a regular hotel. This property is inside the Planet Hollywood. At the Luxor, I booked a Pyramid suite and got the very top floor next to the presidents suite of the pyramid. I love the Luxor because it has looser slots than the big guys down the strip.

I also 100% agree on getting the myvegas app if you plan to spend any time in the MGM, Luxor, Excaliber, NY NY, Bellagio, and a few others. You will have to sync it to a players club card but you can get some good bogo rewards and even freeplay money. (As I like to advise with all in app purchase games, please play on what they give you free, otherwise you are throwing your money away. Put your real money toward the things you want to do in Vegas)

There is so much to do in Vegas that I have only ever gone to see one show and one concert. We saw the Variety Show in Planet Hollywood and it was excellent.

 

[Best Aunt]

I seem to recall that smoking is allowed on the gaming floors. Depending on the layout of your hotel, you may have to walk through that area to get to the elevator to get to your room. If you have allergies, keep that in mind.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts...

• watch out for resort fee's. They are higher along the strip.
• watch out for cab drivers long hauling through tunnels if you are flying in
• have you considered staying just past new years? There's a massive fireworks show along the strip. There's also the Consumer Electronics show just after new years.
• love the day trip to the Grand Canyon... need to think about which rim. West vs South. Favourite time to go when the Canyon doesn't have the summer heat.
• I remember a long traffic jam for those driving in and out of Vegas during that break many years ago.... flying may be simplier.

 

[KKB]

Over 60 LV trips in over 20 years--have stayed at almost every resort on the strip, and love a good deal!
When are you going (exact dates) & what is your budget--then I could give you good advice on a resort.
Resort fees are the new normal in Vegas--just factor them into your total price. The strip is the best for first timers (I still prefer to stay on the strip)
Yes, tell your cab driver your desired route (taxifarefinder is very helpful) so you don't get "tunneled" & pay more
CES is the week after New Years & rates are ASTRONOMICAL that week--additionally, not everyone can attend CES. You must prove you are in the field (I've looked into it!)
Grand Canyon is a great idea if you are staying a week; but it is quite cold in December.
If you are staying 4+ days, figure in a day downtown--a very different feel than the Strip.
Show tickets--Google for promo codes. My recommendations are LOVE or Mystere, Terry Fator, Penn & Teller. Mac King is a great low cost daytime show (you can get "free" tickets at the players card booth--free with a $10 drink)
Get a players club at all casinos & use it when gambling--it could get you freebies! (plus some offer free goodies for signing up!)
American Casino Guide is a low cost coupon book (google it). Las Vegas Advisor is more expensive--likely only worth it if you are going downtown.

 

[neatokimmo]

We stayed at the California in downtown. I liked the room, it was pretty big. I was worried about residual smoke smell but there wasn't any. We had a walk in shower too. I paid $35 I think for the room, no resort fee.

We liked the restaurant downstairs too. Lots of specials for $10 and under.

At 40 and 46, we were the youngest people in the hotel Everyone was super polite and very friendly.

I purchase KA tickets in advance at a good discount from the MGM website. Our Mystere tickets were purchased last minute from the box office and were very cheap, like 1/3 of the regular price.

This was last April BTW.

 

[Angielynne]

We stayed at the Luxor before...it was just ok. It seemed to take FOREVER to get to our room and the room was pretty outdated. We just went this past August and we actually rented a house through VRBO that was super cheap. It was about 20 min off the strip. But it had a full kitchen, and an oasis pool and spa out back. It was nice to relax out of the crowds before heading into the strip to hit up the hotels, casinos and shows.

We went to the Bodies & the Titanic exibit while there...both are at Luxor. They were pretty cool. The Gondola ride at the Venetian was fun as well. We did the High Roller Observation wheel as well since my DH wanted to do it. I am TERRIFIED of heights, so I basically sat there and stared at my phone the whole time as it goes SUPER high. We saw Ka by Cirque du Soleil as well and I hated it. I thought it was very overpriced and overrated. The first half of the show as basically dancing and shadow puppets. They didn't really do anything cool or acrobatic until the show was 3/4 of the way over. Just my opinion....

 

[Hisgirl]

I've only been once recently, and was concerned I would take some money for gambling, win some and then gamble it away and come home empty handed. So I put an envelope in my purse. I took $100 and that was my gambling money. Every time I won, I took the winnings and put them in the envelope. I played the entire trip and eventually lost all the money but came home with $225 in the envelope.

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

I love Vegas! My sister used to live out there due to work. We would all stay at Casesar's Palace when we would go (her place would've been cramped). Having a 3 story mall ATTACHED to the hotel was a dream come true to me lol!

I love going to the different hotels and walking around, they are all so different and fun!

Serendipity 3 by the Bellagio is a must see, tourist attraction restaurant. Portions are HUGE and the menu is crazy fun. The frozen hot chocolate is so delicious!

I also love Canaletto in the Venetian. AMAZING Italian food! I also enjoy riding the gondola around the Venetian.

Have you checked out groupon or living social for any Vegas deals?

 

[sheetz]

--Staying and eating off strip will save you a ton of money.
--Caesar's has the best buffet but it's expensive. Try going for late breakfast and staying thru lunch to sample both menus. It's popular so there's usually a long wait.
--Grand Canyon is actually really good in winter if you plan on hiking down in the canyon. Temperatures are cold at the rim but usually very mild further down.

 

[aprilgail]

I seem to recall that smoking is allowed on the gaming floors. Depending on the layout of your hotel, you may have to walk through that area to get to the elevator to get to your room. If you have allergies, keep that in mind.

That was the only thing I did not like there! My 15 year old and I went this summer and stayed at the Venetian, we LOVED it there! Uber now operates in Vegas so using Uber to get around is great! We used Pink Jeep Tours to take us on an all day tour to the Grand Canyon and other places! My daughter can't wait for us to go back to vegas!

 

[SarahInMN]

We love the Monte Carlo - we first stayed at the "regular" monte carlo in 2008 and fell in love with it due to the central strip location. (There is a boutique hotel on top of the monte where we stay now so if you want to treat yourself, look into Hotel32). The Monte rooms are nice, reliable, and reasonable inexpensive. The layout of the hotel and location are amazing plus there is a free tram at the back of the Monte that connects to the Aria/Crystals/Bellagio.

Happy hours are your friend in Vegas - good food, good drinks at discounted pricing.

We have done Christmas and Thanksgiving in Vegas - everything stays open (shops, etc) because of international visitors.

The MyVegas app as others have suggested is great for free stuff and discounted stuff - we did things (like the aquarium at Mandalay) that we wouldn't have otherwise done.

 

[SMD]

I've done Vegas for Christmas. Everyone's open, but the premium pricing in in effect for buffets and shows sell out, so not a great time for discounts. If you're staying at a Caesars property, try pricing the 24 hour buffet pass.

 

[DVCcurious]

Here's my main piece of advice:
Do not underestimate how far the hotels are away from each other. The hotels are each probably .5 miles away from each other. So when you look at a map and see that Paris is really close to Flamingo (for example) realize it's like a mile or more between them.

If you're a walker, like me, then it doesn't matter where you stay because you'll walk the 6 miles from Mandalay Bay to Stratosphere and look at all the hotels (I've done it). But if you're a normal person you'll probably not want to walk 6 miles. In that case I'd recommend spending a little extra to be center-strip. Ballys or Flamingo will put you closest to the "best" hotels like Venetian, Ceasars, Mirage, Bellagio for the "cheapest" price.

When we've gone we typically stayed at the lower end, either MGM or Tropicana, because those are the hotels I like the best (MGM, Trop, Mandalay Bay). But for a first timer I'd recommend being close to the middle so you can see the volcano

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I am planning a trip to Vegas for Christmas. Any help would be appreciated.
Discounted shows?
Best hotels to stay in?
Anything

Can we please have a budget

 

[LuvOrlando]

We were there in August & stayed at the Aria, it was lovely but next time we'll probably do the Bellagio for luxury & the fact its connected to a few other resorts via private free monorails. Since best means different things to different people (some are more about amenities, some location & some price) I'd saylook at Trip advisor for reviews, they are always accurate and the photos never lie. We loved the Wicked Spoon buffet, very cool but not cheap. There is a walkway that runs from between the cosmopolitain & aria to a 2 floor sort of strip mall with a Drug store where you can buy toiletries, water & snacks cheaply.

We bought tickets for CSI from a discount spot in a coca cola bottle storefront across the way. I wouldnt do it again. For suggestions check out the fodars books at a book store, great reviews.