I was over fifty years old before I ever stepped foot in Las Vegas. I grew up on the East Coast and somehow I never made it to Vegas. However, we have been living in Arizona going on eight years now and we're making up for all those years we never went.

We're only a four and half hour drive away, so my husband and I go at least three times a year.
We've stayed at Mandalay Bay, New York New York, MGM Grand, Caesar's Palace, Mirage, Treasure Island, Harrah's, Flamingo, Hard Rock Hotel, Bally's, Venetian and Encore.
The Encore (sister property to the Wynn) is the nicest, most upscale of the places we've stayed, but I don't care for the location on the strip. It's close to the Fashion Show Mall, but a bit far from center strip. Mandalay Bay is nice, too, but again, way down on the other end of the strip.
Our favorite places to stay are the Mirage and Harrah's. We like their location on the strip and we just feel comfortable in both places.

We always find the rooms to be very clean and the service great. Caesar's is nice, too.
The only hotel I don't recommend is the Flamingo. We stayed there once and will not go back. It just seemed really old. The rooms were dated and the elevators and hotel corridors were dark and dreary. It reminded us more of an old college dorm than a nice hotel. The corridors seemed narrower than most places and I felt kind of boxed in. I just didn't like the feeling. The casino itself is okay, but I wouldn't stay in the hotel again.