Las Vegas Trip.. (need a specialist's help!) We're back and it was great!

[rascalmom]

I haven't read this entire thread, so forgive me if I'm bringing up something that has been discussed before.

One of the things we strongly consider when choosing a hotel in Vegas is how well their casino & common areas handle cigarette smoke. The new hotels do a MUCH better job that the older ones. For this purpose, I would put Luxor in that category. We have not stayed there, but on a recent trip our traveling companions did. Just hanging around in their casino & restaurants left us feeling much more smokey than at our hotel. Venetian & Bellagio are much less smokey than the others. Mirage & Paris would be in the next tier. Luxor, TI, Monte Carlo & Aladdin next. I would avoid Excaliber & CC like the plague!

I'm a bit of a hotel snob too - but I'm a great bargain hunter. We've stayed at the Venetian & Paris most often. I love both, but will always do the Venetian when I can get it for $99 on Priceline. They are the only 5 star on the strip that participates, so you pretty much know what you are getting.

Location should be chosen by what you like to do. For a first timer, if you are going to spend time walking around visiting the different resorts to see all the sights, choose something centrally located or on the monorail line.

If you want cheap gambling (my dh & I are more tourist than gamblers), the Venetian is nice because you can pop next door to Casino Royale for cheap craps. If you want easy access to fine dining & lots of pampering, choose Venetian, Ceasar's or Bellagio. I am hearing good things about Wynn, but it is pretty isolated in it's location & is evidently tough to get a taxi from.

If you want to be able to easily pop in & out of different casinos, I would choose Mandalay Bay (They have their own tram/monorail that connects them to Luxor & Excalibur), or Paris (connects with shops to Bally's is right in the middle of everything).

Have fun & good luck! In my book, there is no "bad" trip to Vegas.

 

[rascalmom]

P.S. I voted for the Venetian, for the large rooms - I really like the separate bedroom & sitting area. The bathroom is huge - for an extended stay, the extra room is nice. They will also bring up an empty mini-fridge to your room so that you don't have to squeeze things into the mini-bar.

Ideally, for a week stay (that is pretty long for Vegas), I would split the stay. I can't imagine a view more romantic that the lake at Bellagio for a Vegas trip.

You didn't ask - but here are some favorite restaurants:

Delmonico's - Venetian
The Eiffel Tower restaurant - Paris
Wolfgang Puck's eatery at Mandalay Bay (sorry, can't remember the name)
Mon Ami Gabi - Paris (we prefer doing lunch here & sitting out on the patio to watch the Bellagio fountains)

 

[ANTSS2001]

P.S. I voted for the Venetian, for the large rooms - I really like the separate bedroom & sitting area. The bathroom is huge - for an extended stay, the extra room is nice. They will also bring up an empty mini-fridge to your room so that you don't have to squeeze things into the mini-bar.

Ideally, for a week stay (that is pretty long for Vegas), I would split the stay. I can't imagine a view more romantic that the lake at Bellagio for a Vegas trip.

You didn't ask - but here are some favorite restaurants:

Delmonico's - Venetian
The Eiffel Tower restaurant - Paris
Wolfgang Puck's eatery at Mandalay Bay (sorry, can't remember the name)
Mon Ami Gabi - Paris (we prefer doing lunch here & sitting out on the patio to watch the Bellagio fountains)

yes, thank you all for the input, taking in consideration with location ( we don't have a car, flying from the Philly to vegas and will try to wing it w/o one) and this trip is more of a site seeing one than a gambling one ( the most I have dropped off in a casino is $20.. I know am cheap!), shows and more site seeing. I don't mind staying from value resort to delux in Florida so this is not the major factor when deciding. But the "less smoke" location would be a plus. No we will not have the Fountain View if ever I choose Bellagio, again I can spend the extra $50 a nite for a show to see. I have 2 weeks to make my pick and will post what we have decided. All your inputs have been a very big help. I apologize if I have stress anybody due to my lock of knowledge about Vegas. Anything else you want to add will be most appreciated!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Sorry but the MANY trips we've taken to Las Vegas the Luxor AND the Excalibur have gone down hill quickly! You may not agree and that is fine but they are older, haven't been renovated in forever and need a much needed face lift in order to compete in the Vegas Market of NOW! Back in the "DAY" YES they were nice hotel/casinos....now compared to the hotels on the strip such as the Venetian and the Bellagio YES they ARE A DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have stayed at them ALL and yes they are a dump compared to the higher end scale hotels such as Caesars and Bellagio and Venetian!!!!!!!! In fact they are heading for dump status such as Circus Circus if they don't do something to update their look. YOU may NOT agree with me and that is fine but how many times have you been to Vegas and how many hotels have you stayed in???? I've stayed in every strip casino at least twice and YES THEY ARE A DUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do agree that you need to look at pics and find what suits you but I'm not alone in the feeling of the dumpiness of the Luxor, Excalibur or Circus Circus.

But whatever I'm backing out of this one because it's not going to get me anywhere. To the OP good luck wherever you stay and I hope you enjoy wherever that may be!

Wow! Chill out! No need to get all angry because some people have a different opinion on what constitutes a dump. Geez.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I think the best advice I can give a first-timer is...don't try to see and do everything in one day. Our first trip, we also didn't have a car (we never rent a car there). We did nothing but walk for the first three days and boy were we sorry! You will stand out on the strip and look down to a hotel that doesn't look too far, but it's a mile or more away! It's very deceiving!!!

Try to stay somewhere mid-strip. I would suggest anywhere between Treasure Island and Aladdin.

There's buses that run the entire strip to downtown for only $2. You may see some interesting characters, but, for the most part, everyone else on the bus are tourists also. You need correct change for the bus, so, if you decide one day that you can't walk back to your hotel (like we did our third day) make sure you have some ones with you.

If you're looking for the least smoky casinos, go with a newer one. They have better ventilation systems.

Any of your top six would be good choices as far as nice hotels and good locations go.

Have a great time!

 

[ANTSS2001]

after reading all comments and looking at the pictures and location in the map... I have narrowed down my choices to:
1) Venetian

2) Bellagio

3) Paris

4) Mirage


what do you think? again activities involve would be sleeping ( 2 in the party sharing with my sister), site seeing ( plans to do the quickie tour for Hoover dam, she has not seen it at all. And I want to see the Skywalk), shows the 3 Cirque the Soliel is on top of our list, good/alot/buffet food, the wax showroom, a concert maybe and SPA!!!! Was looking to split the stay but naahhhh don't like packing and repacking. And still not planning to get a rental. Comments are welcome .

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Sounds like fun. I read this site alot. I haven't gone to Vegas yet...one of these days!

http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php

 

[S. C.]

The entertainer i want to see in vegas is Danny Gans.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I would choose either Bellagio or Paris, then. The location of either of these is pretty much center strip. They are directly across the street from each other.

I don't know if you check out this site or not, but it's a pretty good Vegas forum board http://www.lasvegastalk.com/modules.php?name=Forums

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Paris would be my first vote (it also tends to be a bit cheaper than the Bellagio) but I also recommend the Bellagio.

I also recommend the Sunday champaign brunch at the Bellagio. I think it is $22 and omg it is so worth it. They have an AAA discount that knocks a few dollars off. There are no reservations, just a queue. The line is long and is about a 20-25 minute wait. Highly worth the wait.

There is a crepe stand in Paris that is to die for as well.

 

[rascalmom]

If fountain view at the Bellagio is not in the budget, you don't want to get a rental car, want to minimize smoke & want to visit several properties, Paris would be my recommendation.

For just 2 people, a room at Paris will be large enough. You still might be able to get a room with a view of the Bellagio fountains from there - Paris faces the B. Many recommend a discreet $20 tip at check-in at Vegas to get your room request met.

Between B, V & Paris, Paris will have more affordable eateries. Also, it connects to Bally where there is a monorail station. Very centrally located. They will have plenty of the lower denomination (penny & nickel) slots & sometime have $5 tables. Aladdin is next door & has the Desert Passage shopping area. I prefer the big mall that is further north on the strip (can't remember the name Fashion something). They have a Nordstrom & a Saks & lots of other shops.

Smoke containment is reasonable at Paris - be sure where ever you stay to ask for a non-smoking room. I also recommend taking a big plastic garbage bag or extra large ziplock bags with you to put your dirty clothes in - it will keep the smokey smell from permeating your luggage.

Have fun!

 

[Tina]

I have to agree about the smoke thing. When we go to Vegas, I unpack my suitcase completely upon check in. As I wear my clothes, I place the dirty ones in the suitcase and don't re-wear anything. It keeps the stink out of the rest of my clothes.

Given the choices, I also agree that Paris would be a good choice. Check their website for promotional rates.

For the Cirque shows, go to the website and buy your tix in advance. Most shows will be sold out before you arrive in town. I highly recommend O. Its by far the best Cirque show we've ever seen. It was just amazing. Be sure to print out and bring your confirmation sheet with you. You'll need it to pick up your tix at the box office. Someone else mentioned Danny Gans. We saw him a few years ago and were bored to tears. IMHO, I think his show is highly overrated and overpriced.

We love the Bellagio Buffet for dinner (never did the Champagne breakfast thing). I hear the Paris buffet is good as well. Most other hotel buffets are not all that great. The worst we've ever had was at Treasure Island. It was free and it still wasn't worth it. Think of the buffet scene in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation -- "oohhh, its extra runny tonight!"

 

[ANTSS2001]

 

[ANTSS2001]

 

[rascalmom]

Did you have more questions?

 

[ANTSS2001]

Did you have more questions?

Finally decided to split stay, got bellagio for our last 2 nites. now can you tell me about Alladin ? Venetian,Paris and TI are fully booked on the 27th and 28th

 

[rascalmom]

I haven't ever stayed at the Aladdin, but we have visited their casino. We liked it, but it does have a slightly different feel than the other "mega" resorts. Not sure how to describe it, but it is nice & not too smokey. They are converting the property to a Planet Hollywood theme, but from what I understand they are doing their best to keep the construction unobtrusive to the guests.

Paris is just next door - Aladdin also has rooms with a Bellagio fountain view. I would consider staying there on a future visit.

 

[ANTSS2001]

I haven't ever stayed at the Aladdin, but we have visited their casino. We liked it, but it does have a slightly different feel than the other "mega" resorts. Not sure how to describe it, but it is nice & not too smokey. They are converting the property to a Planet Hollywood theme, but from what I understand they are doing their best to keep the construction unobtrusive to the guests.

Paris is just next door - Aladdin also has rooms with a Bellagio fountain view. I would consider staying there on a future visit.

great thanks for the help!

 

[antmaril]

We stayed at the Aladdin once. It was fine. We had a huge room. We received a free upgrade. Not sure why. We aren't gamblers.

I agree it has a different "feel" to it than some of the other big hotels, but the location is great and rooms are nice. I've read that the construction has begun to convert the Aladdin to Planet Hollywood. You might asked about that when you make the reservation. Obviously, you want a room away from any construction.

Have fun.

 

[dkrause716]

I don't think anyone has mentioned The Flamingo. The mid-strip location is great and the pool is one of the best in Vegas. The rooms are newly renovated, service is good and there are some very good restaurants there. As of last year they even have a Margaritaville! My DH and I have stayed there 3 times and we are going back this summer. The price is always reasonable and they are a monarail stop. Can't be beat as far as I am concerned!