need help planning a vegas trip..hotel & transportation

[Kajunswty]

I there

We've been trying to get to Vegas forever and we have finally booked the airfare!!! Now the hard part the hotel .....so many to choose from.

In my preplanning stage I searched for conventions and found that there was a "bike fest" going on. Well, DH just got a bike so that was all he needed to hear and he said YES!!

After doing more research I've found the biker stuff is at the wrong part of the strip...actually it is downtown. Here is the dilemma, we will probably be at the biker festivities for the weekend part of the trip. But, we are staying will Wednesday so we will be doing "normal" touristy stuff.

Where to stay?? Should we try splitting? The official hotel for the bike fest is “Lady Luck” which doesn’t sound appealing to me…All the festivities will be at the Cashman center which looks really far from the strip.

Also, DH was thinking of renting a bike but that brings it's own problems...helmets?? Would we bring our own?? How bad is traffic?? I've heard it is very stop and go on the strip.

I have copied and pasted info I found on previous posts so I have a ton of info on what to do and where not to stay. I would like to stay somewhere clean.....possibly newly renovated.....I'm nervous about trying priceline unless I go for the Venetian...can you tell my brain is on overload?? Lol

Okay, I think that is everything you need to give me an opinion…Thanks in advance!

 

[Gwene65]

The Venetian is nice but expensive. If money were no object I would stay there.

On all my sporadic trips that had no planning we always stayed at Excaliber. I really like this hotel and I liked the buffet they have too.

As far as downtown goes....Sams Town is nice. We went there for the Seafood buffet. But I don't know much about downtown besides that one hotel.

Traffic is stop & go on the strip. But I think a motorcycle would be fun to go crusing.

Sorry I'm not much help.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I loved Vegas but only have stayed on the strip, I have never went dowtown so I can't help you out with hotels down there.

When I was out in Vegas I found out that traffic was horrible. Very stop and go, packed, with obstacles like tourists darting in traffic to cross the streets. I stopped driving and decided it was easier to wait and ride the bus.

I stayed at the Riviera and it wasn't a big fancy hotel, but the rooms were nice and they had a nice (not fancy or fun) pool with plenty of chairs to lay out. It was also cheap and a walk away from Wet-n-Wild and I also think it is closer to downtown (not sure though). They had 3 different room types in the different towers.

 

[Tina]

Downtown is not that far away. I would stay in a strip hotel and just drive down (or taxi) to the festivities. Lady Luck is not at the top of the list of nice hotels (or even the middle!). First decide on your budget, then check out the strip properties within that range. Check each hotels website and look for promotions. You'll be surprised how cheaply you can find beautiful hotels. Vegas is the one place where you can stay in the most grand hotels for a fraction of what it would cost anywhere else. We've stayed at Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Monte Carlo, NYNY, MGM Grand, and Hard Rock over the years. We've actually stayed at Treasure Island 5 times now (we were married in their chapel). Narrow it down to a list of places that interest you, then check back in here with your DISers for comments.

 

[Kajunswty]

Thanks so much for all the reply's.....sometimes just writing your ideas out make it seem clearer..

We've decided that we definately want to stay on the strip...we will just take a cab since we'll only be going downtown Friday and Saturday.

Also, the bike idea wasn't well thought out since Chad won't drink and drive and not drinking probably won't happen...lol Hey, it's our honeymoon (well 13th anniversary if you want to be technical..hehe)

I thought there was a trolley or something similar but haven't seem much mentioned about that. We will probably use the monorail and were thinking about getting a multiday pass. But, I would like to find out if there is a street car.

Thanks again for all the info....keep the ideas coming

Chad likes the Luxor because of the inclinator....I am still undecided. The Hard Rock seems nice but out of the way....hummm decisions decisions

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Here's my 2 cents... we stayed at Luxor last summer for the same reasons. Thought the inclinator would be cool - paid the extra $$ to stay in the pyramid section. Well - the inclinator is overrated - there are 4 banks- one in each corner of the pyramid. So there is the possibility that you will have to walk at least half way around the entire structure to get to your room I was also really disappointed in the rooms and service. Rooms are very run down and service was terrible. You can PM me if you want all the gorey details.

If I were in your shoes - I'd stay downtown for a couple of days then use Priceline to get a room on the strip for the other couple of days. With Priceline you won't be able to pick the exact hotel - but you can bid for a 4 or 5 star hotel and get it at a really good price. Check out Biddingfortravel.com if you are interested in doing that. There are reviews of the hotels and a listing of what the dollar amounts of current bids being accepted at Priceline are.

Ooops: I see now that I re-read your last post that you are going to just stay on the strip. I'd still consider looking into Priceline. There are some really great prices - the only draw back might be that I think the maximum stay is 4 nights...but you could always do 2 different bids...

 

[Kajunswty]

Okay, we have really been racking our brains on this trip...decided we'd rather not split the hotel stay so looks like priceline might be out of the question....actually, I didn't realize there was a limit to the days you could bid on.

Here is what we have come up with. We've narrowed it down to the Luxor (cause of the inclinator as I mentioned before), the Flamingo (pool / lazy river), The Hard Rock (love the rooms not the location tho) or the Westin Causarina (bedding/decor).

Any advice on transportation at any of these hotels would be appreciated. (Like whether they provide a shutttle) Also, if anyone has any good or bad experiences at these hotels ~ we'd love to hear! We are not planning to gamble too much....mostly just hotel hopping for photo op's and hanging by the pools.

Thanks again in advance!!

 

[Goingcrazy2]

Go to Las Vegas Talk - http://p076.ezboard.com/blasvegastalk They can help alot and save you money.

 

[Connieh]

Hi,

I had the same problem deciding on strip or downtown for our first trip to Vegas. We decided on the downtown area and stayed at the Fitzgerald. Figured a cheaper room would mean more spending money. It was okay, we would stay again. We used the bus system to get to and from the strip. It was 1.00 each way (2001).

Anyway we loved the downtown area. Everything was close together, a mall like setting. Entertainment everywhere. Lots of people walking around from hotel to hotel. Very party like atmosphere. The strip hotels are very far apart, alot of walking to get from one to the other. I was surprised that we liked the downtown area much better at night.

Connie

 

[Kajunswty]

Just looking for a few more ideas....we are thinking about a Cirque show ....which of the 3 would you recommend...can't believe they have 3...decisions decisions???!!!!

Really don't know very much about Vegas...anyone have a show that they really like or recommend? Also, is there anywhere we should not miss eating?

Any other suggestions would be appreciated! Oh, and an update on the room. We have 90% decided to bid but I just discovered that Oscar De La Hoya has a fight on part of our trip....really exciting but it will make getting a room a challenge. Oh my, I almost want to pay the big $$ to get a room at MGM just to see who I run into

I tried to get tickets to the fight but the cheap seats that are left are about $600 a piece.
maybe I'll just swing by and get a shirt...lol

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by Kajunswty
Okay, we have really been racking our brains on this trip...decided we'd rather not split the hotel stay so looks like priceline might be out of the question....actually, I didn't realize there was a limit to the days you could bid on.

Here is what we have come up with. We've narrowed it down to the Luxor (cause of the inclinator as I mentioned before), the Flamingo (pool / lazy river), The Hard Rock (love the rooms not the location tho) or the Westin Causarina (bedding/decor).

Any advice on transportation at any of these hotels would be appreciated. (Like whether they provide a shutttle) Also, if anyone has any good or bad experiences at these hotels ~ we'd love to hear! We are not planning to gamble too much....mostly just hotel hopping for photo op's and hanging by the pools.

Thanks again in advance!!

Depends on what your budget is. The Venetian is very nice but the pool is marginal. The Mandalay Bay is great and the pool is fantastic, but it's at the very end of the strip. Ceasar's isn't bad, the Luxor is a bit run down. I've not tried the pools at either, though.

As for transportation, Taxi's are about $15- $20to a strip hotel (depending on the time of day you arrive). We've always dones cabs.

I've not stayed at the Hard Rock because it is way off the strip (farther than it may appear).

If it were me (granted, I spoil myself) I would stay at the Four Seasons or TheHotel (at the top of Manadaly Bay), or the Venetian (but I'm ambivalent about the pool)

I don't they have a helmet law in Nevada. I've not seen bikers wear helmets when I've been there.

If you can swing it, I'd really consider a strip hotel if this is your first time in Vega.

As for shows, I liked the Blue Man Group, and Danny Gans.