OT--Las Vegas advice?

[RC Fan]

Hello!

I am lucky enough to be making my first trip to Vegas in March 2005. Can anyone give me some advice and or tips? I am staying for a couple of days at the Aladdin, then we will probably be moving to another hotel on the strip. Any hotel suggestions?

Also, which outlet mall has the best deals? I have heard the outlet in Primm in great. Any advice?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Amberle3]

I've never stayed at the Aladdin, but I like the casino and they have the best buffet in Vegas. Also a great slot tournament deal. Now if they'll still have those things when you're there, I don't know - it depends on how long the physical changes of the takeover take. Recent reports indicate they haven't started changing anything yet.

As for what other hotel on the strip, I guess it depends on what you're looking for! My personal favourite is the Monte Carlo. What do want from a hotel, and what's your price range? The Bellagio is great, but $$$.

 

[ChisJo]

I love Las Vegas. I have been 3 times and am planning on going again next year in between my University semesters. I have stayed at the Aladdin and thought that it was wonderful. The room itself is quite standard, but the bathrooms are fantastic! We were lucky enough to have a room that overlooked the strip, and we were able to watch the Bellagio water shows from our room....it was wonderful. Make sure to try the Spice market buffet when you are there. When you check in, you should get a coupon for the buffet - it is around $20 per person, but so worth it. We couldn't eat or drink anything for hours after eating there.
The hotel is awesome too for perks. It has the mall attached to it that has 3 of my favorite stores within seconds of my room. I love Sephora's, Bath and Body works, and Victoria's secret, and was so happy to see them right there. I also love the fact that the hotel is right in the middle of the strip and within walking distance to everything.
The Primm mall is great. If you take the shuttle from Aladdin ($13 round trip - you can print a coupon from the internet site from Primm mall coupon and show it at the Aladdin Customer service center in the mall.
We went, used the coupon book at every store, and seriously saved soooo much money. I went into Banana Republic, purchased 4 sweaters, 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and a cardigan, and my grand total, after discount, in USD was $105. Cannot beat that. Make sure to try the Dippin dots in that mall as well.
As for moving hotels...I wouldn't really want to - I found that we were only in the hotel to sleep.We never really stayed right in the room for a long time.
A suggestion - make you to see a show or two. I know the shows are costly, but WELL worth the money. I have been fortunate to see "O" by Cirque du Soleil and Sigfried and Roy (no longer there). Next time I go, I am going to go see "Zumanite" by Cirque du Soleil.
Also, we won the most money at Paris. I don't know why, but we found this casino paid the most consecutively. But, maybe that was just our luck that day.
Hope you have some fun planning your trip....If you have any more questions, let me know.
Jo

 

[RC Fan]

Thanks to both of you for the info!

Amberle3, as far as my price range is concerned, my boyfriend loves to gamble and has been to Vegas several times, so he is fairly confident our room will be comped, so I guess we don't have a price range in this instance.

ChisJo, did you eat at Paris? I have read the Village Buffett is very good as well. I have also researched Paris as an alternate place to stay and it seems to get good reviews.

 

[princess pooh]

I hope you let us know how you like the Aladdin! I'm thinking of staying there the next time I go to Vegas. I totally agree with ChrisJo about the mall there - it is amazing! I spent tons of money at Sephora .

The only place I've stayed at is the Bellagio and I highly recomend it. My brother stayed at the mirage and he loved it there too.

:sigh: I miss Vegas

 

[Amberle3]

For anyone that's wanting to stay at the Aladdin, try and do it soon. In case anyone wasn't aware it was bought by Planet Hollywood last year, and will be renovated and "completely updated" including dining and entertainment.

You can check out http://www.planethollywood.com for an artist's rendering of the new resort, and the press release.

I was in Vegas in October and stayed at the Strat. I'll be there again in a few weeks, staying at the Hilton. Next summer we'll be at the Luxor.

 

[Grumbo]

Stayed at the Luxor and the Paris on our last two trips.
Luxor is nice but too far out on the strip. We are going again this summer as a precursor to our DCL repositioning cruise. The Paris gave us a rate of $119 and with a CAA discount came to $107 I think U.S. plus tax. The Paris is right beside the Aladdin and is a great location. We have been to see Mystere and O and will probably go to the new Cirque show this year. We found having the car a Godsend. Just to be able to drive around to other hotels (all have complimentary parking) and for the shopping. (Costco the store from HE%% that never stops giving ) and all the outlet places dw loves.
We were actually booked into the Aladdin for a part of our last stay but got a better price at the Paris so did that. Don't think I was going to get my room comped using 25 cent and nickel machines so paid The Paris is very modern, clean and the staff was great.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[ChisJo]

Don't think I was going to get my room comped using 25 cent and nickel machines so paid

That is all I play too! Believe it or not, my friend that I went with last time ended up winning on nickel and quarter machines over $1800, and probably spent about $400 to get that. It actully angered me, because I just kept losing, and she just kept winning! She was a little braver then me though - I didn't want to lose any money, and she didn't care.
Jo

 

[twinz]

If you are a slot player do NOT over look the penny machines. We were there at the end of August this year and I walked away with over $400.00 from a penny machine and I only spent about 5 dollars. Don't forget to use your player cards even at the tables. If you like to play the tables but don't want to spend a lot try and get to the tables before 5 ( I think--it may be 6pm). We stayed in the Imperial Palace and got to play blackjack with "Ricky Martin, Cher, Shania Twain. They are dealetainers---impersonaitors). They were hilarious! Bring a pair of GOOD walking shoes, I know we walked A LOT! They have a monorail behind a few of the hotels (it wasn't working at the end of August) but check it out, it'll save you at a lot of walking. Good Luck!

 

[flyingenie]

ooh- that all sounds like so much fun! I went when I was a kid (with my family) and we stayed at circus circus which was pretty out of the way down the strip... but hmm, I'd love to go back now as an "adult" and see things from a different perspective!! hee hee hee!

 

[tmatthews]

We stayed at Ceasars in August. It was very nice.

 

[MouseGirl]

Hope you have a great trip - I would also recommend staying put at the Aladdin if the price is right, or if your boyfriend is able to get the room comped. It's absolutely true that you are practically never in your room. There's just way too much to see and do in Vegas.

On past trips we have stayed at the Venetian, Bally's and the Flamingo Hilton, and the Venetian had the nicest hotel rooms (they're all the size of suites) that we've ever seen. The bathroom was bigger than our living room! The only problem is that it's out of the centre of the action (slightly north of Caesar's Palace) and you spend quite a bit of time walking - then again, with all the eating we did, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. There are some great restaurants in Vegas. The Venetian has good specials fairly regularly that take the price of the rooms down, but they usually only apply mid-week. Next time we go we're staying at the Bellagio - we love the location, and have heard very good things about the rooms.

During your stay in Vegas, you might want to try both the buffet at the Bellagio (which is expensive, but has amazing food) and be sure you don't miss the water shows on the lake in front of the hotel. The shows run regularly every night unless it's raining or too windy, and are one of our favourite things to see while in Vegas (plus, it's free!). Also, Grumbo mentioned "O" - the Cirque de Soleil show at the Bellagio - it is really amazing if you can get tickets. Finally (sorry for going on so long!) there is a pretty good outlet mall just south of the strip on the left hand side of the road that you can get to either by local bus or can drive to if you have a rental car. I bought a pair of $300 shoes in Off Saks Fifth Avenue for $25 and got some other really good deals.

Good luck with your planning, and hope you have an excellent trip!!!

 

[jersey shark]

If you want to be on The Strip, my reco's are for the Venetian and Bellagio which are generally regarded as having the nicest rooms in Vegas, (also the Four Seasons -top floors of Mandalay Bay--but most of the newer big-name hotels you can't go wrong with.

The "disasters" in my mind that I would stay away from are Circus Circus, the LV Hilton, the Flamingo Hilton, and the Westin Las Vegas.

If you're staying a while in town (5+ days), you may consider the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas or the Ritz Carleton Lake Las Vegas in Henderson....about a 20 minute drive from the strip but a world away in a very exclusive part of town (Celine lives there) and gives you time to enjoy half a day around non-crowded pools etc.. at your hotel before heading into Vegas for the 2nd half of the day/evening (we have small kids so that's why we did that).

I've been to Vegas about 20X so very familiar!

Enjoy

 

[Timon]

After Orlando, Las Vegas is our favourite city! We even got married there, no there was no Elvis and it was all planned and very elegant! We always seem to go on a budget so we've only stayed at the The Plaza, Excalibur, Treasure Island (now TI! ) and the Luxor. We love the Luxor theming and we always have a car so the location doesn't bother us.

We also are going in March (for my 33rd birthday!) and we are staying at the Luxor again, can't help it, we just love it so much! The Belz outlet (not far from the Luxor) is also a good spot for shopping! Don't forget to stop by the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, it's a beautiful (and expensive) place to shop but it has a Disney Store

We are seeing Mystere, "O", Blue Man Group and maybe Zumanity while we are there. Ka, which is the newest Cirque Du Soleil show is dark during our trip

Like everyone else says, you don't spend much time in your room, so don't worry too much about where you stay! You will have TONS of fun!

Make sure you go downtown to see the Freemont Experience too!

 

[Nagle]

We will be in Vegas in early July. Our first trip there and we are staying at the Mirage. Really looking forward to it.

John

 

[RC Fan]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I very much appreciate it!

I am getting very excited to go! I am driving my boyfriend and everyone else around me crazy with talk of Vegas!

 

[sharonh]

I was at the Aladin in April and loved it. It has a starbucks right downstairs that you can go to get a coffee muffin or fruit bowl for breakfast. The breakfast buffet at Spice Market is awsome. The hotel is attached to a large mall and you can catch a bus in the mornings to the Prim outlet. I think it was the best one and I went to most of them. They only give you a few hours but if you make arrangements with the bus driver you can sometimes change your return time to a later time. I also recommend if your going to travel the strip to buy a full day bus pass for $5.00 so you can travel up and down the strip all day for cheap. Cabs are pricey . The rooms we had at the Aladin was so big and nice. I suggest you ask for a free upgrade on check in. Have fun, I'm jelous.