OT - Tips for Vegas without the kids?

[braddillman]

I'm headed to San Diego on business, and my wife want to leave a week early (she's a teacher and its March break) and join me for a few days in Vegas w/o kids.

My work will pay my airfare to LV instead of SD, but my cost to fly LV -> SD is about $100, and we can use aeroplan for my wife. We'd like to stay at a timeshare just off the strip, but if it's full there seem to be plenty of deals.

Our schedule looks like arriving 17 Mar leaving 21 Mar.

Anyone been there, have some advice? What to see, where to eat? How to win $1M?

TIA, Brad & Louise

 

[shoppgirl]

My DH and I have been to going to Vegas for the last 4 years in a row without the kiddies! We always have an awesome time there. I would prefer to stay on the strip where all the action is. If you have a car, then maybe staying off strip is OK, but if you can find a good deal for a hotel on the strip, you will have a much more different experience I think. There's something to be said about staying in a hotel where the casino is just downstairs, and all the lights and action are happening right outside your hotel door.

I love Vegas for the beautiful hotels (Bellagio is my fave), the restaurants (especially the buffets!), the shows (seeing Celine was a once in a lifetime for me when she was performing at Ceasars, but O is a close second at Bellagio). I also love the shopping there! We always have a car with us so that we can go outlet shopping (there are 2 close to the strip, and one a lot further out by Primm). If you don't have a car, then a cab ride can easily get you there. We always go in the summer time too, so we can enjoy the beautiful pools at the hotels....however, it will probably be too cold in March to do so.

In terms of gambling, just be sure to go to every players club at the casinos you visit and sign up for a players card. You can earn points that go towards free things including the excellent buffet at Wynn. My husband signed up for his players card at Wynn last summer and this year they offered him 3 free nights at Wynn in January. I got an awesome rate for the summer last year too because of the players card. Have an awesome time!

 

[Nagle]

We were there in October without our son for our 20th anniversary trip. I scored a good price on Priceline for THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay which we loved. Bette Midler and Cher are taking turns performing at Caesar's now that Celine has finally moved on. Bette Midler show was excellent.

If you have a car, the Hoover Dam tour is a good half day option or you could make your way to Red Rock Canyon.

You can get half price tickets for various shows at several places along the strip or up on Freemont Street.

Freemont Street experience is pretty cool. Cheaper gambling than on the strip and more relaxed atmosphere.

We had a car so we moved around a bit for meals. We saw a place called the 4 Kegs on the food network show Diners, DriveIns and Dives and made our way there after the Bette Midler show. Great Stromboli. Very inexpensive compared to the strip. Also read about and found a Thai place called Lotus of Siam which was wonderful. If you have a GPS unit, look up places you would like to visit and program them in before you go.

Have fun

John

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've been to Vegas more times than I can count. We estimate about 16- 18 times.

I agree that staying on the strip is the way to go. You will miss a lot if you don't. If you go on all the hotel websites you can sign up for their e-specials and lately there have been a TON of them. The best deals are found online.

You can get discounted show tickets from Travelzoo and also there is a discount ticket counter beside the M&M's store on the strip. There are so many shows and entertainers there that it is hard to chose.

The food is only cheap at the cheap casinos. It used to be easy to eat well for very little money but not anymore. Vegas has become a mecca for celebrity chef restaurants. The restaurants are fantastic but pricey. Even the buffets are a bit high priced now.

 

[retiredkid]

The food is only cheap at the cheap casinos. It used to be easy to eat well for very little money but not anymore. Vegas has become a mecca for celebrity chef restaurants. The restaurants are fantastic but pricey. Even the buffets are a bit high priced now.

Yeah, gone are the good ol' days of 3.99 lunch and 5.99 dinner buffets.

For the free shows, I would suggest:

The fountain show at Caesar's. The newest one is the best by far. I believe it is called 'Atlantis' ... a wonderful show

The fountains at Bellagio. They are wonderful, especially lit up at night.

The 'Sirens' show at Treasure Island. Pirate ships and all that good stuff.

And my fave...... Rio Suites.... Parade in the sky.... a little off the strip, but shuttle busses take you from many of the hotels. a parade that hangs from the ceiling. You can pay a minimum amt. ($15) to be part of a float... excellent entertainment. Dancers/singers/acrobats etc. And you can still sit at the slots and play if you want. I suggest to go up to the second floor to get the best view.

When you are at the airport, they should have tourist-y books.... grab all the different ones that you can. they have them at the hotels too. a great read and you get a lot of coupons too.

 

[c&m]

Been to Vegas a couple of times. Here are some things I have learned:

- Try to stay on the North End of the Strip. The South End of the Strip has some beautiful hotels (i.e. MGM Signature, Four Seasons, The Hotel at Mandalay, Mandalay, etc.) but it is far away from most of the action, which is is more in the central and North End of the Strip. Some nice hotels on the North End are the Venetian, Wynn, Mirage, and Treasure Island, and in the central are Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, and Bally's. The Venetian currently has good deals going on (got an email from them about $119/night -- good price for this really nice place).

- The North End of the Strip has Fashion Mall (next door to Treasure Island, across from the Venetian), which has some decent shopping. There's outlet shopping too. We enjoyed their premium outlet. It was about a $25 cab ride to this outlet. There's another outlet mall that had a free shuttle to take you there; but this outlet mall is not worth going to.

- The Cirque du Soleil shows are "Mystere" shown at Treasure Island, "O" at the Bellagio, KA at MGM, and La Reve at the Wynn. We've seen Mystere, which was really good. The Blue Man Group show is also good. You may want to check out www.travelzoo.com to see if there are any discount LV show tickets.

- We ate at many buffets (I'm a skinny creature and have trouble gaining weight, but I managed to gain 5 lbs by the end of the trip). Our favourites were the Wynn and Bellagio buffets -- you truly get what you pay for. We also found the MGM buffet to be quite OK, with the price quite decent. A disappointment was the buffet at Paris; we found the food really way too rich. The worst buffet had to be the Luxor. It was on the ground floor, felt like we were in the "basement", and the food was awful.

- There is a monorail that takes you from the South strip to the North strip. But it is $9 pp for a ride. The bus service that takes you from one end of the strip to the other moves at a snail pace because of traffic that moves sooo slowwww. That's something to think about when you decide which end of the strip you want to stay in.

- We had fun gambling at the MGM. Won $105 there on the penny slot machines. Won $8 at the Wynn penny slot machines (could have gone further but my DH called me to let me know our table was ready at the buffet). Overall, my $25 gambling allowance yielded me some great returns.

Have a GREAT trip!!!

 

[Questforthemouse]

My DH and I have been to going to Vegas for the last 4 years in a row without the kiddies! We always have an awesome time there. I would prefer to stay on the strip where all the action is. If you have a car, then maybe staying off strip is OK, but if you can find a good deal for a hotel on the strip, you will have a much more different experience I think. There's something to be said about staying in a hotel where the casino is just downstairs, and all the lights and action are happening right outside your hotel door.

I love Vegas for the beautiful hotels (Bellagio is my fave), the restaurants (especially the buffets!), the shows (seeing Celine was a once in a lifetime for me when she was performing at Ceasars, but O is a close second at Bellagio). I also love the shopping there! We always have a car with us so that we can go outlet shopping (there are 2 close to the strip, and one a lot further out by Primm). If you don't have a car, then a cab ride can easily get you there. We always go in the summer time too, so we can enjoy the beautiful pools at the hotels....however, it will probably be too cold in March to do so.

In terms of gambling, just be sure to go to every players club at the casinos you visit and sign up for a players card. You can earn points that go towards free things including the excellent buffet at Wynn. My husband signed up for his players card at Wynn last summer and this year they offered him 3 free nights at Wynn in January. I got an awesome rate for the summer last year too because of the players card. Have an awesome time!

My wife and I were thinking of going for our anniversary July 31st. What is the summer heat like and how do you handle it.

 

[shoppgirl]

My wife and I were thinking of going for our anniversary July 31st. What is the summer heat like and how do you handle it.

We usually travel to LV in July, and It does get HOT HOT HOT in Vegas. But they say, "it's a dry heat" so it's not so bad. I love the summer because the hotel pools are so wonderful to enjoy. When I exit the buildings in the summer heat, I honestly feel a wave of hot air hit my face. But I don't mind because I'm in Vegas! Also, these last few trips we have been on, we rented a car to go from casino to casino! We've gone enough times to know exactly which hotels we want to be at, so we don't do the touristy walk up and down the strip thing. Renting a car in vegas is the easiest thing to do, especially with the central car rental facility. Valet parking at the hotels is easy and quick, all it takes is a tip upon pick up of your car.

Drink lots of water, wear comfortable shoes, bring a sweater or light jacket for inside the casinos as you hotel/casino hop. I spend my afternoons when it is really too hot to walk around either poolside or in the mall! I save my casino hopping for the mornings or evenings. Although the sun is gone, it is still a wave of dry hot air.

Enjoy! I'm sure you will have an awesome anniversary celebration in Vegas! I took my DH there last summer for his 40th bday and we celebrated with a fabulous dinner at SW Steakhouse in Wynn! You will have so many options for a nice dinner in Vegas! Plenty of signature restaurants in each of the hotels.

 

[retiredkid]

We once went in August. Was over 100 degrees every single day. We walked from the mall to our hotel. The soles of our tennis shoes got really soft and gooey. No more middle of summer for us.

 

[dancin Disney style]

- Try to stay on the North End of the Strip. The South End of the Strip has some beautiful hotels (i.e. MGM Signature, Four Seasons, The Hotel at Mandalay, Mandalay, etc.) but it is far away from most of the action, which is is more in the central and North End of the Strip. Some nice hotels on the North End are the Venetian, Wynn, Mirage, and Treasure Island, and in the central are Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Paris, and Bally's. The Venetian currently has good deals going on (got an email from them about $119/night -- good price for this really nice place).

Technically....the 'north end of the strip' is the very seedy area that has Circus Circus and most of the wedding chapels. The part you are talking about with the Venetian and Wynn that is still considered 'centre strip'. The 'four corners' is where the Bellagio and Caesars are located and the 'south strip' is where Manadalay Bay and MGM are located. Then there is the downtown area on Freemont street.

 

[MCFADDEN5]

We are thinking of going to LV in Mar. What will the temp. be, what are the prices for the Wynn buffets and others, if you are gambling can you drink free? Never been before more info better.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are thinking of going to LV in Mar. What will the temp. be, what are the prices for the Wynn buffets and others, if you are gambling can you drink free? Never been before more info better.

The temp in March is around 25C but that is sand storm time so the winds can be so bad that you don't want to be outside at all. Plus, the resorts that close their pools for the winter don't reopen them until mid to the end of March.

The deluxe hotels buffet prices are around $30-$35 per person and up for dinner. A cheap buffet now would be around $20 and that would be at places like the Tropicana or Excalibur etc.

Yes, you can drink for free in the casinos but you must tip the waitress and it's at least $1 per drink that is the expectation. You don't even really need to be playing. The waitresses get paid VERY little money, they rely on the tips so they will serve anybody. Also know that the drinks are served in small glasses and they are watered down. You can drink all day and not even get a buzz. If you buy drinks quite often it is the same thing unless you are at a signature type bar or nightclub.