AAAAHHHH Vegas...our 2nd home!!! We go at least 4 times a year and we still don't get tired of it. It's only a 6 hr drive for us so we can go alot!! I don't know what your budget is for hotels and such but if you are on a tight budget I would try NOT to go on a weekend as the rooms go up into the high 100-300 range. We are going next weekend for the Buffett concert and the 2 weekend nights are 180 but Sunday is only 80 at the flamingo hilton. We've stayed at almost every single hotel on the strip at some point or another. Of course Bellagio and Caesars are very nice hotels but they come with a hefty price tag too. Some of the other hotels that are nice but mid strip are the Paris, Bally's, Venetian, Alladin. Other really nice hotels that are not mid strip are the MGM, Mandalay Bay, Monte Carlo (they have a really good brew pub) and NY NY. I would stay as far away from Circus Circus and Excalibur as I could even with the enticing deals. Circus Circus is a dump! Excalibur we had a terrible experience there and they still haven't corrected it 2 years later. We are in the process of getting an attorney involved so I would definitely steer you away from that hotel.
DH and I don't ever gamble in Vegas and we are still entertained and find something new and exciting everytime we go. The hotels look MUCH closer than they are and just getting in and out of them is a long walk. If you want to go up and down the strip I'd suggest the monorail. It goes behind the hotels on the Paris side of the strip but it's easy to get to and you can buy a single ticket or a multi use pass. Dh and I buy the 10 pass and then we split it up.
Blue Man Group is a good show as is Le Reve at The Wynn hotel. Most of the shows are medium priced but others such as Le Reve are more pricey. We didn't like any of the "O" type shows but loved Le Reve.
Almost every hotel has some type of entertainment for free. The Bellagio fountains, the Volcanic eruption at Mirage, Sirens of TI at Treasure Island (though it is more risque than others),Caesars Palace has a show near the forum shops that is neat. Then there are other things like the Art Gallery at Bellagio which is now featuring The Landscape Impressionists with original art from artists like Cézanne, Corot, Gauguin, van Gogh, Millet, Monet, Renoir. We went last year when they had the works of Monet only and it was amazing! The Mandalay Bay has a neat aquarium that you can stroll through for a charge. I could go on and on and on......if you want to please feel free to PM me. I can't wait to get back there next Friday!!!!!
Oh yeah and 1 more thing....if you do walk out on the strip beware of the porn slappers. They have cards that they slap against their hands of women who are "rentable" and they litter the streets. We just don't take them, don't look at them and keep walking. They are everywhere and it's impossible to get away from them if you walk the strip.
Heidi
