Vegas Hotel Suggestions

[heidispidi]

Hi all - as the title suggests, I am looking for ideas on good Vegas hotels for me, DH, and our girls 11 and 15. Minimum 4 star preferred, and mid-strip. I've read up on them all but would love first hand suggestions. The girls love pools, and shopping (not upmarket shopping though). Happy to stay in hotel that has a casino on site. Thanks in advance.

 

[robocheeseman]

The absolute best for what you want to do imo is elara by hilton. It is centre strip set within planet hollywood casino so you have the miracle mile shops at your doorstep. I have stayed there a few times now.

Compared to what you get at other strip hotels the value for money is excellent. Ad it is an ex timeshare property roons also have kitchens, hit tubs, full size fridge and washer/dryer. 1bedroom suites or better all have 8ft projector screen tv and panoramic views of vegas too.

 

[aussie shaz]

We stayed at the MGM. I know it's not mid strip, but the location is great. The pool is amazing with a lazy river.
We booked a standard room with 2 Queens, but upgraded to a suite when we arrived and it was magnificent!!

 

[carnival kid]

Robocheeseman - can you give some more information on the Hilton?

Is the Hilton actually connected toPlanet Hollywood or just next to it?

Can you walk through Planet Hollywood to get to the strip? or do you need to walk on the street?

Is there any direct access from the strip to the Hilton or do you need to go down a side street?

Are there any dinning options in the Hilton its self or do you need to go to another casino?

Any other info would be greatly appreciated

 

[heidispidi]

Thanks all. Aussie Shaz, did you find it difficult to get from MGM to other more mid-strip hotels? As I haven't been, I'm finding it hard to judge the distances between the hotels.

Also I was looking at flying from LA to Vegas and South West have great prices plus baggage included, however when I try to purchase, I am unable to put in any phone number that allows me to book flights. Has anybody successfully booked South West airfares from Australia before?

 

[aussie shaz]

We walked to wherever we needed. That half of the strip has most of what you'd want to see anyway. The other half gets pretty dodgy.

It was about 45C when we were there, so very bloody hot, but we still walked! We would step out of one hotel, nearly run to the next, duck inside to the airconditioning and then decide where to from there. It was just sooo hot.
We did go out at night though (not late as we had our 8 and 10 year old sons with us) so it was much nicer weather then.

We'd walk down one side of the strip and check out all of the hotels/casinos and any shows we wanted to see, and walk back along the other side.

Just a tip.... We went to Freemont St to see the light show. Within about half an hour, I just wanted to leave. It was really creepy. We had dinner there and waited for the show, but left about half way through. It was just too creepy for me.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks all. Aussie Shaz, did you find it difficult to get from MGM to other more mid-strip hotels? As I haven't been, I'm finding it hard to judge the distances between the hotels. Also I was looking at flying from LA to Vegas and South West have great prices plus baggage included, however when I try to purchase, I am unable to put in any phone number that allows me to book flights. Has anybody successfully booked South West airfares from Australia before?

It's been years since I booked with Southwest, so I can't remember if I had any phone issues. But I have come across other US websites which are not phone number friendly, and usually they are more concerned about the number of digits you input, rather than the digits themselves. I usually play around with the number of zeros at the start of my number until I find something that works. I does mean my phone number might not be recorded 100% correctly, but given that I have never been rang by an airline in all my years traveling, I am okay taking that risk. If you are worried, you could always ring them after the booking and get them to adjust your phone number in their system.

As for Vegas, I've been twice, and IMO the best location is around the Bellagio, Paris and Planet Hollywood. I stayed in the Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood) for one of my trips and loved watching the Bellagio Fountains out of my window at night. Also, it was perfectly mid-strip where you could walk to places like the Mirage and Venetian one night and MGM and Mandalay Bay another night. I think, if price wasn't a concern, I would pick the Bellagio as I loved the fountains, the indoor gardens, and O.

In saying all this, there are so many stunning 5 star places in Vegas which are very affordable compared to other 5 star places around the world. You would probably be happy staying in any of them. A friend just booked her Vegas stay through the mystery hotel function on Hotwire. From clues, you could pretty much work out what hotel it was going to be, and she ended up with an amazing deal on the Trump hotel. I think that hotel will work really well for her as she too is travelling with kids, and this hotel has kitchenettes and also no casino. Many hotels channel you through the casino floor in order to get to the room elevators. This can make families with children uncomfortable and, as such, a casino-less hotel has it merits.

 

[rissc]

We have been to Vegas 3 times now and always stayed at Treasure Island. Very reasonable rates for suites and a good location. I feel like anywhere on the strip is great, you spend most of your time walking from casino to casino getting cocktails and seeing what shows they offer. There is also a Walgreens right across the road at the Venetian which is very handy.
We are heading back in September but because it is our anniversary, we have splashed out and booked Aria. It looks amazing and I am looking forward to being back in sin city!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks all. Aussie Shaz, did you find it difficult to get from MGM to other more mid-strip hotels? As I haven't been, I'm finding it hard to judge the distances between the hotels.

Also I was looking at flying from LA to Vegas and South West have great prices plus baggage included, however when I try to purchase, I am unable to put in any phone number that allows me to book flights. Has anybody successfully booked South West airfares from Australia before?

I booked with SWA last year. I can't remember what I did for the phone number but I think I may have used the equivalent international number.

 

[heidispidi]

Ugh I decided in the end to Lux Bus it to Vegas. I figured by the time we had to leave DLH to get to LAX, airport wait time, flight time etc that we might as well take the 4 hour bus direct from DLH. It has free wifi, so the girls will be happy LOL.

Thanks for your tips on hotels. I have wanted to stay at the Venetian in a Rialto suite since we started planning this trip. But I've been thinking that we could book 2 less expensive rooms and have the girls in one and us in the other - might be nice to have a little privacy, being in Vegas and all ;-) So based on that, I'm considering the Paris hotel (based on recommendations here and from Aust). I will make a decision by tomorrow night, I think. But it's SO hard!

 

[Aust]

The Luxe Bus is fine, it's comfy and direct. Just be don't late back to the bus during the stop at Barstow, especially if you have the Russian bus attendant, she went off her brain at me! Not my fault she didn't tell us there was more than 1 lot of toilets and the ones I went to were packed, and your young nephew decided to throw a huge tantrum.

And Paris is a nice hotel, make sure you have the breakfast buffet, delicious.

 

[Thumper_Man]

You said 4 stars minimum. Since your girls love pools, the best hotels for that Mid-Strip are Venetian, Caesar's Palace, Mirage, Bellagio. All have a casino. Mirage and Venetian are closer to the Fashion Show Mall. Not so much upmarket shopping. Mirage is next door to Caesar's as well. Caesar's is home to the Forum Shops. A lot of upmarket shopping, but also some lower range shopping as well. Only 2 other hotels that I would recommend based on pools would be MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. MGM is also close to some great shopping plus they have a monorail stop that makes it easy to travel the strip. There is a charge to use the monorail, but isn't nearly as expensive as taxis.

 

[robocheeseman]

Robocheeseman - can you give some more information on the Hilton?

Is the Hilton actually connected toPlanet Hollywood or just next to it?

Can you walk through Planet Hollywood to get to the strip? or do you need to walk on the street?

Is there any direct access from the strip to the Hilton or do you need to go down a side street?

Are there any dinning options in the Hilton its self or do you need to go to another casino?

Any other info would be greatly appreciated

The elara hilton is inside planet hollywoods miracle mile shops. You walk out on to the strip through the shopping mall. There is no dining within the hotel, but you are right within the miracle mile food area and a couple of minutes walk at the most to the rest of the casinos dining options.

Room rates are great, you get a suite for a little less than the standard room rates of the casinos in the area

 

[heidispidi]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Last night we booked the Venetian. I must say that it was where I wanted to stay all along while planning this trip, and after a friend told me about her wonderful stay at the neighbouring Palazzo, I couldn't choose anywhere else. We will be staying in a Rialto. and incidentally, the price on their website last night was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper for our 3 night stay than I'd seen at any other time.

 

[BrizMarc]

I recomned that you pick your favourite 3 or 4 hotel picks and sign up to their email lists and facebooks and see what deals they will send you. Never take the face value that shows up to book a room for a hotel in Vegas. This is just their rack rate and they know most people will just click and buy.

 

[hellosue]

If you intend to visit Vegas, did you realise there is a Facebook game that has real rewards for shows/rooms/food - myVEGAS Slots!

I have been playing for approx 1 year off/on and now have enough Loyalty Points for 3 nights free accommodation at a Luxor/NewYorkNewYork/MGM etc .... will be redeeming my points this year

 

[LivingforDisney]

We stayed at the Mandalay, it was beautiful. I booked it myself on line and kept a eye on the prices and if it went down, which it did a few times I rang them and they adjusted the booking to the lower price.
The pools there were wonderful.
We just booked a normal room for 2 adults, 2 kids and when we checked in they had given us a free upgrade to a suit, omg it was magnificent!!!!
It had 6 plasma TV's in it, we were in shock lol.

 

[Mushu mama]

I would recommend either the Venetian or NYNY... not sure if this is an issue for you or not, but both these casino's/hotels had better ventilation and therefore a less smokey atmosphere than everywhere else I went.
If you're a smoker then its not an issue, but for a non-smoker like myself, this was a relief.

Another thing we discovered was that taxi's were a quicker way to get from one casino to another. It took us a phenomenal amount of time on the monorail - as they are at the back of each casino and therefore you had to negotiate through each and the taxi was very inexpensive. Of course you can walk, but don't underestimate the distances you will walk down the strip or the time it will take to get through the crowds.

 

[aussietravellers]

We took the luxbus and it was great! The russian lady we had on the way there was absolutley hilarious!

We stayed at the Venetian and would stay there again, loved it. Loved the location, so easy to walk or take the monorail. The pizza in the italian take away place off the casino was the best pizza we've ever eaten! Didn't feel out of place there either with a child.

 

[aussietravellers]

not sure if this is an issue for you or not, but both these casino's/hotels had better ventilation and therefore a less smokey atmosphere than everywhere else I went.
If you're a smoker then its not an issue, but for a non-smoker like myself, this was a relief.

absolutely agree with this! The smoke and musty smell really bothers my asthma but it was fine at the Venetian. We went to MGM a couple of times, once to see David Copperfield (which was amazing, much to my surprise) and another time and I had an asthma attack from the extremely strong smell/perfume they have to cover up the mustiness (or maybe the smoke, but the smell was really unpleasant)