I also think the Mirage is a very good choice. The location can't be beat, it has a nice mix of restaurants, it has clubs, a couple of good shows, and it's got very reasonable room rates. The Mirage is also located close to the two most popular shopping malls, the Forum shops and the Fashion Show Mall. I don't go to Vegas to shop, but I know many of the ladies enjoy the shopping. Don't try and see everything in one trip, there's just too much to see.
Monte Carlo's been in steady decline over the last 10 years. We stayed at Paris a couple of weeks ago for $90/night. It's reasonably priced and smack dab in the center strip.
You can get really good room rates here. It's a bit of a pain to walk to the strip though. Good bang for your buck on room quality.
ok monte carlo is starting to look more attractive..tram & food court. that could save us $$...we don't care about eating nice food for breakfast & lunch, only for dinners. Excalibur is another choice especially if they remodeled the rooms!
Where is Aria? Directly on the strip? we just don't want to spend way too much money on the rooms if we're not even going to be in there most of times...we rather to spend $$ on drinks, food, shows & sightseeing. oh maybe a stripper.
I've lived there on and off for the last year. My fam owns a condo at the Sig and I've spent 99% of my time on the strip hotels and casinos. I can't personally account for all the rooms, but I've been in quite a few, and have spent time in all the properties. IMO Top shelf hotel casinos: Wynn/Encore Venetian/Palazzo Cosmopolitan Bellagio Aria (Mandarin and Vdara too) 2nd Tier (still great): Westgate Tower @ Planet Hollywood (in the mall attached to the casino) Mirage (great location, good bang for your buck, old-school tvs) The Signature @ MGM (good location, all-suite, I live here, great pools, not directly attached to casinos but 10 minute walk to all of them) THE Hotel @ Mandalay (beautiful property, horrible location) Caesar's Palace (great location, great shopping - North America's largest H&M just opened at the Forum shops, inconsistent rooms, pet-friendly now) 3rd Tier (still good): Paris (great location, good size rooms, a little aged, going through a lot of re-modeling right now - new steakhouse conversion to a Gordon Ramsy restaurant, new club, new candy store in place of fountains) MGM Grand (okay location, rooms a little aged, great prices, great restaurants on site) Tropicana (looks beautiful after the renovation, excellent prices right now, if you're looking for bang for buck this might be it) Planet Hollywood regular rooms (the property has a hip vibe and good location going for it) 4th Tier: Monte Carlo possibly a tier 3 now (okay location, gone through a remodel about 4 months ago in terms of clubs and shows...I like it. It has added a whole new feel to the place. Jabbawockeez is the new headliner after Lance Burton left and Frank Caliendo are leaving. Young hip minority vibe, especially during the summer. New Ice Bar and Fire Bar...it's a good place on the weekends and even weekdays now...it used to be completely dead on weekdays.) Luxor (gimmicky and off location...it's cool for a day...that's it) Flamingo (Go Rooms are 3rd Tier...the rest of the property is 4th Tier and below...good pool, pink everywhere, smells like perfume. Great location though) Bill's Gambling Hall (great location, good bang for buck on rooms, tiny old property, Harrah's test runs games here) **Edit** Bally's (I forgot about this one, great location, good mix of young and old crowd, okay rooms, good value...people I've known to stay at Bally's and Luxor for example, enjoy Bally's more..I would put this = Monte Carlo or a little better due to location) **2nd Edit** NYNY I forgot about this one too. The rooms are blah, but they can be cheap. The location is good imo and there is a good selection of cheap eats. The roller coaster is surprisingly good. This is not a resort where the guests stay 100% of the time here, but they use it as a good base because it has good value. Mix of families, young and old here. 5th Tier: Harrah's Excalibur Imperial Palace Riviera Circus Circus ------------------ Ladi Di, Drinks are free everywhere ($1 tip is norm) when you are gambling. Drinks are expensive everywhere if you are not (restaurants, clubs, etc.) unless it's a promotion like happy hour. What are you looking to do? Do you guys like pool parties, shopping, clubbing, gambling, watching sports? I know some DJs, club promoters, and strippers...whatever you're into. I can't get you anything free, but could set you up for great discounts and line skipping at clubs where most people (including hot chicks) would wait for hours...waiting in line sucks. Vegas is great in the sense that it has whatever you want. If you like to eat, drink, watch, shop, it has it. You could be a complete cheapo and still have a great time there. It just depends on what you're into. Let me know your budget and what you like and I can give some more info if you want. As for hotel choosing, what is most important to you: nice property and amenities, nice room, clubs, restaurants, shopping, pools, casino, location, shows, price...think of those things.
Kim, thanks so much for the review. I'll definitely keep in touch. Not sure if I can email you through the board. We'll look through your review and decide. Thanks a ton!!
To be honest, Vegas can be an extremely depressing town to those who live there. It's great to visit, but living takes a sort of psychological discipline over time. I still love it, but I'm not sure if I'd want to live there year round forever...which is kind of what I had planned to do in a few years. Lady Di, as for Aria. It's new, opened December of 2009, and has mixed reviews. I personally think it's beautiful. It's definitely architecturally unique. Service reviews have improved greatly since the opening. It is a legitimate 4 or 5 star hotel, especially if you get a suite. A suite gives, while much more expensive, gives you baller things (like heated toilets), and access to an exclusive lounge for all your guests: unlimited drinks and hors d'oeuvres. There are like 7 pools on property and the place will be packed July 4th weekend. The sports book is relatively small, but has the BEST hi def big screens in Vegas. The single biggest complaint about Aria is layout/location. While the property is technically directly on the strip, it is difficult to access by foot. You have to pass through a haute coutre shopping mall (City Center)...non of the shops I would go to (Gucci, Prada, whatever you can think of) and the mall is this modern white artistic sharp cornered layout that looks weird. It takes a legit 12 minute walk to get from the sidewalk of the strip to the hotel, and another legit 9 minute walk or longer to get to your room. On the plus side, I've seen non-players deals for Aria that are better than comparable properties (Wynn/Encore, Bellagio, Palaazo Venetian). Cosmopolitan is the new player on the scene. It's an independent property (not Harrahs, not MGM, not Sands, not Wynncore) owned by a German bank. It has good deals on it's website right now...not sure about July 4th. It has a great location on the strip and is not as cavernous as the other megaresorts. It has a shopping mall feel at times, combined with posh casino, and lots of places to relax, sit, and eat. It also has the only pool table on the strip, now that the pool hall at Venetian has closed. Again though, it all depends on your budget. I completely understand not wanting to spend on room if you want to see shows and stuff. I can post reviews of free things to do, cheap places to eat, and shows later.
agreed but if the OP is staying at Circus Circus that show may be out of his budget. Its a pricey show but totally worth it. Another fun show and you can get huge discounts online is Zumanity. Not amazing like "O" but just a good fun time.
yea I agree you might not want to spend too much on rooms if you are not going to be in it but trust me you dont want to stay at a dump either. you still need time to recover and rest and its a lot more relaxing if your room is clean. Circus Circus is a dump. The lowest standard you should go is Excalibur which is decent. Monte Carlo is another place that is decent as well and has nice clean rooms. Looks for deals online sometimes you dont have to pay all that much. But rates in vegas varies like crazy. I've stayed at the Belagio for 89 bucks a night but also stayed at the crappy Tropicana for 129 bucks a night. Just depends on when you go.
I think it's around a 6 hour drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon.. not worth it.. however, they do have a helicopter tour that you can take.. I'm assuming it'll take at least a whole days time and it's pretty expensive.
Excalibur (even after remodeled rooms) = Texas Ren Fest + chain smoking + Motel 6 I agree with Kim...5th tier. New York New York is right next door and has a pretty cool interior.
I signed up for special offers for all of MGM resorts. What sucks is that they have a $25 daily resort credit right now and it expires May 30th. I'm hoping they will offer a promotion for July. Aria LOOKS amazing!! $260 per night. Ouch! My budget is $100-$150 a night.
I'll check my emails to see if there are any good promos and I'll post it here from time to time. Also, is $100-$150 per night per couple, or for all 6 of you?
