Vegas: Talk to me

[MattKatz]

So the wiife and I want to go to vegas for a trip, Neither of us have been.

 

Just looking on opinions on where to stay, what to do, what casino spots seem to have done you the best, food and shows.

 

Probably only going to be there from 2/27 - 3/3 is what im looking at right now. So really 3 nights realistically once we get our bearings the first night.

 

I do not have retarded money to spend, but I have a little, and weve wanted to go for a while, and we figure why not.

 

School me.

Edited December 30, 2012 by ForceFed

[SPL_Josh]

I stayed at bally's in 2008. Wasn't the nicest but it was cheap and on the strip.

MGM and Mandalay bay are nice.

[Lauren]

what is it you want to do while yo are there? how about giving us all what you are after so we can give you advise that would pertain to you. everyone here is going to list thei favorite hotel or one they stayed in once. in the past ten years i typically go there 5-6 times a year so i can point you in whatever direction need be.

[MattKatz]

Its Vegas....I thought there was only a few things to do there.....Gamble, Eat, Check out the strip and Shows.

 

You tell me what there is, but I dont plan on wandering off far.

[Lauren]

well do you want to be at the "it" clubs?

 

are you after high dollar steakhouses and sushi, or buffets?

 

are you wanting to pay for your drinks or just get free ones gambling?

 

what type of shows do you want to see?

 

planning on renting a car while you are there? maybe rent an exotic and take a trip to hoover dam, or go for a helicopter tour. do you want to sight see? do you want to be at a younger or older crowd in the casino? what type of budget are you realistically looking at? your vegas experience depends on the size of your wallet

[MattKatz]

I do not have retarded money to spend, but I have a little, and weve wanted to go for a while, and we figure why not.

 

well do you want to be at the "it" clubs?

 

are you after high dollar steakhouses and sushi, or buffets?

 

are you wanting to pay for your drinks or just get free ones gambling?

 

what type of shows do you want to see?

 

planning on renting a car while you are there? maybe rent an exotic and take a trip to hoover dam, or go for a helicopter tour. do you want to sight see? do you want to be at a younger or older crowd in the casino? what type of budget are you realistically looking at? your vegas experience depends on the size of your wallet

I thought that statement summed it up......I could care less about "IT" anything....we just want to enjoy ourselves. I like my food, but I am not about Wasting money either. (I know....I know....gambling is wasting money). I like my drinks.....Ive never been to vegas so how am I supposed to know whats there. This is kind of the BASIS for me startng this thread is to get an idea on things. I cant be SPECIFIC if I dont know because I havent been there. And no, I do not plan on renting a car or travelling around....we wont be there long enough for that IMO.

 

Does this heelp a little bit?

[TurboNova]

Stay somewhere cheap but clean. If staying on the strip we always have had good cheap rooms at the Monte Carlo. If you are getting a rental car then stay at an off strip hotel and just park for the day at one of the many free casino parking garages on the strip and do your walking thing. After the first couple times we now just goto a few of our favorite casinos that have a players club car linked together and do our gambling there.

 

Pick out a couple shows you want to see, they are expensive but some are worth it. If your women is into the phantom of the opera, take her there. It was actually a pretty good show.

 

We have rented cars and other times just taken a cab to our hotel and then gotten a deuce pass (double decker public bus) for 24 hours at a time and just rode the bus all over the strip and it even goes to freemont street which is the old vegas section with casinos like golden nugget, four queens ....etc

[Lauren]

phantom in vegas is a great show. of course blue man group and jumaji are awesome as well.

 

get a bus pass its like 3-6 dollars for all day to go up and down the strip and to get to fremont street. you are going in a pretty shit time of year its cold there and the pools won't be busy which are quite fun to drink and people watch. alcohol is stupid expensive so drink as much as you can in the casino, play some cheap slots and milk the free booze. hit up some buffets, i personally really like the buffet at bellagio.

 

for cheap hotels, luxor is usually on the cheap side, monte carlo, mgm. all teh hotels are going to look and feel the same just different decor. i personally prefer to stay at the hard rock off the strip and cab it to any place on the strip.

 

depending on your credit and how much you can prove for income one of the best thing to do which will save you money is get a casino host and start a line of credit at a hotel. do not use the line of credit to gamble, use cash. or whatever you have to gamble pull from the line and then pay the marker back with cash ASAP. this will get you free shows, dinners, vip and bottles at a club, and best of all free rooms. i can't remember the last time i paid for food or rooms in vegas and have enjoyed plenty of free comp'd bottle service.

[boosted98gst]

I went 2 times this year, stayed at the Cesars and the stratosphere. Any place near or around the strip is going to be similar. Its not even worth renting a car unless you plan on going to places outside the strip. They have the 8$ daily bus route that runs only for the strip and is good for 24 hrs . I drove my car and used this service due to the traffic and my bac%, i think the bus thing came every 10 min and stopped at every hotel/casino. I had the most fun just walking around drinking, hitting up many different casinos and checking out all the freaks on the strip. Look online for the free concerts too.

[airwg2189]

I stayed at the Bellaggio for my 21st. 10/10, would go again. Slightly expensive, but it's one of the nicer hotels on the strip, for what it's worth. The gaming hall has it's sectioned-off area for the high rollers, but you'll find the same cheap (read: $5 blackjack, penny/nickle/dime/quarter slots) games you do everywhere else. Their in-house club, The Bank, is alright. Very clean and very nice, but quite small compared to XS, which is the best club on the strip IMO.

 

If you're into Cirque du Soleil shows, their Beatles themed show is a must-see. It's called LOVE, and it plays several nights a week at the Mirage. Also at the Mirage is a great Brazilian steakhouse.

 

+1 on don't bother driving anywhere, there's a LOT to see just walking around, and it's legal (at least, it was when I went) to drink in public, so grab a beer and start walking.

[Mallard]

phantom in vegas is a great show. of course blue man group and jumaji are awesome as well.

 

get a bus pass its like 3-6 dollars for all day to go up and down the strip and to get to fremont street. you are going in a pretty shit time of year its cold there and the pools won't be busy which are quite fun to drink and people watch. alcohol is stupid expensive so drink as much as you can in the casino, play some cheap slots and milk the free booze. hit up some buffets, i personally really like the buffet at bellagio.

 

for cheap hotels, luxor is usually on the cheap side, monte carlo, mgm. all teh hotels are going to look and feel the same just different decor. i personally prefer to stay at the hard rock off the strip and cab it to any place on the strip.

 

depending on your credit and how much you can prove for income one of the best thing to do which will save you money is get a casino host and start a line of credit at a hotel. do not use the line of credit to gamble, use cash. or whatever you have to gamble pull from the line and then pay the marker back with cash ASAP. this will get you free shows, dinners, vip and bottles at a club, and best of all free rooms. i can't remember the last time i paid for food or rooms in vegas and have enjoyed plenty of free comp'd bottle service.

Agree 100% although I never knew about starting a line of credit in order to get comps.

 

I've gone several times and stayed at Bally's three times, Luxor twice, Hilton Vacation Club once, and Embassy Suites (off strip) once. I think if I were to go again I would stay closer to the center or north side of the strip; between Paris/Bellagio and TI/Wynn.

 

The buffet at Paris is good too. If you hit the buffet's at the right time you can get in for the price of breakfast (or lunch) and be inside when it changes to lunch (or dinner) in order to save some cash. Dinner at the Eifel Tower restaurant is nice too, as you can watch the Bellagio fountain from above.

 

I went to a Cirque du Soleil show (Mystere) and had a great time. There's also Second City Comedy Club (once was good, second time was ok), as well as the other shows people mentioned. Go to the half price ticket booths on the strip and get tickets the day of the show. You aren't guaranteed to get a ticket to the very busy shows, but most everything is there.

[Toph6888]

I stayed at Circus Circus this past october, by no means was the it the fanciest or center strip, but if you arent looking to spend a lot of time in the casino it wasn't bad. For us to stay at Circus Circus it was $500 a person that included hotel, car rental, and flight from columbus so pretty cheap honestly. Its more of a family place too with a small circus inside and a little amusement park. I was like you and wasnt too interested in gambling. Its at the north side of the strip, so I would suggest getting a bus pass or a car if you will be staying there as its a long walk.

 

There are the evening strip shows that are good, like the bellagio fountains, Treasure island pirate show, the MGM grand volcano, and a couple others. Going up in the eiffell tower oustide of paris was fun, and we went up right before the bellagio fountains started and it was pretty cool seeing it up there.

 

Check out freemont street, its pretty neat with lots of street performers, and if you are looking for something a little bit out of town and are into hiking there is red rocks about 20-30 mins from the strip that has a ton of hiking and sightseeing.

 

Also, every day up by the vegas race tracks there is the Shelby Store, where they do a free tour of a bunch of cars they have in the showroom and also take you in back to see where they take regular shelby mustangs and "transform" them into super snakes.

[Alfa Turbo]

Since this is the Columbus Racing forum... when I went out there annually for trade shows I would rent high-line cars and cruise around after hours. I had a Merc, Vette convertible and Viper all at reasonable rates for 2 or 3 days. I 'figgered the money I would lose sitting at a table I would use to have some fun. The bonus is you get treated really well by the valets when you roll up. Oh, and Hoover Darn was pretty cool. Did you know it is still curing! Red Rock is cool too.

[nurkvinny]

I can only tell you what my wife and I did last time out.

 

Flew Southwest. Way cheaper and who needs a fuckton of bags for Vegas?

 

Stayed at MGM. No complaints.

 

Saw Crazy Horse show. Better than expected.

 

Walking the strip and free drinks kept us occupied. We never rented a car or took a taxi and there was plenty to see and do.

 

Wife and friends danced on the Coyote Ugly bar tops. Found a few ladies drink free all night clubs inside the big name casinos. Make sure to walk the Miracle Mile.

 

Nathan's hot dogs @ 2am inside MGM was ok. Comp'ed Hard Rock dinner was meh.

 

Doesn't sound like much, but I am anxious to go back.

[Mr. Jones]

The Venetian treated us well, and it was very very reasonable.

[starkmaster03]

We went earlier this year and stayed at the Excaliber. We were going to stay at Circus Cirus but changed at the last minute because there wasn't much of a price difference. I think it was nice for the price but in a great location. The Duece bus for $8 for 24 hours is well worth it. There is also a trans system but it's not fully developed and doesn't go to all the places that the buses go to and costs more. We signed up and did a bus tour to the Grand Canyon and to the Hover Dam on different day. Both of those tours was great. If you schdule them in advance you can get a good discount online. I also recommend going down to Fremont street one night to see what that's like. We splurged on a few dinners. One dinner was at the top of the Rio which wasn't that good and wouldn't recommend. Dinner on the Stratosphere was great and well worth it. If you plan any tours I would plan to do them the day after you arrive when your clock is still off. We were waking up at 5 or 6 AM and that was sleeping in... Hope some of that is usefull.

[downingracing]

The wife and I go at least once a year for a week. The deals that time of year are usually great. Last march, we stayed at the Excalibur for $39/night. That included $100 in slot play and 2 buffet meals a day. We are planning another trip about the same time this year and I'm currently searching for deals. Always enjoy spending time in Vegas!

[Jackson1647545504]

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/108/las-vegas-lifestyle/hotel-review-thread-1202783/

[coltboostin]

Have been there 16 times now (17 coming up-quick bender- thanks to winning monthly sales contest) and most of my thoughts have been covered in similar Vegas Virgin threads. Use the search button! Its whatever you make it.

 

Want to have a nice, relaxing time, east great food, see great shows...have the tiem of your life and never leave the hotel? No prob.

 

Want to rock out literally with your cock out, be with the most physically attractive women on gods green earthy- stay up 4 days straight on a coke, money, and Vodka infused binge, do dountus in Ferraris on the strip-literally ON LVS BLVD, set hotels on fire, and narrowly escape with your life, no money, and bring home a few "extras", that require medication to remove, No prob.

 

Its all up to you.

[Akula]

Stay during the week, the rooms are cheaper. Stay in the middle of the strip, Aria, Bellagio, like that.

 

Enjoy.

[iwashmycar]

I really enjoyed staying at the Mirage. Was just a 3 day drunk fest so, I cannot help much on specifics. Ended up just eating Chipotle a couple times after paying big bucks in the hotel for a mediocre sandwich....

 

The Venetian was by far my favorite to gamble at! Great place

[Sparky]

Last time I was out I stayed at The D in old Vegas. I would highly recommend that as the strip is a lot pricier for gambling and eating. Old Vegas is much more compact.

[mrs.cos]

for the love of god please take some good walking shoes. Your feet will thank you.

 

We aren't gamblers (i think we spent 25$ in nickle/penny slots both times we went)

We stayed at the Tropicana and Luxor.

Both places were just fine. The luxor was really pretty and rooms were nice, but as little time we spent in it, If we go again we'll go to one of the cheaper hotels again (the Rio where we so Penn and Teller, seemed really shady though, ill pass on that place)

We saw shows, we rode rides, and NOW there is a ZIPline between which will be LOTS of fun IMHO when its done.

 

We rented a Viper for a day while we were there our first time.. (at the time we still had Nathans TransAm, so he wasn't as impressed as he had hoped he would be, but we had fun none the less)

 

We also ate really well. BLue man group is awesome. Cirque shows I'm sure are amazing.

 

There is so much to do.. We've been there 3 times and still haven't done everything i'd like to do.

 

Tourism is WAAAy down right now in vegas, I'm sure you can find some excellent deals.

 

It does get QUITE chilly quick, the time of year you are going, bring a jacket. Daytime will be warm 50-60's sometimes 70's but there are no trees around there so the breeze makes it feel quite a bit cooler.

 

This may sound silly but we went out of town just driving for a while to see the area.. one of the things we thought was cool was even though we had driven almost 45mins out of town, you could still see vegas off in the distance, and it looked so close!

 

You'll have fun.

[Mr. Jones]

Almost forgot, See Le Rêve @ the Wynn if you have the opportunity.

AWESOME SHOW.

[AudiOn19s]

Love to hear anything more about the perks associated with starting a line of credit at the place you're staying.

 

We're headed to Vegas in a few weeks, staying at the Cosmopolitan which also houses the Marquee day and night clubs where I'd like to spend a good bit of my time. If starting a line of credit with them gets me perks on bottle / table service I'm absolutely in. My favorite DJ is playing there the evening we get there and the DJ's the next night I wouldn't mind seeing either. Obviously the Day club is probably going to suck this time of year considering it's usually pool related activities.