Las Vegas

jobless

going there in a month or so.... first time... does anyone have any tips for going there?. good restaurants, best places to drink etc...

is it worth spending a day visiting the grand canyon?

duchalla

If you can afford it, take a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon, leave round 8am, back in your hotel for lunch time.

jobless

duchalla wrote: »

If you can afford it, take a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon, leave round 8am, back in your hotel for lunch time.

thanks, how much are we talking for the helicopter?

duchalla

Think we paid arouind $250-$300 per person, was worth it though. you're collected at your hotel, dropped back there afterwards, views of the Hoover Dam on the way out, we went to the Sky Walk (glass bottomed semi-circular bridge that goes out over the canyon). Great views of the strip on your way back.
All the hotels have pretty good restaurants, we stayed in the Bellagio, arrived there round 1 am, went for dinner at 4 am! We ate in the Stratoshepere restaurant one night, good food but a bit expensive if I remember correctly. We had breakfast in a diner in the Miracle Mile Mall(?) just across the street from the Bellagio couple of mornings, big portions and strawberry daquaris for breakfast!
Definitely check out a show if you can, we saw the Phantom of the Opera, amazing....

anne burnell

Vegas is a super place... We stayed in the Excalibur, hotel was great really large bedrooms.we ate a lot in the take out restaurants as we could mix and match from all the restaurants on the tio floor of the hotel, we also had a good chineese and good mexican food I think it was the New York New York...

Stojkovic

Heli ride is the guts of $500 (€360).
They advertise at approx $400 then you have add ons. This is for trip that lands in the canyon and also flies over the Hoover Dam and the Strip.

Well worth it as a one off experience.

The Davestator

Go down to freemont street at night. Good buzz around there.
Best breakfast is hash house a go go - go hungry!
Get yuor show tickets at the booths on the street if you're not too bothered what to see. Always tickets available for most shows.
Rides on top of stratosphere are very scary so if you're into that, do it!
Enjoy

elfy4eva

jobless wrote: »

going there in a month or so.... first time... does anyone have any tips for going there?. good restaurants, best places to drink etc...

is it worth spending a day visiting the grand canyon?

Set more time aside for seeing shows than in the casinos, it's very easy to get caught in the boozing/gambling side of things, but Vegas has some of the best shows on offer anywhere in the world. I recommend Penn and Teller if they're on. superb show.

jobless

thanks guys.... dunno if ill splash out 350 for a flight though!

Tiriel

Do the rollercoaster in New York New York, stayed in the Aria - nice hotel. Definitely put $20 with your passport checking in and ask for complimentary upgrade - worked for us.

Went to Northern outlets for some shopping - nice mix of shops, not all top brands but had others in there too.

If into spa's, go to the Aria day spa, $40 for non guests ($30 if you are a guest), really nice treat.

Fremont street at night for the light shows overhead. Get a drink in the off-license if you are budget conscious and you can sup away, no issues with drinking outdoors in Vegas.

Walk the strip, in and out of the various hotels, bring comfy shoes!! My favourite hotels (to see) were the Venetian (inside and out), Paris (out), Caesar's Palace - Forum Shopping Centre, Mile long shopping centre.. there are so many.

Have fun

cooperguy

I would not recommend doing the bus tour to the Grand Canyon. You spend hours on the bus going and coming. A waste of way too much time. Helicopter tour is the way to go. €250 with Papillion

Have you any hotel booked? Stay in a fancy one! The difference between the cheap and expensive ones are not huge. I would recommend The Venetian, The Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan or Caesars Palace. If you do want to stay somewhere cheaper I would recommend the Monte Carlo, still a nice enough place but right in the centre of everything.

Definitely visit Freemont Street (I regretted not getting a taxi down there by the way, the bus took way too long for me). There is a very different atmosphere down there and is well worth exploring.

Visit the Wynn hotel for the buffet. Its famous for it and it is very good! Huge amounts of choice for $40 and all very very tasty.

If you have never been to a shooting range now is the time to try it. I used: Discount Firearms + Ammo

Go see a show. I saw Ka in the MGM. It is an unbelievable show. If you want to be guaranteed a particular show book in advance. Otherwise go to a tkts booth on the strip, there is normally a good selection of discount tickets to choose from.

I would also recommend learning the basic rules of Blackjack, it is great for a bit of craic at a table. Unless you are very unlucky you should be able to sit at a table for a while and not loose too much money. And free drink the whole time your sitting (tip the waitress a dollar each time to make sure she comes back!).

jobless

thanks for the tips guys.... cant wait to go now...

brandon_flowers

Echo everything said above with my own additions.

Go to the Grand Canyon and don't go by bus, you can get a helicopter or a fixed wing flight from Boulder City airport. The concierge desk in your hotel can organize all of it and they will have all the info. Carry sunscreen, a hat and water. Shoes that are comfortable to walk in also.

Go to see a show, the best ones are expensive but are worth it. Cirque du Soleil always have a few on in different places. You can get cheap tickets at the box office between Paris and Flamingo but usually it is difficult to get cheap tickets for the top shows.

Go to the all you can eat in Bellagio. I think it is $25 but it's not pizzas and burgers. It is lobster, sushi, asian and all sorts of amazing food.

I found the card room at Caesars Palace the best but that's only if you are interested in playing poker.

If you are playing blackjack and not experienced try to sit with more players on your left than right. You can't **** it up for the others if you are early in the dealing. If you are in the last seat you are almost responsible for helping out the table at times by sacrificing your bet to help the others. Craps is good craic also if you can understand it.

Decide what your budget is and if you spend 150% of your budget you'll be doing well. I spent nearly $6k in a week but I went driving a McLaren MP4-12 and a Porsche 911 around a racetrack and sky diving and all sorts of crazy things.

It is the greatest show on Earth.

EDIT: Just saw your username now. Awesome for someone going to Las Vegas.

Tangey99

Been a while since I did it, but 20 years ago you could get fixed wing tour to grand canyon out of vegas airport, no need to go to boulder.

LV is definitely the place if you are into shows. We were there two years ago and seen Rod Stewart, few years before we saw James Taylor.

Signature @MGM is quite a nice place to stay. Its part of the MGM, 3 multi-story apartment blocks at the rear. No gambling in them. 10 minute covered walkway to the MGM.

Mind you, having also stayed in Venetian and Palazzo, I can recommend them too, but they are a bit pricer.

Oh, and be prepared to dodge the card slappers !

Big Nasty

If you're doing the helicopter tour over the GC try and get a sunrise flight. Much more spectacular at that hour than during the day.

Member 420

Did the Helicopter to the canyon myself, It brought us to a Dude Ranch in Arizona afterwards. Great views of Hoover Dam as well as the GC of course.

From the hotels I visited Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Flamingo Hilton & Excalibur were the top ones.

Stay away from TI, It use to be a Pirate themed hotel but the owners decided to rebrand it, it's more like a generic hotel you'd find anywhere in the world now, apart from the blackjack & poker tables of course.

Big Nasty

Was that Diamond Top Ranch or something like that?

jeepers101

They have an awesome shooting range there as well if you're into that kind of thing. Its a short taxi ride from the strip- well worth it.

For eats definitely go to the cheesecake factory. Very reasonably priced, massive selection of delicious food (I think its over 200 meals), huge portions, relaxed atmosphere. Its in the Bellagio.

Member 420

Big Nasty wrote: »

Was that Diamond Top Ranch or something like that?

I think it's called the Grand Canyon Ranch

This is the company we did it with in anyway http://www.heliusa.com/

Big Nasty

Member 420 wrote: »

I think it's called the Grand Canyon Ranch

This is the company we did it with in anyway http://www.heliusa.com/

Was a different one I went to so.

Jim Stynes

The Encore is amazing! The room is ridiculous (all suite hotel!) and the hotel wouldnt be as packed as the likes of the Venetian (which is also amazing). The Cafe in the venetian is a lovely place to go eat, very reasonably priced. Go see the show 'absinthe', it's hilarious.

tracker-man

Is it worth renting a car in Vegas? Going in August, I'm thinking I'll need it just for the air con!

corcadorcha

brandon_flowers wrote: »

Echo everything said above with my own additions.

Go to the Grand Canyon and don't go by bus, you can get a helicopter or a fixed wing flight from Boulder City airport. The concierge desk in your hotel can organize all of it and they will have all the info. Carry sunscreen, a hat and water. Shoes that are comfortable to walk in also.

Go to see a show, the best ones are expensive but are worth it. Cirque du Soleil always have a few on in different places. You can get cheap tickets at the box office between Paris and Flamingo but usually it is difficult to get cheap tickets for the top shows.

Go to the all you can eat in Bellagio. I think it is $25 but it's not pizzas and burgers. It is lobster, sushi, asian and all sorts of amazing food.

I found the card room at Caesars Palace the best but that's only if you are interested in playing poker.

If you are playing blackjack and not experienced try to sit with more players on your left than right. You can't **** it up for the others if you are early in the dealing. If you are in the last seat you are almost responsible for helping out the table at times by sacrificing your bet to help the others. Craps is good craic also if you can understand it.

Decide what your budget is and if you spend 150% of your budget you'll be doing well. I spent nearly $6k in a week but I went driving a McLaren MP4-12 and a Porsche 911 around a racetrack and sky diving and all sorts of crazy things.

It is the greatest show on Earth.

EDIT: Just saw your username now. Awesome for someone going to Las Vegas.

Thanks for info.
Quick question. Which resteraunt in Bellagio for all you can eat? Could not see it on website. Thanks

rossie1977

corcadorcha wrote: »

Thanks for info.
Quick question. Which resteraunt in Bellagio for all you can eat? Could not see it on website. Thanks

that would be the buffet https://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/the-buffet.aspx

tracker-man wrote: »

Is it worth renting a car in Vegas? Going in August, I'm thinking I'll need it just for the air con!

if you are just going to be spending the whole time on the strip i wouldn't bother because traffic/construction on the strip can mean you spend the whole time in the car, faster walking. if you want to explore and head out to hoover dam (lake mead), valley of fire, mount charleston, rock red canyon etc then its worth it.

corcadorcha

Thanks for that.
Couldn't find it!!

jinkybhoy

Hi

I'm heading over for first time in Feb and trying to fgure out best hotel for myself and the missu for 10 year anniversary.

Only staying 3 days - won't have a car. Don't mind walking abit or getting transport. We are also thinking of getting our vows renewed with the whole white chapel elvis thing as well!

Budget is for 3 days approx €400 - Any tips or suggestions? Thanks

Dodge

Is that €400 total or just for the hotel? Per person or total?

jinkybhoy

Dodge wrote: »

Is that €400 total or just for the hotel? Per person or total?

sorry €400 in total for 2 people - for hotel only.

Dodge

I don't mean to sound mean here but you'll be doing well to stay in Vegas and have 2 people eat for 3 nights.

Definitely on the Strip.

Somewhere like Planet Hollywood (which i loved) is about $100 a night

jinkybhoy

Dodge wrote: »

I don't mean to sound mean here but you'll be doing well to stay in Vegas and have 2 people eat for 3 nights.

Definitely on the Strip.

Somewhere like Planet Hollywood (which i loved) is about $100 a night

sorry my mistake there - 400 in total for hotel only - spending money seperate!!!:)

Dodge

Ha. Go with Planet Hollywood so. You could try Paris beside it if you want to go more romantic.

Aria across the road is perfect too. That's the area you want to be staying in anyway IMO

munster87

The Elara right beside Planet Hollywood, doesn't have a casino but may be one of value too.

Savage_Henry

you can save on hotels by playing myvegas - you can get free rooms, but you might need to combine 2 hotels. We spent 2 nights in excalibur and 2 in monte carlo for free.

BTW which dates will you be there? Prices differ drastically for sun-thu and fri-sat

Savage_Henry

also book cheapest room and do the 20$ trick (google it), you will probably get some decent room upgrade

January

Check out the Linq it's beside ballys and Paris. Check out smarter vegas.com for hotel deals. Don't forget to factor in the resort fee.

The Backwards Man

The likes of Venetian/Palazzo, Wynn/Encore, Aria/Cosmo, Bellagio and Caesar's are definitely out on that budget, with everywhere else on the strip there are that many variables that it's hard to give a definitive answer. Someone mentioned the Linq, I just checked a random weekend in Feb and it was €150 before resort fee, while Harrah's next door is €50.

It's just a matter of searching for the best deal, there are no 'bad' hotels on the strip, as long as you stay between Mandalay Bay and the Fashion Show Mall you'll be grand location wise.

CaliforniaDream

What dates are you looking at? It really does make a difference if it's weekend or weekday. February also has a few conventions on so prices will be higher if you're in town during one.
Do you want a nice hotel or just somewhere to base yourselves?

You can usually book somewhere like Vdara on Hotwire in your budget. Rooms are really nice there. It doesn't have a casino but it's in the centre of the strip so location is perfect.
I wouldn't recommend the Linq (I work there) because there's a lot of problems with check in and elevators, things like that.
Monte Carlo, Paris, NYNY, MGM, mirage, are all decent to stay in. Mid priced, nothing wonderful but nice.
Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, Aria, Cosmo are all higher priced but much nicer.
If you had the budget for it I'd recommend Palazzo over everything. Fantastic rooms.

jinkybhoy

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

What dates are you looking at? It really does make a difference if it's weekend or weekday. February also has a few conventions on so prices will be higher if you're in town during one.
Do you want a nice hotel or just somewhere to base yourselves?

You can usually book somewhere like Vdara on Hotwire in your budget. Rooms are really nice there. It doesn't have a casino but it's in the centre of the strip so location is perfect.
I wouldn't recommend the Linq (I work there) because there's a lot of problems with check in and elevators, things like that.
Monte Carlo, Paris, NYNY, MGM, mirage, are all decent to stay in. Mid priced, nothing wonderful but nice.
Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, Aria, Cosmo are all higher priced but much nicer.
If you had the budget for it I'd recommend Palazzo over everything. Fantastic rooms.

Heading over 19th Feb - 3 nights

Savage_Henry

you picked the worst nights
if youre there for 3 nights (19-22) i would stay central strip, anywhere else just doesnt make sense. i would pick treasure island or maybe monte carlo in your price range, as one level up hotels will be over 400. its around 300eur for + resort fee which is about 25$ per night payable at hotel. do the 20$ (or more) trick at check in, its worth it imo.

i checked the prices through trivago

they also have free trams (i think its 2 lines) to get up and down strip + there is monorail.

also - there are coupons for a lot thats going on there - for example 2for1 nyny ride, discount for paris tower etc. are you going to do the stratosphere rides?

Jim Stynes

Vegas isn't the same unless you stay in a 5 star! You'll not stay in a hotel for the price with that kind of quality anywhere else in the world. People always say that you are never in the hotel anyway! Bull****, you spend the majority of your time knocking about round the hotel/casino. They're simply massive places and can take half an hour to get from your room to the strip. Save money elsewhere and go for the proper Vegas experience and stay in Encore, Palazzo, Venetian, Cosmo and that type of standard.

aaronm13

Stayed in Ballys last week for the second time and it's well within your budget. It's a grand hotel, fairly basic by Vegas standards but rooms are very big and clean. Casino is ok but is linked with Paris so has good bars and food options. It's dead center of the strip so the location is perfect and has a bus stop right outside of Paris to get the Deuse and SDX so is perfect if you're only there a few nights. Remember everything is further away in Vegas than it looks.

I've stayed in the Bellagio and Monte Carlo before, both nicer hotels but Bellagio is out of your budget, Monte Carlo should be in budget but it's location isn't as good.

Savage_Henry

Jim Stynes wrote: »

Vegas isn't the same unless you stay in a 5 star! You'll not stay in a hotel for the price with that kind of quality anywhere else in the world. People always say that you are never in the hotel anyway! Bull****, you spend the majority of your time knocking about round the hotel/casino. They're simply massive places and can take half an hour to get from your room to the strip. Save money elsewhere and go for the proper Vegas experience and stay in Encore, Palazzo, Venetian, Cosmo and that type of standard.

Yeah, but there is a big difference between 400 and 700 eur, i even think 400 is too much for Vegas.
BTW if you apply for the hotels players card, gamble enough, charge your restaurant bills to your room you might have a chance that you get something back during checkout http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k5756560-Question_about_comps_charging_things_to_your_room-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

Jim Stynes

Savage_Henry wrote: »

Yeah, but there is a big difference between 400 and 700 eur, i even think 400 is too much for Vegas.
BTW if you apply for the hotels players card, gamble enough, charge your restaurant bills to your room you might have a chance that you get something back during checkout http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g45963-i10-k5756560-Question_about_comps_charging_things_to_your_room-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

That is very expensive alright! We are going back over Easter 2016 for 7 nights and in total it cost £1200 sterling for Encore+ flights and 2 people!

jinkybhoy

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

What dates are you looking at? It really does make a difference if it's weekend or weekday. February also has a few conventions on so prices will be higher if you're in town during one.
Do you want a nice hotel or just somewhere to base yourselves?

You can usually book somewhere like Vdara on Hotwire in your budget. Rooms are really nice there. It doesn't have a casino but it's in the centre of the strip so location is perfect.
I wouldn't recommend the Linq (I work there) because there's a lot of problems with check in and elevators, things like that.
Monte Carlo, Paris, NYNY, MGM, mirage, are all decent to stay in. Mid priced, nothing wonderful but nice.
Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, Aria, Cosmo are all higher priced but much nicer.
If you had the budget for it I'd recommend Palazzo over everything. Fantastic rooms.

I was actually looking at the Linq hotel - liked the reviews, location and look of the place. So you wouldn't recommend? I was also looking at the Rio but I think that might be a bit from the strip but I don't mind shuttle busing it or taxiing.

razorblunt

jinkybhoy wrote: »

I was actually looking at the Linq hotel - liked the reviews, location and look of the place. So you wouldn't recommend? I was also looking at the Rio but I think that might be a bit from the strip but I don't mind shuttle busing it or taxiing.

The Rio looks good from here, but after two trips across the motorway you'll be so annoyed.

I'm just back from the Cosmo, got it as part of a deal with flights at about $120 a night. Got a room upgrade then on top of that.

Keep in mind alot of places don't allow that $20 trick, what we did was ask for an upgrade and keep the money in your hand but obvious that it's going to be handed over. Handshake at the end and it was handed over.

Quick note on Bally's, I found it quite dirty compared to most other casinos on the strip, it does have a connection to Paris thats relatively short by LV standards so you could always spent your day time in Paris and hit the hay in Bally's.

jinkybhoy

razorblunt wrote: »

The Rio looks good from here, but after two trips across the motorway you'll be so annoyed.

I'm just back from the Cosmo, got it as part of a deal with flights at about $120 a night. Got a room upgrade then on top of that.

Keep in mind alot of places don't allow that $20 trick, what we did was ask for an upgrade and keep the money in your hand but obvious that it's going to be handed over. Handshake at the end and it was handed over.

Quick note on Bally's, I found it quite dirty compared to most other casinos on the strip, it does have a connection to Paris thats relatively short by LV standards so you could always spent your day time in Paris and hit the hay in Bally's.

cosmo coming in at 776euro for that time - Bit out of my price alright.
The rio - i kinda thought that it was bit further out alright.
I think I'm going to push my budget to €500 excluding resort fees - Don't want to regret not spending the money on a nice place. The difference is only a weekend of drinking money reaslly when you look at it!!!

razorblunt

Yeah you definitely want to be on strip in my opinion.

There's a great bar just opened called People's Republic, it's across from the Aria (stay on the side with the Harley Davidson restaurant at the corner). Great selection of beers on tap, steins are $12, food is surprisingly decent too.

Savage_Henry

i dont think 500 hotel will be much different to linq, treasure island or monte carlo, also on that side there are the free trams http://www.vegas.com/transportation/las-vegas-monorails/

The ARIA Express tram is a three stations free tram with stops at Monte Carlo, Crystals retail and entertainment district (closest to ARIA) and Bellagio/Vdara Hotel & Spa

Tram service between The Mirage and Treasure Island runs approximately every 8 minutes. Normal hours are Sun - Thu 9am - 1am; Fri - Sat 9am - 2am. Check on property for schedule changes. Cost: Free.

youd have to go Palazzo / Bellagio level to feel the extra star, Palazzo is 626 eur for the stay

Savage_Henry

forget about taxiing in or using public transport and staying off strip. in 3 nights youll only scrape the surface of the strip and its just not worth staying elsewhere

jinkybhoy

So booked the Aria for the 3 nights - got it for €377 excluding resort fees - pretty happy with it to be honest!!! Thanks for all the advice guys.

Next question in relation to Aria - Best Breakfast/Brunch buffet and Best Dinner buffet? Thanks

Savage_Henry

emm where did you find this price? is it 19-22 feb?