Firts time vacationer/Las Vegas

B

BIGsteve041

25+ Posts
Ok I have never actually planned a vacation before and am trying to get a Vegas trip together for early August. Leave 8/7 come back 8/10 (Tuesday-Friday). Trip is going to be 4 guys.

First question is I have found deals on sites mentioned on other threads on this board for airfare+hotel for $375-500 per person to hotels such as The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, Ceasars, Venetian, Bellagio, MGM Grand and more. Are these good prices?

Next would be of these which would be the best to stay at if the prices are all about the same?

I would like to stay in one of those due to their location on the Strip. I figure the vast knowledge of Hornfans on here could help me out. Apreciate the comments.
 
I was a first timer in Vegas last month. Stayed at Caesars, which I highly recommend if you can get the new Palace or Augustus towers. I think the best location on the Strip would be either Caesars or Bellagio. Most people like Venetian a lot as well. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those three. The Hotel and MGM are fine, locations aren't as good as they're closer to the end of the strip, rather than mid-strip.

I recommend you read the reviews at Tripadvisor to get a good feel for the various hotels. You might also want to check out the Cheapo Vegas site for some interesting reviews. Can't tell you if those prices are very good because prices vary so much from week to week depending on what conventions are in town.
 
Those prices are great. I'm trying to price a vacation for mid-September and can't find anything decent for less than $550.

Bellagio. Do it.
 
Just got back from 4 days in Vegas and I posed your question to our cabbie one night. (Assuming you are a mid 20 something guy here) He said if you are looking for a good party atmosphere in the hotel, the top 3 were Mandalay Bay, Hard Rock and The Palms. He also mentioned Hooters. He said Bellagio was low on the list of what he considered "party hotels".

We stayed at the Bellagio and it is a good location, mid strip, but it had a different feel to it (Casino wise) than the ones the cabbie suggested. A more sedate crowd, I guess. But we were also a very different group than what you are planning for. (6 women, and we had a Bellagio deal)

Personally I liked New York New York and would probably choose to stay there if/when our group goes again. There was a more diverse selection of things to do (besides the Casino) and different price ranges for everyone in our group. Nine Fine Irishmen Pub was a nice little place and the Dueling Piano Bar is not to be missed! Two from our group decided to try Coyote Ugly one night and commented that it was not as fun as the Piano Bar the night before - way too crowded.

The one nice thing about Vegas is that you can stay in one place and just visit the other hotel/casinos easily. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and for the most part had great cabbies too! One was pretty grumbly about the small fares wanting to go from one end of the strip to the middle - he did not get much of a tip from us. Hey buddy - what do you expect on the strip?

Good luck in your planning.
 
Thanks alot lostman. I'll have to check out the prices on some of those places you mentioned. I was really just looking at the best locations without considering the atmosphere. If it came down to it I think I would rather be in a better location near everything and have to travel to other hotels/casinos rather than stay somewhere just for the atmosphere.

Dell: I got the link from another thread on this board.

sidestep.com
 
tues - fri you should be able to find good deals. THEhotel is by far my favorite out of those listed.

also, why do people give a **** about "location" as long as you're on the strip. or even at hard rock, rio or palms. do you guys really walk in vegas? you're not going to in august, so who gives a **** where you are, as long as you're not at green valley ranch.
 
The Orleans has a lot of $45 weeknights available this summer.

The Planet Hollywood makeover of the Aladdin Casino is pretty cool lookin'. They've got some cheap rates too.
 
A friend of mine just got back from there. She decided she would stay somewhere cheaper and use her cash for something else. Her idea was that she wasn't going to be doing anything in her room besides sleeping and in Vegas, she wasn't planning on sleeping much. She stayed at the Golden Nugget and said it was much better than she expected it to be.
 
The Golden Nugget is the nicest place by far on Fremont Street.

I read where the El Cortez was actually renovated, which probably means they changed the 45 year old carpet and cleaned out some of the homeless winos.
 
I just wrote this long reply, and Safari quit on me. So I'll probably leave some stuff out, but I'll try again...

As someone else said I'd look into Planet Hollywood. They are going for the Hard Rock vibe, but with better location. They should have decent rates, and when they were the Aladdin they had nice rooms, so I doubt that's changed. They might still be under construction though. Another option is the Flamingo. It has a great pool, central location, and should be reasonably priced. They have decent table limits, and a relaxed atmosphere. They also have remodeled rooms called Go rooms, which you might try and look in to.

As for the ones you listed I probably like Mandalay Bay the most. It's a nice hotel, nice casino, awesome pool. But the location flat out sucks. Sure you might not walk everywhere in Vegas, but if you're central you at least have the option. At MB you pretty much have to cab it everywhere (much like you would at HR or the Palms). I just think for a group of guys, at least one who this'll be his frist trip to Vegas, I think it'd be better to be centrally located.

B & V are both very nice hotels. But they're nice in that remantic weekend with your special someone kinda way, not a weekend with the boys. If you want nice though, they are nice. The gaming will be more expensive than other places, but pretty much all over the strip it'll be hard to find cheap gaming. Another nice option is the Wynn. I've stayed there a lot and it too is one of my favorite hotels. Its vibe is much more my style than B or V. Like MB it is far down the strip, but unlike MB you can walk to Treasure Island, Venetian, or a Mall. At Mandalay Bay, the only places you can walk are Luxor, Excalibur, or Tropicana. Not exactly the hotspots of Vegas. Another benefit for a guys weekend is that it has the best looking cocktail waitresses, and as the Sports Guy (ESPN Page2) recently pointed out they have outdoor BJ near the european style pool.

As for CP and MGM they are fine hotels, and where I usually spend most of my trips. The problem is that CP has a very old feel. All the dealers, and CW are older, and the whole place just has that vibe. Plus I'm not a big fan of the pool area. MGM on the other hand feels like an amusement park. There are TONS of people there, even kids running around. It's very very busy, and one of my least favorite casinos to gamble at because of it. It's also very big, and hard to get around in at times. If I had to choose between MGM and another casino (like any of the ones you listed) based on price I'd choose another one.

Some tips for the trip:
- Plan at least one good dinner while you're there. Everyone goes there to gamble, and plans on losing X amount of money. Why not lose X-$100 and have a badass dinner.
- Also plan on one night cabbing over to Hard Rock. I wouldn't suggest staying there due to its location, but it is someplace y'all should check out.
- Walk around. I know it'll be hot, but check out all the casinos. It's the best part of Vegas (all the different casinos) and somethign that Vegas Vets (such as myself) hardly do anymore.

Have fun.
 
Honestly, given it is in the heat of the summer and the pool scenes will be world-class(ie: beautiful ladies), I would go with one of the hotels with the best pool scenes:
- Hard Rock
- Mandalay Bay
- The Mirage
- MGM Grand
 
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