Viva Las Vegas!

[Hammer]

My wife and I are planning a trip out west in April. I am trying to get the best bang for my buck in terms of hotel, eats, etc. I saw the Luxor at $55 a night average. I thought that was a good deal. Please give me all your tips and experiences. Thanks

[heyelander]

I think in that price range I'd rather stay at Monte Carlo just because it's closer to a lot of other hotels. Luxor is sort of down at the end of the strip. I'm not sure about each hotel's amenities though.

I did a quick search and didn't see the Monte Carlo that cheap, but I also didn't see Luxor that cheap so I must have put in different criteria than you. Regardless, with the criteria I had those two came up around the same price bucket. There are nicer hotels and there are NICER hotels, but there are also worse hotels and WORSE hotels. I'd say they are both middle of the road nice hotels. ALl other things equal I'd go with the Monte Carlo on location alone.

[Fresno Bob]

I'll be there April 22-26th, but I'll be across the street at Mandalay Bay, the Luxor is ok, rooms haven't been renovated in a while, but it is still nicer than the Excaliber or Stratosphere

[Hammer]

I'll be there April 22-26th, but I'll be across the street at Mandalay Bay, the Luxor is ok, rooms haven't been renovated in a while, but it is still nicer than the Excaliber or Stratosphere

would been nice to meet up FB but I think I am looking at the 6th through the 13th.

[Gregg]

I found out the free ones are the most expensive.

[heyelander]

ah, that does look like a nice price. Monte Carlo is coming in $23 more a night for those nights.

[DMT]

The room I had in the Luxor was gross, so they upgraded us to a room with a jacuzzi which didn't drain. I wouldn't stay there again. The Monte Carlo is pretty good, I'd definitely stay there if the prices are similar.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Give Don Quixote a shout out, he was just here. Lemme know if you want to see any of the shows at Venetian or Hard Rock-I get employee discounts--also there are a few locals only deals I might be able to help with.

[Hammer]

The Luxor is awesome. It's possibly a tiny bit dated, at least compared to other hotels, but I've loved staying there. All glass showers, good views, nice rooms. I don't think you'll be disappointed there. Mandalay Bay is probably better but it's a lot more expensive, iirc.

yea. MB was going for $140 per night.

[Hammer]

Give Don Quixote a shout out, he was just here. Lemme know if you want to see any of the shows at Venetian or Hard Rock-I get employee discounts--also there are a few locals only deals I might be able to help with.

Thanks GITH. I appreciate that.

[davidgrey]

The two times I went, I stayed at Ballys. Was pretty reasonable and then the 2nd time I was comped for 3 nights and only had to pay for 1 reduced rate night on Saturday night. Nothing special, but the rooms were clean and we had no issues at all. Just pretty much a standard hotel room which we did not spend much time in. As long as my room is clean, I have a TV and clean towels when needed, I am happy.

The plus is it is pretty close to the middle of the strip. So one day we would tour going left and hit that side of the strip and the next day we went right. It connects directly to the Paris, so it is like 2 casinos in one, not that you need to go very far for casinos in Vegas.

[Don Quixote]

I was staying in a time-share about a mile east of the Strip, so I can't speak first-hand about the hotels. However, one of my clients heartily recommended Harrah's, which is also centrally located on the Strip. Others have mentioned the Flamingo, which is one or two hotels south of Harrah's (and a few north of Bally's/Paris).

One thing you don't need (unless you're out to impress someone) is one of the luxury hotels. It's OK to play there, but unless your'e planning to spend an inordinate amount of time in your room, you don't need Caesar's, Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, Planet Hollywood, or Wynn/Encore.

In terms of casino play, the games are largely the same, but the atmosphere is most definitely not. The casinos I enjoyed (regardless of how I did there) were Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York, Venetian/Palazzo, Treasure Island, Cosmopolitan, the Plaza, and Main Street Station. The latter two are downtown, an interesting place to visit and see the Fremont Street Experience light show at night but not the place to stay.

One thing you must do while you're there is go to karaoke at Ellis Island with GITH. It's a hoot!

[chancellor]

I've stayed at the Monte Carlo and found it nice. The other thing I liked was that they had check-in/out down to a fast-moving science. I also stayed at the MGM Grand....ick, bad experience.

I'll echo DQ's recommendation of TI for casino play.

[virgonomic]

Anyone who goes to Vegas needs to promise me you will do this: http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/ It has worked on both of my trips.

My first stay was 4 nights at Bally's during Christmas 3 years ago. My room was nicely furnished and one night I stayed in my room watching tv to rest. Now I think it's too nice a place to stay. It was $50/night, one night was $0.01.

The next time I stayed at Excalibur because of the food court and the electronic poker table (not video poker) where I won $300. The day I arrived they were closing the poker room at midnight to convert to live dealers so I sat down and won $200 before I checked in. I went back and won another $100 later. My room was $30/night. Nothing fancy, but decent and I got a good sleep, which is perfect for Vegas.

Both times I slipped the clerk a $20 and got a free upgrade. At Excalibur she ignored it and tried to give it back to me, but I passed it back and thanked her for her help. If I had a woman with me I would have made it $40 or $50.

[griswold]

Anyone who goes to Vegas needs to promise me you will do this: http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/ It has worked on both of my trips.

This worked for me as well based on Virgo's tip!

I stayed at Planet Hollywood for $99 per night in Sept, and I thought it was great. Plus it's right in the middle of everything.