Best place to stay in Las Vegas?

[Cohiba]

The Sands C.C....had to look it up. As you can tell, I've never attended a convention in Vegas.

Closness...T.I. or the Mirage..they are a little costly. Wynn..expensive. Las Vegas Hilton..can be expensive..use the tram.

On the Strip and a little cheaper..Harrah's..but parking might be difficult since the Imperial Palace/O'Sheas is being redone into..the Link.

Casino Royal is a dive but on the Strip.

How much do you want to spend, distance, and transportation??

 

[Shoot Summ]

Aria is very nice...

 

[Danny Tanner]

On the strip: I've stayed in MGM, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, and Planet Hollywood and PH is the best bang for your buck. There are nicer hotels, though it's towards to the top, but the rooms have been updated and the location is perfect for almost anything happening on the strip.

Fremont: Golden Nugget, hands down. Affordable, nice and clean, and the staff is great.

As far as eats go, if you want to eat just to fill your stomach, then hit up the 24-hour mall-style food court on the strip. Food is way cheaper there (almost normal prices) versus the fast food joints inside the hotels. For example, I ate at Nathan's inside MGM and two chili cheese dogs (the same hot dogs you get at Sam's for $.99) with fries and a drink cost me $17. I can go to the food court and grab a 3-taco combo meal at Del Taco for like $6 or $7.

If you have a few extra bucks to spend on a meal and an appetite to match, look at the Harrah's Casinos (PH, Bellagio, Rio, etc) Buffet of Buffets promotion. One price ($40 something if you have a free players card to any of the hotels) gets you a wristband that allows you 24-hour access to any and all of their buffets. We usually pick ours up at around 7:00, that way we can eat dinner that night. Eat breakfast buffet the next day, eat lunch buffet, and then get in line for another dinner buffet at like 6:00. It sure beats paying $27/person per meal. If you do this, I recommend one dinner at Planet Hollywood's Spice Market buffet, one dinner at the Rio, breakfast buffet at Paris, and the others pretty much suck, so just pick a place, shut up, and eat. I've heard Caesar's recently changed their buffet, though, so maybe try that out. The last time I had it, it sucked. It was worse than the Flamingo buffet.

On top of the Stratosphere is the Top of the World restaurant. It's towards the expensive end (wife and I ate there and paid about $300), but the view cannot be beat. If you're interested, make reservations now and ask for a window seat. Granted, all tables can see outside, but the window seats have the best view. If you're not familiar with Vegas or the Stratosphere, it's the iconic 900'+ tall tower. The restaurant is a rotating restaurant at the top of the tower. Making your reservation about 30-45 minutes before sunset is my recommendation. That way you get one 360° view of Vegas in the sunlight, then again once the sun sets and the lights come on.

Remember to try the $20 sandwich trick at check-in for room upgrades. In between your driver's license and credit card, sandwich in a folded $20 with just enough of it sticking out to catch the attention of the desk clerk. Simply ask, "are there any complimentary upgrades available?" If not, he'll hand you back your $20. If there are, he'll keep it and upgrade your room. I've stayed in Planet Hollywood's Panoramic Suite with my wife and daughter, which is a 2-bedroom, 1500 sq ft suite with windows overlooking the entire strip. It ran something like $300 or $400/night on the weeknights and $600 or even more per night on the weekends. I've read where people were upgraded to one of these rooms using the $20 Sandwich trick when all they booked was the standard $119/night room. Whenever you book a hotel, look it up at www.FrontDeskTip.com to see how much luck people have using this trick.

Like JonDough said, get a hotel shuttle (if available) or learn the cheapest route and ask the cabbie to specifically take this route. If not, he'll take the longest route. Once you're on the strip, pay for the 24-hour bus passes. The Deuce stops at EVERY stop, which is okay if you've got all the time in the world, but if you're more strapped for time, wait at once of the bullet-style looking bus stops (Express, maybe?). They only stop at a few stops, therefore they make it from one end of the strip all the way up to Fremont in much less time. Of course, cabs are the quickest, but you'll pay for it. A 24-hour bus pass costs like $3 or something. Super cheap.

Everything in Vegas is concrete, marble, granite, stone, etc. So bring comfortable shoes with quality insoles. The carpeted casino floors don't offer much cushion, as they're basically just fuzzy concrete floors. You will do a LOT of walking. If you've never been, TV and movies make Vegas look mild to moderately sized. This isn't the case. On the straight sidewalk, it can take you 10 or more minutes to walk the length of Caesar's Palace. Multiply that by the huge number of large, themed resorts, as well as most people's desire to walk inside each and every resort they pass (which are huge mazes once inside), and you'll soon realize why you need great shoes with great insole inserts.

People say it's expensive to drink in Vegas. That's true, if you're buying your drinks at the bar. Sit down at a table game or slot machine and order a free drink (bottle of beer or cocktail). Once the cocktail waitress brings your drink to you, tip her $1 and ask for another one. She'll bring it back when you're ready. Rinse and repeat. 6 beers for $6 is unheard of in Oklahoma, so it's a damn good steal in Vegas! You could also always go to one of the 7-11s or souvie shops that sell beer and buy yourself a 40 oz. I've been known to keep it real on the strip with a Mickey's 40 in a brown paper bag.

See?

Gangster.

 

[Shootin 4 Fun]

Are there any places where the rooms are covered in plastic? We need a room like that for Purplehaze.

 

[rhodesbe]

A few years ago, I went to an emergency room in Vegas. It was like a Thursday night/Friday morning.

All the crap that gets out of hand, ends up there. Truly an unforgettable early morning. If you're bored, just camp out in the hospital waiting room for a few hours. I promise it is not boring.

 

[OKTribalCop]

A few years ago, I went to an emergency room in Vegas. It was like a Thursday night/Friday morning.

All the crap that gets out of hand, ends up there. Truly an unforgettable early morning. If you're bored, just camp out in the hospital waiting room for a few hours. I promise it is not boring.

Apperently so is the City of Las Vegas Detention Center.

 

[tRidiot]

A few years ago, I went to an emergency room in Vegas. It was like a Thursday night/Friday morning.

All the crap that gets out of hand, ends up there. Truly an unforgettable early morning. If you're bored, just camp out in the hospital waiting room for a few hours. I promise it is not boring.

There's a reason they spec their ambulances and fire trucks with Kevlar in the walls.

 

[nofearfactor]

I used to live in Henderson/Green Valley so if Im not with the wife and just hanging out with old friends then I will stay out there in a cheapo place, or bum out at friends places or at my cousins house. When there with friends from California we usually stay wherever they want, usually pretty nice places, but when Im there with my Oklahoma friends they will always want to stay at the cheapest places so they have more money for having fun. When I go for fights we like to stay close to the venue- stumbling distance (we'll be there the 28th for UFC 168). I play in a major foosball tournament there every year in March, I usually stay in the same hotel as the tournament so I dont miss a match, and stumbling distance. When I take the wife she likes to stay at the Bellagio, its a one stop shop for her, great place to take a lady.

 

[TwoForFlinching]

Are there any places where the rooms are covered in plastic? We need a room like that for Purplehaze.

There is an old motel down on Fremont that has soundproof/stainproof tile rooms

 

[Cohiba]

I DO NOT..recommend staying..staying..in the Downtown/Fremont area. Poker and single deck Blackjack..hell yes!! Staying..no. Downtown is trying to compete with the Strip..losing it's charm of being slow, different, and unique.

They are doing construction all along the Fremont Street Experience..zip line all the way from L.V.Blvd to Main Street.
The Fremont Experience noise is loud in most of the rooms..except the Golden Nugget....way back in the tower rooms.

El Cortez to the East of Fremont..use to be quiet. Now 7th street to L.V.Blvd has bars and concerts..so the rooms in the El Co..are noisy.