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Las Vegas hotels

My husband and I and another couple are looking for recommendations for a Las Vegas hotel during the 3rd week of September. The other couple is interested in a location on the strip, which would be ok with us as well. None of us are familiar with the area. Any information on what to look for and what to avoid would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Debbie

Posted by
126 posts

Depends what you want out of Vegas. Gambling, shows, clubs, food, etc. I have gone 20+ times, so my rankings are:

1) Wynn/Encore (Best room, pools, restaurants, service, gaming, etc. Also the most expensive)
2) Cosmopolitan ( Great room if you get a balcony, good food, good casino vibe. Younger crowd/club/pool)
3) Venetian/Palazzo (Big, but still great service. Best restaurant choices on the strip)
4) Bellagio (Classic Vegas, great service/food)
5) Caesars Palace (huge property for shopping, food, pools, etc)

Posted by
78 posts

I've also been to Vegas a lot; I'm more budget-conscious, so most of the places on ebonecapone's list (which you could also add the Aria, Paris, and The Cromwell) are more expensive than I like.

I don't know your budget, but if you want cheaper than those places and you still want to be Center Strip (so you can easily access other casinos), places that are OK include the Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Treasure Island, Flamingo, and The Linq. MGM Grand and New York New York might be a bit too south, and even further south are Mandalay Bay (which is nice, but the most southerly of the strip casinos), Luxor and Excalibur (which are both meh to ugh).

Since you have two couples going, another possibility would be to find a 2 bedroom condo on the strip. Maybe someone else will jump in the thread with info/advice on that.

I recommend against going north of the Wynn, as that's the trashy part of the strip, with lots of construction, empty lots, and more run-down properties, and you can't walk to anywhere you'd actually want to be. The SLS is actually not a bad property, but its location sucks. Don't stay at the Circus Circus or the Stratosphere.

I actually like downtown as well. Nothing is as high-end as the fancier strip casinos, but several of them are fine (Golden Nugget, The D, Downtown Grand, places like Main Street Station or California Hotel are more budget). Fremont East has some cool restaurants and bars, but the Fremont Street Experience is pretty low-end and trashy.

Posted by
1075 posts

What is your price range? The hotels on the strip run the gamut. Also do you participate in any hotel loyalty programs? I stayed at a Hilton that is in the rear of the Flamingo that I really liked last time.

Posted by
78 posts

Also prices can vary wildly from week to week (or even from location to location) based on the schedule for conventions and festivals.

I don't know if the 3rd week of September is unusually expensive or not or if your schedule has any potential for flexibility in case it is.

Oh, and virtually all Vegas casinos/hotels charge resort fees now (so just mentally add on $20-$40/night to the advertised room rate) and many are now charging for parking (which was always free until a few years ago).

The Strip has world-class restaurants (charging world-class prices) and a bunch of average-to-mediocre restaurants charging way too much. There is some merit to having at least some of your meals off the Strip, even factoring in a rental car or a cab/Uber/Lyft. Lotus of Siam is a great Thai restaurant and there are many other affordable Asian options west of the strip on Spring Mountain Drive. Lots of others as well.

Posted by
10344 posts

Yes, as the prior post just said, I've noticed that prices for Strip hotels can vary widely, even from week to week. Apparently these price fluctuations are correlated to how many bigger conventions are in town in a particular week. So it's more difficult to generalize about Strip hotel prices.

I've been in a room that was half the price as the same room the week before. One of the peculiarities of the Vegas Strip hotel scene.
It's also been mentioned above that the location of your hotel on the Strip (north strip, center, or south) is a factor to consider before booking, in other words, are there any specific places on the Strip that you want to walk to, because if you're on the south Strip but where you want to promenade/walk is in the center or north, you're walking farther; and this can be significant because the blocks on the Strip are unexpectedly long in the north-south direction.

Posted by
261 posts

For reasonable rates and great location recommend the Flamingo & Paris...
as always in Vegas much better rates on weekdays as Fri & Sat nights are
usually much higher...sign up for the Hyatt credit card from Chase and stay
free at a choice of Hotels...if there is a major convention in town rates do
skyrocket as the city sells out...as a meeting planner have worked Vegas many
times...good luck!

Posted by
327 posts

It would be helpful to know approximately what you plan to pay per night (remember, you will have to add on resort fees and taxes.) As noted by several other posters, some of us Vegas visitors prefer to spend in the moderate $ range for hotels (i.e. Treasure Island, The Mirage) in a convenient location for walking along the Strip. Years ago, we tried MGM Grand but found it too far south on the Strip. (I also wouldn't stay north of Fashion Show mall - there is a large stretch of construction for a new resort.)

If you plan to see any shows, it's a good idea to check out dates and prices in advance (LOVE at the Mirage is my all time favourite), and maybe consider staying somewhere near what you are interested in.

The Fashion Show mall has a few nice restaurants (that don't break the bank); also The Coffee Shop (that's the name!) right in Treasure Island Resort has decent breakfasts and old-fashioned friendly service.

The Wynn (wow!) and Encore are definitely worth going to see, but unless I win a jackpot, I'd rather sleep 4 nights in a medium budget hotel. Sundays to Wednesdays are usually less expensive, depending on what conventions are in town, and generally fewer crowds. That's my two cents worth.

Posted by
940 posts

I am in Vegas a couple times a year (mainly conventions and an occasional vacation trip). To find the best deal, I would look at your hotel loyalty programs. Marriott has the Cosmopolitan. Hilton the Tropicana and Flamingo. Hyatt has a relationship with MGM resorts. You can also look at Casino Loyalty programs (these are free). I have the Mlife program and have saved significantly on both hotels and shows. Note: you don’t have to be a big gambler to take advantage of these programs for rooms.

My favorite places to stay are:

  • Delano Hotel (shares the Mandalay Bay casino). This is an all suite hotel with an amazing pool areas and affordable places to eat. The drawback it is far south on the strip, but that also means that it is not as busy as some of the other casinos.
  • Aria: perfectly situated on the strip, very high tech with good food options.
  • Cosmopolitan: perfectly situated on the strip, great food options, young and hip vibe
  • Venetian: another all-suite hotel with great location on the strip, shopping, and food options

For Vegas, it is best to decide what kind of trip you want: gambling, shows and locate yourself appropriately. For example, my friends and I are going to a concert at T-Mobile, so we looked for hotels in the Southern part of the strip.

Enjoy

Posted by
8375 posts

deborah, you didn't say if price is a factor, or convenience is more important. It seems almost impossible to untangle the prices without looking at each hotel's website. Note that there is a big "resort" tax imposed on you, so the room rates are not honest. The last couple of times we went there, we booked hotels as a package with the airline (Southwest) which made it simpler.

Some hotels definitely have an atmosphere that attracts different kinds of people, so maybe give a hint as to what you're looking for, and what kinds of things you're going to do there. And when you are there, one thing that people do is visit the other hotels to see what they look like and see what attracts you for next time.

Posted by
850 posts

I used to go 2-3 times a year due to work, and found I prefer not to stay in a casino hotel. If a quieter place is more your style I suggest looking into booking a short stay suite. There are several places off Paradise (which parallels the Strip). These are very popular with airline crews and convention bound executives. You can usually get an 1000-1200 sq. ft. furnished apartment for a week at the same price as a as a night in a basic room at a place like the Venetian when you factor in all the hidden costs like parking and resort fees. And you're a lot less likely to have rowdy neighbors, drunks, and noisy kids in the halls (because there aren't any halls.)

Posted by
492 posts

With Vegas it depends a lot on your aims and interests. Things worth keeping in mind:

Location - The Wynn is very nice, but also at the far north end of the Strip. At the extreme far south end of the Strip is Mandalay Bay. So if you're planning on doing some walking around the Strip, catching a show at another property, or wanting to do some on-foot exploring, those properties and others near them can make for quite a bit of legwork. On the other hand, places like Bellagio, Caesar's, Cosmopolitan are much more center-Strip and right in the midst of the action. There are also more budget-friendly options in and around those places (Tropicana or Excalibur being cheaper south Strip options, Stratosphere being a cheaper north Strip option; Flamingo, Ballys, Linq being cheap center Strip options). It's hot in September in Vegas still, so long walks might not be entirely appealing (though for much of your walks you can detour off the pavement and just stroll through the casinos); some walking always inevitable, though.

Gaming - Some folks like to actually avoid places with a casino in the lobby. A benefit of that are no cigarette smoke, quieter common areas, less hectic. Vdara is a good option for this, as it's fairly center-Strip and attached to properties with casinos, but a bit of a refuge in the midst of it all. Mandarin Oriental also has no casino and is right next to Vdara.

Shopping/Dining/Shows - Caesars has the Forum Shops, Aria is attached to the City Center shops, Treasure Island and Wynn are right near the Fashion Show mall. Truthfully, though, many other places also have large shopping areas on-site (Planet Hollywood, Wynn). Even being at the extreme south or north ends of the Strip mean quick and cheap uber/taxi rides to the big outlet malls. Many hotels have their signature celebrity chef restaurants (lotta Gordon Ramsay going on at Caesar's properties, for instance), you have to go out of your way to not find a good steakhouse in Vegas, and so on. So if there's a particular restaurant you want to eat at, or show you want to see, that can also play a role in your decision making.

Conventions/Events - As has been mentioned, the convention scene can significantly impact your Vegas experience. Mandalay Bay and the Venetian/Palazzo are big convention center properties, and large conventions can bring huge crowds, long lines, higher prices, etc. Similarly, big boxing matches or other such sporting events can also make for more crowds so you might wanna avoid places attached to the venue. https://www.vegasmeansbusiness.com has info on what conventions are coming to town when you'll be there, and I see several at Mandalay Bay, including a big 40k+ attendee one - probably wanna avoid the south Strip.

The "scene" - Some places have loud, rockin', music-pumping "day clubs" at their pools during summer weekends (though you might miss most of these since they tend to wrap up in August). Some places are huge party destinations, others more serious gambler destinations. Some places are more popular with rowdy bunches of college kids (Linq) or club-goers, others mature crowds (Caesars, Bellagio) or even families. Truth be told, though, I'd not fret about this too much. It's easy to stroll next door to a place more to one's liking, and whatever is happening in the casino or clubs/bars downstairs can be embraced or avoided easily. So you can pick a place for its scene, but don't necessarily have to avoid one because of it.

Good thing about the Strip is so many of your options are so similar, with different window dressing. Identify the price you're looking to pay and go from there! Just definitely commit to the Strip if it's what your after - off-Strip places (Palms, Hard Rock) have certain benefits, but if you wanna make the Strip part of your experience it can be a hassle staying off it, and having to get back and forth from it.

Posted by
3985 posts

Las Vegas -- I feel like I've been to most every major resort on the strip thanks to conventions and conferences. My favorite in terms of room comfort was the Venetian as the rooms are all suites.