I'm going to Vegas in May, with 4 of my closest friends. I have been before, none of my friends have been. Right now I got a room reserved @ Circus Circus. But its @ the end of the strip. We wanna keep it cheap and stay on the strip but I wouldn't mind a paying a little more for a better location. I check reviews, and it 50/50.

From those that have been, What the best hotel you stayed at? Money-wise, Location-wise overall experience?

So help me chose. Its a bachelor/birthday vaction....we plan to Hangovered it out!

Thanks

 

you picked a good spot for cheap but i like the beginning of the strip better. for a trip with the fellas, hooters, Excalibur are ok and cheap. my favorites are NYNY, MGM, Luxor, Mandalay bay, the hotel at Mandalay bay, las vegas hilton and Caesars. cosmopolitan and Aaria seem nice but i don't know about the hotel rooms there.

 

I have always stay at Harrah's. Center location, clean rooms. If you do some research I am sure you can find room less than 100.

 

Circus Circus is not that far at the end. Walking the strip is one of the Vegas experience. I myself likes to get hotels that has a monorail stop. Circus Circus does not have one but there is one across the street at the Sahara. INHO the Las Vegas Strip monorail is the best way in going around. Traffic on the strip is horrendous during the weekend. You can get info about the monorail here.

My usual stays in Vegas is either Harrahs, Bally's or MGM. I stayed at the "Las Vegas Hilton" last time and it was OK.

 

Pay slightly more and stay at Excalibur. Yes Excalibur is at the other end of the strip but the better end IMO. Plus the rooms are better than Circus Circus. Plus, Circus Circus caters more to family/kids. I don't have problems with kids but a bunch of them running around can get annoying. Imperial Palace is probably the cheapest, centrally located hotel on the strip. Rooms are decent. When I stayed there though (2 years ago) they had construction going on which made alot of noise. Plus there is a shopping square set up right in front of the hotel which can get noisy as well. If you do stay there, ask for rooms opposite the strip if you want less street noise.

 

I always stay on Fremont St. when I'm there. I've stayed at the Fitz, and the Plaza, and both are great hotels. The Fitz has a better poker room in my opinion, though. The best part of Fremont st. is there's so many casinos within a 4 block area to enjoy, and get blotto at.

I'm not a fan of the strip at all. I'll visit it a bit while I'm there, but I stick to downtown mostly.

 

I usually stay at the Excalibur/MGM. They usually have great specials and decent rooms.

 

I definitely recommend Harrah's for price and location. We stayed there for like $55 a night....though it was in August which is the least busiest time. It's nice because it's in the middle of the strip so you don't have to walk as far to go to either end. Plus, even though beer is expensive at Harrah's(and at most casinos), you can go to the Casino Royale right next door for very cheap domestic beer! Plus, Harrah's is right across the street from The Mirage which is one of my favorite casinos.

Next time we go to Vegas though I really want to stay at New York, New York.

 

If you don't mind spending a little more I'd recommend Venetian, Paris, and Mandalay Bay. Otherwise Mirage, Treasure Island, Caesar's Palace are all good choices for mid price ranged Casinos. For the cheaper ones go for Harrah and Imperial Palace. Hope this helps.

 

I'm down for cheap in Vegas too. I've stayed at Circus Circus as well as half a dozen others. It's good for cheap but it's a pain in the ass to get to your room if you're in the rear tower. Hooters is good for cheap at the opposite (better) end of the strip. And off-strip, the best resort price deal is Sam's Town. It's a little out of the way, but it's an awesome place.

If you're looking to go wild, stay on the strip, and are looking for cheap, I'd say pick Hooters.

 

Last time I went we stayed at NYNY and it was decent. Wifey went down and stayed at the Luxor and she didn't really love it. I have heard that Treasure Island is right in the thick of things, but is still cheap.

 

The Aria is extremely new, and quite nice. Digital command control rooms, excellent food options, and it's got pretty easy access to some of the other "big name" places on the strip.

 

I'm sorry, but most of the older hotels in Vegas are pretty nasty - I wouldn't stay at Circus Circus unless I had a kid with me. It's way far from everything else and too old.

I usually stay at the Bellagio, Paris, Bally's or Venetian. TI isn't too bad, and I got a good deal staying at Mandalay Bay recently. During the week (sun-thu) the prices for hotels are much lower.

The best hotel I have stayed at in Vegas is the Cosmopolitan. If you can't stay there, you should at least go see it, it's amazing. The room was spectacular, huge, full of interesting art and design, with a balcony (on the 70th floor) and every advanced feature you can think of. It's not as pricey as some of the other luxury hotels either.

I also advise you to try some off strip restaurants - two I recommend are Rosemary's and Lotus of Siam.

Tim
"toy geek"

 

Speaking of restaurants off strip, try the buffet at Hotel M. Best buffet ever. Quality of food is so good you wouldn't think it's buffet. I'm not alone, it's voted best buffet in the world. Wait time is ridiculous though (about 2 to 3 hours during peak hours, off peak about 1 hour).

 

Only to I've stayed in is Excalibur and Venetian. I didn't have to pay for my stay in the Venetian which is nice since it was pretty swanky   Excalibur is decent, just felt like a run of the mill hotel room, nothing fantastic, nothing bad. Imperial Palace has some really good deals and it's in a pretty good location too. Plus Hash House Agogo is in the Imperial Palace...SO FREAKING GOOD.

 

Circus Circus is all the way at the end of the strip and in a rather shabby-looking, run down area. I'd suggest staying in Luxor, personally. The Ancient Egypt theme is awesome.  

 

What a coincidence, I just booked the hotel for me and 8 friends for end of April last night! Went with Planet Hollywood since there was a great rate (4 nights, Sun-Thu @ avg $63/night). Never stayed there before, but I've heard both good and bad things about PH. Figured it can't be that bad, plus it's smack dab in the middle of the strip.

The other hotel I've stayed before was Bally's. Nothing special, just a room but a great location in the middle of the strip. I also considered NYNY & MGM when shopping around (also some good rates for those right now), just watch out for all the additional taxes/resort fees/additional guests fee that could possibly kill the deal.

FYI I used this site for hotel deal, it basically tracks down the discount codes that are out there: Vegas Hotel Promo Codes - Las Vegas Promo codes and discounts