Las Vegas hotels recommendations

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Mongola

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I am looking to book a trip to Las Vegas for January 2014. I have done a lot of research online, read a lot of reviews, have chatted to the travel advisors in Trailfinders but to be honest, I am actually more confused than before.

I will be going with a friend and we are both late 20's, early 30's and we are not on a particular budget. We will be going for 5 nights and we simply can not make our mind up on the accommodation! I would really appreciate some advice here. As it will be our 1st Vegas trip, we are looking for the Vegas experience! I would ideally would like to stay mid strip as it feels more central. I would prefer not to have to walk a half hour to get to our room as well.

So far, these are the hotels we were considering:

1. The Wynn Encore - but I believe this is more at the end of the strip
2. Bellagio
3. The Venetian
4. The Mirage

Also, I have read online that some hotels have concierge levels (giving you access to breakfast, drinks between 5 and 8pm etc..), is this something you can book before hand or is it again one of those last minutes upgrades for which you have to pay once onsite?
Any tips, things to avoid, any information really would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Mongola
 
If I could afford it I would stay in the Bellagio preferably in the front just to watch the fountains. I have stayed in The Venetian which was lovely but maybe a bit formal or something, hard to explain :). Have also stayed in the MGM and found it fine, very well positioned for walking to everywhere, would stay there again.

I loved Vegas, never gambled a penny, loved the food selection, fantastic patisserie in the Bellagio if it is still there. It's disneyland for adults!
 
The travel guy on the newstalk hook show was just reviewing Las Vegas. Sign on up to their newsletter to see what they suggested...

S
 
Caesars Palace, Augustus Tower overlooking Bellagio Fountains, Best of both worlds. Center on strip..................
 
Mongola said:
I will be going with a friend and we are both late 20's, early 30's and we are not on a particular budget. We will be going for 5 nights and we simply can not make our mind up on the accommodation! I would really appreciate some advice here. As it will be our 1st Vegas trip, we are looking for the Vegas experience! I would ideally would like to stay mid strip as it feels more central. I would prefer not to have to walk a half hour to get to our room as well.

So far, these are the hotels we were considering:

1. The Wynn Encore - but I believe this is more at the end of the strip
2. Bellagio
3. The Venetian
4. The Mirage

Also, I have read online that some hotels have concierge levels (giving you access to breakfast, drinks between 5 and 8pm etc..), is this something you can book before hand or is it again one of those last minutes upgrades for which you have to pay once onsite?
Any tips, things to avoid, any information really would be greatly appreciated.
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Wynn, in my opinion is too far up based on what you say re: mid strip. Mirage pool is very nice, and its an all round nice hotel. Venetian is usually quite expensive. Again both are north-ish, while Bellagio is more south.

Im going in few months and am splitting my time between Flamingo and Caesars, which are right across the road from each other and are bang in the centre of the strip. Flamnigo is super tacky, one of oldest hotels in Vegas and will certainly give you the "Vegas experience", while Caesars is, well, Caesars!

All hotels will give free alcohol and soft drinks while you are gambling. Depending on how much/how long you are gambling you can ask and be "Comped" thinks like free buffet, free lunch, room upgrade etc. How much and how long depends on casino, pit boss, and your neck to ask for stuff.

Again most places have many buffets and restaurants so IMO getting concierge would be a bit of a waste, get out and see the place rather than staying in your room. I doubt very much you'd need to book that in advance

wbbs said:
I loved Vegas, never gambled a penny, loved the food selection, fantastic patisserie in the Bellagio if it is still there. It's disneyland for adults!
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Each to their own but in my opinion its a sin to go and not gamble, even if just twenty dollars, which could last you a couple of hours. Plus you didnt avail of any free alcohol whilst gambling then, for shame....
 
Try to avoid CES week, prices will be more expensive, after its done prices are very reasonable as January is low season for Vegas.
 
I don't drink alcohol so no great loss to me :) now if they gave me free cake I might have gambled a few bob!
 
Hello,

The MGM is often good value, a decent 3 star (by our standards) and plenty of action, given it's one of the largest, if not the largest, of the hotels.

Well located, plenty of restaurants, bars and clubs without the need to even walk out the door ...

They have a few lions there on show for a couple of hours each day, think I read somewhere that one of them was born / raised in Dublin Zoo, believe it or not (eh, think I'm correct here anyway).


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If you really want to watch the water display in front of the Bellagio, then another option is one of the neighbouring hotels - such as The Vdara (part of City Center complex http://www.citycenter.com/) .... we could see the display perfectly, granted it was a side angle but still very good and offers an option.

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Las Vegas ... a playground for adults and somewhere I just can't wait to go visit again ;)
 
Of the list you have posted OP I'd go for the Bellagio if you want central and high end-ish. The Wynn is definitely too far North, the Venetian borderline and I wouldn't put the Mirage in the same class as the other three.

Usually stay in the Venetian or the Palazzo, it's sister hotel on the same campus. Of the other hotels mentioned on this thread my experience is New York New York is too far South on the strip, my OH got food poisoning in Caesar's Palace and the MGM is so massive it can take 30 mins plus to get from your room to the street!

The Bellagio is classy, luxurious and central. Would be my choice if I went back but after five visits...the novelty has worn off.
 
Many thanks for all the replies. As we are not looking for frat boys paradise, the New York, New York is off the list. I would have considered the Caesar's Palace but it simply looks too big, even in Vegas's standards. I think to get a decent room, a few upgrades would be necessary. The Wynn Encore was the one we really were considering for its standards, but I think the location is what is holding us back.

When Wbbs mentioned Disneyland for adults at the Bellagio (although talking about the patisserie), my eyes twinkled! We are looking for the Vegas experience and I do hope I will have the opportunity again to try out different hotels out there but a fountain view at the Bellagio sounds, right now, just about right.

Thank you all for helping me making my mind up!
 
The Bellagio is great. Perfect location. Nothing to stop you experiencing all the hotels even you are not staying in them. After all a room is a room so they are not what the hotels are about. Just walking around them is enough. Except the MGM. Bigger than Dublin i would say!! Haven't been there in a couple of years but the Wynn used to do the best buffet.
 
Belaggio hands down.....from Monday to Thursday you can get great room and suite rates as the gamblers are usually there for the weekend.
 
Only thing to watch out for in Las Vegas in January is floods! Not joking, I know it's the middle of a desert, but I've been trapped in a hotel in floods there before (2005). So for winter trips to California or Nevada I now always check the NOAA El Nino forecast. Most years are perfectly fine, and the forecast for winter 2013-14 is "El Nino neutral". So no worries.
 
Thank you for the additional information! Thank you dub nerd for the El Nino forecasts! It would not even have crossed my mind!!! I am pleased to say that I am just about to put the call to Trailfinders and book the Bellagio!!! Thank you all again. Mongola
 
Mongola said:
Thank you for the additional information! Thank you dub nerd for the El Nino forecasts! It would not even have crossed my mind!!! I am pleased to say that I am just about to put the call to Trailfinders and book the Bellagio!!! Thank you all again. Mongola
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Friendly word of warning ...

Check the rates for rooms at the same hotel, on the same dates, with a few online booking engines also ... rates vary significantly, believe it or not !
 
My booking at the Bellagio only lasted for a few hours!!! I got a call from Trailfinders yesterday evening as the lady who authorises the bookings and the payments wanted me to be aware of a few things with my booking.
1. Deposit taken by hotel at check-in to cover any incidentals if any: fair enough
2. Check online for the flight to pick my preferred seats: again, fair enough.
3. The fact that the hotel does not guarantee the room preference. The rooms are allocated at check-in so even though, I've requested a twin months ahead, it is not guaranteed. They apparently usually honour the requests but this is not guaranteed.

I am aware that this is quite standard with hotels in the States but I started to get the feel that the Bellagio would not be easy to deal with. I've put my booking on hold as i wanted to think it through.

I then decided to ring them and have a chat with them as from the beginning, the Wynn Encore was one hotel I was looking at and I thought talking to the reservation team in each hotel could give me a sense of what to expect. I could not have been more right! I think the Bellagio really rests on their name and while I am sure it is beautiful, i really think they are now milking it!
I have now decided to go for a panoramic suite at the Wynn Encore! The location is not what i had in mind but I am looking for value for money: this does not mean cheap but i want to feel that my money is going as far as possible!
 
Dont beat yourself up picking a hotel as you'll spend very little time there!

Having said that, the Wynn encore is a lovely hotel. Its one of the few hotels that doesn't have a theme.

Its located fairly central and literally across the road from the fashion show shopping mall.

I personally stayed in the Mirage and loved it.

When we arrived I asked could we have the best possible room at no extra cost. We were upgraded to a king size delux room and as a result the receiptionist received a $20 tip. Everyone's a winner.

Hotels like Caesers and the MGM grand and great places to visit but due to their sheer size it can take forever to check in. Also it can literally take up to 20mins to walk from your room to the reception area.

One point of note regarding the check in. A lot of Americans decend on Vegas at the weekends and the strip gets considerably busier. This leads to long check in times.

I avoided arriving at the weekend on my trip and was glad, as it took 5 mins to check in. The que's at the weekend were alarming.
 
I have been in Vegas a few times and here's my take on hotels there.

It all depends on what you want out of a hotel.

You will pay a fortune for the top luxury hotels like the Venetian, Caesars Palace, Bellagio and Aria. You will still get a very good hotel in the mid-price range like MGM, Mirage and New York New York, all three of which I have stayed in and I found excellent.

But the big question you have to ask yourself, is why do you need a high standard hotel unless you are planning on spending a lot of time in the room.

My brother and I forked out a small fortune for stay in the Mirage a few years ago, yes it was a lovely hotel, one of the best I have ever stayed in but other than sleeping, changing and showering we spent very little time in the room. We went back to Vegas again last year and decided sod that, we are going for something a little lower market this time and we went with the Imperial Palace (now known as the Quad Hotel) which is quite small, basic, worn décor and carpets, but still had spacious rooms, comfy beds and were clean. The great thing was that it was about the third of the price of the Mirage and it is bang in the middle of the Strip. Also had no compulsory resort fees (Mirage charged $22/day)

Sure, the Imperial Palace is not for everyone. But as I have already pointed out what is the point in forking out a lot of money for a room which you are unlikely to spend a lot of time in
 
We've stayed in the Stratosphere a couple of times - huge, impersonal but good value. Great facilities on 7th/8th floor (can't remember which) - huge pools, deck areas. Rooms are grand. It's located at the very end of the strip - and is easily visible as it's the tallest building around. There's a viewing tower and restaurant at the top of the building which in itself is worth visiting. We got it through www.hotwire.com - which is a great site for good value hotels particularly in the States. The only problem is you don't know the hotel until after you've booked it, based on location, your requirements etc.
 
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