I usually make it to Vegas anywhere from two to four times a year (mostly for bowling tournaments). While I enjoy the glitz and glamour of the Strip now and then, I almost never book my hotels there. Generally speaking, I’m not interesting in the expense that comes with being on the Strip. So I often stay elsewhere.
Favorites of mine are Texas Station in the northern part of the city and Sam’s Town, which is near Henderson to the east of the Strip. I like them because they are pretty well self-contained and they both have bowling alleys in them, but that’s just my personal choice.
For any Dopers who do make the occasional trip to Vegas, I ask the following:
1) What’s your favorite hotel to book a room, and why?
2) What hotels do you most like to visit when in Vegas, and why?
3) What does your typical Vegas entourage consist of (SO/spouse? Kids? Pack of drunken friends? By yourself?)?
4) Is it important for you to room on the Strip?
Also, because I imagine there are demographic correlations here, please include your sex and general age range if you’re willing to share. If the 70+ year-old female Dopers are usually going to Vegas with drunken friends, I’d like to know.
40ish female Doper went with my bookclub - and yes, we MIGHT have all gotten pretty drunk at least one night.
We booked down at the Four Queens because it was cheap, by the time we spent money on cabs, we could have booked at one of the cheaper strip hotels, but downtown and “old Vegas” was fun - and inexpensive.
I like the Disneyeque feeling of Vegas - the hotels are so amazing to look at. Paris is perhaps my favorite for transporting you to somewhere else.
The wife and I hit Vegas 3-4 times a year. We usually stay on the Strip at the Imperial Palace, which is being torn down next year. Too bad, it was a moderate hotel in a wonderful location. You could walk or monorail to every hotel on the Strip, just about. Now with it gone, we will probably start staying at the various downtown hotels more often. I wonder if Harrah’s will roll over our points…?
We are middle-aged folk (teacher/nurse) who like to gamble a bit and eat well, so the Strip is handy.
Didn’t Harrah’s buy Binion’s Horseshoe? Might roll that over.
It’s been a while since I stayed at the Horseshoe, it was nothing spectacular, and was only $35/night back then.
If we stay downtown, it’s at The Nugget. In fact everyone was staying at The Nugget the time I stayed at Binion’s, I just couldn’t get a room there.
I was shopping around for a mid-strip hotel once and called Bally’s. The lady said they had rooms for $19/night (and I’m not rated there…) I asked here to repeat that, it sounded like she said $19 instead of $99. Nope, $19 for calling during the exact time I called, 10 minutes later it would have been $89 to $129.
I don’t have any real preference, but I won’t pay $300/night like at Bellagio or Venetian. I’m just gonna sleep there for a short while and won’t gamble enough to get a $300 room comp’d. I’ve stayed from Sahara to Luxor, and the rooms all served their purpose. We just stay where it’s cheap and hop to the place that has what we’re looking for at the moment.
It’s been a few years since we were in Vegas, but we used to like to stay at the Las Vegas Hilton when we were there. It was a little off the strip, but still very close, and we drove there so cabs weren’t a problem. It had great rooms, very nice shops/casino/eating places, and didn’t overload you with a theme. We loved visiting the theme hotels on the Strip, but we’ve never stayed there, because the Hilton kept offering us such good deals.
Favorites to visit: The Luxor, the Aladdin (especially that buffet – MMMM), Ceasar’s Palace, the Venetian, and the Mirage. Mainly because they usually have something we want to see there (for example, the Luxor has IMAX) or they’re just entertaining to walk around. We also like to visit neat exhibits when we’re there, so in the past we’ve gone to the Motorcycle exhibits at the Guggenheim, the Titanic and Russian Czar ones at the Rio, and a Dali one at the Las Vegas Museum of Art. Of course shopping, eating and gambling are always good, and next time we’re in Vegas we may check out some of the bowling alleys.
We’re in our 30’s and it’s always just my husband and me when we go there.
Being a drunken 20-something single male you can probably guess what my typical Vegas MO is.
I like Mandalay Bay quite a lot as a place to stay, and the new THE Hotel is gorgeous, though I haven’t ponied up the coin to stay there yet. Interestingly, I can’t stand gambling there.
The Venitian is another favorite where I tend to gamble more often than stay.
MGM Grand is probably the best all-around locale. I like their rooms, the gambling, extra-cirriculars and everything else.
Bellagio has one of my favorite afterhours casino bar areas though is another place I haven’t spent the money to stay in.
I personally must stay on the strip. This is obviously because of our proclivity for heavy drinking, womanizing and all the vices that Vegas provides. I can see the appeal of the quieter off-the-strip options but they’re not for me.
I’ve only stayed in one hotel/motel in Vegas, but my wife and I had no complaints about the Amerisuites on Paradise Road. No gambling, but a comfortable room and close to the strip. Of course, it was our (budget) honeymoon and we pretty much only slept there.
As far as friendly staff and overall value goes, the best I’ve heard about from visiting relatives were the Station casinos (specifically Sunset and Main Street)and Sam’s Town (on the “Boulder Strip”.)
I’ve only been to Vegas once, just a few months ago on the weekend after Thanksgiving. I stayed at the Mandalay Bay. The light in the closet was like a refrigerator, it went on automatically when the door was open; except the door wouldn’t stay closed unless I leaned my luggage against it. And the water backed up out of the drain in one of the bathroom sinks.
Actually, I’ve never been to those two buffets, so I wouldn’t be able to compare it to them fairly. I don’t know that there was one remarkable fact about the Ballys one which stood out, just overall excellent quality of food, variety and everything was always refilled. My favorite thing was the Prime Rib, the best I had in Vegas and they had several different steak and meat choices. The dessert area was decadent and it had the widest range of food choices that I saw. All that said, I’ve only been to about 3 different Buffets so I’m not quite a expert.
Oh, and at $16* it’s cheaper than most of the other better known/travelled Buffets. IIRC the Mandalay buffet was $25-29 and the food, while good, wasn’t as memorable as Ballys.
[sub]A bargain when you’re a glutton who’ll go through about 3 pounds of Prime Rib in a sitting if they let you.[/sub]
I’m male, approaching 33 years old, employed as a multimedia producer.
I’d go with the Stratosphere. Relatively cheap, on the strip (well, barely), and the restaurant at the top is worth the splurge. I also like to get out of Vegas into the desert for a day trip, and Stratosphere is right next to the freeway entrance.
I have stayed at the Luxor a couple of times while on business. Not really a great design, even though it looks cool (and it is fun to take an elevator that moves ya diagonally). If you’ve got a room in the pyramid, you can hear all the noise from the casino, even with the door shut. Very confusing layout, and I’m surprised they don’t have plexiglass over the walkways.
I’ll have to second Mandalay Bay. Much as I’m not supposed to say it, I also am fond of New York, New York.
I usually travel with business associates.
Yeah, the strip is best. It’s best, I think, to go between casinos without having to drive. Parking at some of these places is a nightmare. And there are other reasons…
The first was with a group of five friends who were driving cross-country; we stayed at the Imperial Palace. The only thing I’ll miss about this place when it’s gone are the cocktail waitress outfits. (What are they planning to build in its place? Whatever it is, I’m guessing that it won’t be intentionally shaped like a swastika.)
The second time was just a gambling buddy and me; we stayed at the Barbary Coast. This is a gem; the location is fabulous, and because it’s so small you don’t have a ten-minute walk to even get down to the Strip the way you do some other properties. The rooms are very nice for the money. It’s been over five years since I was there, but at that time you could find crazy deals at odd times of the year. (The casino sucks.)
The last time was at the Mirage, with the same gambling buddy; I had the poker rate of about $89/night, and it was well worth it. The room was very nice, but my favorite part was the service–they have a great staff, and they really did everything they could to take care of us. I’ll probably want to try someplace else the next time I go, but I wouldn’t mind staying there again.
I like to stay on the strip, especially now that poker has exploded and the number of poker rooms on the strip has at least doubled since I was there two years ago.
When I was in Las Vegas, I was trying to think of some theme for a hotel/casino that hasn’t already been taken. The only two I could come up with were Eastern-Europe and Caveman.
What’s your favorite hotel to book a room, and why?
Treasure Island, because they usually have the cheapest rates on a petite suite with a spa tub. My wife and I like the spa tub very much. When we bring the kids, I usually book Sunset Station, because it’s pretty relaxed there since it’s well off the strip.
What hotels do you most like to visit when in Vegas, and why?
I like the Bellagio for it’s beauty, I like the MGM Grand when the lions are on display, I like to do my gambling at Sunset Station and I like the brunch buffet at the Tropicana. I enjoy most of the hotels on the strip, for visiting. Each has their own unique charm.
What does your typical Vegas entourage consist of (SO/spouse? Kids? Pack of drunken friends? By yourself?)?
Usually it’s my wife and I on a getaway weekend, we do bring the kids on occasion, though.
Is it important for you to room on the Strip?
Not for me, no. I’d be happy to stay downtown or even in Henderson (Sunset Station is pretty great for an off-the-strip hotel). My wife prefers the strip, though.
1) What’s your favorite hotel to book a room, and why?
I don’t have an absolute favorite. Of the places I’ve stayed, I liked New York New York and Aladdin. Neutral on Tropicana and Treasure Island. didn’t care for Imperial Palace. I have friends who live in LV now, so I usually visit them.
2) What hotels do you most like to visit when in Vegas, and why?
Any with a good atmosphere at the tables, and the higher the ratio of tables to machines, the better. I generally like the Hard Rock. MGM, Mirage, and Caesars I’ve also frequented. I’m not a big fan of the Fremont St. casinos. Off Strip the Station casinos are usually nice (especially Green Valley Ranch).
3) What does your typical Vegas entourage consist of (SO/spouse? Kids? Pack of drunken friends? By yourself?)?
Myself (visiting the local friends) or with friends.
4) Is it important for you to room on the Strip?
Clean, reasonably-priced, and preferably with a decent late-night restaurant of some sort.
1) What’s your favorite hotel to book a room, and why?
The Bellagio, because it’s amazingly beautiful. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to stay there. I typically stay at the Luxor.
2) What hotels do you most like to visit when in Vegas, and why?
New York, New York for the roller coaster and hot dogs, The Rio for the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, the Bellagio for the ambiance, cocktails, and shows, and the MGM for anything I may have forgotten. I also like to visit the new hotels, and any hotels I hear are paying out well on dollar slots.
3) What does your typical Vegas entourage consist of (SO/spouse? Kids? Pack of drunken friends? By yourself?)?
Me and my girlfriends.
4) Is it important for you to room on the Strip?
Well, yeah. That’s where everything is.
**Also, because I imagine there are demographic correlations here, please include your sex and general age range if you’re willing to share. **
