This is an increasing prevalent piece of obnoxiousness, by no means limited to Las Vegas: An attractive room rate is quoted, with scant mention of a bunch of taxes, resort fees, non-optional internet access charges, etc., etc. that you’ll be required to pay.
So when negotiating and the room rate is quoted, your response should be “Don’t give me that - tell me the total amount inclusive of all fees, taxes and other charges.”
OP here. Guys, this is precisely the kind of thing I was hoping for when I started this thread. Thank you all for your responses. The Grand Canyon is definitely on the agenda, and my sister said Hoover Dam is surprisingly interesting.
Mrs. SMV still hasn’t decided, so further posts are very welcome.
I did too and it was awesome. That is the only reason to go to the Stratosphere though.
I stayed at TI (formerly Treasure Island) and thought it was a great deal. I forget how much it was but it was less than $100 a night even with the mandatory resort fee that Las Vegas loves to tack-on to hotel rooms. There are several good things about TI. It is a real mega-hotel with a large casino and several fairly nice bars and restaurants, it is cheaper than its more expensive neighbors but you can just hang out at the Paris or any of the others if you want, it is centrally located and the rooms are fairly nice. There is supposedly a way to get a really good room upgrade at TI by slipping the check-in agent a $20 but I didn’t even need to do it because my room was fine as is. Most importantly (and this may sound odd), there is a large Walgreens right across the street that sells everything including beer, wine and liquor at regular prices. That is the best way to save money overall because you don’t have to pay bar and restaurant prices every single time you want something to eat or drink.
Out of your list, I like the Golden Nugget the best and think I might stay there the next time I go. Freemont street is historical and fun in a different way than the much newer properties on The Strip.
Give us more data. How long are you staying? What are your interests? Is this trip on the cheap or do you have some spending money? Renting a car? Shows? Fine dining? Give me some parameters, man! 
I mentioned hookers and blow twice, dude. What do you need, a map?!
Well… for certain definitions of blow, the Tuscany is a few blocks from the National Atomic Testing Museum.
Good advice here. But I wouldn’t completely discount the Stratosphere.
It’s is at the end of the strip if I recall. So it’s away from all the noise and commotion but still within walking distance to everything on the strip. Plus there is a bus from the airport that goes directly there (the 108, IIRC) and it was only like $2 or so. I just got some emails from them saying they’ve remodeled and they were letting rooms go for $28. Gotta watch for “resort” fees they try to hit you with though. Might as well call them “fuck you” fees.
Whatever you do, stay the hell away from Circus Circus. What a freaking dump. During slow season (August, Christmas week) you can get a room there for $18 and that’s still a buck three-ninety eight more than it should be!
This would be my recommendation. I always stay at the Mirage, which is quite nice, and the pool area is a great place to relax, far from the hustle and bustle of the street. For hustle and bustle, there is plenty on the Strip within walking distance.
But you will want to go downtown, to Fremont Street, and you’ll have fun there: street performers, Dancing DJs (you’ll see what I mean), sound-and-light spectaculars on the ceiling (again, you’ll see what I mean). The Strip bus–known as “The Deuce”–runs 24 hours, at frequent intervals, and delivers you downtown in about a half-hour. So you’re not that far away from downtown, you’re not putting up with partying on Fremont at all hours, and you’re not far from plenty of shopping and entertainment at Caesar’s and the Venetian, as well as attractions like the Atomic Testing Museum and the Pinball Hall of Fame.
I do like going downtown when I’m in Las Vegas, but I also like going back to a quiet hotel room.
Short, TLDR version:
Pay a small amount more and stay at a hotel in the middle of the Strip. Location is important in Vegas… it’ll be worth it.
Super-interesting, award-winning full version:
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[/ol]IMO, when deciding where to stay in Las Vegas (assuming this is for holiday, not business or other things) the first decision is: do you want to be Downtown or on the Strip. It’s an either/or because they are not close to each other.
While Fremont Street (Downtown) has some of the “gee-whiz” of Vegas, I’d recommend the Strip for people who haven’t been to Vegas before. However, Downtown is more densly packed than the Strip so you can get around to more casinos and attrations more quickly. OTOH, the Strip casinos, shops, and attractions are more glitzy and extravgent; more of the overall “holy-fuckin-shit!” quotient.
You mentioned your wife had narrowed it down to the Stratosphere, the Golden Nugget and Tuscany Suites. Judging by those hotels I’m guessing that price was one of her main criteria, which is fine. But location is pretty important for Vegas-visiting and two of the three of those (Strat and Tuscany) are poor locations. Tuscany is off-Strip and the Strat might as well be. It’s not near anything.
Off-Strip is a bad location for the average, want-to-see-the-sights visitor. Sure, the hotel will tell you “within walking distance of the Strip” which is technically true (at least for anyone that’s hiked before) but you are basically isolated at those properties and have to make what almost amounts to a day-trip to visit the Strip (what I mean is: once on the Strip, you can’t just drop back into your room for something you forgot. You’ll end up leaving your hotel, taking everything with you, seeing the Strip, then heading home for the day).
Fortunately, there are properties mid-Strip that won’t cost much more than the three hotels your wife picked. It is well worth it to pay for that location.
Now, if you choose Downtown it’s a little different. Everything’s jammed together so specific location isn’t as important (except you’ll be far, far away from the Strip but if that bugs you, you wouldn’t have chosen Downtown!). I like the Golden Nugget. It’s my favorite Downtown casino (but I haven’t been to that many of them). Still, from what the OP wrote, I think the Strip would be more enjoyable. Please spend a few extra bucks and get something mid-Strip!
AND BOTTLED WATER!!!
I am not picky about drinking tap water. I do it most anyplace I go. Las Vegas is an exception. Vegas has by far the worst tasting tap water in the USA. Hoover Dam might be interesting to visit but it provides for putrid drinking water.* Predictably, Las Vegas hotels charge scandalous rates for bottled water. You’ll probably want to buy some at a drug store.
*I have no idea if Vegas drinking water actually comes from the water behind Hoover Dam… nevertheless the “potable” water in Vegas is horrid.
No. Just no. The Strat isn’t “walking distance” to anything. It’s “on the Strip” only that it is on Las Vegas Boulevard. So is M Resort, and it’s 15 miles out of town! It’s a hell of a hike through sketchy neighborhoods to get from the Strat to its closest neighbor, and that’s Circus Circus, which is a total dump.
Pick a hotel center Strip. That means between Planet Hollywood and Harrah’s on the east side, and Cosmopolitan to TI on the west side. That gives you everything you need and is actually physically walkable.
A note about the Grand Canyon. There are two types of trip there, one to the “West” Canyon, which is closest to Vegas and while quite scenic, it is not in the class of the Main Park and “South Rim”. If you want the full Canyon experience, you need to have a car and two days.
Day 1: Up early, Drive to Flagstaff (stop at Hoover Dam if you want). About 5-6 hours, if you have time drive past Flagstaff to Meteor Crater (worth a visit, about 50 minutes from Flagstaff). Stay in Flagstaff, if you have time and energy in the evening, stop by Lowell Observatory, if it’s a clear night they may have some star-gazing activiites.
Day 2: Up early and drive to South Rim (about 90 minutes). Take all day, you’ll need it. Start back about 4PM and get into Vegas in time to see the lights of the city as you approach.
If you don’t have this sort of time, most every hotel will have brochures and fliers for Canyon tours, which usually fly you out to the West Rim, escort you around, and fly you back (often via Boulder, NV, so they add a bus trip.
Hoover Dam is about 1 1/4 hour drive time, allow yourself about 3 hours and be sure to take the “Dam Tour” (count how many times the guides call it the “Dam Tour”. If no car, plenty of bus tours available, but they usually stop for lunch at one of the casinos on the way back.
Oh, and I concur, if this is your first trip to Vegas, compare prices closely and if you can do the “Strip”, I would encourage it. TI has been mentioned and Excalibur often has deals.
Oh, one other thing. Photos and TV may make the “Strip” look compact, but those are damn big hotels, not to mention the casinos and it can be quite a walk just to get to sites inside them, much less walking between, say, the MGM Grand and the Paris. Wear comfortable shoes.
Fremont Steet, as others have mentioned, is pretty compact but it is several blocks long.
If those are the only choices, I would book a room in the Rush Tower at Golden Nugget. The rooms are modern, spacious, away from the noise on Fremont, and very comfortable. We always stay here for a couple of nights when we do a five day trip. Highly recommend!
An alternative suggestion is one of the three: Harrahs, The Linq or Flamingo. Central strip, all about the cheap range (more expensive that Stratosphere, but that’s REALLY cheap end), and weirdly one of these three are usually cheaper than the others. You want a go room in flamingo, and there’s some sort of issue with choosing the correct tower to avoid late night music outside Harrahs. I can’t comment on the Linq, I miss its previous incarnation, The Imperial Palace…
One thing to note, is that $25 a day is added typically to any hotel room as resort fees in vegas. I think all of yours have resort fees, but you can find some which don’t have them.
Stay Away from the Flamingo. The music from Drai’s atop the Cromwell is awful. Imperial Palace/Linq went from moderately decent to truly horrendous to moderately decent again. The rooms are all newly remodeled and the whole place was redesigned. Everything except the elevators, which are still badly placed and the slowest in town.
Personal ratings for center Strip:
Cosmopolitan - new, expensive and worth it. Great restaurants and the views are amazing, especially if you spring for a fountain view.
Bellagio - old, expensive and worth it. Good restaurants and the fountains are fun.
Caesars Palace - old, expensive and not worth it. The casino is a maze, the restaurants are all over the place, and the various towers can give you rooms from luxurious to closet. Amazing buffet.
Mirage - old, inexpensive and a deal sometimes. A decent mid-price, mid-level hotel right smack in the middle of everything.
TI - old, inexpensive and not all that great. They’ve torn out everything that made TI TI. Now its just a generic hotel with nothing unique to offer.
Planet Hollywood - the old Aladdin, redone. Mid-price, with a decent buffet. Miracle Mile Shops have some decent places.
Paris Las Vegas - mid-price and decent. Jersey Boys is in residence and is a great show. Mon Ami Gabi is a great place for breakfast.
Bally’s - mid-everything. Sterling Brunch is highly recommended but over-priced.
Flamingo - old, noisy, not worth any savings you get.
The Linq - see above
Harrahs - old, mid-level in everything. Some good deals can be had.
Venetian - expensive and worth it. Great rooms, great restaurants.
Palazzo - our home away from home the last few years. Pricey, but the rooms, restaurants and service can’t be beat (except by the place next door.) Human Nature is in residence and is an amazing show.
Wynn/Encore - the place next door. Expensive and worth every red cent. Superlative by any metric.
If you do the Dam tour (which is pretty cool, actually) consider doing the dinner cruise on Lake Mead afterward. I remember the food being pretty good, but the best part was when they turned off all the ship’s lights in the middle of the lake. There is no other light pollution around and the stars are phenomenal!
Also, since you’re from my neck of the (hilly) woods, remember that Vegas is FLAT. Just because you can see something doesn’t mean it’s in walking distance!
Never noticed the music from Cromwell, but guess don’t ever notice much on 17th floor… Do you get a lower floor for a cheaper price (mines wasn’t that high end)?
As for the listing, I know the subject of Vegas hotels gets some peoples opinions up, but I’ve always had a different issue with them which pointed me towards the Harrahs/Flamingo/Linq set.
Size and distance from the strip. To Wynn and Cosmo are not mid strip. They’re north and south end of it. Sure not as far as the Strat or MGM cluster, but not in the thick of it.
I also stayed in the Bellagio once and what struck me with that is that it was a hell of long walk to the strip. I can imagine Venetian and Ballys being the same. The actual room was pretty much the same as any of the Harrahs types, but I felt I was paying for a casino floor and decorations which anyone can just walk through. And a set of shops I’d never use (and could use if I didn’t stay there).
Wheras in the middle of the Harrahs/Flamingo lot, you are in the thick of it. Good or bad. Everybody seems to be after something different from Vegas though…
Cosmo is mid-Strip. Look at a map sometime. The Strip runs from Mandalay Bay at the South end to Circus Circus at the North end. Center Strip is roughly from Planet Hollywood/Cosmo to Wynncore. North Strip is SLS and Circus Circus (RIP Riviera). South Strip is Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, MGM, Tropicana and NYNY/Monte Carlo. That is the generally accepted division on the Vegas message boards.
Now I grant you, Cosmo and Wynncore are the far ends of Center Strip, but they are still part of it. CityCenter is an anomaly. Physically it’s more South Strip, but it positions itself as a Center Strip property.
For us, distance from the Strip is a plus. It’s a noisy, crowded street full of tourists who can’t drive, drunks and porn-slappers. The farthest I want to walk is from Palazzo to Encore. And I won’t do that much after December because they’re closing Society Cafe. 
Yeah, I know, however, my problem is it takes 20 minutes to be anywhere but The Wynn, or Cosmo. Might be midstrip, but the properties and distance involved with walking means there off strip places easier to walk to…
But fair enough on wanting it to be quiet.
Though last time the card clickers seemed to be nearly gone. It was early December but I don’t think I got any…