Urk. Somehow I misread that question as what I thought was important in a room on the strip.
As I mentioned, I usually stay at my friend’s place now. but if I’m going to stay in a hotel, it’s going to be on or damn near (e.g. Rio) the Strip. I want to be close enough to walk to where I want to go, or at least take a tram or short cab ride.
1- Mine used to be the Algiers, across from Circus Circus, but they tore it down. Man, they had a great resturaunt in there. Now I stay at the Travelodge across the street. It’s a short walk to Circus Circus, the Riviera, Slots-A-Fun, the Sahara, the Stardust, Westward Ho!, and McDonald’s. All I need is a bed and a toilet.
2- Usually the places I listed in #1, mostly Slots-A-Fun and the Stardust for the sports book.
3-Pack of drunken friends (we’re all late 30s, early 40s).
4- Not really, downtown is nice. You can stagger door to door without having to walk too far. My mother got married at the Plaza a few years ago.
Yes, I’m cheap.
The Westin.
The best showers (2 powerful heads), very clean rooms, and the beds are to kill for. Right around the corner from the Flamingo (which I’ve heard has terrible showers). They have 1 craps table, maybe 15 BJ tables, and lots of slots. So the Casino is small, but Casinos are everywhere, so it doesn’t matter.
I’ve stayed at Bally’s twice (for work conventions). It’s cheaper than its neighbors and the location - directly across from Bellagio and connected to Paris - is hard to beat. Good choice for the price.
50 something male - drunk only on request.
Did a junket late last year and stayed at The Venetian - it was incredible. The suite I had was enormous… and very luxurious. The casino is large, immaculately maintained and geared toward high rollers. The restaurants are also high end… with the dining off a Plaza which is inside the hotel.
I am not sure I would have stayed there if I had been paying!! 
The other hotels on the strip I enjoyed visiting were Bellagio and the Wynn… both very well done. Some of the older hotels seemed to be “losing their edge” a bit.
Mr. Wanna is definitely tight when it comes to hotel prices, so the nicest place we’ve ever stayed was the Tropicana - he likes the location, because we can walk (or ride monorails) up & down the strip, but also have easy access to drive out of town for golf. I used to be OK with the Trop, until they got rid of all the parrots. I liked the parrots. The only other place I’ve stayed was the Excalibur - it was passable, but nothing special.
I love wandering around in Mandalay Bay (the restaurants look great), Bellagio (very luxurious), the Venetian, the Paris, MGM Grand, New York New York, and Caesar’s Palace. I really hate Circus Circus - last time I was there, the place was jam-packed with young kids - at the slot machines! Not playing, of course, but still…
(I haven’t seen Wynn’s place yet - I’m sure it’s something to see.)
It’s just me & Mr. Wanna usually, though we once went with 2 other couples and met a bunch of other people there, for a friend’s Vegas wedding. That was fun. (I’m early 40’s, Mr. is mid-50’s.)
I’d say it’s not that important to stay on the strip. Especially not if it’s going to cost us more than Mr. is willing to pay.
About damn time, too. The thing’s an eyesore and an embarassment.
This could spawn a thread of its own (Cafe Society), but off the top of my head:
[ul]
[li]African jungle[/li][li]Futuristic sci-fi (partially covered by the Hilton, but not quite)[/li][li]Japan/China/Asian (no, the Imperial Palace doesn’t count; the “Red Dragon” from Rush Hour 2 could work for a template)[/li][li]Meditteranian beach resort[/li][li]Incan[/li][li]Dinosaurs (the Jason Fox option )[/li][li]Spandex super-heroes[/li][/ul]
And to answer the OP,
1) What’s your favorite hotel to book a room, and why?
The Monte Carlo, for a combination of decent prices and not-excessively-gaudy decor.
2) What hotels do you most like to visit when in Vegas, and why?
Caesar’s Palace, the Venetian, and Paris, for the eye candy.
3) What does your typical Vegas entourage consist of (SO/spouse? Kids? Pack of drunken friends? By yourself?)?
Wife, kids, and family.
4) Is it important for you to room on the Strip?
We don’t gamble, but go mostly for the eye candy, so Strip proximity is a priority.
Hope that helps
MtM
Las Vegas resident checking in:
Regarding OP - the Sunset Station has a new huge bowling alley, and they also re-did their buffet for the better, so I think it would easily beat out your choices of Texas Station and Sam’s.
Tropicana is probably going to be imploded in April, so if anyone wants to stay there, better hurry. Same goes for the Stardust - one more year and it is history and they plan on building a $5 billion dollar mega-resort on the site. And the Imperial Palace will also be gone in less than a year, though the new owners, Harrah’s, hasn’t said what they will be building there.
Cheap(er)/older hotels still left on the Strip? That would be Riviera and Sahara and Barbary Coast.
There is a brand new hotel, Suncoast Hotel Casino, but it is way, way south on the Strip - you will need a car - but brand new, great rooms and probably still good prices - a nice flat screen HDTV in every room, and they have lots of other nice features.
The “secret” tip for off the Strip hotels is The Green Valley Ranch - it is were American Casino is filmed (the reality show on Discovery Channel).
But all of the Strip hotels mentioned are certainly quite nice…the trick is to find that off-week when prices are low and there is no big convention in town. Call, or do some internet searching and you will notice when the rooms are all over $500 (convention week) or when you can get mid-week deals for $89 on the big hotels (slow week).
The best and cheapest weeks to come are usually in July/August (too hot for many people, but you know, we do have air conditioning here) and again the week before Christmas. During those times you can get fantastic deals on rooms and flights as those are traditionally the slowest times here.
I forgot to mention the JW Marriott Resort in Summerlin. You are about 10 miles away from the strip, and don’t even know you’re in Las Vegas. Great pools with cabanas, good suites, casino is hidden very well, good food. That’s one place I WOULD take my kids.
I have a friend that lives in Vegas so I usually don’t stay in a hotel.
But two years ago I traveled there on business and I stayed at the Paris. I really liked it and I really liked the room.
Lessee…don’t go to Vegas all that often, but in the past 10 years I’ve stayed at Caesar’s, Luxor, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Flamingo, Venetian (twice) and Hard Rock.
We don’t mind paying for plush accomodations, and boy howdy the Venetian and Bellagio do plush nice. Our next trip will probably take us back to the Bellagio, which has the added benefit of being able to see the fountains from your room.
Unfortunately, we also like to gamble, but with limited bankroll. And plush accomodations usually go hand-in-hand with a high-roller casino. If the Bellagio had $5 min blackjack tables, I’d be in heaven.
On the other hand…the Golden Nugget looks really nice, if we ever decide to stay downtown.
Flamingo is a dump.
50ish; entourage is always wife & occasionally children.