Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2010

sarahlasvegas

lesley74 wrote: »

This got me excited, but I can't get anything good for Glasgow and for my September dates. Would have been good though. Sounds like a real bargain! Think I just need to be patient and wait for prices to drop.

Would you travel from Manchester? I suppose it'd be a daunting drive/train to come back from though.

Froggitt wrote: »

We did SF two years ago. Stayed at Fishermans Wharf. Did Alcatraz trip which was excellent.....I heard the dusk tour was even better and more atmospheric.

Given more time I would have done a winery visit, and taken one of the satellite guided mini-cars for a city tour, rather than on a luxury bus. Segway tour was another we considered but in winter, SF weather isnt good.

- we did the dusk tour and it was excellent, i got a bit spooked as it started getting dark, and they take you to the hospital section which they dont do in the day tours. Book the tour in advance, as i saw at least 3 hours worth all sold out when we where there.

- As froggitt says, a winery tour would be good - we didnt do this as didnt have enough time. Someone from here, perhaps nevara (sp?) has posted pics of a train tour they took to the winery, i really fancy a train tour to napa and will do it if we go back.

- Take a cardy/hoody type thing. We went for 3 days between being in a boiling Vegas, at about 40degrees to a 26degree SF, it fells colder with the breeze down at the Pier. I didnt have a cardie and felt quite cold till i bought a hoodie....however, i did get burnt as spent most of the 1st day just in a t-shirt and stupidly didnt put anything on as thought it was cold....

We really loved SF, very different from Vegas but its great

Ruth_honey

October , November

mookybargirl wrote: »

Well, my hotel hunting has started.... we are there from the 26th March. The weekend prices are crazy. It seems it's the end of a convention for 140k people for that week. Hoping that some good hotel offers come along. (we're there for 10 nights).

I've been reading back to see what's changed since April. Can't say we'll consider the renovated Tropicana. Really hated it the once I was in it - lol.
Nice to see another City Centre hotel has opened though. Has anyone stayed here yet, or in any of the City Centre hotels?

Off topic, we're also in San Francisco for a few days this time at the start of the trip, if anyone has any advice. Think we're looking at a hotel around Union Square. Tourist stuff on the list so far, Golden Gate Bridge/Boat on the Bay, Alcatraz, Cable Cars. Would appreciate any advice if anyone has been.

We've stayed at the Hotel Carlton on Sutter St two times & love it. http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/sanfrancisco/carlton
Can recommend a fab pizza place & a great diner too. As for stuff to do-Alcatraz is a must (we did the night tour this year & really enjoyed it). Also enjoyed the Duck tour & a movie tour we did. Give me a shout if you want links/more info.

ferf1223

April

Jodi wrote: »

How long does P&T and JB last for?

Most evening shows in Vegas are 90 minutes - one of the reasons it may not be the best place to see shows you can see elsewhere as they will cut bits out to get the time down...pretty sure Jersey Boys is one of the exceptions...sure I've read it's 2 hours.

Triker

mookybargirl wrote: »

Well, my hotel hunting has started.... we are there from the 26th March. The weekend prices are crazy. It seems it's the end of a convention for 140k people for that week. Hoping that some good hotel offers come along. (we're there for 10 nights).

I've been reading back to see what's changed since April. Can't say we'll consider the renovated Tropicana. Really hated it the once I was in it - lol.
Nice to see another City Centre hotel has opened though. Has anyone stayed here yet, or in any of the City Centre hotels?

Off topic, we're also in San Francisco for a few days this time at the start of the trip, if anyone has any advice. Think we're looking at a hotel around Union Square. Tourist stuff on the list so far, Golden Gate Bridge/Boat on the Bay, Alcatraz, Cable Cars. Would appreciate any advice if anyone has been.

Hi Mookybargirl, we're there the week before and I've hung about for the magical three month time limit to start looking at booking and I'm now really worried as everywhere we have looked at previously has significantly shot up in price.

I have priced up the Platinum, Carriage House, Bill's Gamblin Hall and even Staybridge Suites and the prices are really high. I know it March Madness but I'm kicking myself for now booking earlier.:(

Not sure what to do now, wait longer for any offers or go for it and book something now.

I also looked at the Cosmopolitan but reviews on Tripadvisor aren't good...so I'm a bit unsure.

I'm trying to be very MSE and factor in everything from resort fee if they have it to parking convenience and walking distance to Strip. I have a walking stick so distance is an issue.

I may even look at staying downtown....


Re San Francisco, its an amazing place, I'll second and third the Alcatraz tour, I think you need to book whichever one in advance though as they sell out and there is no guarantee that you'll just queue and get on the boat so I'd advise booking in advance. We did the afternoon tour but if we go again, I'd go for the evening one.

Have a look at the Sea lions at Pier 39, the Trams are ace and we just loved jumping on and off all over the place.
Chinatown is a place to see and we found some amazing Dim Sum.
If seafood is your thing there are great Oyster bars all over. I had breakfast in one, me and a huge plate of different types of Oysters...yum.
The Deli's are also ace, just excellent food and the breads are gorgeous.


Enjoy yourselves, we were debating flying up to SF for a few days to break up the Vegas trip as we love it so much.

nvh

sarahlasvegas wrote: »

Someone from here, perhaps nevara (sp?) has posted pics of a train tour they took to the winery, i really fancy a train tour to napa and will do it if we go back.

we've done the Napa Valley booze train - really enjoyed it - Day 9 from trip report here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=11875873&postcount=2306 - let me know if you want to know anything specific

mookybargirl

March

luci wrote: »

The queue at Bill's moves exceedingly slowly and most of the time doesn't seem to move at all. We have tried it a couple of times and given up. Walked down the the HM and got served almost immediately.

Have to agree. After waiting for an hour last trip at Bills, we gave up as the line had barely moved at all. We used to one next to Peppermill the next day and there was 2 people in the queue :rotfl:

Jodi wrote: »

? We really want to see Jersey Boys too, if you dont mind me asking, were do you think is the best place to sit for it??

Agree with the others on getting the best you can afford. We were only in the 2nd or 3rd row and it was great to be able to see everything so close. Normally, I'd take cheap seats and in Love, would recommend the very back row, but for Jersye Boys, the closer the better. I loved Jersey Boys. Would love to go again.....

Froggitt

Similarly go for cheap seats for KA......the set is so huuuuuuuuge that the best seats are further back.

Jodi

December ( including Xmas and New Year )

Froggitt wrote: »

You get a "voucher" from tix4, for a certain category of seat, and you need to exchange it at the box office for proper tickets. The earlier you exchange, in theory the better seat you get.....we tend to go straight to the box office after tix4.

It def makes sense to get the voucher then go straight to the box office to get the better seats, thanks we were not too sure how it worked at all.

Jodi x

Jodi

December ( including Xmas and New Year )

ferf1223 wrote: »

Most evening shows in Vegas are 90 minutes - one of the reasons it may not be the best place to see shows you can see elsewhere as they will cut bits out to get the time down...pretty sure Jersey Boys is one of the exceptions...sure I've read it's 2 hours.

Thats great, thanks for the info.

Jodi x

Froggitt

Have a look at the schedule for the V Theatre at Miracle Mile. There is about five or six different shows on a day, starting every 90 minutes!!! 75 mins per show, with 15 mins to decant the threatre and refill it.