Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

nvh

hey, don't worry Stuie, we all have budgets we have to stick too, and we all look for different things @ Vegas whether it's the hotel, the room, the pool, the location, the gambling, the shopping, weddings, or drinking and hookers!! - people all want to spend their money on different things and will budget accordingly

it's all good - be sure to take some pictures and let us know what your stay was like!... and let us know what show you end up seeing

I've only been in the Tropicana once (think i've a pack of playing cards somewhere that they give you for signing up to their players club!) - it was back when the Titanic exhibition used to be there - can't recall much about it to be honest. In fairness, you'll spend very little time in there, and with MGM, NYNY, Excalibur / Luxor nearby etc etc, there'll be plenty to keep you occupied!

duchy

May

It's a learning curve working out how to get the best deal ............... prior to working out that TR works (mostly) best for me I don't think I ever booked the same way twice with anything from 2 to 4 trips a year. Even now if I want to stay anywhere outside of Harrah's hotels I start from scratch and don't assume anything.

I think the Trop are trying mega hard at the moment to attract business and loyalty since the refurb and that's certainly working out well for some people.

In the end whether you are staying at CircusCircus or the Belagio ultimately it's just a room and one you won't be spending much time in. The only time I've ever had a suite in Vegas (free upgrade from a mega cheap priceline deal at a hotel I'd never set foot in before-it CAN happen) the hotel lost out as I spent time I'd usually spend gambling on my balcony enjoying the view, soaking up the sun and chatting on-line. Nice for me but not really the hotel's intention I suspect

nvh

Talking of getting things for nowt, following on from Duchy's original post a few weeks ago, I sent out a few emails to various hotel chains to see if i could get better room rates (or free accommodation ).

I targetted:
Luxor (IMO, a cheap MGM hotel)
Planet Hollywood (IMO, a mid-range'ish Harrahs hotel)
Encore (IMO, we spent what we consider to be a LOT in there over the space of 3 days - but probably very little in the eyes of Stevey-boy Wynn)

As a follow up, I also sent an email to Platinum.

Here's what happened anyways...

Luxor - no response (miserable sods)

Planet Hollywood:

Thank you for writing Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.

The rates that I can provide will be the same you may view using your Total Rewards card. At the end of your stay, accumulated reward credits may be used to lower some of the cost of the balance. But this is done at the end of the stay.

Your best room rates for Planet Hollywood (based upon your casino play history with us) will be as follows:

... goes on to quote as per TR

Encore:

Thank you for your email.

To further assist you with rates and availability we ask that you please contact Room Reservations directly. We will then be able to check your Red Card Account and see if you are eligible for any current promotions and help you get the best available rate for the dates you are interested in.

Room Reservations may be reached toll-free at 888-320-9966 or locally at 702-770-7100. We are available Monday thru Saturday, 6am to 11pm and Sunday, 7am to 11 pm PST. We look forward to speaking with you!

Best Regards,

Wynn Las Vegas
Room Reservations

Platinum:

...email conversation resulting in a $99 strip view Solitaire, with free internet access (reduced from $139 with no internet access)

chuffed with the Platinum result, but obviously a bit disappointed with others... i never phoned Encore but probably will when i can be bothered

System

Anyone able to help out...am looking for 5 nights for 5 of us (2 rooms) from 14 Sep - 15 Oct anytime. Flying indirect from LHR and staying at Planet Hollywood. When's the best time to go and are there any obvious sites I should be looking at?

StuieUK34

June

My email to the Trop (got the ladies email addy from Tripadvisor as opposed to emailing a customer services mailbox) was kinda bigging them up as such and saying i like the reviews i read on tripadvisor and out of all the places to stay, i want mine to be here, and mentioned weddings, etc etc.....
4 emails later got me free show tickets, if i would have booked direct with her/hotel, i would have got upgraded room, no resort fee, vip check-in (breeze thing), and free meal for 2, and a couple more things....
Was daft of me not to do the booking, but cos was using my dad's credit card to pay for this and putting a hire car on the same plan (netflights), had to book with them instead.....
But still nice of the Trop to offer me free show tickets, even if they aint that good! etc. and as u say, we wont be in the hotel much anyway!!
So as i said, i do always check for the best options and cheapest, so sticking to my guns, sometimes its cheaper to book through a UK agent, unless u know these F&F codes!

duchy

May

nvh wrote: »

chuffed with the Platinum result, but obviously a bit disappointed with others... i never phoned Encore but probably will when i can be bothered

Definitely give them a call -it's bit like fishing -sometimes you get nowt -sometimes tiddlers and sometimes something well worth not throwing back

Porthorg

May

nvh wrote: »

chuffed with the Platinum result, but obviously a bit disappointed with others... i never phoned Encore but probably will when i can be bothered

Platinum sounds good.....nice to get a helpful response...what did you say to them initially?

duchy

May

koloko wrote: »

What are the rooms in the Rio like? The reason I wanted a suite in the venetian is if I was playing all day and my girlfriend got bored, she could go and chill in a large space; would the Rio suffice for this?

I'm never too sure if I like the Rio rooms or not. The ones I've had have been huge -but quite minimalistic -to me looks like not enough furniture for the room size but comfortable enough. Not tried the Spa at the Rio and I suspect it might be heaving with poker widows whilst you are there but I'd expect the Palms to have a nice one and less of a schelp than going to the Strip.

nvh

Porthorg wrote: »

Platinum sounds good.....nice to get a helpful response...what did you say to them initially?

just that we'd stayed there before, and we really wanted to stay again - i was completely honest and genuine with them - $140 was a bit to expensive for us, and we love the place so really wanted to get a stay there built in to our trip for a bit of relaxation (and cheapness due to the fridge etc etc) and getting a lower price basically sealed the deal!

i know there are a couple of people who mentioned they had issues with the place once, (stoneman was one and he still goes back so obviously happily resolved), but no-one has actually said what their issues were so can't tell if they're likely to be ongoing or not

nvh

ooh - Scoot City is back on Groupon for $125 (instead of $250) for a tour for 2 people -- this got great reviews on here from people that have been on it
http://www.groupon.com/deals/scoot-city-tours?c=dnb&p=3

2+ days left to buy so quite a bit of time for me to make a decision!!!

Expires Oct 31, 2011
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Must be 6'4 or shorter.