Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

wynnvegas

July

graciesmummy wrote: »

hi all
I'm due to fly to vegas on thurs 14th of july(with virgin but thats a whole other thread)and am now trying to do a bit of planning,although i have been to vegas many time before my last visit was in 2008 so there are many hotels i havent been in,i would love recommendations for your....

favorite buffet:In previous trips mine would be the mirage
favorite casino:mine would be caesars

really interested to hear your reasons too,thanks:)

Hi GM,

Haven't tried all the buffets but all those that I have tried have been ridiculous in scale. Our first buffet was the much maligned IP buffet which we actually quite liked. Our favourite of all those that we've been to is the Spice Market Buffet @ PH. Massive selection, great food, great service and an endless coupon stash to get $5 per person per visit. I found Luxor's buffet to be cold (not the food) and pretty average. I've always fancied the TI buffet but can't say I've ever heard, read or seen anything about the Mirage buffet - why is it your favourite?

I'm not a massive Caesers fan as the casino is a bit too spaced out in areas and too cramped in others - it's normally a scrum at the entrance to the forum shops with all the penny machines. I really like Wynn and love Encore but I'm equally as happy in the Excalibur - no idea why the Excalibur still stands out but it does have a strange hold on me. Looking forward to seeing the Cosmo after all the rave reviews of the place. We visit all the casinos every time we hit Vegas and I've got a favourite story and slot machine for them all!

We're offski on the 13th and can't wait. Have a great trip.

Cheers,

Billy

zackary71

graciesmummy wrote: »

hi all
I'm due to fly to vegas on thurs 14th of july(with virgin but thats a whole other thread)and am now trying to do a bit of planning,although i have been to vegas many time before my last visit was in 2008 so there are many hotels i havent been in,i would love recommendations for your....

favorite buffet:In previous trips mine would be the mirage
favorite casino:mine would be caesars

really interested to hear your reasons too,thanks:)

Buffet would have to be Wynn Sunday brunch....from memory, I managed 9 courses one year and I only weigh 11st !! It's not cheap but the quality and variety of food is great. Had the T.I. Lunch and breakfast buffets too. Both exactly what you'd expect. The Bellagio buffet too was good but it's 6 years since I had it so may have changed.
Re Casinos: I like small casinos like T.I. I get lost in MGM as it's just too big. I only play Blackjack so it's sometimes hard on a weekday to find anywhere mid strip with $5 or $10 tables.

lisa21

January / February

I've been steering clear of this thread for a while as after our last trip to Vegas in Feb/March I was adamant we wouldn't be going back for at least a couple of years and we'd try somewhere different for our next US trip.....today though, somehow, we've booked up to go back early December

On a whim we've booked the Vdara, but I'm not crazy about it now having seen there's a $20 per night resort fee. Has anyone got any experience of the Vdara at all? OH is really keen on staying there but I'm not so sure.......

lobbies

October

Hi to all,

I am going to Vegas in October and I plan to take a helicopter flight down the strip at night, can anyone point me in the right direction to book or recommend a trip.

Thanks

photome

August

graciesmummy wrote: »

hi all
I'm due to fly to vegas on thurs 14th of july(with virgin but thats a whole other thread)and am now trying to do a bit of planning,although i have been to vegas many time before my last visit was in 2008 so there are many hotels i havent been in,i would love recommendations for your....

favorite buffet:In previous trips mine would be the mirage
favorite casino:mine would be caesars

really interested to hear your reasons too,thanks:)

Its difficult to rate buffets as everyone likes different things but I will break it down in to 3 catergories

Expensive..Wynn, great food

Mid range... M Resort alchohol included

Cheap... Main Street Station , great budget price

But then again I like Silverton, GVR , Redrock, I give up its so hard to pick a fav;)

Favourite casino ,... Orleans and Bills

photome

August

lisa21 wrote: »

I've been steering clear of this thread for a while as after our last trip to Vegas in Feb/March I was adamant we wouldn't be going back for at least a couple of years and we'd try somewhere different for our next US trip.....today though, somehow, we've booked up to go back early December

On a whim we've booked the Vdara, but I'm not crazy about it now having seen there's a $20 per night resort fee. Has anyone got any experience of the Vdara at all? OH is really keen on staying there but I'm not so sure.......

What has Vdara got going for it?

I havent stayed there so dont know. It is in City Center which IMO is a negative, it doesnt have a casino ,although ARia next door does.

I believe the Aria rooms are more high tec and of course the Cosmo has the balconies. If it was me and I wanted to stay in that location I would pick the Cosmopolitan


I wouldnt let the resort fee put you off though as apart from CET properties..CP, MGM, Flamingo etc, they nearly all have a resort fee of around $20 a night

wdyw

lisa21 wrote: »

On a whim we've booked the Vdara, but I'm not crazy about it now having seen there's a $20 per night resort fee. Has anyone got any experience of the Vdara at all? OH is really keen on staying there but I'm not so sure.......

Vdara is the equivalent of the MGM Signature. Non smoking and kitchenettes in each suite (room). Excellent rooms, decent location and if you got the right deal the $20 (inc tax) is immaterial. (they were doing free Elvis tickets and $50 daily credit a while back).

A small step below the real 5* properties in Vegas.

luci

May

Both BA and Virgin have sales at the moment for flight up to March.

foz007

Spice Market best buffett by a mile!

Recommend Hooters Hotel ....very very cheap...Bud at $1.50...fine for couples...just done it....close to the strip 5 mins walk why spend all your money on the hotel when you goto vegas for the casinos and nightlife...you only sleep there!!!

Msg me for any tips on clubs etc..just spent 10 days there and did the first 7 days without drawing out ANY money!!!

its easy!

ferf1223

March

tarkytarks wrote: »

Hi again, I'm curious how people pay for their hotels in vegas - do you pre-book/pay via somewhere like expedia (and get cashback) or is it better to book directly with the hotel and pay in dollars? Trying to decide how to book this time around, I'm usually an expedia gal but note that booking directly with the hotel (Platinum) in this case gets us a later checkout and free wifi.

A lot of times the best deals aren't out until closer to your dates - so that's another reason many of us book direct with the hotel - book a back-up...then keep an eye out.

But I can understand some people wanting to book and pay in full and be done with it...which is where 3rd parties can come in handy...though through some deals direct with the hotel you can get the best of both worlds - pre-pay, but have the option to cancel without losing anything should something better come along.

We also would always book direct as we do gamble and booking through a 3rd party would mean that we wouldn't earn any comps toward our room (though could use any comps for food, etc.)

For us, unless the savings was fantastic, we would always book direct - even if we didn't get any comps up front...but I understand why some approach it a different way.