Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2011

terryrees

November / December

madmum8335 wrote: »

Hi all
Firstly, want to say what a brilliant forum, helped with some of my questions but threw up a few others, so here goes.

First time to Vegas (flying 24th Oct – first time long haul too so a bit nervous:eek:). Staying 5 days and wondering how much cash to take? What’s a decent amount per day without going over the top but being able to have a decent time? Obviously can withdraw at ATMs but don’t want to incur too many charges/fees.

Not sure I get the $20 trick, aren’t your rooms allocated when you book? Not landing until 23.30 (I know! but travelling on a budget) so probably won’t have much choice of room at that time anyway.

Noticed cloudy_nines post re OH’s shirt arrangement, are there dress codes in restaurants?

Also fancying coach trip to Grand Canyon, anyone to steer clear of or are all operators much of a muchness?

Sorry if some of my questions have been answered before but 347 pages are a lot to read through

It's really difficult to advise on how much money to take without knowing what you want to do. You can go fairly budget in terms of food and drink, or you can spend an absolute fortune if you're looking for top notch stuff. For example, a bottle of Budweiser tends to be around the $6 mark, however, there are certain bars that greatly undercut this, particularly during happy hours. Casino Royale do Michelob for 1$ all day. I compiled a happy hour spreadsheet for my last visit in May. A bit geeky, I know, but we did save a considerable amount on food and drink. Feel free to PM me with an e-mail address and I'll happily forward my spreadsheet as I don't think I'm able to post a file on here.

For ATM withdrawals, I would recommend Casino Royale again. The fee is only a dollar (although, I've heard rumour that this has since been increased to $1.50). Other ATMs are considerably higher.

I would highly recommend joining Groupon, using your hotel zip code. They have some great daily offers on food, drinks and activities that can save some cash. Here's the link:

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu7684979

I'm unable to give you a first hand answer to your other questions I'm afraid, but I hope this has been of some help?

photome

August

madmum8335 wrote: »

Hi all
Firstly, want to say what a brilliant forum, helped with some of my questions but threw up a few others, so here goes.

First time to Vegas (flying 24th Oct – first time long haul too so a bit nervous:eek:). Staying 5 days and wondering how much cash to take? What’s a decent amount per day without going over the top but being able to have a decent time? Obviously can withdraw at ATMs but don’t want to incur too many charges/fees.

Not sure I get the $20 trick, aren’t your rooms allocated when you book? Not landing until 23.30 (I know! but travelling on a budget) so probably won’t have much choice of room at that time anyway.

Noticed cloudy_nines post re OH’s shirt arrangement, are there dress codes in restaurants?

Also fancying coach trip to Grand Canyon, anyone to steer clear of or are all operators much of a muchness?

Sorry if some of my questions have been answered before but 347 pages are a lot to read through

As has been said about budget..spend what you can afford, there is no other answer IMO.
ATM in casino royale was $1 fee in Aug this year but of course it does depend on your card as to what other charges you may incur..see the travelmoney maximiser


Rooms are not allocated until you check in so the $20 trick may get you an upgrade but you do need to know what type of upgrade you want, ie high floor, view, suite etc etc

Very few places have dress codes , there are a few of us on here who only ever take jeans and t shirts and others who always dress up.

As for coach trips I have no idea, i prefer driving myself. edit just to add the same as Ferf, we have driven and stayed overnight, but I wouldnt do it with only a 5 day stay.

But if you search this thread it will throw up some answers I am sure and have you read page 1 of this thread

ferf1223

March

madmum8335 wrote: »

Also fancying coach trip to Grand Canyon, anyone to steer clear of or are all operators much of a muchness?

No first-hand experience as we drove when we went - but if you're looking to go to the South Rim it's a loooong way to go for a day, especially if you only have 5 days to begin with (and you're arriving very late - assume that is not day 1?)

It took us until about trip number 14 or so to actually make the trip to the GC - we planned to on several of the early trips but always scrapped it as too much else to do. Sometimes I wonder if we hadn't take my in-laws to Vegas with an overnight at the GC, if we would have made it yet.

As for the $20 trick - which hotel are you staying at? As you arrive on a Monday you may have a chance at an upgrade...remember that some of these hotels have 2000, 3000, 4000 even 5000 rooms...they aren't specifically allocated at the time you book.

luci

May

Sounds as if the weather's not too good at the moment.

Weather Alert: You don't need us to tell you that it's pouring, but here's a reminder to drive ultra carefully and beware of the danger of flash floods. Also, McCarran International Airport is reporting some departure delays until the weather clears.

photome

August

luci wrote: »

Sounds as if the weather's not too good at the moment.

Yes I noticed that, but they do tend to go overboard with their weather warnings if its anything other than sunny and around 90*

DeeLasVegas

photome wrote: »

Yes I noticed that, but they do tend to go overboard with their weather warnings if its anything other than sunny and around 90*

Err no the weather is crap.......the flash flood warnings mean exactly that. While the rain may not 'seem' to heavy to you.....it is way to much for the system to deal with here. Places here (roads/casino lots) flood here very quickly. Lots of aquaplaning cars again ;-) If you're not familiar with the roads it can be very dangerous driving on them in heavy rain.

The one thing I've learned living here is that the weather forecasts are excellent. Often letting us know down to the minute when the rain/storm will hit a certain area in the valley. So if you're warned to stay indoors because of lightening/storms please do so. Not worth the risk IMHO.

wee_v

Hi, looking for a bit of advice.

Would anyone recommend or discourage going to Vegas in December? My partner has seen a great deal leaving on the 5th December for a fortnight. Biggest concern is about temperatures at that time of year.

Many thanks

adamg

August

wee_v wrote: »

Hi, looking for a bit of advice.

Would anyone recommend or discourage going to Vegas in December? My partner has seen a great deal leaving on the 5th December for a fortnight. Biggest concern is about temperatures at that time of year.

Many thanks

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Month[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]High[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Low[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]January[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]58° F (14° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]34° F (1° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]February[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]63° F (17° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]39° F (4° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]March[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]69° F (21° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]44° F (7° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]April[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]78° F (26° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]51° F (11° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]May[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]88° F (31° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]60° F (16° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]June[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]100° F (38° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]69° F (21° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]July[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]106° F (41° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]74° F (23° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]August[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]103° F (39° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]74° F (23° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]September[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]95° F (35° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]66° F (19° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]October[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]82° F (28° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]54° F (12° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]November[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]67° F (19° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]43° F (6° C)[/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]December[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]58° F (14° C)[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]34° F (1° C)[/FONT]

mat5664

November / December

wee_v wrote: »

Hi, looking for a bit of advice.

Would anyone recommend or discourage going to Vegas in December? My partner has seen a great deal leaving on the 5th December for a fortnight. Biggest concern is about temperatures at that time of year.

Many thanks

I've been many times over Christmas and am going again this year. Usually day time is warmish and sunny - really very nice. Evenings can go down to freezing though.

One caveat - warmish and sunny can change to coldish and snowy - have had snow a few times.

If I were you, I'd go for it - although 2 weeks is a long time for a holiday in Las Vegas. Better, imo, if you are going for that long to have a side trip to Los Angeles, or the Grand Canyon even San Francisco for a few days.

adamg

August

mat5664 wrote: »

although 2 weeks is a long time for a holiday in Las Vegas. Better, imo, if you are going for that long to have a side trip to Los Angeles, or the Grand Canyon even San Francisco for a few days.

2 weeks is not enough in Vegas if your winning.....