Las Vegas 2007 bargain hunt + tips

ferf1223

Jon_01 wrote: »

Humm, OK. We're in Bristol. I can get the kids to drop us at most London airports, as far as I could see there nothing leaving from any sw location (or if it is it costs a packet). I can't see Manchester being an option as most flights I could find are early morning added to the 3 hour checkin, makes getting there a bit iffy, knowing how reliable the train are ...

It also looks like most of the flights from Bristol to Las Vegas have 2 connections - the first in Paris!

It may be worth considering staying the night before at a hotel at or near Gatwick - if you decide to fly from London...that way, you can be dropped off the afternoon or evening before...makes a less hectic start to the holiday and may open up some earlier departures for you as well...we live in London and stay at Gatwick before our flights every time and I can't imagine going back to the rushing around the morning of the flight myself.

One thing with your dates - the 23rd is the day after Thanksgiving when most of the stores will have really great sales and is commonly known as 'Black Friday'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

andrewitsmeagain

thanks for the helicopter info and everyones great tips.
back from vegas today and had a great time.
did the aviator trip through the canyon and landed in the desert
not too impressed with the horse riding and would have preferred landing in the canyon itself but helicopter a definate to do.

did the 20 dollar trick at n york n y and the girl looked at my crumpled 20 in disgust and asked whats this for .had a laugh with her and she gave us a better room with a great strip view.

told to come back next day and she'd see what was available
went back and got a bit of a misery on reception who changed our room to an identical one with a worse view
needless to say stuck with what we had

got to keep our 20 as well

cheers everyone :T

Jon_01

ferf1223 wrote: »

It also looks like most of the flights from Bristol to Las Vegas have 2 connections - the first in Paris!

First time we flew to the US was with KLM and that was via Skipal, never again. Apart from starting a 7000 mile trip by flying in the opposite direction, when we got to Chicago on 14th, all our bags did get there until the 17th !!!

OK, how does this look to the experts out there, just found this deal at the Excalibur (Book Early and Save) 4 night in a view room for $51 a night, so $204 all in ? How quite are these rooms (my wife's a very light sleeper).and is it best to find an hotel deal then a flight or the other way !!!

TangoBunny

where's the cheapest place to buy cigarettes to bring back.....future son in law wants me to get some
He smokes Lamberts over here so what would be the US equivalent of a cheepie brand like them
I dont smoke myself so dont have a clue.....if anyone has an idea of price as well that would be great

luci

Don't know what the equivalent of Lambert's would be in the US, btu I used to smoke them and switched to a premium brand, Marlboro, seeing as I was getting them so cheap.

Usually buy them from CVS or Walgreens for $38-43 for 200. You are only allowed to bring back 200 each.

However as you are flying with a UK carrier, they may have Lamberts onboard. They often have offers of 200 for £30 which would be cheaper than buying them in the US.

ferf1223

Jon_01 wrote: »

First time we flew to the US was with KLM and that was via Skipal, never again. Apart from starting a 7000 mile trip by flying in the opposite direction, when we got to Chicago on 14th, all our bags did get there until the 17th !!!

OK, how does this look to the experts out there, just found this deal at the Excalibur (Book Early and Save) 4 night in a view room for $51 a night, so $204 all in ? How quite are these rooms (my wife's a very light sleeper).and is it best to find an hotel deal then a flight or the other way !!!

As your dates are quite close, I would say if you are sure that you can get hotel rates you are happy with - find a flight and book it, then sort out the hotels...We have stayed at Excalibur several times and it was absolutely fine for us (there are no baths in the rooms though - only a shower, that's an issue for some people)...it's not a posh place to stay but at that rate, it's a perfectly reasonable place to stay.

That said, I think some other nicer hotels have good deals on that period...may way to check out the Luxor, NYNY and MGM deals at places like www.vegashotelspecial.com and www.vegas-promotions.com

And personally, I would stay at Bally's over Excalibur for the location alone - similar special prices your dates here:

https://www.harrahs.com/AvailabilityCalendar.do?propCode=BLV&packageCode=ILTB6&numAdults=1&numChildren=0

ferf1223

luci wrote: »

However as you are flying with a UK carrier, they may have Lamberts onboard. They often have offers of 200 for £30 which would be cheaper than buying them in the US.

We normally fly Virgin or AA and they usually only have Marlboro and Marlboro Lights onboard - last time I think it was £22 for 200...duty free at McCarran is really small (though last I heard they were remodeling so it may be better now)...so not sure if they would even carry the generic brands.

Some of the cheaper brands in the US are Basic, Doral, Cambridge, GPC (years ago I worked in a shop, can you tell?)...a local shop like CVS, Walgreens, etc like Luci said...petrol stations usually have sales as well...I think the generics will be about $25-$30/200 or so.

trets77

Jon_01 wrote: »

First time we flew to the US was with KLM and that was via Skipal, never again. Apart from starting a 7000 mile trip by flying in the opposite direction, when we got to Chicago on 14th, all our bags did get there until the 17th !!!

OK, how does this look to the experts out there, just found this deal at the Excalibur (Book Early and Save) 4 night in a view room for $51 a night, so $204 all in ? How quite are these rooms (my wife's a very light sleeper).and is it best to find an hotel deal then a flight or the other way !!!

thats reasonable for the Trashy Castle , but i would choose to follow Ferfs tip and see if Ballys could be had for about the same , purely on location it wins out if the prices are the same.

i get your point about indirect and your bags , that connection is a prime contender to lose your bags. i was fretting at Boston when we changed at Philly.

Jon_01

trets77 wrote: »

thats reasonable for the Trashy Castle , but i would choose to follow Ferfs tip and see if Ballys could be had for about the same , purely on location it wins out if the prices are the same.

Thanks everyone for helping out. Given the price for Ballys and the Luxor are about the same, which one would you all go for ?

I'm also finding flights coming out to about £400 (united from Heathrow, changing at Chicago), that sound about right ?

ferf1223

Jon_01 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for helping out. Given the price for Ballys and the Luxor are about the same, which one would you all go for ?

I'm also finding flights coming out to about £400 (united from Heathrow, changing at Chicago), that sound about right ?

On the rooms, I would choose Bally's for location alone...though I have never stayed at Luxor...we used to be south strip people but as soon as we stayed mid-strip once we've never gone back.

Bally's also seems to have a better chance at an upgrade if you look here:

http://www.frontdesktip.com/

I will say that as far as Bally's rooms go, the unrefurbished rooms in the South Tower are quite worn (clean, but worn) but they generally have better views than the North Tower rooms...the refurbished North Tower rooms are fantastic (but likely not a great view - pool/mountain view is the best we have had). In either case the rooms are quite large by Vegas standards. Have heard from a number of people that the Luxor rooms are getting pretty worn now too...but again, since I haven't stayed there myself I couldn't say for certain.

Maybe look through here:
http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d111709-Reviews-Luxor_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

and here

http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d121312-Reviews-Bally_s_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

Ballys is rated a bit higher there but you can read some reviews and look at some room pictures to get a better idea.

On flights, seems like NWA out of LGW changing in Minneapolis is £327 or so...but Heathrow or United may be preferred for you...depending on your exact dates, looks like travelocity.co.uk is showing those United flights for about £370.

Whatever you choose I'm sure you will have a great trip!