Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2012

vegasvisitor

VALUE FOR MONEY

wondercollie wrote: »

All the hotel rooms have safes that you can set the combination for and their is a daily user fee.

I usually take a couple of hundred in US and charge the rest on my Mastercard. Having said that I really don't buy that much down there anymore. We won't discuss the Tag watch that I accidentally bought in April.

IPad, the Apple Store, Best Buy, or even Walmart. But they all cost about the same.

I'm down there on the 30th for five days. I'll keep an ear open for an English accent

We have never paid a daily usage fee for a safe in Vegas, only place I've heard of charging for a safe is Bally's. Not sure if they still do.

photome

VALUE FOR MONEY

wondercollie wrote: »

All the hotel rooms have safes that you can set the combination for and their is a daily user fee.

I usually take a couple of hundred in US and charge the rest on my Mastercard. Having said that I really don't buy that much down there anymore. We won't discuss the Tag watch that I accidentally bought in April.

IPad, the Apple Store, Best Buy, or even Walmart. But they all cost about the same.

I'm down there on the 30th for five days. I'll keep an ear open for an English accent

No fees for safes at Mirage as Lesley says very few hotels charge for safe use.

OP if you have already changed to dollars go with that, but there are better options, Halifax Clarity card being one

Have a read of the travelmoneymaximiser

Dont know about i pads as i dont wear an anorak

Hovis91

SHOPPING

nirey666 wrote: »

Hi There

First timer going to Vegas next week! Have read most posts on here which have been a great help! There is SOOO much to take in!

Have a few quite specific points would like advice on...

1)Staying at Mirage. What is the situation with safety/ security and money, is it like Europe in the sense that money should be locked in a safety deposit box etc? Am planning to take all my money changed in dollars, would there be a safer alternative to this?

2) Flying from Gatwick via Virgin, has anyone paid for VRoom and think its worth it/not worth it?

3) Thinking about buying an ipad in America, where would be best place to go?

Many Thanks!

We stayed in the Mirage in June and there was no charge for their safe boxes which are always located in the wardrobe.I like you always take all my money in dollars just so I can see what I am actually spending.Great bar at the front of Mirage called Rhumbar,great music and a great place to chill out.Directly across the road from you is Casino Royale ,the home of the $1 margaritas!!

bugbog

FREE ATTRACTIONS

We're all booked for 20th - 30th Dec - a 'special' birthday trip. We go to the US once a year and this is our 4th time to Vegas. We always use our Halifax Clarity card for our cash withdrawals but remember that if you are on the strip there are always charges for ATM withdrawals. We won't have a car until later on (to go to 'real' banks).
We havn't used travellers cheques for years now but given you can change them at the casino cashier cages is it going to work out cheaper us getting most of our money changed to T-cheques than using the Clarity card?
btw - our stay includes 3 days Vdara, 4 days Cosmo Terrace Suite, 3 days MGM Signature. Booked via low cost usa for cheapest prices. Can hardly wait!!!

adrienne1945

HOTELS

Car hire advice please.
Previously have used netflights with no problems but have seen a few negative remarks about them recently. Also their quote is about £60 higher than carhire3000 at the moment, and am wondering whether its wiser to stick with netflights or take the cheaper offer from car3000 but don't know much about the latter. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks

stoneman

CASINOS

adrienne1945 wrote: »

Car hire advice please.
Previously have used netflights with no problems but have seen a few negative remarks about them recently. Also their quote is about £60 higher than carhire3000 at the moment, and am wondering whether its wiser to stick with netflights or take the cheaper offer from car3000 but don't know much about the latter. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks

The problem with netflights is that you can not cancel. Don't know about carhire300. Just be aware that these days car hire is like low cost airlines, the price you see is not always the price you pay. We have not found one car hire company now that does not insist on you purchasing a full tank of fuel (sometimes apparently you can ask if they have half full cars available) which is usually in the region of another $60 onto your total. This may not be so bad if you have the car a long time and plan on traveling some distance but if you are only booking for short time and going to stay in the Las Vegas area it might cost you. Our last booking we had a Chrysler 200, picked up full, had it 5 days and only used a quarter of a tank!
I always check on moneysupermarket and then open another browser to see if Quidco has anything for the cheaper ones that come up. And always go with a company that offers a zero excess policy

pebblesmax

VALUE FOR MONEY

You can cancel with carhire3000. Also if you find a cheaper price, they will price match. They do have a new name now, but I can't remember it.

I'm the one that asks for a half full car. If they have one, they'll give it to you.

adrienne1945

HOTELS

pebblesmax wrote: »

You can cancel with carhire3000. Also if you find a cheaper price, they will price match. They do have a new name now, but I can't remember it.

I'm the one that asks for a half full car. If they have one, they'll give it to you.

Netflights do offer free cancellation and amendment now.

**Free cancellations and zero amendment fees apply to all car hire bookings made on or after 16th August 2012. The rental must be cancelled before the expected pick up time to be cancelled free of charge. If the pick up date/time has expired a 100% charge will be applicable (as per Netflights.com terms and conditions). If the booking is being amended the new rental cost must be quoted and charged.

Spursman180

CASINOS

nirey666 wrote: »

Hi There

First timer going to Vegas next week! Have read most posts on here which have been a great help! There is SOOO much to take in!

Have a few quite specific points would like advice on...

1)Staying at Mirage. What is the situation with safety/ security and money, is it like Europe in the sense that money should be locked in a safety deposit box etc? Am planning to take all my money changed in dollars, would there be a safer alternative to this?

2) Flying from Gatwick via Virgin, has anyone paid for VRoom and think its worth it/not worth it?

3) Thinking about buying an ipad in America, where would be best place to go?

Many Thanks!

I take my money in cash, only keep a certain amount in the room safe and the rest in a deposit box at the casino cage, I also include my flight tickets, credit cards, front door and car keys if I've used the airport car park, stuff like that, that would cost you huge inconvenience arriving back in the UK. I tend to carry my passport, driving licemse and hire agreements with me, it saves a lot of hassle if you're stopped.

For big boys toys I always go to Frys next to town square, there is no difference (like here) where you buy your Apple stuff as the prices are the same everywhere. Some of the cases etc are a lot cheaper than the Apple store.

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

stoneman wrote: »

We have not found one car hire company now that does not insist on you purchasing a full tank of fuel (sometimes apparently you can ask if they have half full cars available) which is usually in the region of another $60 onto your total.

are you a member of Dollar Express? Only ask because the last several times I've rented from LAS via CH3000 and ended up with Dollar (which is every time we've rented from the airport in recent memory)...I've asked that my Dollar Express number be added to the booking and each time I've been given the option to pre-pay a tank of fuel or not...even though my voucher says that I'll have to buy a tank of fuel...so maybe worth a try anyway. The last 2 trips we picked up at TI and I wasn't given the option...whether that's because something changed since 3 trips ago, or because using the Dollar Express booth downstairs at the consolidated parking facility they do things differently I don't know. Would be interesting to hear if anyone else has been given the option.

I don't mind pre-paying for a full tank but we will usually use most of it...and I quite like returning it with whatever is left and not having to faff about with returning it full. But we did have one trip where we pre-paid for a tank at our option and only used about 1/2 of it...that was annoying.

I also think that sometimes the premium/platinum option does work out cheaper than having the pre-paid fuel paid locally on arrival...I've been known to look up gas prices in Vegas, calculate what I think a tank of gas would cost with the current exchange rate and there have been times that it's worked out a fair amount cheaper to actually book the package that includes a tank of fuel than it would be to buy one at current prices.