Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

nvh

New thread is looking lovely well done to all concerned (past and present)

Just a quick suggestion / query though - is it worth keeping trip report links from previous years (2011, 2010 etc etc) on this thread - like you have with the 2012 ones... or is that confusing things / not necessary.

Thinking (certainly from my perspective), my more recent trip reports are rather ermmm lacking in detail (especially last years as I didn't even bother doing one ). This is because as years go by, we do still do different things but some is repetition of previous years and therefore if / when we do write it up, we'll ommit bits etc... maybe its just me, but I noticed that people usually come on and say they like reading trip reports so thought it would be useful to remain a bit of a history there.

Anyways, we have just returned today from a couple of weeks in Florida - have to say that as a winter destination, its lovely and having a Villa was fantastic, but Las Vegas need not feel threatened

One thing we did do was book an 'economy' car for the duration - cost £200 for nearly two weeks. This was on the basis that from previous reports on here, rarely do airports have them available. Bit of a gamble but saved us a ton of money. Admittedly it was from MIA but I know people have reported the same from LAS so thought it was worth mentioning again. We got upgraded to a Dodge Avenger. (The guy at the sales desk tried to get us to pay for an upgrade... was only when we got down to the garage they said take anything from the standard or midsize range).

Another point of interest was the difference in fuel consumption... the car seemed to have around half the size fuel tank of what we normally have (4x4's), but needed filling up just as often... getting just over 400 miles for under $40 (compared to more like $70 in a 4x4). That's all based on memory so i'm sure someone will tell me i've got it all wrong but may be worth considering whether you actually need one if hiring a 4x4 - I know its common conception that 4x4's are guzzlers but thought it would be worth re-itterating!

photome

21yrold wrote: »

Haha yes she is!!

Ok i will check out the flights and hotels to fly back on the friday and get back to you

Thanks




*UPDATE*

Expedia - New York - £847 Direct from Gatwick (sat 26th for 6nights)
Expedia - Hollywood - £916 Direct from Gatwick (sat 26th for 6nights)

Flights on there own are £704 direct from virgin or £685 on netflights.com

Where is best if we are going to book the room on its own? Via New new york its roughly this for the 6nights $614 + $20 a night tax - £450 - £225 each?

Havent checked the prices but I always fly back on a thursday arriving home on the firday if I have to work on the monday, it takes me that long to get over the jet lag

photome

MSE tips for car hire.

I always book a 2 door car as opposed to 4 door its a bit cheaper and they never have 2 door cars at LAS so I get 4 doors anyway

Froggitt

I booked an economy at LAS and got this :eek:

photome

Froggitt wrote: »

I booked an economy at LAS and got this :eek:

I have had one of those.....worst car I have ever driven:eek::). was like sticking wheels on a sofa, although mine was the mercury rather than a ford but essentially the same

secretmachines

nvh wrote: »

Just a quick suggestion / query though - is it worth keeping trip report links from previous years (2011, 2010 etc etc) on this thread - like you have with the 2012 ones... or is that confusing things / not necessary.

can do... just wasn't sure what the risk of things being 'out of date' are, given LV moves so quickly

*Adam*

21yrold wrote: »

Haha yes she is!!

Ok i will check out the flights and hotels to fly back on the friday and get back to you

Thanks




*UPDATE*

Expedia - New York - £847 Direct from Gatwick (sat 26th for 6nights)
Expedia - Hollywood - £916 Direct from Gatwick (sat 26th for 6nights)

Flights on there own are £704 direct from virgin or £685 on netflights.com

Where is best if we are going to book the room on its own? Via New new york its roughly this for the 6nights $614 + $20 a night tax - £450 - £225 each?

Always book with the hotel direct. You can cancel up to 48hrs before so you could book now and then keep an eye out for a cheaper deal at a later date, especially as I havent seen any offers for October 2013 yet.

Also, if you're on a budget, I would recommend CET (Bally's, Paris, Harrah's, Planet Hollywood, Caesars, Quad, Flamingo) as they don't charge the exorbitant resort fees. As you are suggesting NYNY, my suggestion would be either Paris or PHo.

jaytay

Booking for April it's £680 with ba from London but £420 from Dublin assuming I get a cheap flight to Dublin stay overnight there start my journey as per normal and just dump the last leg (lgw~dub) has anyone ever had any problems doing this with BA,or does anyone foresee any problems something stoneman said in a earlier post maybe suggests its something that maybe they could charge extra for which they have in their t&c's

ses6jwg

What is the cheapest time of year to go to Vegas?

nvh

jaytay wrote: »

Booking for April it's £680 with ba from London but £420 from Dublin assuming I get a cheap flight to Dublin stay overnight there start my journey as per normal and just dump the last leg (lgw~dub) has anyone ever had any problems doing this with BA,or does anyone foresee any problems something stoneman said in a earlier post maybe suggests its something that maybe they could charge extra for which they have in their t&c's

sounds risky to me

Here is another option. Though I suspect you know about it already (as the Dub option is also listed in another post on the holiday pirates website http://www.holidaypirates.com/benelux/openjaw-flights-las-vegas-390-319 )

Leaving from another country can be MSE - especially for the more heavily taxed cabins (ie. business class) but also depends on how you value your time and the hassle involved, extra legs etc