Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2018

The_Hellion

Hello Forum
Almost 10 years ago I went on Honeymoon to Las Vegas. I booked a package with a car staying at the Venetian. This site was a great help for me at the time with tips and tricks, so thank you all for that I still see some familiar names. When we got to the hotel I decided not to do the $20 trick as we were on Honeymoon I was expecting to get something preferential. When we got to the room 5th floor we had a view of the Casino roof and multiple steal air condition ducts. Within 10 mins I had gone back to check in with my $20 and was given a room on floor 28 with a much better view. Not an upgrade room but certainly a more premium location. We are not gamblers but joined some of the player clubs for the freebies and used their money think we came back with $20 from our penny slot play

Since then we have been Cruising each year which is a bit like Vegas with a constantly changing view from the window. We are coming up to our 10th Wedding anniversary next year so the plan is to go back to Vegas. It doesn’t look like a lot has changed in Vegas, however I do see the introduction of resort fees and parking charges as a big negative. One thing I liked to do was Jump in the car and drive to another casino see a show/attraction/dinner few hours then onto to somewhere else or back to Venetian. I’ll need to think twice how we plan this on the strip.

We have opted to go in late March 2019 for 12 days and stay at casino royal. All in including a premium economy return flight it’s £1,007 each not bad I think for 12 nights. At the end of the day for us the hotel is somewhere just to sleep.

We intend to drive out to the South Rim of Grand Canyon and stay over night at the Best Western near there. So we will have two hotel rooms one day!. Didn’t think it was worth the packing checking out and checking back in. Could have switched hotels.

I have some questions I know some of this is covered in the forum guide but interested to hear the communities personal experiences of what works for them.

• Best way to keep an eye on Strip accommodation at good prices? In case I decide to change the accommodation

• Parking, for us Brits is there anyway to avoid this charge I can see if you were high roller or were allowed the credit cards us Brits are not? 1 hour free is never going to be enough. I would rather not walk all time or get UBERs? Any tips you can give me please to avoid the charge.

• I have already started the myVegas app for my wife and I. What do you find to be the best value? Is there any drawbacks pitfalls I should know about? Could it just be a wate of time?

• Car Hire. I have not booked this yet. Is there a best time to book and which company would you use. Can you get extra discount. Would want to be fully covered so I just walk away if the worst happened. It’s not always clear if you have fully covered insurance wise. I think I will need a ford focus size car. I think this is a compact.

• What do you consider to be the best value Buffet for Dinner on No budget?

• What do you consider to be best value Buffet for Dinner on a budget?

• Has anyone been to the Grand Canyon late March. Do you think there will be snow on the ground at the Village and Viewpoints? i.e. do I need to bring boots.

• Has anyone taken the flight over Grand Canyon from the Grand Canyon airport. Was it worth it?

• Coupons., Discounts 2for1. I know you can buy books with some coupons. I know there is probably not a one stop shop to get all the best value in one place. If anyone has and knowledge where usable Coupons that work for them are than that would be great for things like Food, attractions and gameplay

• Is there a disadvantage to signing up for the player clubs before we leave or do this when we arrive? As I said before we were given buffer credits and Free play in the casinos.

• We signed up for some players clubs 10 years ago, cards long gone, Do you think they would still show an account for us? Or would we be new?

Many Thanks
The Hellion

stevie11

The_Hellion wrote: »

snip ..........

• Best way to keep an eye on Strip accommodation at good prices? In case I decide to change the accommodation

just keep a regular check on hotel web sites for your dates. I tend to use MLife properties so will book direct or through Smartervegas which sometimes have good offers inc free resort credit. I also check Hotels.com.

• Parking, for us Brits is there anyway to avoid this charge I can see if you were high roller or were allowed the credit cards us Brits are not? 1 hour free is never going to be enough. I would rather not walk all time or get UBERs? Any tips you can give me please to avoid the charge.

If you have a high status with the hotel chains then parking is often complimentary otherwise there are still a few properties that don't charge. Ti is still free and that is close to Casino Royal.

• I have already started the myVegas app for my wife and I. What do you find to be the best value? Is there any drawbacks pitfalls I should know about? Could it just be a wate of time?

It isn't a waste of time if you can gain enough gold coins for free nights. Play all the game on desktop and Mobile and you will get gold coins quicker. You will need to set up an mlife account to be able to redeem rewards.

• Car Hire. I have not booked this yet. Is there a best time to book and which company would you use. Can you get extra discount. Would want to be fully covered so I just walk away if the worst happened. It’s not always clear if you have fully covered insurance wise. I think I will need a ford focus size car. I think this is a compact.

Don't leave till the last minute. Yes the focus is a compact and if you aren't into fancy cars that is ok for a trip to GCNP. I usually book through autoeurope but there are other companies of course. Book an all inclusive rental with zero excess if poss although you can purchase additional cover in the UK that covers excess.

• What do you consider to be the best value Buffet for Dinner on No budget?

That depends on what you want to pay. Of those I have visited Aria is probably the best quality but on the more expensive side. Mirage is a mid quality and includes your alcohol as part of the fee. On the budget end I tried Palace Station and can understand why it is so cheap, we won't be eating there again.

• Has anyone been to the Grand Canyon late March. Do you think there will be snow on the ground at the Village and Viewpoints? i.e. do I need to bring boots.

Been in Feb and there was snow covering. Treturous snow storm on highway coming back also. So there could be risk of snow up to April in Northern Arizona I believe, check the historical weather web sites.

• Coupons., Discounts 2for1. I know you can buy books with some coupons. I know there is probably not a one stop shop to get all the best value in one place. If anyone has and knowledge where usable Coupons that work for them are than that would be great for things like Food, attractions and gameplay

Never found anything useful with the 2 for 1 books but have used the likes of Groupon and Travelzoo which often have good offers.

• Is there a disadvantage to signing up for the player clubs before we leave or do this when we arrive? As I said before we were given buffer credits and Free play in the casinos.

Probably makes no difference other than Mlife if you are playing MyVegas, they will give you a players card once you are in the hotel.

I think the $20 sandwich bribe is a little dated now, more like $50 if that is your thing.

Many Thanks
The Hellion

Goldust

Got another question - I tried to follow the MyVegas guide at the beginning of the thread but it doesn't seem to work like it says there any more. Am I doing it wrong or should I look somewhere else?

Thanks to working away quite a bit in Hyatt hotels, I was able to get MLife Pearl status which is useful for parking at least. But I don't want to start the MyVegas process or link to my MLife account until I know for sure that I'm not missing out on any new user benefits or promos.

typeractive

Hi all,

Any advice of getting 3 friends into a hotel room with a bed each. I've searched and searched but not finding anything. Everywhere offers 2 beds that I can see, but I can't share a bed with either of my mates as they are both big lads, and relatively heavy snorers (yes I know that problem would still exist in sharing a room), but having had to share in the past the sleeping experience was horrendous.

Any advice would be super. My mate wants to stay in the bellagio specifically.

Tar :beer:

newuser86

typeractive wrote: »

Hi all,

Any advice of getting 3 friends into a hotel room with a bed each. I've searched and searched but not finding anything. Everywhere offers 2 beds that I can see, but I can't share a bed with either of my mates as they are both big lads, and relatively heavy snorers (yes I know that problem would still exist in sharing a room), but having had to share in the past the sleeping experience was horrendous.

Any advice would be super. My mate wants to stay in the bellagio specifically.

Tar :beer:

No rooms have more than two beds. You could perhaps get a room at Platinum which give a sofa in the main lounge - not sure if it's a sofa bed. Other option is just get two rooms.. Cheap rooms in Vegas aren't necessarily huge and so for the extra space it's probably worth paying the extra.

photome

typeractive wrote: »

Hi all,

Any advice of getting 3 friends into a hotel room with a bed each. I've searched and searched but not finding anything. Everywhere offers 2 beds that I can see, but I can't share a bed with either of my mates as they are both big lads, and relatively heavy snorers (yes I know that problem would still exist in sharing a room), but having had to share in the past the sleeping experience was horrendous.

Any advice would be super. My mate wants to stay in the bellagio specifically.




Tar :beer:

2 queen beds and a rollaway is your cheapest option .

2 rooms is another option

even Bellagios biggest suite only has 2 beds.

I dont know of any hotels on the strip (or in Vegas) that will have 3 beds by default

stoneman

Just booked up for middle of August:eek: Had to use the vouchers before October and
So with all the travel vouchers we got from American we have had 2 trips to Vegas in business from DUB and PE flights to Miami.

StuieUK34

Wooohooooooooooooo !!!!
Off to Vegas next week ! (crazy flight plan like last year! )

Just kinda hoping some miracle happens over the weekend, and the buy rate on the dollar goes back upto $1.40 !!!!

Any of you guys flown with BA to Vegas ? Were flying on Friday, hopefully not a stag party flight day ?!

photome

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Wooohooooooooooooo !!!!
Off to Vegas next week ! (crazy flight plan like last year! )

Just kinda hoping some miracle happens over the weekend, and the buy rate on the dollar goes back upto $1.40 !!!!

Any of you guys flown with BA to Vegas ? Were flying on Friday, hopefully not a stag party flight day ?!

Flown with BA once to Vegas, never again.



the A/C wasnt working, was most uncomfortable flight I have ver been on , it was sooo hot! was a few years ago now though so they may have changed the type of aircraft they use


It was also direct, looks like you are suggesting you are not flying direct

jonesMUFCforever

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Wooohooooooooooooo !!!!
Off to Vegas next week ! (crazy flight plan like last year! )

Just kinda hoping some miracle happens over the weekend, and the buy rate on the dollar goes back upto $1.40 !!!!

Any of you guys flown with BA to Vegas ? Were flying on Friday, hopefully not a stag party flight day ?!

Went with them a few years ago from Gatwick.
IMO better than Thos Cook.
A few free drinks with your meal for starters (don't know if they have stopped this now) - I was surprised how much less things cost back in March at 1.40 LOL