Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2018

StuieUK34

nah, I can go days without sleep to prepare for flying and being tired, and I am lucky if I can get shut-eye for about 30 mins (which makes me so jealous when I see everyone else fast asleep !!)


Just booked the virgin flights (£236 with 30k air miles)

I wonder...!!! .. several shots of expresso along the way = might work ?!

stevie11

Stuie or anyone else iteressted. AA/BA have some good deals out of London to Lax for September time. I am interested myself in booking a late notice road trip. For £380 return inc bags.

StuieUK34

That's not a bad price !
I found BA/AA flights to SFO, and return from LAX to LHR (which is what I wanted), and the cheapest price I got was £354.....
But that's on the 'Basic' booking which doesn't include Baggage....
I found 'United' were doing same route (LHR-SFO direct and 1 stop from LAX) for £318 for the 'Basic' flight.... Add in baggage for £45 each way when sharing 1 suitcase, put the flight in the do-able catergory cost wise...!!!8230;..

I went for the cheapest option in the end, with just an initial ballache drive !

stevie11

Stuie, in the past few months I have noticed a lot of the airlines searches are returning 'basic' fares so yes add on the cost of the bags etc. Basic means basic ufortunately, HBO, no earning points and I think you get the last choice of seats.


The LAx deal out of London for £380 includes hold luggage each return for £60 each. A basic fare was £320.

I was also interested in SFO deals out of Man but the LAX deal from LHR is a better price but added incnvenience of getting there and back. Can't have everything I suppose;)

photome

efes_shareholder wrote: »

I have so much to learn

There is so much choice , I have been advised the LINQ is a good choice and can also get a good deal on the Mirage

Anyone know if outdoor pools will be operational ? and average temps Jan/Feb/Mar

I answered your pool question in my first post. most open at end of march beginning of April, its too cold before then. a couple have all year round pools but you need to be brave.


You asked first about MB and Luxor, where there is no contest as you said prices were similar, You are now looking at somewhere different on the Strip and at 2 different (class) hotels, Mirage being best of the 2. Linq is a budget hotel but has just been refurbed,



If you ask 50 people where to stay in Vegas you will prob have a list of every hotel in Vegas.


Decide which part of the strip you want to stay and how much you want to pay.


central strip Caesers Palace is my fav but is likely to be more expensive than the Mirage,

efes_shareholder

Thank you for your help and your time and apologies for missing the pool information

I get that its a complete minefield and one mans meat is another mans poison - Now I know pools wont be functional , a nice pool area is kind of out of the question unless its an indoor I guess

I have my dates , just need to tie the hotel up - I think there will be lots of time on trip advisor the next few days !

dontone

efes_shareholder wrote: »

Thank you for your help and your time and apologies for missing the pool information

I get that its a complete minefield and one mans meat is another mans poison - Now I know pools wont be functional , a nice pool area is kind of out of the question unless its an indoor I guess

I have my dates , just need to tie the hotel up - I think there will be lots of time on trip advisor the next few days !

If it helps a bit. I haven't been as many times as some who frequent this part of the forum, (we've been 6 times) and I still get hints & tips etc, from the peeps here.
The thing is, is that everybody has a favourite hotel, casino, place to eat. Everybody is different.
If I had any advice for you, I would say that for Vegas, the longer you can stay the better, and get a hire car.
As for hotels, depends on your budget, and now, you have to figure in these stupid, rip off resort fees, so it can screw your spends up a bit.
The last two visits we stayed in the following hotels -

Wynn - which was lovely, but on a weekend, you could still hear the nightclub, even if you were 30+ floors up. It's a lovely hotel, but it lost points with us for that. And it seemed popular with a lot of college kids too.
Venetian - Gorgeous place. The $20 trick got us a suite too at a discounted resort fee rate. It just has that 'wow' factor. Expensive, but worth every penny.
It depends if this will be your only Vegas trip if you want to splash the cash or not.
We are usually too busy pottering round looking at everything than chilling out by a pool. There is tons to see & do. There is a lot to take in, and it's a bit knackering the first time you go, because you want to see everything, and shop till you drop. Even somewhere like Walmart is a fun experience 'cos even the mouthwash is sold in 2 litre bottles (other sizes are available).
HTH. And, don't be afraid to ask on here for help. If you aren't sure, one of the peeps on here will gladly answer your questions.

stevie11

efes_shareholder wrote: »

Thank you for your help and your time and apologies for missing the pool information

I get that its a complete minefield and one mans meat is another mans poison - Now I know pools wont be functional , a nice pool area is kind of out of the question unless its an indoor I guess

I have my dates , just need to tie the hotel up - I think there will be lots of time on trip advisor the next few days !

Efes, good advice by photome and dontone. Planning a first trip to LV can be overwhelming with all the choice and decisions. Some hotels open their pools or Part of their pools in Winter but even then with the weather being so variable may have to close for the day on occasions. I have spent some quality time around pools in Dec and Jan even going for a quick swim.

Hotel wise decide when you want to go and what your budget is then search for hotels and what facilities they have that interest you. The nearer to the end of March you are more likely to get better weather and more pools will be opened.

LV has so many conventions and events going on during the year that these can impact significantly on price and availability so worth considering when deciding on your dates. Do some dummy bookings on flight and hotel web sites to come up with comparison of costs at the different dates you are looking at.

A couple of more tips, if you are thinking of organising the trip yourself note many of the airlines are now quoting headline fares that do not include hold luggage, this can add anything from £60 to approx £100 per person for a return trip. Also resort fees at the hotels are anything up to $50 a night on top of your hotel rate. Car parking can add another $15 a night.

If booking through a tour operator you may get a good deal from time to time, check out BA holidays. You will probably still have the extras to pay plus you don't have the flexibility if you want to change hotels.

vanilla8

StuieUK34 wrote: »

Right then guys, ideas!
For those that have done some driving in the past, is this do-able do you reckon...!! (21st September)

Direct Flight with Virgin = land at 1pm...
Should be out of airport and at car rental for 2:15pm
On road and ready to roll by 2:30pm (10:30pm UK time)

Drive from Vegas to Barstow, then upto Bakersfield (big coffee break!), and then onto Fresno, which in theory should take just under 6hours with 390 miles to cover.....
Thoughts ?

(am toying with the idea of going through Yosemite and onto Mammoth again, then back to Vegas via ET Highway over a 2 night road trip, or 3 night maybe... That's 1 night in Fresno, and 1 night in Mammoth Lakes)

Stuie I wouldn't fancy it! If you decide to stay one night in Bakersfield the Padre hotel is lovely!
ET Highway is one long boring road! We also nearly missed the sign for pics!!

StuieUK34

From listening to you guys, I think the 3 night road trip is gonna see us stay around Bakersfield or a bit north if I think we can pull it off... Upto Mammoth Lakes, then we plan to stay at the 'Little Ale'Inn ' ! then into Vegas for 5 nights ...

The alternative to staying there, would be to stay at 'The Clown Motel'...!!! .. Pebbles mentioned it, and since looking at it (it looks cheap and nasty mind), it looks very creepy, the kind of place I don't think I will get much sleep ! :eek: , but I guess the scare/creepy factor makes it all that special !
Failing that, I wanna get a selfie with those clowns, along with a selfie at the alien place!

And yeah, roads look boring, but I did the death valley drive in Sep last year, its the same layout !

Clown motel, even has creepy a$$ clowns in the rooms !!!! :eek: