The Las Vegas Thread and MSE guide

trets77

April

pebblesmax wrote: »

I think the good deals that were a regular feature of the Mytravel website are long gone. Friends of mine who have been loyal th Mytravel forever had a really bad time with the in May. They will be checking out alternatives in future. This is a couple who have been going twice a year for at least 10 years. TC will NOT be getting their business in future.

is that twice a year to vegas ??? what happened ???

pebblesmax

November/December

They usually go April/May and Oct/Nov. Always with Mytravel for the last 10 years at least.

Starting with this last trip, they were supposed to be booked with Terrible's. When they got to the airport check in place they were told that Terrible's were in receivership (A complete lie BTW, Terrible's said they had terminated the contract because TC weren't paying the bills on time) and they would be staying at Best Western Mardi Gras.

That was a downgrade to what they had booked, but there was no offer of anything to compensate. Because they hadn't booked transfers to BW Mardi Gras, they were expected to pay extra for them. The transfers to Terrible's had been included, but didn't count for this visit. IMHO, if the tour operator changes the booking, then they should be liable for any excess charges.

They also didn't pay the extra £20 pp to be able to sit together, so on the way out they were about 15 rows apart. The daft thing was that several other people were in the same position. If it had been sorted properly the problem would never have arisen. They told me that they thought that Thomas Cook were trying to get more cash out of the on the way home.They resisted, and were seated together on the trip home.

A direct flight is always good, but the experience that my friends had has put me off Thomas Cook forever. We went to Vegas with Mytravel 7 times, but my friend's experience with them has put me off totally.

Blue264

trets77 wrote: »

go before June and after early September and you see the good prices for late deals

Excellent advice. My last trip was in the last week of September and it was the best time of year for me. It was still hot enough in the day to fry an egg on a car bonnet and the nights were tropical but bearable.

pebblesmax wrote: »

A direct flight is always good, but the experience that my friends had has put me off Thomas Cook forever. We went to Vegas with Mytravel 7 times, but my friend's experience with them has put me off totally.

I far prefer to have the best travel insurance I can afford and book independently. I really don't like being dependent on travel companies and their limitations.

On one trip to L.A. back in 1997, I booked the Hollywood Roosevelt and got booked out to Orange County. That was my final straw with package travel companies.
In this day and age, it's exceptionally rare that you can't make all your travel arrangements in advance and pick and choose exactly who you deal with for every aspect of your journey including airport transfers. 9 times out of ten you will make a huge saving on what package companies have to offer and you don't feel that you're being herded around like sheep.
My top tip is to visit the website of your destination airport and see which transfer companies they recommend. You can check out the rates beforehand but always get the name of who you made the booking with and print off the email confirmation with proof of payment. Ten minutes work can save you a lot of bother and most transfer companies linked to airport websites are keen to keep the business / tender so they will meet you at arrivals with a name card and carry your luggage for you.

Katykat

I'm doing my research at the moment for my first visit. I want 5 nights in a 2 bedroom suite and 2 nights in a plush hotel, probably Bellagio or Mirage. All the reviews are directing me to The Desert Rose for the first 5 nights, but I've just looked at the interactive map and it appears to be very close to the runway of the airport. I know it can be difficult to judge distances on a map, but has anyone stayed there and had a problem with this? All the reviews dont mention it, in fact most say that it is a welcome retreat from the hustle of the strip.

gt568

September

Just my personal 0.02p but I wouldn't class the Mirage as plush. It's nice, and I love it there, especially Carnegies deli, but I would not call it plush. It is quite old too.

secondtoughest

Thanks for all your answers on the Grand Canyon trips, I'll have to try and convince my Dad that the helicopter is the way forward!

Regarding mobile phones. Would the cheapest way local call/local call be to buy a pre paid mobile over there? If so can anyone recommend a shop/deal?

trets77

April

TREASURE ISLAND from $89
from fatwallet. stays until november 25th . 2 night min

http://www.treasureisland.com/?CMP=KNC-Kowabunga&sub=FW6vtoec&kbid=27920

ferf1223

March

Katykat wrote: »

I'm doing my research at the moment for my first visit. I want 5 nights in a 2 bedroom suite and 2 nights in a plush hotel, probably Bellagio or Mirage. All the reviews are directing me to The Desert Rose for the first 5 nights, but I've just looked at the interactive map and it appears to be very close to the runway of the airport. I know it can be difficult to judge distances on a map, but has anyone stayed there and had a problem with this? All the reviews dont mention it, in fact most say that it is a welcome retreat from the hustle of the strip.

I haven't stayed there, but this map give you an idea where it is in relation to some other landmarks which might help you judge distances.

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=5051+Duke+Ellington+Way+Las+Vegas,+NV+89119&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&iwloc=addr


I find their description as being 'one block from the strip' and to be a bit questionable though perhaps not actually false.

Steveswift

August

Hi all,

I don't have much to bring to the party as yet, i am always asking for help and hope after my visit in August ( wow Jul already ), that i will be able to contribute a little more. However, does anybody use i4vegas.com ??? Is seems to have prices a little lower for hotels then on sites i have been currently using.

What do you think.... have i contributed ?


Steve

photome

Katykat wrote: »

I'm doing my research at the moment for my first visit. I want 5 nights in a 2 bedroom suite and 2 nights in a plush hotel, probably Bellagio or Mirage. All the reviews are directing me to The Desert Rose for the first 5 nights, but I've just looked at the interactive map and it appears to be very close to the runway of the airport. I know it can be difficult to judge distances on a map, but has anyone stayed there and had a problem with this? All the reviews dont mention it, in fact most say that it is a welcome retreat from the hustle of the strip.

having looked at the link ferf posted, it is very close to the airport and a loooooong way from centre strip (if that is what you want thats good).

Also as gta posted you cant compare bellagio with the mirage, mirage isnt in the same league as the bellagio