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Las Vegas!

35 replies

ToryStelling · 04/05/2021 11:39

Anyone been? Did you love it? Where did you stay? What would you recommend for a first-time visitor?

DH and I both really want to go to Las Vegas (milestone birthday to celebrate later this year), and I’m thinking of booking with Virgin as they have a policy that allows you to change your dates/destination for free due to COVID.

Would love some suggestions on where to stay, where to eat, which shows to see etc. I want to live vicariously, even if we do end up booking it and changing the dates!

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YouDoIDo · 04/05/2021 11:49

I really want to go too. My mum and dad went a few years ago and stayed at the four seasons which they said was amazing. They visist ceasers Palace and saw Celine Dion live and a few others who I have forgotten. They also done an airplane tour from Vegas to the grand Canon and flew over in a helicopter. They did say the food was expensive as they add tips to everything but it was all triple size portions from what it is in the UK. Many other people who I know have been have all said how amazing it is.

MimiSunshine · 04/05/2021 12:07

Yep twice. Loved it, would go again for sure.

Stay on the strip, I've stayed in the MGM Grand which us fab, amazing restaurants and pools. And the Tropicana which is lovely and more chilled out.
The hotels are enormous and have loads of their own things going on and you could easily spend all your time just walking around them.

Definitely visit the old town on the bus and see how it all used to be before the big boys moved out to what is now the strip.
I’ve done a helicopter flight past the hoover dam and Grand Canyon High isnt cheap but definitely worth it.

Only thing that isn’t particularly nice are the ‘lucky lucky’ men who are touting prostitution and a real eye opening to the seedy side of it all.

But shows like Circe du soleil are fantastic. You’ll be busy the whole time.

ToryStelling · 04/05/2021 12:21

Thanks both! Definitely going to stay on the strip, there’s a mind boggling choice of hotels and we can’t decide which one to go for.

Four Seasons and MGM are two that we’ve looked at, along with Wynn/Encore and the Bellagio!

Really would like to see a show, possibly Cirque du Soleil or maybe a musician if there’s anyone there that we like!

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Crunchymum · 04/05/2021 12:25

Liked it much, much more than I expected.

Make sure you use it as a base to visit the Grand Canyon (we went by helicopter - one of my "moments of a lifetime" for sure!)

I'd stay at the Bellagio if at all possible.

There is so much to see and do. It isn't for everyone but I'd go back in a heartbeat.

sohypnotic · 04/05/2021 12:45

Been three times, including honeymoon. Barely did any gambling as there's so much to do.

Stayed in Circus Circus first time (avoid - dated and soooo loud), Monte Carlo (value for money and good pool) and Arian for honeymoon (beautiful hotel but not as pricey as behaviour/Wynn). Know people who have stayed at Wynn and loved it too.

Food - great restaurants in all hotels, be prepared to spend lots of money ($14 beer, $20+ for cocktail) the oriental restaurant at MGM is great, as it the one at aria, and the steakhouse at Aria (expensive but most are - $300 for 3 course meal) there are various famous chef restaurants that are all nice. Do an all you can buffet for the novelty and indulgence - wicked spoon and belagio buffets are both recommended.

Shows - best is Cirque du Solei - Ka. It's epic, way better than other cirque shows, and worth spending the money on. Also enjoyed Chris Angel for a bit of magic/illusion.

Hotels - great for walking round just to see the displays around them - belagio (fountains and observatory) also Wynn, ceasers palace and mgm all have interesting bits.

The high roller observation wheel is also worth the ride for aerial views over the strip.

Shopping - there are fantastic outlet malls near by with plenty of bargains. Buses run from the strip. Miracle mile on the strip is also good.

Grand Canyon is definitely worth a visit, and hoover dam is interesting too. There's an open top bus tour of downtown which is interesting, and also double as a transport method for visiting those areas.

Casinos - worth doing a lesson, most hotels offer free ones. A cheap way of getting drinks is to sit and play slots slowly, the waitresses will then bring you free drinks.

Taxis are super expensive - Uber is much much cheaper. Uber won't just pick you up from anywhere like here tho, you have to navigate to the hotels designated Uber pickup place, which can be tricky to find. There are also various free monorails that get one from one end of the strip to the other.

RockyisMYRhino · 04/05/2021 12:48

I went a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it even though it wasn't on my 'list' of places to go. Stayed at Treasure Island quite high up so had an amazing view down the strip from our room! Didn't do too much gambling but there was plenty of other stuff to keep us entertained (shooting range was a fantastic experience) and I would go there again in a heartbeat as there are a few things we ran out of time to do while we were there. Top tip: if you do fly with virgin, pay a little extra for premium economy - much more seat room than normal economy Smile

BellaVida · 04/05/2021 12:49

Yes to being on The Strip We stayed at the Venetian, which was beautiful. All the rooms are suites, great pool and has its own indoor piazza, canal and gondolas!

There’s loads to do in Vegas- each of the hotels is an attraction in itself. The fountain & light show at the Bellagio is pretty spectacular. All of the hotels have attractions of some kind- you’ve got the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel, shark reef at Mandalay Bay, secret garden at the Mirage hotel, pyramid shaped Luxor hotel, etc etc

We also went hiking in Red Rock, visited the Hoover Dam and did a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon which was breathtaking.

Would definitely go again, but maybe for 4-5 days.

MacavityTheDentistsCat · 04/05/2021 13:17

We went about 7 years ago. I loved it but DH hated it as he couldn't get his head around everything costing extra (e.g. Wifi). We stayed in Caesar's Palace (I figured that if you're going to do Vegas then you need to do kitsch!) and payed a slight bit extra to stay in one of the two towers on the Strip. It was excellent - one entire wall of the room was windows facing directly out to the Bellagio's fountains!

Depending on your budget, I'd recommend visiting in the early to middle part of the week as prices rise massively over the weekend. I think we only paid about a third of what our room would have cost a couple of days later.

Have fun!

TooManyAnimals94 · 04/05/2021 13:28

We spent 2 days there on our 2 week honeymoon and have been saving to go back ever since. Had the money last year but stupid covid 😡

We stayed in the pyramid Hotel (can't remember the name!)
Neither of us are massive gamblers so just played around on the slot machines. I won enough to treat us to a super breakfast one morning. Would recommend the all you can eat buffets...they're not like the scabby ones you get in the UK, really good food and if you're savvy you can get about 3 meals on one ticket.

Definitely budget for some of the big shows. As we needed to budget for the rest of the trip we did a couple but they were tribute acts- fun but average.

Take a taxi downtown one night, totally different vibe to the main strip and loads of fun with street musicians and the huge zip wire.

Grand canyon is amazing but do one of the organised tours...not what we did which was try to drive there and back in one day 😂 did the classic British thing of not realising how big America is!

CornishGem1975 · 04/05/2021 13:33

Loved it. Stayed at the Bellagio, fountain view room. Was well worth it. Bang in the middle of the strip.

CornishGem1975 · 04/05/2021 13:34

@TooManyAnimals94. We drove to GC and back in one day and found it fine - although I know it's a bloody long way. We left LV at 5am, stopped at Hoover Dam on the way, so quiet, straight to GC South Rim and then a slow meander back along old Route 66. I do tend to love a road trip though!

Chihuahuacat · 04/05/2021 13:37

Definitely recommend. We did the Bellagio then stayed at the Grand Canyon park, then the Wynn on the way back.

The Bellagio was a better location, but the room at the Wynn was more luxurious so depends what you’re after.

ItsCokeFFS · 04/05/2021 13:42

The rides at the top of the Stratosphere are good fun - unless you are of a particularly nervous disposition Grin

springnamechange · 04/05/2021 13:46

Bellagio or MGM. We loved Cirque du Solei 'O'

ChrissyPlummer · 04/05/2021 13:46

Got married there a few years ago. Wasn’t that struck to be honest, reminded me of a tacky English seaside resort but warmer! Stayed at Caesar’s Palace. More expensive than I expected and I’ve been to the US a few times.

Pluses - shopping is good, nothing ever seems to close, I met up with a friend who lives out there who I hadn’t seen for 20 years or so. Humidity is low so my hair was well-behaved. It doesn’t rain.

Minuses - expensive, if you don’t drink/gamble there’s not a lot to do, hotels have pools but they’re tiny.

I may go back, mainly as it has a special meaning as I got married there. I loved the Grand Canyon trip as well!

NatalieH2220 · 04/05/2021 13:53

I've been twice (got married the first time).

Absolutely loved it. We did notice it was slightly more run down the second time (about 6 years ago now).

Stay on the strip but not the stratosphere end. Trip to Grand Canyon is a must.

We stayed in Excalibur both times which is the opposite end but upgraded the room as the standard ones are a bit older. There are plenty of other hotels in the middle of the strip but we liked being at the end as a starting point.

Bellagio fountains are so nice to watch. Also the Cheesecake Factory was one of our favourite places if you like dessert. Lots of shopping inside the hotels and more than enough places to eat.

Shorthairlady · 04/05/2021 13:53

LOVE VEGAS! Been 6 times. Stayed at the Orleans (off the strip but huge rooms - Vegas hotel rooms are a little on the small size generally). Also stayed at RA, Bellagio, the hotel with the Eiffel Tower outside and MGM. Did the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam in a day. Exhausting but absolutely amazing. Love the shopping and just the whole atmosphere of it all. Not a huge gambler but do have a go on the card game machines at the bars in the casinos. The gondolas at the Venetian are cheesy fun if you like being serenaded with your DP/DH in front of everyone Grin.

Shorthairlady · 04/05/2021 13:54

Also the waterfalls at the Bellagio are beautiful. Always feel so emotional watching them.

MotherOfGodWeeFella · 04/05/2021 13:55

Just walking around some of the casinos is like sight seeing! Use the bus or monorail for getting around if you're flagging.

I would go on the rollercoaster at New York, New York and the balloon at Paris. Go to a show - the Cirque du Soleil ones are good. See the Bellagio Fountains, go to Caesar's Palace for the Bachanal buffet. Go to Freemont Street downtown for the light show and zipwire. Visit Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge for an old-fashioned Las Vegas restaurant experience.

Visit Hoover Dam and do the Whole Dam Tour for a half day out of town.

There's a museum called the Neon Boneyard which has old neon signs on display.

Buy tacky souvenirs and have breakfast at Denny's at least once.

MissingTheMoonlight · 04/05/2021 14:12

Loved it! Stayed at The Bellagio for one night and it was amazing.
Do a helicopter trip around the grand canyon and definitely do cirque du soleil.

TooManyAnimals94 · 04/05/2021 14:14

@CornishGem1975 it was more the fact we didn't realise how far it was until we decided to go that morning, hungover at 10am. If we'd done it your way probably would have been OK 😂

fitflopqueen · 04/05/2021 14:15

We have visited around 14 times now, it is a great place even for non gamblers.

No-one has mentioned the Cosmopolitan Hotel - whilst I haven't stayed here (all hotels are now comped for us so we stay where its free) this would be my first choice if paying and under 50 - its mid strip, next hotel along is Bellagio one way and Aria the other, just across from Planet Hollywood Hotel. Most of rooms have a terrace/balcony - but be sure that is the room type you choose.
Look at a map of the strip, its a long way from Four Seasons/Mandalay Bay at south end to Wynn/Encore at the top.
Fit in an afternoon/evening downtown - totally different.
Get a direct flight from UK - only London airports at the moment, upgrade to premium at least if you can afford to.
Loads of info on internet and facebook group. I love LV can't ya tell. If we can fly I will be there in October, one thing you should be aware of are the conventions, some are massive and can make everything in high demand ie restaurants/shows. Bull riders Final is usually in November (this is fab to watch (and Cowboy Rodeo is beginning of December if these events are going ahead this year

SweetApril · 04/05/2021 14:17

We went many years ago. Loved it. Stayed at the Luxor. Budgeted a decent-ish amount to fritter away in the casinos as we wanted to enjoy the experience without worrying about how much we were spending/losing.

If we went again we'd stay at the Bellagio, mainly because it's more centrally located along the Strip, but also because we loved the fountains. And we'd include a generous taxi budget. We enjoy walking but the place is vast and that, combined with the heat, was knackering. Some of the hotels you could almost spend an entire day just wandering around. Even crossing the road could be exhausting and time-consuming. We had allowed for tips in our spending but I would allow more next time. I couldn't get my head around the tip culture at all and was never sure whether I was being too generous or too stingy!

ToryStelling · 04/05/2021 14:22

If we can fly I will be there in October

Might see you there @fitflopqueen! Grin Reading through all these experiences and ideas has made me so excited!

I would LOVE to do the helicopter to the Grand Canyon, but wow it’s expensive!

Our first choice of hotel would’ve been the Encore (we like a bit of luxury and have got a decent budget as we haven’t holidayed in so long), but I am slightly put off by how far out it seems in comparison to some of the other strip hotels.

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ChunkyButFunky87 · 04/05/2021 14:25

Loved it. Stayed at Treasure Island - a bit dated but I liked it, especially things like security on the lifts so you know not every Tom dick and Harry from the street can get up to rooms.

Highly recommend dinner at the top of the Stratosphere - it's a big glass bowl that slowly rotates 360 so you can views across all of Vegas - highly recommend early evening so you get the last day light before all the glitz and glam turns on. Cost us about 200 dollars for a steak dinner, pudding and few cocktails but worth it.

We saw the Michael Jackson themed cirque du soleil at Mandalay Bay - really good and had an absolutely amazing time watching Jennifer Lopez at Planet rock.

Did Madam Tussauds outside the Venetian - average compared to others but the gondola rides were fun

So much we didn't get to do but I was unexpectedly 19 weeks pregnant by the time we went and still suffering with sickness! We went to the strip one night and I made it the bus journey before throwing up in Subway and going back to the hotel lol

Definitely need a non pregnant redo!! Lol