Vegas bound. Any ideas?

I'm planning a trip to Vegas for 4 people and would appreciate any suggestions/ideas for things like food deals, or best shows. I'm still deciding on a hotel, too. Ideally, I'd like to stay on the strip, but places like the Stratosphere and Hilton have better deals, so is there cheap transportation to the strip, or is it walking distance?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

Hilton's not bad. It's on the monorail line, I think.

Have you tried Bally's? That in the middle of the strip.

 

Wear good walking shoes. You'll be doing a lot of it. It's the best way to get around. Watch for cabbies to take you on a tour instead of Point A to Point B to run up your fare.

NY/NY is good hotel and has a Sportscenter Zone if you're into that. I like the MGM for its features. There are deals to be had on shows anywhere. Check out the M&M Store on the Strip and create your own batch.

Don't cheat at the tables.

And that gorgeous woman in the bar giving you the eye? She's only interested in the size of your wallet.

 

Good points here. Are these two couples, four guys, you and three ladies? Makes a difference.

Check the web for shows. The Cirque shows -- if you like that kind of thing -- can be pricey but you might get half-price deals on the web.

 

Drink at the Peppermill.
Visit downtown.
Buy stuff at the Gamblers General Store, 808 South Main.
Consider a meal at Hugo's Cellar (Four Queens) or The Steakhouse (Circus Circus). Both are classic Vegas restaurants.
Wander through CityCenter, imagine what it'd be like without the financial collapse.

 

Just got back from a stay at the Hilton for a hell of a price. Got two nights, six buffets and two free cocktails for $115. Trouble is, the place was dead. Casino had little activity and it just felt deserted. You'll find yourself looking for another place to play and hang out, but as a home base the rooms are good.

We also saw the Lion King at Mandalay Bay. Bought tickets on vegas.com and got a free seat upgrade, which they should be able to do for other shows.

 

Which four people you're going with could make a huge difference.

We stayed at Mandalay Bay for a bachelor party with seven guys between 25-30 years old. It was pretty sweet, an awesome hotel with a pretty nice pool (though perhaps a bit overrated once the phenomena of the wave pool grew old). Do it again and I might stay at the Planet Hollywood or Flamingo. Both are much more center strip and seemed pretty good, too. I think both can usually be had for an OK price, too, much better than the big name casinos that are right next door.

Can't emphasis walking shoes enough. I forgot my nice pair of comfortable brown leather shoes at home (nice enough for dinner and a club, but not very fancy) and had to borrow from a friend. I got MASSIVE blisters after our first night out simply from walking so damn far. The Hilton and the Stratosphere I'm sure are both nice places to stay, (we had fun doing the rides and gambling at the Startosphere) but that far down the strip will kind of be a pain in the butt. It's not hard or expensive to get around. It's just a process. We got tired of hunting down cabs and buses and trams and monorails. Had we stayed at one of the more central hotels, I think we would have avoided a lot of that.

That said, we spent most of our trip walking from hotel to hotel, just because none of us had ever been before and we kind of wanted to take in the sites. We gambled maybe 20-30 minutes at each place, then moved on. If someone didn't want to be as nomadic as we were, maybe being in the middle wouldn't be as important.

One night then we went to downtown Vegas. Took the bus. It was nice, but no club atmosphere or anything. We gambled and had fun. Don't eat at any of the super cheap lobster or steak specials. You get what you pay for.

Our best night we ate dinner at The Steakhouse at Circus Circus. It was about $50+ a person and one of the best two or three meals I've ever had. We had a bunch of penny-pinching guys with us and they loved every bite as well. Then we had reserved a table at Pure in Caesars Palace. That was insanely expensive -- $2,400 between us (would have been half had we not gotten drunk and ordered another round of bottles after the first one.) But as bad as it was, it was such an incredible experience I didn't feel bad about it, even on my shitty journalism salary. I've never felt more like a movie star in my life. We had a bouncer that pretty much served only our table who was cool as hell and would get rid of anyone we wanted, no questions asked. "You'll never see them again." There were more incredible women than I've ever seen in my life.

It was an amazing night.

Don't stress the decisions too much. I've only been once, but I think it might be hard to fuck up a trip to Vegas.

 

Thanks, I guess I should have mentioned it would be 2 couples. Strip clubs are likely out, but a Showgirls-type show would be OK. We also wouldn't mind doing nice dinners, but are interested in finding cheap deals for breakfast/lunch. Oh, and of course, cheap drinks when we're not gambling.

 

Buffet at the Aladdin is extremely good. Not crowded or too busy try to get a pass from a pit boss to at least go to the front of the line; oysters on the half shell; prime rib. Pretty reasonable.

Skip the Palms. Just a bunch of poseurs from Jersey Shore (TIC).

Taxis, taxis, taxis. Fast and cheap. Better than killing your feet.

 

I like the Monte Carlo -- nice place, good mid-strip location, quite inexpensive. Good pool complex that's pretty kid-friendly. That's not necessarily a bonus if you don't have kids, of course. The brew pub is a great place for lunch or dinner, and not at all expensive by Vegas standards. Now that City Center is open I believe there is a monorail that connects the Monte Carlo to the Bellagio, which has a perfect location.

My favorite is the Mandalay Bay, but it can be pretty expensive and is way out on the southern extreme of the strip. It does have a very cool collection of bars and restaurants.

Haven't stayed there, but I love Paris. Great food, pretty cool atmosphere.

Had a very good, not-too-expensive lunch at Cantor's Deli in (I think) Treasure Island.

Not a big fan of NYNY or Excalibur, which are cheap but always seem a little loud and, well, cheap to me. Luxor is kind of cool, and last summer it seemed to be renovated a bit. Thankfully, the timeshare sellers in the lobby were gone, as I recall. The Wynn properties are gorgeous but really expensive.

 

Chapstick and skin moisturizer.

Five minutes in Excalibur is the oldest I've ever felt.