Let's talk Vegas!

[k23m]

Hubby and I have our 10th anniversairy this summer, and are thinking of maybe possibly going to Vegas for a few days (if we can save up). So...I would love to hear from anyone who has been. Is October an OK time to go? This would give us a bit more time to save, plus its easier for hubby to get holidays in the fall. Plus summer is so short here, we just want to stay home when its warm...we can "run away" when it gets cooler.

Where do you like to stay?
Shows? How do you get tickets? Interested in any Cirque or maybe Blue Man, or I would love to see Penn & Teller! How early do we need to get tickets?
I also dont want to spend too much time in the casinos...what else do you love to do?
Restaurants!! I want to eat in at least one awesome restaurant...like tv star chef. LOL Suggestions? And also fun places to eat, that are cheaper? (since I will possibly be blowing the budget on the facy meal LOL)

[misfitinmn]

My husband & I went to Vegas for our first anniversary at the end of Oct/beginning of November 2007. It was PERFECT weather-wise. Seriously, couldn't have asked for better weather. We stayed at Treasure Island - there are so many shuttles and rails and options for getting around - just plan for lots of walking no matter where you stay. I can't speak to the shows because we were on the cheap so we didn't do any shows, we did the free stuff. I will say the botanical gardens at Bellagio were one of my favorite things - they change them out for each season and it was just BEAUTIFUL! And the fountains at Bellagio were fun, too.

We did a lot of buffets while we were there! haha! The one I would go back to was at Planet Hollywood, I think? It was like an all around the world buffet and it was AMAZING. But definitely not like TV star chef kind of place.

Someday I would like to see a show but there is seriously SO much to see for free there, you hardly have to see a show!

[dgreenshield]

Sounds like a fun trip! One tip if you go eat at the buffet is to get there for a late lunch early dinner...around 3:30. They will be switching the lines over to the dinner foods and will still have the lunch out for the first part of the meal. We ate at the Bellagio buffet and it was very nice!

You can always book your tickets through the hotel concierge when you arrive or you can try to use one of the kiosks that sell tickets all over the strip. We saw Donny and Marie and the Cirqu show Love. I absolutely loved the cirque show!

There is a bus line that you can ride for a few dollars a day to the old strip area as well as along the newer section. You should go down the the older area at night, the walkway is all lit up with lights and you can take pictures with many celebrity look alikes.

You can also arrange trips to go land sailing in the desert, to Hoover Dam, zip lining or various helicopter tours.

Have fun!

[catgoddess]

OK. Novel time, but I can't help it. We love Vegas! I used to live a couple hours from Vegas and went about once a month. That was about 13 years ago, though, and I always got paid to go with all the free rooms, food, and gas vouchers they would send me. I miss those days.

These days, we try to go once a year. We've stayed almost everywhere on the strip and a few places off the strip. We don't gamble a lot at all, but Wes likes to play Roulette for awhile and I like to play a few slots. We usually do that late at night after we've done some sightseeing and caught a few shows. You wont miss anything Vegas-y not gambling.

October is a nice time of year to go. It will still be warm, but not smoking hot. It will definitely be a nice, warm break from Canada

You're definitely going to walk regardless of where you stay.

For off-strip North, we like the Palace Station. There are shuttles to/from the strip and to/from the airport. The Luxury Tower rooms are what you want there. The rooms are not over-the-top Vegas, but are standard 3-star hotel rooms and the cheapest in the strip area. Tell the check-in clerk it's your first time in Vegas and you'd like a strip-view room on a high floor. You'll be able to see most of the strip from your room and it's awesome at night.

For on-strip North, we like the Encore/Wynn. These are luxury hotels and they have a great pool. I recommend a pool view room on a high floor if you can swing it. You can see the pool, palms, and a glimpse of the strip. Total Vegas.

For on-strip Center, nothing compares to Caesar's. The rooms are pure luxury and they also have an amazing pool. With all to see on the grounds there, plus the shops, you'll want to hit this hotel even if you don't stay there. It's our favorite place to stay if we're going to relax, but not if we're trying to catch a lot of shows because Caesar's doesn't come cheap. hehe

For on-strip South, our favorite is The Tropicana. This one has a touch of old Vegas without being trashy like The Flamingo (which we can't stand). Gorgeous pool area, just smaller than the center strip hotels. The rooms are a bit more standard and not Vegas flashy, but are definitely nice and clean and updated. It's one of the cheaper hotels on the strip and it's right next to Wes' favorite dinner show at the Excalibur. hehe

As far as food, we avoid the buffets, but you do have to try one at least once. In my opinion, the only buffet to splurge on is at Caesar's. It's gorgeous and the food is amazing. It's not as flashy as some of the others, but the food is way better. You can get a great omelet at the Palace Station breakfast "buffet", too, and it's under $10.

Tacos El Gordo is next to the Encore/Wynn and you can get lunch for about $5. There is also a pizza place inside the Wynn that has good pizza at a decent price. Grand Lux Cafe is also affordable on-strip dining in the Venetian. You pretty much can't go wrong with a slice of pizza and salad for lunch anywhere, but Grand Lux has a lot of options for under $20 which is cheap on-strip sit-down dining. Most hotels have food courts where you can get a sandwich or pizza slice and a salad for about $10 or less.

For fancy TV star food, I'd go to any of the Gordon Ramsay restaurants. He has several throughout Vegas and at different price points (some are well over $100/meal, though, so look around for what is in your price range). He has a burger place we've heard is good (called BurGR), but never been personally.

As far as shows, any of the Cirque shows are worth seeing. We don't buy too far in advance for many shows, but for the super popular ones like Blue Man and O, you'll want to buy early for the best seats. If you're only going for a few days, you'll also want to check in advance to see if the show is dark on the days you'll be in Vegas. Most shows aren't 7 days/week. There are tons of online ticket sellers, but you can sometimes get great deals direct from the hotel where the show happens. I've never found Tix4tonight to be any cheaper than what I've seen online, so I wouldn't wait to buy when you're there. We always feel it's better to buy in advance to get the seats we want than to take a chance to save a few bucks. Penn and Teller is a must. We go every time we're in Vegas and love it every time.

My advice to first timers looking to see as much as possible is to stay in a nice, but cheap room and splurge on the shows. You'll only be sleeping in the room anyway. We splurge on a room if we plan on relaxing and spending more time in one hotel (like Caesar's) than sightseeing, but otherwise, the price isn't worth it to us.

Sigh. Sorry about the long winded response, but I hope it was helpful!

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by catgoddess

For fancy TV star food, I'd go to any of the Gordon Ramsay restaurants. He has several throughout Vegas and at different price points (some are well over $100/meal, though, so look around for what is in your price range). He has a burger place we've heard is good (called BurGR), but never been personally.

awesome post..I have nothing else to add lol

wanted to mention that BurGR was featured on Masterchef last night..I'd LOVE to eat there

seriously have craved a good burger all day so far b/c of it too lol

[catgoddess]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

awesome post..I have nothing else to add lol

wanted to mention that BurGR was featured on Masterchef last night..I'd LOVE to eat there

seriously have craved a good burger all day so far b/c of it too lol

I'm glad it looked good. That reminds me, I need to put Masterchef in our DVR.

[jaylensmom]

I go to Vegas a lot...I love the Venetian/Palazzo, Mandalay Bay/The Hotel, and Aria. I've stayed everywhere though...Mirage, MGM, Bally's, Harrah's.

We loved Craft Steak...Tom Colicchio's restaurant. It was expensive but so far the best steak I have ever had...And what they can do with an onion is absolutely amazing...Everyone I know that has gone loves it.

I've seen Blue Man and Cirque and they were good shows...

Have fun!

[k23m]

Love all this info!! Thanks!!
We will totally be doing cheaper hotel and splurging on a show and fun stuff. Would love to hear of more free/cheap stuff to do too!

[DawnMarch]

We love the Blue Man Group and the Cirque shows. I don't think you can go wrong with those, particularly if you haven't seen cirque shows before. [My sister and I did get really cheap seats for O one weekend that we bought on the day of the show - something like $20. But, if you have your heart set on a show, I'd just get the tickets in advance since it's iffy whether you can find cheaper (or any) seats at the last minute]. For something a little cheaper, I recommend the Mac King show that has shows during the day. He is a good magician but he's almost a better comedian and the combination makes for a very fun show. If it matters to you, it is a "cleaner" show too. I would skip any of the "variety" shows as I've never been impressed with any of those. Some of them can be kind of a fun novelty if you want to see the sort of "classic" Vegas scantily clad show-girls, but not really worth it unless you can snag cheap seats. DH and I saw "V" one night -- the show was just okay and the decibel level could have stripped the paint off the walls.

A couple fun, free shows are the Mardi Gras show at the Rio (elaborate parade floats suspended from the casino ceiling) and the Freemont Street experience (light show and music) up on Freemont Street. The gambling odds are definitely much better at the old casinos up on Freemont Street too.

My only recommendation on the famous chef foods is actually an antiecommendation -- I think the Wolfgang Puck restaurants (if there are any still around) are way overpriced for not-so-great food (although I haven't tried Spago). For "regular" food, I agree with the recommendation of the Grand Lux. Yum and not crazy expensive. I think it's related to the Cheesecake Factory and has a similar, but not identical, menu. For something a little different, we ALWAYS make a point of going for a "snack" or dessert at the crepe place at Paris. Last time we were there, we also had a delicious breakfast at Bouchon at the Venetian (I had crème brulee oatmeal which I still dream about), and the room is stunning.

And a word of caution: my sister and I went to lunch one day at PF Chang in (?) casino. Can't remember, but I DO remember that it was crowded and we said, oh we'll just sit at the bar. After lunch, when my sister turned around to get her purse off the back of her chair where she had hung it, it was gone. Someone had just strolled by and lifted it. Not surprisingly with all the $ around, there are people ready to take advantage if you are not careful. We spent a VERY amusing evening (in retrospect) at the Las Vegas police department reporting the theft so that she could get the police report that would allow her to fly home without her driver's license. But that's a story for another day . . . .

[julifish]

October is an amazing time to go! We went last October and then again this past March and the weather was gorgeous both time (actually got rain in October, which is not normal).

I highly recommend reading up on Trip Adviser when picking a place to stay and shows to see. Also, Facebook has a great game called MyVegas where you can earn free shows, buffets and rooms. My husband and I both played for a few weeks before we went in March and we were able to eat at the Mirage Sunday Champagne buffet for free, see Terry Fator for free, got a free crepe at Aria and got $50 for food at the Monte Carlo - all for playing a game. It was awesome!

We stayed at the Vdara this past time which is a great location, but I wouldn't stay there again due to how hard it was to get to the strip. Honestly any place you stay will be fun just be ready to walk A LOT!

[AmberK]

DH and I went to Vegas for our 3rd anniversary and we went at the end of October and it was great! We stayed at the Paris and we loved it! I'd love to stay at Cesars or the Bellagio next time we go though.

We saw Blue Man Group and it was AMAZING! We also saw a cirque show but it wasnt O. I really wanted to see that one but we couldnt for some reason. We loved the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and the Tiger exhibit in MGM grand. Honestly, each hotel has SOMETHING to see or do without having to gamble at all. But we did find our 2 favorite hotels to gamble at were Paris and MGM- just because these 2 had the slot machines we liked. (we are small time gamblers LOL!)

[k23m]

Originally Posted by julifish

Also, Facebook has a great game called MyVegas where you can earn free shows, buffets and rooms. My husband and I both played for a few weeks before we went in March and we were able to eat at the Mirage Sunday Champagne buffet for free, see Terry Fator for free, got a free crepe at Aria and got $50 for food at the Monte Carlo - all for playing a game. It was awesome!

Thats so funny! Thanks for the recommend! I know hubby would be into that!

You ladies are awesome! Thanks for all the great info!