Las Vegas - Many questions, future 1st time in LV!

Hi!
Here are my questions all together not to bother you with tons of threads!:

1- We're coming from Canada and the airfare is eating part of our budget along with Celine, O, and the grand canyon... We don't want to pay too much for hotel but we don't want to stay in a hole either and we want to be relatively close to the action...! Between the Sahara, Harrah's and the Golden Nugget, which is the best compromise? Any other suggestions, on the Strip preferably?

2- What is the best time of year to go to LV from January through May reagarding crowds, weather and rates?

3- We would be 5 adults travelling together... besides some expensive suites, is it possible to be all in one room (rollaway bed or someting...)?

4- Last qustion: we aren't so much into gambling... (!) Is a 5 nights stay too long? Should we just go somewhere else!?! :p

Thank you very much!!! :)

How exciting for you! My folks live in Vegas, so my kids and I spend quite a bit of time there. You'll have lots of fun despite not being big gamblers :)

For hotels, I recommend trying discount hotel sites. There are many out there, just google them or look for other discount sites recommended on FT. Often times I will just book a night on the strip and leave the kids with my parents and never have paid more than $60/night for a room at some really nice hotels. I think I even got one at the Luxor for $50! You'll have to do some searching but it will be worth it. The Sarah is on the older end of the strip but still lots of fun. I would recommend trying Bally's. It isn't the fanciest hotel on the strip but well located near the Bellagio, the Alladin, connect to the Paris and usually quite reasonable.

Whatever hotel you pick will also have a guest/player's service that you can access for coupons and lots of "must sees" in Vegas for very reasonable prices.

Enjoy!

Melissa

IMHO...

1. Of the three, I would suggest Harrah's, due to its convenient center Strip location. Sahara is the absolute north end of the Strip, and the Nugget is miles away Downtown (although the Nugget is not a bad place).

2. There is no easy answer on the best time. Weather can be very nice anytime during that period, with occasional interruptions due to rain in January and February. May can get warm. As to crowds, this is related to conventions, holidays and sports events. You can pick an innocent looking week in late February, and find evrything is booked due to four major conventions. You just have to try different dates at the hotels you are interested in. Rates can vary by 300% depending if there are big events in town.

3. You are not likely to find a hotel that will be keen on five adults in on normal room. Of course you don't have to tell them either, but you might have a bit of a bed shortage otherwise.

4. Five nights might be a bit much, if you are not serious gamblers. But I've been to Vegas about 60 times since I was a child, and can not be as objective as a person who has made a single trip there.

What is the best time of year to go to LV from January through May reagarding crowds, weather and rates?
Avoid any of the long 3-day weekend (i.e. Memorial day, Presidents, etc) and you'll be fine in terms of crowds & rates. As long as you don't come during late June - Mid September, the weather won't be steamy.

I am very familiar with Las Vegas as my son lives there and we visit frequently. We do not gamble much at all and also like to avoid crowds. I'll try to answer your questions as well.

1. Harrah's is a great center strip hotel and usually priced very economically. I would rate it 3 star. Sahara has recently been renovated, however it is very far north and not in an area that I feel safe to walk in. The Nugget is a great hotel - but downtown is not somewhere I would want to spend 5 nights. You may want to spend an evening there however to see the light canopy and street entertainers.

2. Avoiding a three day week-end is great advice. Many pools are not open until April if that is important to you.

3. I don't know if they allow it, but the New Frontier has "atrium suites" that would sleep five. They are set up like embassy suites and could have two queens in one room and a foldout couch in the other. They have a fridge and coffee maker which is nice. The casino leaves alot to be desired, but the location is not bad. Directly next door to a mall and now right across the street from the soon to be opened Wynn resort. I would only rate this property as a 2 at best, but like it's location because of easy parking access from Industrial Street rather than having to drive on the strip.

4. Five nights are not at all too much. You may want to rent a car for a couple of days to see some of the further away sights. Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, Liberace Museum, Ethel M Factory etc. Take a look at http://www.billhere.com and http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com
to help plan some activities.

Thanks everyone!

This is very helpful!!!


And Merry Christmas! :)

5 nites with 5 adults in a single room with one bathroom?????

My advice - check priceline and go for two rooms - you may all still be friends by the end of the trip that way.

Harrah's is definitely the best choice of those three.

NYNY, Monte Carlo, Bally's, and Luxor frequently have good rates and are all nice hotels in good locations (although Luxor is a bit farther than the rest from center Strip).

In addition to TravelAxe, Expedia, and Orbitz, try the airline vacation sites such as www.unitedvacations.com (I think almost all of them are run by the same group). They frequently have hotel-only packages better than anything else you can find.

QL

Previously someone on this board recommended the Westward Ho 3 BR apartments to a group of people going to Vegas together, though I don't know anything about them.

There seems to be a good deal at the TI website with a free upgrade... souds interesting!

Anyone knows why the rates at every hotel are so low on the week of Jan 30 to Feb 3??? Is it because of the superbowl? What's the catch?!


Thanks again to everyone, and we will definately book two rooms when we go!


Sophie

Anyone knows why the rates at every hotel are so low on the week of Jan 30 to Feb 3??? Is it because of the superbowl? What's the catch?!You're on the right track - the Super Bowl is on the FOLLOWING weekend. The weekend of the 30th is an NFL bye week, so, when combined with a lack of a big convention, the rates come down.

Let's try another question, since you all are so helpful! :

We were happy with the rates we could get for end of JAnuary, early February, but now we are doubting our choice because of the Grand Canyon...

It seems pretty cold but especially we don't want to see a snowy canyon! (we see enough snow in Canada! :p) Has anyone been there at this time of year? Is it too much of a gamble to go and hope for a sunny day and a "dry" view of the Canyon??

THANK YOU!!!

I was at the Canyon one time, just after January 1. Pretty dreary, as it was hazy, and the flora was quite barren looking. Weather hovered just above freezing during the day, with only a bit of snow around (YMMV).

Didn't care too much frankly, as it was a road trip with some buddies with no advance expectations.

If you would like to hang out by the pool, I would wait until April.
Flamingo has a great pool and is also on the middle of the strip (like Harrahs).
Harrahs also has an outdoor bar with live music - very lively and not too costly.
The Westward Ho does have 3 BR suites, but it is kind of a hole in the wall - to me, it wouldn't matter much as I spend so little time in the room when I'm in Vegas.
For free, you can walk around Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay - all beautiful places.
If you do stay at Harrahs, you can take a free shuttle back-and-forth to the Rio. It's a great casino off the strip with excellent buffets (one is International and one is Seafood). They also have the Voodoo Lounge on a high floor that has a great view of Vegas, but they have a $5 or $10 cover at night if I remember.
Most casinos have live band lounges without a cover. These places are very enjoyable and fairly low cost.
Have a good time.

1 - Before picking a hotel, decide what is most important to you. The Golden Nugget is certainly the nicest hotel on your list, but it is located downtown, which is a few miles from the central Strip. The Sahara is a decent hotel with a so-so location - probably a little less than a mile north of TI. It is at the northern terminus for the monorail though, so it would be very easy to get down to the busy part of the Strip. Harrahs is a decent hotel with a great location. Be sure to check Cheapo Vegas (http://www.cheapovegas.com) for reviews of all the properties. May I also suggest you look into the Flamingo (nice hotel, awesome location, beautiful pool, and usually not too expensive) and Barbary Coast (usually great prices, great location, but no pool) for good midstrip properties. At the southern end of the strip, Luxor, Excalibur, and the Tropicana would all be nice places to stay that generally don't have exorbitant rates.

2 - The best time of year for $$ is probably earlier when its colder (Jan and Feb). When you get to March - April a lot of schools are on spring break and it gets a little more expensive. Weather is great in April and early May, and prices go up. June - September are dirt cheap (and generally uncrowded) because the city turns into an oven. Avg Temperaturs in Vegas by month (http://www.vegas.com/weather/averages.html)

3 - How many adults you want in the room depends on your comfort level. Its easy to get two double beds and rotate the person who sleeps on the floor. :p I'm sure most hotels have rollaway beds. Be sure they're willing to bring one up to a room with two double beds though (sometimes they'll only offer them to rooms with kings).

4 - You could spend 5 days just walking around looking at the grand casino architecture. But might I also suggest while you're there, enjoy the weak american dollar and go shopping. Ride thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere. Take a Gondola ride through the Venetian. Treat yourself to a fancy dinner. Pig out at Bellagio's breakfast buffet. Visit Red Rock Canyon. Visit Hoover dam. See the lions at the MGM. Watch the fountains in front of Bellagio. Watch the (horrible) pirate battle in front of TI. See the volcano in front of the Mirage. See the light canopy downtown.

Beware the Superbowl week Feb 6th

If you go to Travelaxe.com - you can see the convention dates.
For example March 15-19 is CON/AGG and expect 135,000 just for that.
Hotel rooms will be mucho dinero!
April 14 - 21 Nat ASSOC of Broadcasters another 132,000.

Vegas.com will be a good place to start searching for hotels, with a strip map