Las Vegas - First Timers to Vegas

Hey everyone,

This is a great site and I've been looking over a number of threads but decided its best if I just ask....

My girlfriend and I are heading to Vegas in March for 3 nights or so....

We have free flights from Southwest Airlines so we are looking for a good hotel to stay in that would provide us with a fun time. Neither of us have ever been there so we will be new to the casinos, restaurants, pools, spas, etc. So any suggestions at all that would be of help will be greatly appreciated.

Basically, we aren't sure who offers the best deals as a whole.
I've heard that some places include food while some don't.
Then some places include access to their nightclubs while others don't.
We are both 23 years old so we will most likely be going out at least 2 nights while there.

Also, any shows that are reccomended would help....

I know that was alot but I want to make sure that we do Vegas the right way.

Your dates and price point will help. Nothing fluctuates as much as the price of hotel rooms in Vegas. A room that is $89 one night might be $489 the next night.

Budget for rooms ? Budget for food/shows ?

"good hotel" --- do you mean a rock'in party type property, or a posh 5 * type property ? there are definitely a lot of good hotels that will provide a "fun time"

Also, are the 3 nights fri/sat/sun or are they mid-week; as this can make a very very big difference [with regard to $ and availability]

You might want to also search and review some older posts to get some ideas. :)

So.. a few more details might help....

sorry about that....

haha. we have a 8 day window or so that we will be looking to go, so weekdays/weekends either way. obviously weekdays will be cheaper and i assume that there is still plenty to do even during the week?

budget wise, it really doesnt matter. More or less depending on us finding a place where we can get the most out of vegas. if that is at a cheaper hotel than that's fine too, or if it's at an expensive hotel then that can be managed.

Let me know if you need anything else.

I guess it would help if i told you what that 8 day window was...haha.

March 18th - 26th.

Sorry.

Welcome to FT

When you mean a fun hotel to stay, you mean partying at night?

You can do pretty much the same thing on weekdays that on weekends, except that some shows are dark on Mondays

For shows, the Cirque Du Soleil are quite good, I enjoyed "O" better than Mystere, haven't been to the newer ones. I didn't like Lance Burton or Splash, but that is just my Opinion.

As far as buffets

For Breakfast, I liked the one Mandalay Bay, and for lunch the one at Paris. Dinner, I rather go to a restaurant and not a buffet. I don't like the buffets at MGM (which used to be excellent) and the one Excalibur (where I had a piece of chicken dryer than the wholly mammoth they dug up in Siberia)

Enjoy your trip :)

Choosing midweek travel dates will save you lots of money on hotel bills. I would suggest staying at the hotel where you know there is a club you want to attend. Probably Hard Rock, Palms, MGM or Mandalay Bay. It is not difficult to get from one place to the other with cabs but it might be convenient at 3 or 4 am to just walk back to your room.

Each hotel has it's own website to check for special rates and packages. One place that rates each property and also includes a link to the hotel's own website is www.cheapovegas.com

As far as shows go, based on your age, I think you might like Blue Man Group and Penn and Teller. You'll have to wait until closer to March to find out what headliners might be in town that week.

I would suggest you read some of the other threads on this forum. There are several that have suggestions for clubs and activities.

I would suggest going mid week between those times, the NCAA March Madness is mid to late March, Me and my family are going the 26 to 31st. THose I found to be the cheapest times. FOr People YOUR age (LOL) I would suggest the HaRD rOCK FOR GOING OUT.

I say rent a car. And for those who worry about parking, use the VALET its free every where, costs only a (tip). I have been to vegas 3 times and I was glad Each and Every tiem I rented a car, NEVER one parking hassle...
and for those who say renting a car takes forever, go to alamo website and join the Quicksilver program, each time I rented IN LAS VEGAS took me about ten minutes each with Quicksilver, and its free to join. Do your homework as I have and your vegas trip will be fun and smooth

CHeck out the alamo site on here for discount codes. And also BOOK the hotel directly by calling each hotel. Way cheaper than expedia, just ask them if there are any other discounts available to you once they give you a price, and mention to them that you like to gamble, if that fails do as I did and contact a Casino Host from the hotel your interested in , they gave me a great rate.

Check out this site, its great for descriptions of each and every hotel in vegas and has links to all the vegas hotels.

http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php


You might want to consider the NEW HOOTERS hotel in Vegas which will open I think in February. I believe they have a wesite up, and you can check prices.

Also how did you get the free flights from SW air?

Rent a car :eek:

No thanks, I will walk or take the monorail. Not worth the hassle of having to park the car every time

.

CHeck out the alamo site on here for discount codes.

Have you rented a car from the Alamo in Vegas? That place is a joke. You can lose a couple hours just picking up and returning the car.

Here is my 2 Cents.

Go Midweek. You will save some bucks. Won`t be as crowded.
Hard Rock, Palms, Mandalay. You will enjoy the younger crowd.
DO NOT RENT A CAR. Cabs are fine. Cheap and quick.
Look for upcoming headliner concerts a few weeks before you go.
Maybe see a show at the Joint in the Hard Rock.
1 Night Fine dinning.
1 Night clubbing.
1 Night at a show.

Have a great first time !!!

You have received some good advice here on one of the greatest places in the world to visit. I think the one other piece of info you can give which will truly shape the proper advice is your budget. Believe me when I say you can spend $100 or $100,000 a day and have a good time on either extreme.

For example, if you are on a lean budget, some of the new nightclubs are way spendy but there is still great free entertainment in the casino lounges (or thats what they used to be called). Good free acts are always available at Caesar's (next to the entrance the the Forum Shops) and Mandalay Bay. There are others but you will have to check as you get your dates firmed.

As others said, plan you trip Tues-Fri. The weekends in Vegas are always packed with the SoCal crowd and people from everywhere else. The room prices are literally 1/2 or more and bargains abound during the week.

As for driving or not, I do but I know LV very well including all the back roads to stay off the strip. If you do drive, stay off LV Blvd (strip) at night as it becomes grid lock. If the new Monorail is operable, I would suggest on a first trip you do not drive unless you are located off the Strip.

Have a great trip. Good Luck!!!

Rent a car :eek:

No thanks, I will walk or take the monorail. Not worth the hassle of having to park the car every time

I also have to agree.... When in Vegas... I really do enjoy my Vodka :D :D

Can't imagine having to deal with a car... I do that everyday living in the Midwest... anyway, with the limo pickup from the airport... my arrival is always smooth and quick...

Only reason to rent a car is if you are exploring the surrounding areas... but, for a first time visit... you will probably spend a majority of your time walking and wandering the strip.

Also how did you get the free flights from SW air?

rapid rewards :D :D
http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards/

I love going to Vegas during March Madness. My favorite place and NCAA basketball. Gotta love it. ^

However, I think they should start the games later when I'm in Vegas. Those 9 am games are tough. :p

Since you do not seem to care about the money - which is interesting due to free WN tickets - I would:
Go Thursday through Sunday - the clubs will be more happening
Stay at the Hard Rock - The Beach club is arguably the best in LV
Do NOT rent a car - take cabs
Go to the Ghost Bar at the Palms Hotel
Pick one night to see a show
Eat at least once at a great restaurant, Alize, Picasso's, Alex, Circo's, etc

I say rent a car. And for those who worry about parking, use the VALET its free every where, costs only a (tip).

Yeah definitely get a Ferrari... here is the link: http://www.exoticcarrentalslasvegas.com/car-rental-rates.html
Only $1499/day :cool:

For hotels I would book directly with the hotel and as the date comes closer you can always switch to lower rates and even gamble by doing priceline. I favor area near Bally's and Paris since its near the new clubs for partying.

For partying I would start with drinks at Caramel in Beallgio and then head over to Light. Try to check out Pure at Caesar's and Hard Rock's Body English is real hot. Do the shows during the week, you'll have better chances at getting tickets. Since you already know the dates, try for Danny Gains(sp??). His show is supposed to be great, but hard to get tickets for. The Cirque shows are great as well, but I've had luck getting tickets in the standby line before the show.

For eating I've found the website chowhound to contain great info

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

We've decided to head to LV from Wed-Sat, March 22-25th, 2006.

So other than Ghost Bar at the Palms, where else should we head to have a few drinks after a long day? VooDoo Lounge at Rio?

As of now we're going to stay at NYNY because they have a promotion at that time that doesnt sound too bad. Then, if prices go down as the time nears we can always make a switch. I have to call tonight to make the reservations...any suggestions to perhaps get a better deal?

Also, that Friday I think we're going to try and go see Ray Romano at the Mirage. Do I have to buy the tickets through the Mirage, or will NYNY be able to do that for me and perhaps get me better tickets since they are affiliated with the Mirage? Should I ask the person that I make reservations with tonight?

I think you will like NYNY.

There is a website www.lasvegasadvisor.com that gives great information on dining, entertainment etc. Also, they have a great forum where I have gotten alot of good information from.

For Ray Romano, you should probably book ahead of time. If you are interested in other shows while you're there, there are these Half-Price Day of Show booths on the Strip. I don't think they have every show available, but you never know!

This thread, a newbie guide to Las Vegas hotels, may be of use to you:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=371487&referrerid=24296

Try the Buffet at the Mirage while youre there, good stuff!