Gotta disagree...I'd go with Aladdin
 

I guess that's why the say 'to each his own' but I've had many good experiences at Aladdin and the price has always been right. MGM is TOO BIG - it takes forever to get to your room. I just haven't enjoyed my stays there. Maybe I'm too low of a roller?!

I would go with MGM. We've always had a great room. We always go with kids in tow and never thought that distance to our rooms was a problem.
We also like the pool at the MGM.

The only thing is that the Aladdin has an excellent buffet, esp at night. For a price that matches almost any decent buffet in touch, you get great split crab legs (we're big on that), good food, and dessert that actually tastes like dessert, not styrofoam.

Another Aladdin vote.

It's closer to more casinos, it has it's own mall, and the Spice Market Buffet is pretty good.

The rooms I got in both hotels were comparable, so for me it's a draw.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one ;)

When asking a local about the buffets, they said Aladdin was generally ranked at the top of the quality for a good price group. In the "gourmet buffet" (their words) category they compete against Bellagio and Venetian.

Based on their recommendation we went there last time we were in Vegas and it was definately better food than the Orleans (best cheap buffet) but also definately more expensive.

I would have to say that whatever local you asked, that person definitely did not know what they were talking about.

First off, the Venetian doesn't even have a buffet.

Second, really nothing compares the the Bellagio buffet (except for maybe the new Wynn buffet, haven't tried that yet). The The Aladdin has had a lot of financial problems and they have cut back everywhere. They have been bought by a partnership that includes Starwood and Planet Hollywood and there's some interesting plans for the future. But, as of now, their buffet is just good, not great. And in my mind, when a company is squeezing pennies, it makes me wonder what corners they cut to keep their product out there.

If you want pretty good buffets at a lower cost than Bellagio, try the Mirage. they just renovated their buffet and it's pretty impressive, IMHO

The Aladin has more extensive shopping. It's got a shopping Arcade that the MGM seems to lack.

Maybe I got the locations mixed up from the comparison, but they were noting from the local newspaper voting. Still, I'd rather stay at the MGM and shop at Aladdin if needed, but as others have said you just have to pick what works for you.

I'm not sure that the fact that it's a Starwood property is a bad thing. Getting miles for staying at Aladdin, to me, is just another incentive.

I totally agree with that. MGM has lousy shops, but the Aladdin definitely has shops that most of us would like. They are shops that you could find in a nice mall.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but like the thread starter, I'm looking at visitng Vegas at the end of the year.

I'm looking at room rates of less than $150 per room inclusive of taxes and surcharges. Does anyone have a good place to recommend? My gf mentioned that she wanted to try MGM or is it MGM grand? Any comments on that?

All advice/comments very much appreciated.

A bit more info would be helpful, room rates in Vegas fluctuate quite a bit, depending on a number of factors.

Midweek or Weekend; this makes all of the difference --- as the same room that is $300 per night on Fri/Sat can drop as low as $60 per night midweek.

Also, end of year ??? New Years eve or before ?? Big difference between in hotel rates at the end of December on December 20/21 as opposed to December 30/31.

As baccarat_king mentioned nothing fluctuates as quickly as room prices in Vegas. You may be able to get into a 5* or you may not even be able to get a 2* for $150. It all depends on your dates.

Join the players club @ mgm and get super discounted rates..Not sure they are listing Nov. dates yet, but I got a room in Sept for $59 for a thursday night. check out the
Travel Deals thread on www.fatwallet.com - there is always a vegas thread w/ the latest deals.

Stayed at the Aladdin last time, staying at the MGM next month.

Aladdin - Better location, more central for the strip. This was what we really liked about it, and decided not to go for a hotel any further towards the Luxor (see reason below as to why we did). Rooms were great size, easy to get out onto the strip, nextdoor to Paris, Bellagio across the street, and Caesers just down from that. Room was always cleaned very well. Own shopping mall with things like Gap in it, meant if we just wanted to pop out for some shopping quickly it was easy, without having to trudge to Caesers and spend half an hour trying to navigate the place, and just as long trying to leave!! PF Changs restaurant as well. Only downside was possibly the pool. It was like 2 plain pools, and a couple of hot tubs. A bit concretey and old. Really surprised more people don't stay at the Aladdin because the price really was right and they seem quite competitive.

MGM - We are going when everything is well over $100 a night for the standard we want, managed to get it for $59 so even if we cab everywhere while we are there we still save. I also like NYNY opposite, quite a young persons hotel. Pool looks great. Considering we're going for 5 days on the strip, and 7 days off, when we stay on the strip, we hit the strip, so pool isn't the most important thing.

The tentative dates are 23-25Dec. Peak season right?