Thanks Blade! You made me crack up recalling my experiences wandering around the MGM thinking I was were I was supposed to find my room, only to learn I was what seems like several miles away from it. 45 minutes later...

It is true that overall Bellagio is overall a nicer hotel, but I still perfer Mandalay for the beautiful crowd.

As a long time LV visitor, I've stayed at most of the major hotels. I would also agree that its a toss-up between Mandalay & Mirage,
with MB getting the nod. I always have a car in LV, so location is not a concern. NO MGM, but they have great restaurants (Emeril's, Wolfgang Puck, etc)

Also, DO NOT rule out the Rio. The entire place is all suites, and the people are real friendly & atmosphere is great. The Carneval Parade at the Rio is fun.

Go to the Bellagio at night for the Water Fountain Show and check it out inside. The opulence is almost obscene, but hey, it is
LAS VEGAS.

I'll be in LV at least 2 more times this yr,
looking forward to playing golf at the new
Paiute course in the fall.

[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 07-01-1999).]

Let me add my vote for a FT get together in Vegas...

The Mirage and the Rio are my favorities. The MGM is the hotel version of airline coach travel. Off the strip is a nice Marriott, Courtyard I think. Quite quiet for a pleasent change in that noisy town.

BTW the 7-2-99 WSJ had an article re lowered Mirage earnings. What caught my eye, was that occupancy was 97% vs 99% last year. I thought it was crowded but now I know why they can hold their pricing at a high level.

NJDavid- Adam will be pleased! By the way the unitiated could get lost upstairs at the LV Hilton as well!

The MGM is one of the only hotels I WON'T stay at in Las Vegas. My one time there, they put me in a room that required about a mile walk to get to. The room for some reason had a loudspeaker that emitted a beeping noise all night long at a just-audible level. It sounded for exactly 17 seconds, then was off for 2 seconds. This repeated all night with me getting NO sleep.

Mirage, Treasure Island, Bally's, Harrah's are all fine. Harrah's is a great deal usually being right in the center of the strip but less expensive.

Of course now that I'm married to Starwood, I'll be trying the Sheraton Desert Inn for the first time!

QuietLion

Doc, it's not loyalty to Hilton, but lazynes and a need for sleep!

I'm spoiled.

Roll out of bed, shower, dress, walk to convention. No cab, no bus, no nothing. It saves up to an hour at a crowded conference.

I am a big fan of the Mirage. But Manadalay Bay is loose on slots right now. The MGM is really a better place after their remodel. I hated it before. One word of advice: no matter where you go, there will be long lines at checkin. It's a common problem among the mega hotels on heavy checkin days (Fridays, etc.)

Got you NJDavid! I've done the same at LVH but the last time was when they were blowing up (actually imkploding) the Landmark Hotel!

By the way didn't I read that Sheraton is selling the Desert Inn?

Desert Inn is my favorite place to stay, and I'm surprised that it hasn't been mentioned, either positively or negatively, so far in this thread. I also heard that Sheraton is selling it - I think to Starwood.

I would be all for a FT get together in LV, just tell me when http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. As far as hotels go, the Rio is great, lots of good restaurants, pool areas & large rooms. Has anyone stayed at the new Venetian? I have also heard fantastic things about the Four Season (inside the Mandalay Bay), but I think it is very expensive.

As for the Desert Inn:

Starwood already owns it since it owns all the Sheraton & Westin properties. Starwood is selling all Ceasar's Palace properties to a "gaming" company called Park Place Entertainment. They're selling all their casino properties with one exception: Desert Inn. I'd be curious to hear about the hotel. I'm using Starpoints to stay at Ceasar's in Sept. before it's sold (the end of the year I think).

------------------
Regards,
- Anna

AnnaS.- I stayed at Ceasar's a few years ago and unless the rooms have been recently redecorated it left quite a bit to be desired. An apt description of my room would be a cross between a 50's Pocono Honeymoon hotel (heart shaped pool in the room) and a tacky hourly motel rental (mirrored ceilings/ shag carpeting). All the window were covered with that steel mesh that is so very attractive and conducive to viewing. As I said, this was about 3 years ago, hopefully it is improved. The shopping and restaurants/ public areas were great and as has been mentioned, in LV you don't stay in your room much. Good luck---let me know if it has changed.
PS-thanks for the tip on the Chicago Sheraton http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

to QuietLion & philforest:

PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas, May 18
Sun International Hotels and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Worldwide, Inc. announced today they have entered into a definitive purchase
pursuant to which Sun International has agreed to acquire the Desert Inn hotel and
casino for $275 million from Starwood.

The all-cash transaction is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions contained
in the purchase agreement, including the receipt of regulatory licenses and approvals. The transaction could be expected to close by the second quarter of next year.

The Desert Inn is a 715-room hotel, casino, spa and country club situated on 25-acres on the Las Vegas Strip. The property includes a 140-acre championship golf course and a further 32 acres of undeveloped land on the Strip and
encompasses an entire city block located across from the 3,036-room Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino and the 1.2 million sq. ft. Sands Convention Center. The property is in excellent condition and during 1998 achieved an average daily room rate of $164, one of the highest of any property in Las Vegas. Starwood acquired the property in 1998 as part of its acquisition of ITT.

Sol Kerzner, Chairman and CEO of Sun International, stated ``We are very pleased to have acquired the Desert Inn, which represents 1 of the last premier development sites on the Las Vegas Strip. The property, with its existing hotel, casino, golf course and undeveloped land, plays to Sun's strength of developing outstanding resorts at capital costs that allow the company to achieve good returns on investment.''

As part of the transaction, Sun International and Starwood entered into a marketing
alliance. Sun's properties on Paradise Island, particularly The Ocean Club and Atlantis, as well as The Desert Inn, will be included in Starwood's Preferred Guest
Program. Customers will also be able to make reservations at Atlantis, The Ocean Club and The Desert Inn utilizing Starwood's reservation center. Mr. Kerzner noted
that ``We are very pleased to establish a broad marketing alliance with Starwood.
The company has a very successful frequent guest program and enormously strong
distribution.'' Starwood currently has over two million members enrolled in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Starwood is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world and, through its subsidiaries, owns, manages or franchises more than 700 hotels in 72 countries under the St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W brands.

Sun and Starwood also agreed to establish a joint venture to develop 350 timeshare
units at the Desert Inn. The companies have further agreed to explore further timeshare opportunities on Paradise Island, utilizing some of Starwood's premier brand names.

``We are very pleased that we were able to conclude a strategic agreement with Sun
International, one of the premier resort operators in the world,'' said Barry S.
Sternlicht, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood. ``We believe that a
marketing alliance with Sun will prove very beneficial to Starwood's brands going
forward. This agreement, combined with our recent announcement of the sale of Caesars World to Park Place Entertainment for $3 billion in cash, allows us to focus on our core global hotel business and completes the disposition process begun when we acquired ITT,'' Mr. Sternlicht said. When the sales of Caesars and the Desert Inn are completed, Starwood will have realized total proceeds of over $6 billion from the sale of ITT's non-core assets since February 1998. ``As previously announced, we will use the proceeds of this transaction to pay down debt, strengthen our balance sheet, reduce our cost of financing and reinvest in our worldwide assets and brands. We are especially pleased with the timeshare joint-venture and expect to achieve additional value from this alliance.''


[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 07-07-1999).]

BlueBonnet...Bally's has, on average some of the largest rooms of any LV hotel. I've stayed there 5-6 times and find the desk staff to be great. Depending on how busy they are that week, or how many other conventions are in town, you could get an upgraded Jacuzzi room. Unlike other hotels, the hotel & casino are run separately, so you won't find a lot of high-rollers getting the good rooms.

For leisure time..if you will have a car, get out to Red Rock Canyon or drive up to Mount Charleston. Actually, I think you can do a day rental right from the lobby in Bally's
(Budget I think). If you're a golfer, great courses there but all are expensive (even the public courses). It's an expensive ticket, but if Cirque de Soleil or their new show is playing, try to catch it. It'll blow you away!! Siegfried & Roy show is OK, though getting old for me; I've taken clients there too many times. Good restaurants in MGM, and by all means go to check out Mandalay Bay at the end of the strip (left out of Bally's).

I could go on forever, but that's a start.



[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 07-07-1999).]