LAS hotels
 

OK, I have the flights set.
Now, I need suggestion on hotels. I am deciding between MGM, Mandalay Bay and Mirage. So far, seems like I have heard that Mirage is the best in terms of their rooms and location.

Any suggestion?

Regards,
Empress

Almost no one I know was pleased with the MGM. I'd rule it out.

The Mirage propery has good quality accomodations, is center strip, and if you are walking around, is the the best choice of the three.

Personally, I liked the Mandalay Bay when I saw it for the first time in April. It seemed to be just a bit different than all the other casinos. I don't know the quality of the rooms. It is also located on the old Hacienda area, as south on the strip as you can go without being in the airport.

Make sure you check out the "internet specials" on the casinos, as they each have special deals way below rack rates when available. You've also ruled out a bunch of other properties, hopefully for good reasons.

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

Guess What?! I (and ALOT of my traveling companions) PREFER the MGM! Why? Well, for us it offers alot without having to leave the property. What do you enjoy? Swimming? They've got a great pool area. Gambling? LARGE casino. Eating? Tons of food choices. Entertainment? Plenty of that! Buffet? Got it.

The rooms? - a room is a room. I don't spend much time in my room while in LAS. They are clean, large enough to accomodate two adults, never had a problem. (Stayed there on 3 different occasions.)

- The only thing that is weak....shopping. You'd really need to visit Caesar's Forum Shops or Bellegio.

Good Luck!

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

I didn't like the MGM (last visit nov-97): the pool and fitness area was closed for renovation (they did give me a credit of $30/night, because when I made reservation I expressevly asked for their fitness area to be ready: I must keep in shape for the PiP-tennis-event with Matt, even not knowing about it at that time ...).

the location/connection is the best (bridge to New York) - the metro to Bally's, the Starlight-express (I don't want to see it for the third time), the comic-guy at the smaller theatre were ok (I don't remember his name: young, yellow-red-hair, very-fast-talking, one-man-show, on the rise than, his first big-show, now - I think - already a Star in the US - very funny).

my favorite (comfort, personal treatment): the Golden Nugget, but that's downtown, off the Strip. For a firwst time visitor a location on the Strip is probably a must.

All three are fine- this is LAS after all- and I think they are roughly equal! You might just go with the best price! Also, I believe Marriott runs/manages the MGM but don't know if you actually get "full" Marquis benefits- don't think so! Good luck!

Mandalay Bay. Younger more fun crowd than Bellagio (sp?) with 99% of the same amenities.

I too do not like the MGM.

Before you consider the MGM Grand read:
http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/Foru...ML/000052.html

THanks to ANNAS I was able to get you the direct address.

DId not stay at Mandalay Bay but it looked nice from the bus.

As for the Mirage, while I have NOT stayed there it's a very nice hotel, friendly staff, a good selection fo things to do and the best thing of all for me in Vegas: THE CATS! THE CATS! THE CATS!!! Yes the two humans who co-star with THOSE BEAUTIFUL CATS are a bit clique but for me it's a fun and oh so Vegas show.

You might also want to try the Bellagio. They ahve a LOT of Internet offers lately. If you want I can check my files and see if I have a code for that hotel.

it's a older, more sophisticated clientale but a very nice and airy hotel with lots of flowers and a museum with some of the works fo the masters.

Of course, the next tiem I go I will stay at either of the HIltons if only to get another stay on my membership and the points. I learned the hard way from THE MGM NOT SO GRAND experience (the one consolation: you join their Players Club and get miles on American Air.)

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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!


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

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

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

I just returned from LAS this morning. I have been more than a few times and have stayed at each of the hotels metioned and a few others. Among those mentioned, I prefer the Mirage on balance. The facilites are a little better at Mandalay, but between the location at the far south strip and sub-par service, Mirage just edges it. I would never stay at MGM again. They have great restaraunts, but the hotel is awful. The place is a factory. The servcie is slow and often rude. The rooms are very much hit or miss, with even the best being just OK. It is poorly layed out. You will most definetely get lost at least 6 times in the first 6 hours you are at MGM.

The absolute best hotel on the strip (IMHO) is Bellagio. It is part of the Mirage resorts group and is top of the line in all regards. It is intended to be their flagship hotel. Between the fantastically attentive service, the huge rooms with all italian marble baths, world class art collection, Monaco style casino, gorgeous pool area, top notch spa, and numerous great restaraunts it is first rate in all areas.

During the this Summer, Bellagio has a special rate of $109 Sun-Thr. I stayed there for the past 2 nights for that rate. What a deal. The high season rate can be as much a $500/night. For the Mellenium they are getting $2000/night and are already 85% full acording to those I spoke with this week that would know.

Check out this site for stay info on all Las Vegas Hotels as well as other info about the town.

http://www.a2zlasvegas.com/hotels/striphotels.html


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Two wrongs may not make a right, but three lefts do.


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

Thanks for the link BLADE!

Can we say F-T Vegas get together sometime in the future????

If not this year then next?

And maybe I can "borrow" one of the Mirage Cats to entertain us! http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!

Lost Wages? FlyerTalk get-together all in the same sentence? COUNT ME IN! http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

BTW, having lived in Las Vegas for a couple of years and having family there (my younger brother works as a craps dealer (and puts up with crap http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif) at the Palace Station just off the strip) kinda makes me an "unofficial" tour guide.

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AlphaSigOU
Causa latet vis est notissima - the cause is hidden, the results are well-known.

I'll be in Vegas in November for COMDEX. The weekend of the 19,20,21 would work excellently for me (that is if all of the PIP'ers have "cleared their head" by then.)

If there are a couple of takers, we can move this to the Community forum.....

Empress, Mandalay Bay would be my recommendation.

I'm planning on being in Vegas the last week in October through the first week in November... might even sneak on a quickie hop to LAX for the PiP bon voyage!

As for planning anything in and around the week of Comdex, unless you planned well in advance, as Noo Yawkers say... Fuhgeddabouddit!!! There won't be a room anywhere to be found in Las Vegas, and what few are available will go for outrageous rates!

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AlphaSigOU
Causa latet vis est notissima - the cause is hidden, the results are well-known.

Comdex is a mess the weekend before, and the Monday and Tuesday of the week. By Wednesday, everything is back to normal, and the weekend after (which I suggested) is actually pretty quiet.....I have my $99 rooms at the Las Vegas Hilton again.

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).

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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).]

I vote for the LAS Hilton also. If you join the slot club there you can often stay for $39 during week and $49 on weekend. I am not like CATMAN and not shy, so I ask for an upgrade with coupon and usually get a junior suite. Con is it is good block off strip.

Any comments on Bally's? I'm spending almost a week there in September at a conference -- never been to Las Vegas to visit, just to change planes. I'm curious what's to do besides gambling, oh, and of course, attending all the educational sessions at the conference!

Bally's "Big Kitchen" is actually one of the highest quality buffets on the Strip. Very good value.

That's pretty cool that Atlantis will now participate in the Starwood Preferred Guest Program!

Bally's is a good hotel, although the casino is a bit too dark for my sensative eyes.

Two great things about Bally's:

*The Sunday Brunch, the best in town although pricey for Vegas standards ($49) BUT you get caviar, champaign as much as you want, any kind of food from salmon to steak to pasta to like two dozen kinds of deserts!
YUM> It's worth the price. Starve yourself and then go enjoy!
*The show "Jubilee" which is the old style Vegas routine. This is not SHOWGIRLS (One of the biggest insults to movie making ever!) It's a fun review espeically when they do a skit about TITANIC (Which as I posted in a previous post seemed so funny to me I was laughing hysterically == even as the ship sunk.) SO VEGAS!

I may try Bally's the next time I go to Vegas for business or hopefully soon, an F-T Get together (IF this is a plan post under FlyerTalk COmmunities to measure interest!)



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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!

Thanks for the Bally's update. Any guess how far a drive the Hoover Dam is from LV?

today you could make the trip (35 mi SE via US 93) from the strip to the dam probably by boat - all the way!

Mauld: Actually the Four Seasons is great, and is one of the least expensive in the Four Seasons chain, and definitely worth the stay. It is one of the more expensive rooms by LV standard. I paid $199 for the night.

Bluebonnet: Your first trip to Las Vegas would be incomplete without a trip to Hoover Dam. It is truly a modern day miracle. I've been to it twice. While I didn't visit Hoover Dam, I was on Lake Mead two weeks ago. Where I was on the Lake, it was a two hour boat ride to Hoover Dam. That shows you it is holding back a lot of water!

The Hoover Dam tour is COOL. Even better is the hardhat tour where you go deep inside the DAM to see the inner most workings of the big hydroelectric facility and tourist attraction.

I did it, and luckily had my hard hat on because I kept wacking my head on the rocks. Being 6ft2 doesn't help sometimes! http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!

I've been to LAS about 6 times and I must admit I have never stayed anywhere but at the Golden Nugget downtown. It is a classy establishment, they keep refurbishing the rooms long before they are in need of it, and the casino doesn't overwhelm the entire property.
I prefer the downtown area, especially since they put in the Fremont Street Experience (a huge enclosure protecting the streets from the harsher elements and featuring a laser light show).
Because the strip is more popular, hotels downtown offer bargain rates to pull in some trade. I recently received a mailing from the Golden Nugget's Private Arrangement offering weekday stays for as little as $35 and weekends for $69.
Parking is also easier, as it is in an enclosed garage adjacent to the hotel. Protected from the hot sun, no walking 2 blocks and, of course, complimentary.