My Vegas info experience

[Goalpost]

I've been to Vegas about 5 times. I figured I'd share my own experience about the hotels if one would like some info. If others want to comment, feel welcome. I'm going to take you on a trip from the south end of the strip going north. A trip to include the Bengal game is intriguing if I can snag a reasonable ticket price. When I say budget, or moderate, I'm referring to hotel price.

Mandalay Bay....It is closest to the new stadium. Unfortunately it is known for the idiot who opened fire and shot the concert goers. I would call it moderate to high on the expense end of it. As with all the hotels mentioned, a room with a strip view will cost you a bit more.

Luxor...It is a giant Pyramid. Kind of cool looking with Egyptian theme. I would call it a budget to moderate price.

Excalibur...It is a big castle on the corner. It offers budget prices, fairly cheap. There is a monorail that connects the 1st three of these casinos together.

Tropicana....Across from the Excalibur. I would call it budget to moderate in price.

MGM Grand...I would call it moderate. Really everything is here. They have a concert/boxing theatre. Casino floor is large. It is the beginning of another monorail that can take you up north. A longer monorail than the 1st one mentioned. Takes you the full length of the strip.

New York New York...I would call this moderate. To me it is one of the coolest looking hotels. It has Statue of Liberty and a roller coaster in front of it. It literally looks like a chunk of NY City.

Park MGM...It is moderate. It's relatively new. It has a concert venue...I saw Aerosmith there. It is smoke free even in the casino.

Planet Hollywood....I would call it moderate. It is located kind of at the beginning of the middle of the strip

Paris....Giant Eiffel Tower. Moderate. It is in the middle of the strip. Relatively new inside.

Bally's, Flamingo, Harrah's....These run in order next to the Paris going north. They are great location and budget. You are in the center of the strip. A bit more rowdier crowd, imo, you'll find in the center of the strip. Monorail connections are here. They are a bit older which is why they are budget.

Linq...moderate. It has the giant Ferris wheel behind it. Near the Flamingo.

Belllagio....Is across the street from Bally's. The Cosmopolitan is over there also but it is high priced. Bellagio is also. The fountains in front of the Bellagio though are a must see.

Caesars...Next to the Bellagio. Roman theme and it is gigantic in area. Moderate price.

Mirage...On Caesar's side. Higher priced. Has a scenic erupting volcano at night on the hour.

Treasure Island...Moderate priced. Never been there there but I hear it has a Pirate ship. It is a good location in that it is near some of the more sleek casinos. Mainly the....

Venetian....High price and it's luxurious. Has a canal running thru the hotel. Just modern looking. Attached to it is the Palazzo. It's sister casino.

This sort of ends the middle of the strip. You can go further north though and still find Circus Circus and the Stratosphere both more budget oriented. And up there also are the Wynn and Trump which are more higher priced.

Go further North, leave the strip, and you will pass the Pawn Stars store.

And further north you go into the city, where you have the Golden Nugget as well as other casino's. Fremont street is the big venue in the city.
Worth a half a day or evening to go to. A giant lit up canopy covers blocks, people zip lining over you etc. It's a party.

In general, all the hotels are nice. Some are just more upscale. But even the budget ones are reasonable. Drinks are free when you bet. You can go to Vegas and not bet and still find plenty to do. Hoover damn is nearby. A day trip can take you to Grand Canyon.

The airport is nearby. Ten minute drive to any of these casinos. You can Uber or Lyft. Or just take a taxi for just under 25.00 each way.

And lastly if you don't use the monorails, there is a bus that can take people up and down the strip. These casino's don't look that far away from one another when you are on the strip. But they are further than they look if you want to travel to them. All these casino's have shops, shows, and food courts. Also more expensive restaurants. And all the casinos have pools although in November, it will likely be cooler there.

[Bengalitis]

(05-13-2021, 08:18 AM)Goalpost Wrote: I've been to Vegas about 5 times.  I figured I'd share my own experience about the hotels if one would like some info.  If others want to comment, feel welcome.  I'm going to take you on a trip from the south end of the strip going north.  A trip to include the Bengal game is intriguing if I can snag a reasonable ticket price.  When I say budget, or moderate, I'm referring to hotel price.

Mandalay Bay....It is closest to the new stadium.  Unfortunately it is known for the idiot who opened fire and shot the concert goers.  I would call it moderate to high on the expense end of it.  As with all the hotels mentioned, a room with a strip view will cost you a bit more.

Luxor...It is a giant Pyramid.  Kind of cool looking with Egyptian theme.  I would call it a budget to moderate price.

Excaliper...It is a big castle on the corner.  It offers budget prices, fairly cheap.  There is a monorail that connects the 1st three of these casinos together.

Tropicana....Across from the Excaliper.  I would call it budget to moderate in price.

MGM Grand...I would call it moderate.  Really everything is here.  They have a concert/boxing theatre.  Casino floor is large.  It is the beginning of another monorail that can take you up north.  A longer monorail than the 1st one mentioned.  Takes you the full length of the strip.

New York New York...I would call this moderate.  To me it is one of the coolest looking hotels.  It has Statue of Liberty and a roller coaster in front of it.  It literally looks like a chunk of NY City.

Park MGM...It is moderate. It's relatively new.  It has a concert venue...I saw Aerosmith there.  It is smoke free even in the casino.

Planet Hollywood....I would call it moderate.  It is located kind of at the beginning of the middle of the strip

Paris....Giant Eiffel Tower.  Moderate.  It is in the middle of the strip.  Relatively new inside.  

Bally's, Flamingo, Harrah's....These run in order next to the Paris going north.  They are great location and budget.  You are in the center of the strip.  A bit more rowdier crowd, imo, you'll find in the center of the strip.  Monorail connections are here.  They are a bit older which is why they are budget.

Linq...moderate.  It has the giant Ferris wheel behind it.  Near the Flamingo.

Belllagio....Is across the street from Bally's.  The Cosmopolitan is over there also but it is high priced.  Bellagio is also.  The fountains in front of the Bellagio though are a must see.

Caesars...Next to the Bellagio.  Roman theme and it is gigantic in area.  Moderate price.  

Mirage...On Caesar's side.  Higher priced.  Has a scenic erupting volcano at night on the hour.

Treasure Island...Moderate priced.  Never been there there but I hear it has a Pirate ship.  It is a good location in that it is near some of the more sleek casinos.  Mainly the....

Venetian....High price and it's luxurious.  Has a canal running thru the hotel.  Just modern looking.  Attached to it is the Palazzo.  It's sister casino.

This sort of ends the middle of the strip.  You can go further north though and still find Circus Circus and the Stratosphere both more budget oriented.  And up there also are the Wynn and Trump which are more higher priced.

Go further North, leave the strip, and you will pass the Pawn Stars store.

And further north you go into the city, where you have the Golden Nugget as well as other casino's.  Fremont street is the big venue in the city.
Worth a half a day or evening to go to.  A giant lit up canopy covers blocks, people zip lining over you etc.  It's a party.

In general, all the hotels are nice.  Some are just more upscale.  But even the budget ones are reasonable.  Drinks are free when you bet.  You can go to Vegas and not bet and still find plenty to do.  Hoover damn is nearby.  A  day trip can take you to Grand Canyon.  

The airport is nearby.  Ten minute drive to any of these casinos.  You can Uber or Lyft.  Or just take a taxi for just under 25.00 each way.

And lastly if you don't use the monorails, there is a bus that can take people up and down the strip.  These casino's don't look that far away from one another when you are on the strip.  But they are further than they look if you want to travel to them.  All these casino's have shops, shows, and food courts.  Also more expensive restaurants.  And all the casinos have pools although in November, it will likely be cooler there.

This will be my 2nd bengals away game in person in about 30 yrs if I go to Vegas to watch it. I'm very tempted.

[XenoMorph]

dont gamble but would love to go to vegas 1 time i think for the shows and such... not sure ill be able to swing a road game there this year but maybe

[Clark W Griswold]

I live in So Cal and used to have family who lived in LV so I have been there a bunch of times.
My advice would be to check Yelp/trip advisor for hotels with good ratings off of the strip. You will pay a whole lot less $ and there are tons of them to choose from. Definitely do walk the strip and check out all of the hotels there as they are cool to see.

I looked at prices for the Bengals/Raiders game last night and the cheapest I saw was $350 so I won’t be going. Their stadium looks awesome but they are charging way too much. The $350 tickets were last row/top level. I checked the Bengals site and for a home game in Cincinnati the upper level is $45. If I add up the costs for travel/hotel/tickets then I can fly to Cincy and watch a home game for about the same price that it would cost to drive and attend a Raiders game in LV.

[MileHighGrowler]

(05-13-2021, 03:07 PM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: I live in So Cal and used to have family who lived in LV so I have been there a bunch of times.
My advice would be to check Yelp/trip advisor for hotels with good ratings off of the strip.  You will pay a whole lot less $ and there are tons of them to choose from.  Definitely do walk the strip and check out all of the hotels there as they are cool to see.

I looked at prices for the Bengals/Raiders game last night and the cheapest I saw was $350 so I won’t be going. Their stadium looks awesome but they are charging way too much.  The $350 tickets were last row/top level. I checked the Bengals site and for a home game in Cincinnati the upper level is $45. If I add up the costs for travel/hotel/tickets then I can fly to Cincy and watch a home game for about the same price that it would cost to drive and attend a Raiders game in LV.

I would say though that if you're staying off the strip, check the maps to see just how much walking you need to do if you're wanting to be on the strip.  I was there for a conference a couple of years ago and stayed on a street just behind the strip, and it was a solid half hour walk (and I'm a fast walker) to get around the parking structure and delivery docks of the closest casino/hotel to get to anything.  It made dinnertime or timely arrivals for meetings and the expo a pain, and walking that much in nicer shoes for work was miserable.  Uber/Lyft aren't super fast to arrive (wait time from my house is usually ~10 minutes, off the strip there that trip I was waiting ~45 minutes) so it was a lot of inconvenience for the few dollars my company saved by putting us somewhere cheaper.  

[Clark W Griswold]

(05-13-2021, 06:32 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: I would say though that if you're staying off the strip, check the maps to see just how much walking you need to do if you're wanting to be on the strip.  I was there for a conference a couple of years ago and stayed on a street just behind the strip, and it was a solid half hour walk (and I'm a fast walker) to get around the parking structure and delivery docks of the closest casino/hotel to get to anything.  It made dinnertime or timely arrivals for meetings and the expo a pain, and walking that much in nicer shoes for work was miserable.  Uber/Lyft aren't super fast to arrive (wait time from my house is usually ~10 minutes, off the strip there that trip I was waiting ~45 minutes) so it was a lot of inconvenience for the few dollars my company saved by putting us somewhere cheaper.  

This is true. I am looking at it as someone who drives to Vegas so I have my own vehicle when I go there. You would have to Uber it get a taxi unless your hotel has a free shuttle.