Staying ON or OFF the Strip...

pengster2014

Hi all,

If everything works out and we are able to have our wedding in LV, we will be going for the first time...

I understand some hotels are horrid than others, so I have been looking at oyster.com b/c they claim to be 'real unedited' pix.  So I have looked and liked at the styles of Rumor, Tropicana and Flamingo as well as Orleans ... I do not think PH, MB, Ceasars, Cosmo, etc are in the budget (although I love cosmo and MB) if we want to do everything that we have planned plus host a small reception dinner...

It seems the reviews are not so great for Rumor, or the Artisan hotel and I was consider the palms too...

I also looked downtown on freemont, but I am not sure if  that is a good area to stay first trip...

 So thoughts about staying on/off the strip and justification about spending the $$$ on more ritzy places?

vegasgroom

Welcome to the board.  My recommendation would be if it's your first time, and you're on a budget, check out the Flamingo's GO rooms, or Fab if you want to save a little bit more, I just like the GO rooms better.  It's about as central-strip as you get without the cost of Caesars.

I would not stay off-strip for your first time, the cabs will easily make up the difference in price from what you'd save.  I'm happy to stay off strip now after experiencing most of what I care about in Vegas and choosing to mostly gamble these days but there's too much to see on your first few trips to not stay on the strip and walk to everything.

Regarding downtown, I stay there mostly now because Golden Nugget treats gamblers so much better than the strip resorts, and their Rush Tower rooms are great.  It is definitely a different vibe and crowd down there though so I recommend getting a few trips in on the strip first, see all the shows, see all the resorts, etc. and then switch it up so you can see what you like better.

Last advice, don't rely on the bus to go between strip and downtown; it's a long not fun at all ride; we did it once.  The frequent stop strip busses (Deuce) are okay though if you need to go a short distance and it's hot out.

fablove

I would not recommend Rumor. We've stayed there before because I loved how the rooms looked and I was not disappointed. I was disappointed in the fact that their customer service is horrible and the entire enviroment there feels sleazy. It's a major party place with extra sleaz thrown in and I wasn't comfortable there. Luxor is affordable and the tower rooms are a must to stay in. As far as downtown, Golden Nugget all the way! We are staying there our honeymoon week because we love it so much!

chrisandmeg2013

Agree with Vegasgroom - I wouldn't stay downtown for your first trip. It's a very different vibe. The casinos are older and honestly it can look a bit grungy there. It's definately something to experience, but not on your first trip. Maybe make a day trip out of it while you're in town; it's great for cheap gambling and cheap drinks.

Inexpensive hotels on the strip: I would recommend the Flamingo or Elara. Sign up for Total Rewards emails. Every few months they send out a decent coupon code. Check smartervegas.com for codes too.

Elara is in the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollwood. It used to be timeshares (was called Westgate Towers at the time) until Hilton bought it last year and turned it into a hotel. All the rooms have a little kitchenette (microwave, mini fridge, and dishwasher) and the suites have a full kitchen. Makes for a very comfortable stay. The rooms are great, floor to ceiling windows, and no resort fee - which will save you a good amount of money over any other hotel on the strip. They don't do weddings, but since it's in PH you could easily have your wedding there. It's center strip, so you could really go anywhere pretty easily for the wedding. Depending on when you're going, you can get a studio room pretty cheap. I just looked at prices for the end of the summer, and they had rooms for $79. Given all the ameneties when staying there, and no resort fee, that's a pretty good price.

Good luck!

PreDempsey

Thanks for the heads up about oyster.com. Just looking at Harrah's and it looks incredibly basic (which is fine with us) but makes me glad we got it at such a discount.

pengster2014

Thanks for the advice everyone!  I will check out Elara!

I totally love oyster.com... always nice to see pix and such that are not professional

pengster2014

Are Total Rewards available to Canadians too?

Knottie_22387304

Don't stay off strip. Cab fares will eat into any savings you get on rooms. Plus you run the risk of getting lost, which would def ruin your big day. Excalibur has nice rooms in the $40/night range. We are marrying and staying at MB and recommended Excalibur to guests looking to save. We are also having a plated dinner reception at Excalibur. Unbelievable price...under $1000 for 20 guests. We did lots of upgrades and spent just over $2000 for reception

swyatt2014

I had this same dilema in chosing where my guests and I would stay. For some, it's their first time in Vegas and they quietly voiced that they wanted to stay on the strip when I mentioned an off-strip location at first (LVH). So now we're at Harrahs for the October wedding, and we're getting about the same price and we're going thru the "Total Experiences" group booking for the discounted rate.

Kris10bixler

We have stayed at The Flamingo four times now and have had a good experience each time. I would definitely recommend staying on the strip because like the previous post says, you won't save money when you end up having to pay for transport.