Vegas

zipis1 · January 2013

Hello! My FI and I were originally going to do the Caribbean getaway, but we're just not sure it's in our budget. So instead we're thinking of going to Vegas. FI's never been and when I went I was too young to do anything fun (plus I was there for a work conference, so I was restricted).

I was just curious if anyone has any thoughts/opinions/recommendations as far as hotels and attractions, or if anyone knows of any honeymoon package type things in the area.

Thanks!

JoanE2012 · January 2013

I stayed at Harrah's....it was reasonably priced in a nice location on the strip. You may want something a bit more high end though since it's your honeymoon. And honestly, my favorite part of our Vegas trip was a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Summer2011Bride · January 2013

Since it's essentially both your first time going there for fun, I would recommend a hotel in the middle of the strip so you can easily get to both ends by walking (or taking the monorail if necessary). I've stayed at the Flamingo and if you get one of the Flamingo GO rooms, they are pretty nice. I loved the location of it and if you go during warm weather months, they have a nice pool.

I've never stayed at the Mirage or Caesar's Palace but those are both also centrally located, as well as Bellagio, which I heard is very nice. I've heard great things about the Wynn too, which has a nice location.

I once stayed at MGM Grand and didn't like it. It's located far on one end of the strip and it is HUGE. Took forever just to get up to our room. Fun place to visit, but I prefer not staying there.

As far as things to do, just walking through all the different casinos is fun (and free)! Do you like shows? They have a ton of Cirque shows--we saw LOVE at the Mirage (the Beatles one) and thought it was fabulous! We also saw a celeb impersonator show at the Stratosphere that was actually pretty good and we got BOGO tickets. I would highly recommend searching for Vegas coupons online because we found a ton that saved us money on shows, attractions, etc. Though cheesy, the gondola ride at the Venetian was fun and might be romantic for a honeymoon. You can pay a bit more to get a private ride.

zipis1 · January 2013

To be honest we don't really have anything in particular we would really like to do. We're usually big time penny pinchers and so we're kind of going to use our honeymoon as our chance to experience as much as we can, I think. I would like to see a Cirque show though. What do you think of the Luxor? I was fascinated by it when I went before (I have a thing for pyramids), but I don't know how that adds up as far as location or anything.

nicnak22 · January 2013

The Luxor is middle of the road as far as a hotel goes however, the rooms were renovated within the last few years location is on the strip but kinda far from the real center. My favorites with great location would be Aria, Cosmopolitan, Bellagio. I actually really like Monte Carlo also.

B2Z728 · January 2013

I wouldn't stay at Luxor based on location alone. I agree with PP's it's much better to stay more centrally located.

The first time I was there I stayed at the Tropicana. It was a free trip that I won, so I didn't exactly have a choice of my hotel. I wouldn't recommend staying there, unless for some reason they've down massive renovations to the hotel. The Tropicana is located on the end of the strip where Luxor, MGM, and Circus Circus, and New New York are.

The second time I was there, we stayed at The Mirage. We enjoyed that hotel and it's location. I've also heard very positive things about Caesars Palace, The Bellagio, and one of the newest hotels on the strip, Aria - all of which are central to the strip. The Winn is also supposed to be very nice, but it located slightly off the strip, along with the Cosmopolitan.

Definitely give yourself a decent food and fun budget. Getting to Vegas and staying there are the cheaper parts of the trip. Generally once you're there is when you spend the real money.

Shows I've seen there and really enjoyed are: Circe de Soleil "Ka" and "O". The Blue Man Group was also a lot of fun.

If you want to rent a car and take a half day trip, Red Rock Canyon was very neat to see.

AllyG303 · January 2013

The Luxor is pretty dull as far as Vegas hotels go IMO. I agree with the PPs--stay centrally located. Planet Hollywood and the Paris hotel are also great locations not mentioned above and both are great hotels with nice rooms.

AllyG303 · January 2013

It also looks like your wedding is in June, correct? It is ridiculously hot in the summer, and you can find some great deals. If you are a true penny pincher and want to find a great deal on a nice hotel, you will be able to. Some hotels don't go down in price much regardless of the time of year (Wynn, Palazzo, Bellagio), but a lot of the other hotels will. Look around first and when you zero in on a hotel, check their website for HM deals or summer deals in general.

B2Z728 · January 2013

One way to save money on your room is to book one on a lower level, if you don't care as much about your view. Lower levels are usually cheaper. Also staying and flying mid week will be cheaper too.

MrsGandthebeag · January 2013

I've been to Vegas twice and stayed at The Paris and at Mandalay Bay. I loved MB. Now they have The Hotel at MB which is even nicer. Where else can you get a beach in the middle of the city? It's down at one end of the strip though. If you want to be more centrally localized, splurge and stay at the Bellagio. It's beautiful. You'll never lack for things to do in Vegas. Just walk in and out of all the hotels. They all have some sort of attraction.

jemmini6 · January 2013

My favorite hotel on the strip is the Venetian because even their standard suites are amazing, it would be a great hotel for a HM. Also, they have great inexpensive food options in the hotel, so if you want a quick/cheap meal, you don't have to walk too far (of course, you should do one or two nice meals, but to me, it's important to have inexpensive options for breakfast/lunches nearby). It's also a great central location on the strip, which is important if you're planning to check a lot of places out.

I'd recommend seeing some shows as well, use the Tix4Tonight booths along the strip. If you have a particular show you want to see, try to get there right when they open to buy tickets. Beware though, some of the most popular shows (like 'O' at the Bellagio) are almost always sold out in advance and don't come up at the Tix4Tonight booth.

For a sort of unique experience, I really like Minus 5, which is an ice bar and they have a location at Mandalay Bay and Monte Carlo, I believe. It's a little pricey ($30, which includes 1 drink), but it's something interesting to do and honestly, you could probably drop $30 into a slot machine in less time than you'll spend inside the bar anyways, so it's worth it to me.

Other than that, just walk the strip and check out the hotels. The fountains at the Bellagio (they also have a pretty botanical garden inside the main lobby), the pirate show at TI (which is kind of lame, but hey, it's free), the fire show at the Mirage, etc.

gymbugmj2k · January 2013

We did vegas for our honeymoon ....and it was both of our first time visiting! we had SO. MUCH. FUN. We got married in mid- August, and went mid-September (just in time for our 1 month and my birthday! this scored us some free desserts. haha). Temps were upper 80s. It was fairly comfortable.... just remember to stay hydrated throughout the day. With so much walking/activity you don't realize how fast you dehydrate!

we did Vegas fairly cheaply....
we stayed at the Hilton up by Circus Circus...and while it was a little further away (took 10-15min to travel into mid-strip by bus/shuttle. was fairly cheap for a multi-day pass. i'd reccomend this.), it worked out really well. it was a quiet hotel so we could have that peaceful, relaxing honeymoon atmosphere when we wanted it. we ended up getting couples massages while we were there. LOVED IT.

There is also a hilton mid-strip by the Flamingo.
if staying in a 'vegas' hotel is more important to you... then anything around caesars, venitian, bellagio, wynn, etc is pretty nice. I think if we went back, we'd splurge and stay at the venitian or bellagio. they're just gorgeous.

as far as entertainment/food.... we couponed a lot where we could. we ate at places like Raos, Serendipity (YUM! you have to try the frozen hot chocolate.), Peppermill (great at any time during the day. cheap with big portions too!), the Bellagio buffet (if you enter right before 4pm, you pay lunch price, but get dinner food!...we lined up around 2pm and barely made it in time, so get there early). We did 2 nice dinners throughout the week, Bouchon and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. I'd highly reccomend both. We booked one of the first dinner reservations at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant (a day or two ahead of time), so we got a table on the window, overlooking the bellagio fountains. Truthfully one of the best dinners with regards to food and atmosphere.

we spent our money at the shows. we saw 2 cirque shows - "O" and "Mystere". As a longtime gymnast.... they're both great. If you've never seen a cirque show, I'd reccomend starting with "O". It's worth every penny.

Tiesto was playing at the Encore Beach Club...so we did that one day as well. Fun, but expennnssiiive. I'd try hitting up a cheaper 'pool party' somewhere. Check the vegas websites to see who's playing where. A lot of times popular DJ's are coming through...we just missed Deadmau5 by 2-3 days =(

Aside from that, we just walked around everywhere, and explored all the hotels. This took up at least 3 days. haha. We stood in front of the fountains for hours, saw all the 'free' shows/exhibits at the different hotels. There's a dueling piano bar in harrah's which is pretty fun - check that out one night.

Sadly (or maybe a good thing), we ran out of time and never gambled! haha.

All in all, we had an awesome time, and still feel like there is more we could've explored. We never side tripped to the dam or canyon or anything. lol guess that means we have to go back!

kaos16 · January 2013

We stayed at the Mirage last time we went to Vegas. I also have stayed at the Paris. Both are lovely. Mirage seems very centrally located to me. We took a day trip out to Lake Las Vegas while we were there, which is actually where we got engaged.

Other things to do: We took a helicoper tour of the Grand Canyon which was awesome. I loved it. There are ticket kiosks for the shows on the strip in a few locations if you are interested in seeing a show, maybe you can get a good deal last minute. I would also check Groupon or Living Social for ideas/deals on things to do while you are there.

Lastly, I am of the opinion that it wouldn't hurt to contact the concierge of where you are staying, even through email, and express to them that you are coming for your honeymoon and see if they have ideas. Sometimes the concierge will have access to deals that you don't. Additionally, there is always a chance that they will upgrade you or do something else nice for your honeymoon, which is a nice little treat.

B2Z728 · January 2013

I agree with Kaos, when booking your trip, if you can, write somewhere that this is your honeymoon. Also mention that while you're checking in. It doesn't hurt and you may receive some sort of upgrade. You never know.

HoneymoonMe · January 2013

Note to the penny pincher side of your trip: Nothing is cheap in Vegas!!!

Cabs get really pricey so look for a place on the monorail or at least a location where you know you'll stay within walking distance.

I loved Paris...their rates are really reasonable, the rooms are nice, and it's in the middle of the strip.

Don't spend a week in Vegas. Seriously. 3-4 nights is pretty good...after a while you may want a break from all the lights and noise. Consider renting a car and driving to one of the parks outside of Vegas.

Go to old town Vegas for the best gambling prices on tables! And pack snacks....I definitely sound like my mother but I have to go out every year for a convention and spending $15 for every breakfast or $7 for every snack gets old. I'm always packing snacks

meggiemo · January 2013

We got a great deal in June at Planet Hollywood. It's right in the center of the strip, the rooms are nice, and our service was outstanding! Someone on here mentioned Serendipity... It's a MUST!

sparkles776 · January 2013

I agree with all the PPs, I would stay somewhere centrally located like Bellagio, Planet Hollywood, Paris, Venetian, etc. I have been to Vegas 3 times and have stayed at New York New York, Planet Hollywood and Bellagio. All 3 were great and I have no complaints but this last time I went to Bellagio and I dont think I can ever stay anywhere else again it was absolutely amazing. I would splurge somewhere nicer if you can afford it since it is your HM.

I agree, NOTHING is cheap in Vegas. I think we had one reasonably priced meal while we were there, some random restaurant in the Planet Hollywood mall. I second Serendipity and I love Cabo Wabo and the Italian place in the Tropicana.

I have seen O at the Bellagio (cirque), Criss Angel and Blue Man Group and all 3 were very good.

Going to Fremont Street is a must but it is a $20 cab ride there and back. Last time we went to the Hoover Dam which was a lot of fun too.

Vegas

Re: Vegas

Choose Another Board

Search Boards