jb58809

Hi - couple of Brits visiting LV for the first time w/e commencing 13/2/09 for 4 nights. Read many posts but still undecided re hotel and things to do.
1)Like to be central strip - would you recommend either Hotels Paris, Ballys, Flamingo, or others???? not bellagio as too expensive!
2) what are the top 10 must do things?
Cheers

SiteC_er

Paris, Harrahs, Ballys & Flamingo are all centrally located. Of the four, Paris would be the nicest. While not quite as central, NYNY, Monte Carlo, & MGM are all in the same price range. Since most people spend very little time in their room, I'd opt for the one with the best price.

I'll start your top 10 list by recommending the following: Cirque du Soliel's- Love. If that is out of your price range, go see Mystere.

tgbwc

The Bellagio has a conservatory you must see, it's awesome. Be sure to look at the glass ceiling in the lobby on your way there. Also the Venetian has the Gondola ride, just walking through the place to get there is quite enjoyable.

Go downtown one night and see the lightshow.

ChristieP

www.cheapovegas.com is my favorite Vegas website. Their reviews are funny and very accurate!

Jo1023

We've had very good experiences at Paris. Shop around for a good price. Try www.vegas-promotions.com or Travelzoo. Eat at the Eiffel Tower if you can--very pricey, but if you can get a table by the window overlooking the strip (esp facing the Bellagio, and esp at sundown when strip lights up), it's a great experience. "O" at the Bellagio across the strip--truly unique and can't be replicated elsewhere due to the special stage. If you like roller coasters, those at the Stratosphere cannot be beat!

RBCal

Note the roller coaster which used to be atop the Stratosphere is no longer there. Now there are

Big Shot - Shoots passengers straight up 160 feet at 45 mph (over 4 Gs) until they are 1,081 feet above the Strip.

X-Scream - A giant teeter-totter that propels you 27 feet over the edge of the Tower, 866 feet above the ground.

Insanity, the Ride - A massive mechanical arm extends 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and spins you at a force of 3 Gs for a truly mind-bending experience.

IMHO the only must see in Vegas is a show.

melissaki5

For a room choice, of the hotels you mentioned I have only stayed at Bally's and our room was great for the price. Really any of the strip properties in that area are fine and go with the best rate, as the previous poster mentioned.

As for things to do I have to place a vote for "O". I thought it was absolutely magical. I have also seen Love and honestly was disappointed. It has great music but the "wow" factor that is usually expected from Cirque shows was just not there. I guess it all boils down to personal preference and what you want to get out of an experience.

As for other things to do - that depends on what you enjoy. The most obvious is gamble. I recommend learning how to play some black jack and craps before you go. Table games are much more fun and social than slots. www.blackjackinfo.com has a free strategy trainer(left hand side of page). It teaches you how to play blackjack while you play by correcting your mistakes.

If you like shopping there are tons of malls on the strip and two outlet malls in the area I know for sure there is one that can be reached easily by bus.

I also liked the earlier suggestion of the freemont street experience. I have always had a good time downtown.

Have a great trip!!!

Dutch

Top thing to do in LV:

Lose your virginity.

grouptravel

Hi jb58809,
There are several posts with recommendations of the top things to do in Vegas but I'll give some of my favorites.

a) Hotel -- In my opinion, it's a toss up between Bally's and Paris considering the properties share an underground walking mall. I like Bally's because it's less expensive and not as busy. Try to reserve one of the renovated rooms. I believe one poster recommended the Monte Carlo. I've stayed at this property and it is very nice. I remember there was a hotel fire earlier this year so perhaps all of the repairs were made.

b) Fun things include visiting the themed hotels and their exhibits (ex: Excalibur, NYNY, Casaer's, Venetian, Hard Rock).

Seeing the pirates show at Treasure Island, the dancing water show outside of Bellagio and the light show on Fremont Street (downtown).

Catching a Cirque show. "O" at the Bellagio was pretty good.

If nightclubs are your thing, there are several to choose from. I can only speak to Pure and Studio 54. It's been about 3 years since I've visited each but beware there will be long lines and expensive drinks. Good people watching though.

I recommend renting a car and driving around Vegas to visit some of the off Strip casinos and shopping malls. You can park for free at the casino hotels or use the valet service.

I don't believe there are many pools open during February (it can be a little chilly). If you were visiting in the Spring/Summer, I would recommend hanging out at the pool sipping on a fruity drink

Have fun!

cheryllj

I love the Paris but Bally's is usually a much better deal, and they are connected together in the same complex with an underground walkway. If you stay at Bally's get a renovated room in the North tower.

planning_ahead

Just back ourselves from 4 days.
Firstly thing to do is maintain a sense of humour. Vegas is madness, we stayed at Mandalay Bay at the end of 3 weeks of viewing nature and rocks so completely overwhelmed by the insanity. Check out smartervegas.com for offers, book something refundable and see if anything better comes up. We got 4 nights for 3 at Mandalay Bay.
Give yourselves time to walk around and go in the themed hotels to see the free things. Tram from Excaliber to Mandalay bay via Luxor is FREE so can save some shoe leather. Bellagio is very swish and worth a gawk also the buffet there is fantastic. Tip for buffets which we found by mistake, they run continuously so if you want brunch go half hour before breakfast ends, pay breakfast price and get lunch choices too. Also works for lunch into dinner. Deuce bus can be slow in traffic but very reasonable, didn't use monorail but believe it is quicker as it runs along the backs of hotels. We did a small amount of gambling as it didn't really appeal. All the casinos seem to have 1 cent machines that take minimum a dollar but some of the fun has gone now that winnings don't 'chink' out of the machine - you get a ticket to exchange for cash.
Lots of building work going on on the strip. Lots of choices of shows, some at 1/2 price booth but if you really want to see something book it beforehand. We thought Love was good but the music seemed disjointed from the action and we didn't 'get' the storyline if there was one.
Have fun
Hilary

bachslunch

Good suggestions above. Some other possibilities:

1. the Liberace Museum. Believe it or not, it's really good.

2. the antique car museum at the Imperial Palace casino.

3. the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage casino.

4. if you've never seen the Grand Canyon, you can take an all day bus trip (or if you have lots of money, a plane flight) to see it.

ncounty

Awesome tip about the buffet, Hilary! Thanks.

luvtogo07

Go to beautiful Red Rock Canyon just west of the strip if you have a car. Wonderful hikes at Ice Box Canyon or Pine Creek Canyon and great rock scrambling at Calico Hills.
(www.redrockcanyonlv.org)

Our family never misses the opportunity to go to the Garden Court Buffet at Mainstreet Station downtown on N Main St
(www.mainstreetcasino.com)

Why spend so much time in Vegas? We always drive past and go right to Zion National Park in Southern Utah, only two and a half hours farther north. We stay at the Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale (small town at the entrance to the park) and going on every hike there we can.
The Mexican restaurant, Oscars Cafe, across the street from the Inn and the restaurant in the lodge at the Park have wonderful food.

jb58809

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. There is some really useful stuff there.
Just one more question - we are thinking of doing a trip to the Grand Canyon (probably incorporating by air) - anyone recommend a good tour and tour operator?

Many thanks again

djkbooks

We went to the Grand Canyon with Scenic Air (partnered with Grand Canyon Airlines and Papillon). We were very pleased. The entire trip was well organized and the buffet lunch was actually very good. We thought it well worth the extra for the views over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and, of course, the canyon going and coming.

ncounty

I am in Vegas right now (never too late to start researching and planning, eh? . Good to know about Red Rock. Turns out SO hates Vegas so maybe we'll head out and do some hiking on our free day tomorrow before we go home. Last night, we really enjoyed a band at Paris? right where it joins Bally, I think. I think their name was Sham. It was the perfect Vegas lounge music scene, great for dancing. It was so much fun, this very old guy watching from the gambling area motored right up on the dance floor after everyone just sat down and was dancing by himself to YMCA. A middle aged woman just jumped right up and joined him....it was really cute. I ate at Olives at Bellagio last night, at the bar. Really enjoyed the Slingray martini (passionfruit) and pulled pork crepes. The complimentary bread with olives and tapenade was awesome. The French onion soup was very good but that is a selection that has not risen to sublime anywhere for me. Dining prices at Paris are much better than at Bellagio as well. There is a crepes place we'll probably go back to check out tonight.

lcray

We leave for our first visit to Las Vegas tomorrow, and are planning some days out of town too.
If you enjoy hiking, I hear the area around Mount Charleston is nice, that is where we plan to go. Will post a trip report when we get home.