3 nights in Vegas...
 

Hello all!!! I am planning a trip for late January to Vegas. My boyfriend and I have never been, and I have been doing some research and need some help. First, The Bellagio, Venetian, or THEHotel? Second, I need a nice restaurant for one night. Third, which Cirque show should I book? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I would stay at the Venetian, just a beautiful hotel, very romantic and people on this board who have stayed there seemed to like it.

My wife and I went to see Zumanity a very risqué show, and no one under 18 is allowed inside. If anyone wondered what contortionists look like naked, that’s the show for you. Not as "good" as the other shows, but it was more our style.

If you do go show up early, some of the performers were mingling with the audience cracking jokes and playing gags.

You can see our impressions and trip report here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...2007/tpod.html

Can't help you with question number two and three, since I only stroll on the strip when I'm there.

As for the hotel, I agree with zlaor. The Bellagio is beautiful too, but I would most certainly book the Venetian. In my opinion, it's the most beautiful hotel on the strip and it's so romantic inside. I'm pretty sure you'll both love it.

Either the Bellagio or Venetian will be great. Nice restaurants - there are SO many: Anything owned by Wolfgang Puck, the Palm, the VooDoo lounge at the Rio. For the Cirque show - my favorite is Mystere at Treasure Island, but "O" at Bellagio is great, too....

For first time visitors, I usually suggest a centrally located hotel. Bellagio is very centrally located, so that would be my recommendation. Spring for a fountain view room, if you can. The Venetian has a pretty good location, but is a bit further north. Nonetheless, not bad for access to the Treasure Island, Mirage, and Wynn. TheHotel is a boutique hotel within the Mandalay Bay and at the far southern end of the strip. The Mandalay Bay is a very nice resort, but if you're looking to explore the strip, I'd go with something central.

All three hotels are of comparable quality and amenities.

Nice restaurants abound in Vegas. You'll need to be more specific in terms of budget, type of cuisine, and type of restaurant (hip and loud, quiet and elegant, great view, etc..).

With regards to the Cirque shows - have you seen a Cirque show before? Some of them can get very arty. My recommendation for people who haven't been to a Cirque show before is Mystere at the TI. It's closer to a regular circus than the other ones. "O" is also very good.

while i have never stayed at the bellagio, i just recently stayed at the venetian and LOVED it. THEHotel is nice, but the location kind of sucks since its right on the end of the strip. Both the venetian and bellagio are in the middle so you can walk in either direction. The room at the venetian was like a little studio apartment and the bed was so comfy! Not hotel like at all. Sorry cant help you on the restaurant part, but im sure you will get lots of suggestions for that. Have fun!

I vote for Venetian also. The fitness center/spa managed by Canyon Ranch is fantastic. The rooms are as fine as any casino hotel.

I second the vote for Mystere at Treasure Island. Classic Cirque act in a no bad seats theatre.

If you are a Beatles fanatic, add Love to the list. The acrobatics and comedy are better at Mystere, but the Beatle music is wonderful at Love, right across the street at Mirage.

Hi again!!! Thanks for so many responses. I guess for first timers, the Bellagio seems to be the best situated. To answer lifelists's questions, I have seen Cirque a few times, but my bf has not...so which performance do you suggest for a first-timer? Regarding restaurants, I just want to take my bf out to a nice restaurant for his b-day...that is the reason we are taking this quick getaway from NYC...so, I would prefer a restaurant that is romantic and elegant...we hail from NYC so to get a good meal in an upscale restuarant, I know what I am in for - budget wise. Maybe a steakhouse, Italian/Continental, New American? Thank you all for such great responses!!! Anything else I should be thinking of?

My vote for a Cirque de Soleil show is also Mystere. I have seen all the Vegas Cirque shows plus one that is no longer there and one in L.A. Mystere is superbly athletic to me. I have seen it twice, and enjoyed it even more the second time.

You can see a trailer at: http://tinyurl.com/qhdpk.

We just got back from Vegas and ate at Daniel Boulud at the Wynn, Japonais at the Mirage, Bouchon at the Venetian, and Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. You might want to check out the websites for these places, and see what you think. All were nice, but not horribly expensive. I loved Love, but it's not very Cirque-y. Others in our group liked Ka much better.

We stayed at both the Venetian and te Bellagio last time we were in Vegas. e liked the Bellagio much more than the Venetian for a couple of reasons: We were in the Venenzia (sp?)Tower which was the newer part of the Venetian but this meant that we had to take two elevators and had a VERY long walk to our room. I didn't like doing this walk on my own at night as I found some of the corridors long and 'lonely'. Also, the Venetian is pretty easy to get lost in and while it is a beautiful hotel we liked the Bellagio better. However, if I were to go back I would LOVE to stay at the Wynn - it looked absolutely amazing!

Re shows, the first Cirque show we ever saw was 'O' and it was spectacular. We also saw Mystere but thought 'O' was better - more 'wow' factor IMHO.

I can't recommend a restaurant as such but we have tried MANY of the buffets and found the best dinner buffets at 1. The Wynn, followed closely by the Mandalay Bay and then the Bellagio for dinner. The best breakfast buffet was the Luxor..... Of course restaurant choices are all subjective but these are the ones we really liked.

Given that your boyfriend hasn't been to a Cirque show before, I think Mystere is still best, though "O" is also very good and conveniently located at the Bellagio, if that turns out to be your hotel choice.

At the Bellagio, Prime is an excellent steakhouse, and I believe Michael Mina has a restaurant at the Bellagio, as well. Venetian has Emeril's Delmonico steakhouse, which is also very good.

If you really want to go upscale, there's always Guy Savoy at Caesar's Palace and Joel Robouchon at the MGM. MGM seems to have put together a very nice slate of high-end restaurants, like Fiamma and Nob Hill, so they're worth checking out. I've also heard good things about Alex at the Wynn. I like Bouchon at the Venetian, and have breakfast there at least once every trip, but I don't think it quite hits the "elegant" requirement for a romantic dinner. That's not to say that it isn't very nice, but it is a bit more casual than the other restaurants mentioned.

As someone who has splurged to eat at both Picassos ($109. fixed 7 course) in the Belagio and Joel Rubichons at MGM ($350. fixed course), I strongly recommend Picassos which I actually think was worth the $109. price tag. I actually had a problem relaxing at Joel Rubichon with 100 purple chaffon clad waiters flitting around me, and did not think the food was as good as that at Picassos. If you you want good food at reasonable prices in a romantic but eccentric setting, I recommend House of Lords in the Sahara (a wonderful, beautiful very reasonably priced normal food place (steak and Lobster tail); or the Red Square in Mandolay Bay (Nuvo-Russian). For the latter, you need to actually like things like cavier and Herring.

Oh- forgot the Cirque show. I have seen all of the Vegas ones.

Mystere: Very classic cirque with a giant-headed baby running across the stage - might be good for a first taste

O: Classic cirque with high diving

Love: A combination of Broadway & Cirque - probably the best show ever produced (no qualifiers there - best show EVER produced).

Ka: Extraordinary show with Pyrotecnics that takes place on vertical screen - be SURE to get seats at least 14 rows back.

Zumanity: Close up sexual-implied (not explicit) scenes. I believe you can rent your own velvet balcony loveseats to watch the show.

Le Reve: A Cirque knockoff. Slower and more beautiful than Cirque -- I fell asleep.

For any Cirque show, get there early. I guess if I were showing someone Cirque and had to choose, I would choose Mystere. He might not know what to make of it, but he would be in awe and he would reallize the power of the human body. Every person in the show is more capable than the best Olympian.

I took my sisters (who had never been to a Cirque) to Ka - and they didn't like it at all. While it was interesting, it was a bit on the depressing and dark side - not at all what I want to get from a Cirque. As everyone has said - awesome restaurants - you've gotten great ideas here, and any of them will be good. I've been to all the hotels, but based on what you say you want - I do think Bellagio would be very nice for you. Enjoy - one of my favorite US cities!!!

Pick your shows and restaurants and then pick your hotel. It makes it very easy if your show and restaurant are in the same hotel as you're staying. That doesn't mean you have to plant yourself in one spot. It just makes things a little less rushed.

We just came back from Vegas. We stayed at the Bellagio which we love. Had dinner at Circo in the Bellagio at 5:45 and then ambled over for the the 7:30 O show. We live in the EST zone so eating early the first night was great. On our second night we walked over to the Mirage for Love and then next door to Mesa Grill in Caesar's for dinner.

I have to agree with everyone else regarding the shows:
Mystere - classic Cirque with more true acts than the others
O - more artistic but still amazing
Love - very Broadway, a must for the Beatle fan.

You can do your research on http://www.smartervegas.com

There are also some nice videos of the attractions in the area (in the attractions tab)

As for which shows to see my favorite show is Le Reve, but its discount will expire on Nov 5th. Ka & Stomp are currently discounted at almost half price so you might want to consider those aswell.

Updated LV discount list:
http://www.smartervegas.com/promotio...untscodes.aspx

Also try:
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com

Stayed at all 3 hotels and would vote for the Bellagio hands down..
The Venetian is ok but the rooms are worn but the rooms are large.
I'm a Wynn girl and the rooms have all of them beat with the great beds, goose down pillows, high thread count Italian linen..
Wynn has some of the best restaurants and we like Boulud's and Okada for sushi.
Le Reve or Spamalot is at the Wynn and if you 'sign up' to their guest book, they send incredible room deals..I get 5* rooms for $119 a night!
Try Expedia as well.
Have a great time and I would book soon since January is busy with conventions.

wynnlasvegas.com

The Bellagio has it all.
Location, luxurious rooms, great shopping.
Amazing array of restaurants and food.
And did I mention the location? ;)
You cannot lose!
(well except maybe some cash haha)

Hello again!!! I want to thank you all for helping me choose a hotel!!! I just reserved the Wynn for 3 nights in January, and I have decided to see Mystere at Treasure Island. So, just one more question...should I purchase the tix now, and does Cirque ever discount them on their web page? Oh...one more question...does the Wynn have a good steak house? Thanks again!!!