50th Birthday in Vegas!
 

I'm going to Las Vegas for the first time in about two weeks. My daughter and I are staying at MGM Grand and I want to take a tour of the Grand Canyon while we're in the area. Any suggestions for restaurants, tours, etc. would be greatly appreciated

Are you looking for restaurant recommendations for Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or both? There are many threads on this forum about restaurants and buffets in Vegas, although some are a bit old. I'd look at them. If you check the web site for a hotel, you can view photos or videos of the restaurants and check out the menus. Many do not list prices, unless they have a fixed price, multi-course menu. If you are going to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the best restaurant is at the El Tovar hotel.

There is a great vodka bar..I think it is called Reds..they keep the room very cold, wrap you in fur and there is a secret backroom...

Here are some Las Vegas suggestions:

Best buffet: Bellagio

Best steakhouse: Binnions downtown

Best low stakes gambling: Orleans, off strip

Excellent free things to do: fountains at the Bellagio; the Dale Chuily sculpture at the Ballagio; the gardens at the Bellagio; the volcano at the Mirage. The public areas of both Mirage and Wynn are also fun and interesting.

If you are a fan of Star Trek, I highly recommend the Star Trek museum at the Hilton, off strip.

If you like hiking, I highly recommend renting a car and spending a day a Red Rock National Park or Valley of Fire State Park. Both are less than an hour from downtown Vegas.

My favorite Las Vegas web site is cheapovegas.com

Enjoy your trip.

I have a Las Vegas website with info and photos from my vacations there. I just posted new photos of my room at the MGM from my vacation in March. I have also taken a couple bus tours to the Grand Canyon. You can make the reservations at your hotel at their tour desk. I also have a few links on my site to the tour companies. Here is the link to my site:http://lasvegasfun.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful vacation!!!

Las Vegas is known as the entertainment capitol of the world ---- because it is --- by infinity.
Even though there are many wonderful things to see for free,
you are missing alot of the experience if you do not get show tickets.That said, you need to call in advance to get tickets to the best shows. About 90% of the hotels on the Vegas strip are owned by either Harrahs or MGM, so you can check on most shows by looking at Harrahs.com and MGMGRAND.com, and clicking on each hotel separately or calling their box office.
For the remaining 10% you need to check Rivera, Sahara, Stratosphere, TRopicana, and Greek-Isles, and Hilton (Don't forget Hilton!!!)
Of course there are many web sites
that give you all the shows at once, but after browsing, you should buy from the hotel. As for fine dining, I have found that Bellagio and Venetian have the best
Restaurants.

Someone said the Hilton was off strip? It's not. The Strip runs more or less from the Stratosphere to Mandolay Bay. The Hilton is between the Sahara and the Stratosphere. You may have thought it was off strip because cabs go off the strip and let you off in the back. Also there is a Strip tram stop at the Hilton, so it is very easy to get there. Rio and Gold Coast and Bills and Orleans are all off strip. Greeks isles is technically off strip but it is only a short block off, so it can be easily walked. And it often has good shows.

The Las Vegas Hilton is off the strip on Paradise Road, behind the Sahara. It's the hotel with the Star Trek attraction and Barry Manilow.
There are some Hilton Grand Vacations Condo places, one behind the Flamingo and one up near the Stratosphere.

Since you are staying at the MGM Grand, check out some of the restaurants in the MGM Grand Studio Walk. Pearl is a top notch Chinese restaurant with excellent service. Seablue has great seafood and a nice bar. If you are looking for a more universal celbrity chef experience, try Emeril's (in the Studio Walk) or Wolfgang Puck's Bar & Grill, just off the casino floor.

The buffet at Planet Hollywood (yes they have their own casino now) is consistantly rated as one of the best overall buffets.

Make sure to check out the various free shows or attractions. The Lion Habitat at MGM Grand is worth the visit. Catch the free shuttle from Bally's to the Rio to see the Masquerade Show in the Sky (running every hour on the hour from 6p-midnight). The fountains of the Bellagio are a must see (and I suggest you watch a few performances, since they have numerous routines with different music and 'choreography').

There is a Monorail stop at MGM Grand, which can help you get up and down the Strip fairly easily. It is much cheaper (and usually faster) than a cab.

misc updates:
1JAR, the restaurant you are thinking of is called Red Square. It is at Mandalay Bay.

The Mirage Volcano is being redesigned and won't be operating again until the end of the year.

The Las Vegas Hilton is definitely off-Strip, but it has a very convenient Monorail stop.