I am planninng my first trip to Las Vegas. Everytime I have just about decided where to stay, I hear something that tend to put me back in a state of confusion. I had gotten my choices down to Belligio. the Venetian and the Mirage. Last night on the Travel Channel, there were several specials on Las Vegas, including ones on the Venetian and Caesars Palace. Even though it seems that most of the talk now is about Belligio and the Venetian, I thought that Ceasars Palace looked fantastic. Is there a reason that it is not heard in conjuction with the other two, besides the fact that it is an older property? Does Ceasars compare to these two or maybe more to the Mirage? Which is the most convenient as to checking in and getting to and from the rooms? Since it seems I have heard of the hotel and all the events that have happened there since I was a child, might it be the best "Vegas" experience for me?

I have not stayed at Caesars, so I cannot comment on the rooms. Most people agree that the tower rooms are way better, on the par with Venetian.

The casino is rather large, and IMHO, quite standard. Last time I was there (early june), there was quite a bit of construction going on. I don't think they have finished.

The Forum shops are great, the buffet is rather bad.

Probably you don't hear a lot about it because it is not one of the newer, more spectacular hotels. In any case, I think that you have three very good choices, and you can't go wrong with any of them.

In this month's Travel and Leisure magazine, both Bellagio and Venetian hit the Top 100 (world-wide) Hotels Overall List. In Las Vegas (with their rankings) were: Bellagio (4), the Venetian (42) and Four Seasons (67). In the Continental US and Canada list, ratings were Bellagio (3), Venetian (24), Four Seasons (40), Caesars Palace (90) and Paris (97).

As you can see, Caesar's Palace is highly thought of by many people. I personally think it is a wonderful hotel. It may be older, but certainly doesn't show its age due to frequent renovations. And the Forum area is a wonderful way to wile away a few hours. I'd say if you want to go to Caesar's you can't go wrong, though the Bellagio and Venetian certainly beat it out in the customer opinion polls. The Mirage doesn't even come close, according to these polls.

Please allow me to add my 2 cents. I was in Vegas less than a week ago. Stayed 3 nights at the Bellagio and 2 nights at the Venetian. I have also stayed more than once at Caesars(Palace Tower rooms only)so I will give you my opinion on all three. I personally received the best service from the Bellagio. From the time I entered the hotel (the staff greets you at the door, very nice touch)to the time I checked out, the service was just outstanding. The check-in clerk upgraded my room to a view of the lake. How wonderful to see the dancing fountains from my room. The rooms are very nicely decorated and what I really like about the Bellagio is that they clean your room twice a day. Now I realize most people do not need this but it is nice to return to your room(in the wee hours of the morning) and not only find your bed turned down (with wonderful tasting chocolates-and this comes from a non-chocoholic)but your tashcans emptied along with fresh towels for the morning. I'm a sucker for room service and of the three, Bellagio has the best. Hot foods arrive hot and cold beverages arrive nestled in buckets of ice. It was pure heaven! As for the Venetian, check-in went smoothly. The rooms are very large. You have a marble bathroom with a separate shower and a sunken tub along with a private toilet. At the Bellagio everything in the bath is in the open. The bedroom area is nice but what I really enjoyed was the sunken "living room" area. There are 2 TVs in the room along with a fax machine. Both the Bellagio and the Venetian provide bathrobes. The food at the Grande Luxe Cafe is very good and plentiful. As for Caesars, customer service could be better, the rooms could be cleaner. Honestly the only way that I would return to Caesars is if given a great deal. Of the three I prefer the swimming pools at Caesars. It is absolutely beautiful. Bellagio's pool area is very nice as well but it is a bit cramped. Surprisingly, I saw a lot more kids and strollers inside and out at Bellagio than I ever have at Caesars. The pool area at Venetian is more concrete than pool. It could definitely use some work. I realize that this is very long and I apologize for that but I just wanted to assist you in your decision making because I too have been undecided and confused when it comes to booking Vegas hotels. To sum it all up, Bellagio is my #1 pick. Oh but to answer your last question as to which hotel would give you the best 'Vegas' experience, I would say Caesars. I think that everyone who visits Vegas should stay at Caesars, at least once.

To add to your dilema...

I've never stayed at Caesars, but the one negative about it is that the hotel is VERY far from the street. So if you plan on doing a lot of sight seeing around the strip, it takes a while just to get to the street. They do have a "moving sidewalk" that takes you to the street, but just thought i'd mention the above.

I've stayed at both Mirage and Venetian, but i think you'll have a great time at any of the hotels you are looking at (Vegas visitors spend WAY too much time worrying about the hotel, you will spend little time inside it!)

Like i said, all the hotels listed are good. Where would you normally stay if you were visiting another city. If you are a "Four Seasons" type of person and most concerned with customer service, i would stay at Bellagio. If a large room is most important to you, stay at the Venetian. If good but not pricey is important to you, stay at Mirage.

Here is a site that lists CUSTOMER REVIEWS of all the strip properties:

http://www.a2zlasvegas.com/hotels/rate-st.html

A2ZLasVegas does customer satisfaction ratings of Las Vegas hotels. They rank They rank Mirage and Venetian the 2 top Las Vegas hotels. Bellagio is ranked number 6 and Ceasars Palace number 8.
I have not stayed at Ceasar's Palace but don't much care for the place. The casino is rather dark and the buffet is lousy. The forum shops, however, are a must see. As ther mentioned above it is very isolated and difficult to get in and out of to visit other casinos on the strip. Once you get in, it's hard to get out. It appears to have been designed to keep a captive audience. But, a lot of people do seem to like its oppulence.
I have stayed at the Mirage and Treasure Island and loved them both. They have the same management and style as the Bellagio but don't feel as overwhelmingly large. They have a more relaxed feeling than the Bellagio. Bellagio, however seems to have the most status appeal as the newest and biggest of the former Mirage properties.
Check A2ZLasVegas for visitors' comments.
I'm sure you'll be happy at any of your choices.

Not to sound sexist or gender insensitive but..Oen Saturday night, I was at the roulette wheel at Caesars when a cocktail waitress asked for my order. I turned around and this women had to be pushing 65. I'm sure she know Frank and Dino, personally.

My wife even thought it was strange. I don't really have a point, just thought it was interesting.

There IS a point in there ryan.
The best casinos provide the best pay opportunities for cocktail waitresses.
There is a very direct correlation between the age/beauty of the cocktail waitresses and the quality/success of the casino.
Very interesting that you sensed that, but maybe didn't know exactly why.

I was at the LV Hilton not long ago and was amazed at the advanced age and haggard appearance of some of the waitresses. Could have just as easily been a bowling alley.

The 'cocktail waitress gauge' is for real.

I love staying at Caesars. having stayed at Mirage, Rio, Caesar's and a couple of others there, I really do have an affinity for Caesar's. I've stayed in both towers, and 2 years ago was the last time we were there. WE had a very nice bathroom. Have always had very good service, and am sorry to hear that others have had not so positive experiences at Casesars I really love that swimming pool. Okay, so it's a little hokey and maybe I even sometimes feel like I'm going to see Elvis near the pool or something, but that's the real Las Vegas experience. If I want the Bellagio experience well then, I'll go to Italy okay? Vegas is supposed to be sort of "tacky" so my vote is for Caesar's! I think it's a tie between the pool at Mirage and pool at Caesar's.

I've been to Bellagio, Italy and believe me, there is absolutely nothing at the Bellagio in LV that's even remotely like the Bellagio it was named for.
It's a sleepy little town (OK it has a few blocks of tourist shops but they're not tacky and 'bustling') on a tranquil, beautiful lake.
Wouldn't fit in in LV at all (thank goodness).

Marie, I'm a stickler for good room service food, too. That's a major reason I would NOT return to the Venetian as the food was below par, especially the BEEF, which was just AWFUL!!!

I can't believe the comments about old cocktail waitresses. A cocktail waitress is paid to bring you a drink and not to fulfill your sexual fantasies.

Are older women not to earn a living? Are they to hide their "haggard" faces under veils?

Grow up.

Now Mary, let's not be naive.
We're talking about Las Vegas here, not Peoria.
Attractive women attract and keep the attention of men in town to have some fun and get away from their day to day lives.
And happy men at gambling tables stay longer and spend more money. And in Vegas, that's ALL that matters to the powers that be.
So if you're in the mood to start up a successful casino, you better make sure you get some young attractive cocktail waitresses.
Call it sexism or ageism or whatever you want. But it's standard operating procedure in Vegas.

Mary:
Have you seen the "uniforms" these cocktail waitresses have to wear? Would you put your mother in one?
The waitresses are not there to just serve drinks. If that were true they'd have men and maybe ever robots doing it. And they have plenty of work for more mature ladies in Las Vegas too. Don't worry, they won't go without work.

Ahhh Vegas, the oppulence and beauty are amazing among the top new hotels. Comparing those 3 or 4 finest hotels is like arguing which of the last four playboy playmates is the best looking. Everyone will have an opinion about which is the best but would enjoy an experience with any of them. Unfortunatly for Caesers, where I used to frequent, it's like an old 70's playmate with the forum shops as a nice facelift but it just isn't the same. Good luck and may all your cocktail waitress's be young and firm.

What's that you say? Casinos openly discriminate against older women and men in service jobs? Excuse me, because I need to run off and file a class action lawsuit right away.

Don't worry. If these casinos are really doing that, they'll be brought down pretty quickly. Gender/age discrimination lawsuits are all the rage these days.

BTW, does anyone remember when flight attendants had to be young, thin, pretty, female, and white? People complained for a while when that changed, and now the industry is a model for diversity. Chinese food restaurants aren't allowed to limit their hiring to Chinese people, either. Casinos will be next.

OK "Class", then why aren't there lawsuits against Elite Modeling agency since they discriminate aginst old, fat women?

Class:
Wait till the Miss America and Miss Universe pagents etc. hear about this.
By the way, as you probably know cocktail waitress(or should I say waitpersons?) work for tips. Since men give the most and best tips, who would you think got the most tips? Do you think say an old guy like me could make enough tips to earn a good living? And what would I wear?
And I do remember those pretty young stewardesses. Now when I fly internationally I always use a foreign airline. Guess what? They all still have those young and pretty stewardesses. Those Europeans are so backward! But, for my money, I never fly an American carrier anymore.

save your money.. what your going to spend on a hotel your not going to spend much time at, spend it something else. You'll find that you will only go to your room to either change or sleep. my recommendation is to stay at the MGM or NEW YORK NEW YORK.

Personally, I'd love to see a nice-looking man (of any age) bring me my next cocktail at while I'm sitting at the poker machines at one of the casinos. Maybe I, as a female (we ARE 51% of the population, remember), would like to hear a male voice saying "Enjoy your drink". (That's my form of sexism, I know. ) I'd certainly tip HIM fairly well. One of the reasons that men aren't cocktail waitpersons in Vegas is that the hourly wage is fairly low--and the tips aren't all that great, either. They can make more $$ working as in valet parking.

I'm not saying I don't agree with the posts about casino owners using young, beautiful females as a "draw", but I am saying I disagree with it. And the casinos may be forced someday soon to change their hiring policies. Las Vegas is a growing city, the fastest growing in the U.S., and not everybody moving in (and looking for jobs) is young or beautiful. With the proliferation of huge resorts, and the need to hire people to work in those resorts, the casinos may have to look in other strata of the workforce to find enough people to provide the services they tout--and need to provide to continue to exist.

And, Carl, it's not only "men in town to escape". There are tons of women here for the same reason!

Classless, no I wouldn't put you into those uniforms the young, leggy young ladies wear. If you're wearing a pair of slacks, a white shirt, a vest, and maybe a tuxedo-type tie, you can serve my drink ANYTIME--and I don't care what your age is--just as long as my drink isn't watered and you give me a smile when you serve it. I promise to smile back.