Going in the fall ( October). Want to stay at 4 or 5 star resort ($200 to $250). I don't know if I will ever return, so would like a memorable resort

Bellagio. (I think it fits the price range.) Get a lakeview (as opposed to mountain view) room.

Other choices: Venetian. Paris.

Mirage is always good.

I've heard great things about Mandelay Bay.

Have fun!

Gayle

Mandalay Bay is very nice, and you have three options for Luxury: Mandalay Bay, Four Seasons and The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.

I believe "The Hotel" is all-suite, as is the Venetian, which gives you added comfort.

The Venetian. Get a Venezia tower room. It's is one of the best hotels I've ever been to.

(Mandalay Bay is not nearly as fun or in as good a location. TheHotel at Mandalay Bay has nice rooms if you like modern/trendy decor.)

Careful with your dates. There are some BIG conventions in October and room rates triple.

The Bellagio.
You never have to leave the hotel. Fine dining, shopping, a museum and Cirque de Soleil's "O"..
not to mention a very nice casino

If you are going to visit LV only once, I think Bellagio has to be the choice. Venetian lacks the class, great restaurants, fountains, nice pool complex and top location Bellagio enjoys.
Mandalay Bay is poorly located if you're going to try to get a good feel for what LV is all about, and its standard rooms aren't as nice as Bellagio or Venetian. Four Seasons and THEhotel also suffer from location limitations. FS is really not worth the price given the room quality and location unless you really need peace and quiet (FS is tops in this regard. Doesn't feel like LV at all).

The rooms at Thehotel at Mandalay Bay are really nice. We stayed there a couple of weeks ago. They are all suites.Livingroom is really comfortable with a couch, 2 chairs, a large desk with leather chair (including fax/printer).Large floor to ceiling window overlooked the strip. There is a wet bar and 1/2 bath.Also a 43" plasma tv. Bedroom had 2 queen beds, lots of storage, another floor to ceiling window, and a 36" plasma tv. There was a huge bathroom, with seperate tub and shower. Also a 13 " plasma tv. It was also our 1st time to Vegas, and we were worried about the location, but it worked out fine. There is a tram that takes you up a little ways, and then we enjoyed walking the strip. Always took a cab back though because we never had the energy to walk back. For buffets, The Bellagio ans Spice Market at the Aladin were the best.

$250 may or may not get you a room at one of the top hotels (Bellagio, Venetian, Mandaly/Four Seasons.) Rates in Vegas can vary widely as I've payed at little as $179 and as much as $525 a night for a Standard, Lakeview Room at Bellagio.

As indicated, availability will depend on the convention schedule at the time you are going.

If you're flexible, then you will likely get a better rate during the week than on the weekends. I'd contact the hotel you're thinking about and get a sense from them of the rates. I'd also suggest booking early. If rates fall, you can always rebook. But, if the hotel begins to fill up, you'll likely be paying a bit less.

Personally, if I were picking one hotel I'd opt for Bellagio. The location can't be beat and it is an all-around great hotel with generally exceptional restaurants. One caveat though, the term 4 or 5 star is relative. A 3,500 room hotel like the Bellagio, while very good, can't compare to say a hotel like the Peninsula Hong Kong that has a few hundred rooms.

Las Vegas will be memorable!

While I agree that Bellagio is probably the best, Ryan makes a great point about timing and price.

I believe that first timers should stay on the strip. Memorable is in the eye of the beholder. I think that NYNY is memorable, not in a luxury sort of way, but in an interesting somewhat over the top experience sort of way. Some will say NYNY is not mid-strip enough, I disagree personally with that theory. The over the top thing is mostly what you will see in Vegas.

Paris is a great place and less expensive than Bellagio. I recommend it highly if Bellagio is out of your price range. Some of this depends on what you like, who your traveling companions are, age, etc. If you have kids, Bellagio is not it. If you are very young, it may not be for you.

Tell us a bit more about you and we may be able to get you more detailed advice.

At any rate, it will be memorable!

Out of curiousity (please forgive me alawes), how does one find out about the "busier" weekends in LV? By calling the hotels and asking about Conventions? Thanks so much.

Couple of convention sites that will give you a good idea of bookings. This will give you some level of feel for how busy and expensive a time frame will be in the future. I believe the numbers have to get pretty huge to have a town-wide effect. (Comdex for example)

http://www.ratelasvegas.com/conventions/index.html

http://www.lvconventions.com/

Thanks, placeu2!

And for anybody else perusing this thread, you'll be thrilled to note the following:

7th Annual Exotic Dancer Fan Fair - September 3-4th @ Mandalay Bay

Las Vegas International Lingerie Show - October 11-13 @ Rio Suites

Please plan accordingly...

One way to get a feel for how busy it will be is go onto say the Bellagio website and check rates for a few different periods. It's an easy way to compare a stay in one week versus another. www.bellagio.com

It's a bit easier to do on the Venetian site as you can see the rate per night on a monthly calendar.

I'd imagine the large Vegas hotels are fairly sophisticated in their pricing as they can use past history to determine expected demand levels and price accordingly.