My husband and I are planning our first trip to Las Vegas the end of July. I have a few questions:
1. How hot will it be?
2. I've seen some good rates at Treasure Island, Luxor, Mirage, the Venetian, and Tropicana. Which is the best for a 20-something couple who likes luxury at a good price?
3. Where are some good places to eat lunch?

It will probably be VERY hot, which is why July trips to Vegas are often a super deal. Of the hotels you listed, I would regard the Venetian as the most luxurious.

1. we went last August- it was 100- 110! HOT! HOT! HOT!
2. Venetian- very nice!
3. NOt really sure about lunch, we just grab whatever!!

check treasureisland.com and click on "Special Promotions" to see if your dates of travel pop up.

Average high will be 103-105.
In order of quality, the hotels you listed rank: V, M, TI, L, T.
Venetian is one of the 3 best hotels in LV, and is a good value at $119-159. It's getting a little ragged in small ways, though, as of my last 2 stays there this winter/spring.
Eat lunch at Olives in Bellagio, or Mon Ami Gabi at Paris.

Went to a wedding in Vegas on
July 31, 2000 - it was 116 degrees - unbelievably HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!

Stay at the Venetian - one of the best in Vegas.

It's a dry heat... hahah at 120 degrees it doesn't make much difference. If you have a chance, go to the mountains just outside of Vegas in July, there is a state park there that offers summer stock theater it was a great time and cool weather just minutes from the strip, we actually had to wear jackets and wrap in a blanket!!!! Wish I could remember the name of the park?

Venetian can be had for around 80-90 bucks especially on weekdays through Priceline. Check out what people have gotten it for on the www.biddingfortravel.com forum.

have fun

1. How hot will it be?

VERY! we were there last July and it was disgusting...115! dry heat and no humidity didn't seem to matter..we were dehydrated and tired the entire trip.

2. I've seen some good rates at Treasure Island, Luxor, Mirage, the Venetian, and Tropicana. Which is the best for a 20-something couple who likes luxury at a good price?

We are in our 20s and really enjoyed the Mirage. The pool area and cabanas were fantastic! I would recommend renting the cabana if you plan to lounge around the pool. The misters, unlimited water, and shade will come in handy in that kind of heat.

The Venetian looks nice and I hear the rooms are all-suites, but we were looking for a nice, tropical-looking pool area and the Veneitian did not have that. And Treasure Island's pool is kind of small and there seemed to be A LOT of kids there.

3. Where are some good places to eat lunch?

We ate lunch every day by the pool at the Mirage...they brought us menus from different restaurant in the hotel. It was pretty good.

have fun!!

Heat is heat. Been there in the summer and it is BRUTAL. That said, a place like Mandalay Bay, with it's beach, pool, river and wave pool, would be the place to hang. They've got misters which, if you get down to the pool early enough, you can actually lay under and remain relatively comfortable.

2. of the hotels you list only the Mirage and Venetian would be appropriate to persons who appreciate luxury -- both properties have decent pools as well (though nothing approaching Mandalay).

3. Everyone talks about COMPS in vegas, and i think that COMPS are, by and large, for CHUMPS. that is, in order to get a comp you're spending too much CASH, if you know what i mean. What you can do, is ask for a player rate for the nights you will be there, for instance, my last time at Mandalay the rate was 289 on a saturday night, i got the room for about 100 less, by playing poker for a minimum of 4 hours there, which i was going to do anyway. Also, remember you will probably drop some cold cash wherever you gamble, so spending 30-60 more per night is relatively inexpensive.

I just went on Mandalay's website and there are a dozen or so days in July when the rate is $109 per night.

3. Asking were are good places for lunch in vegas is like asking if there's a church in Rome! depends upon your tastes. If you like a bistro type setting, with lots of people watching, try Mon Ami Gabi at Paris -- steak frites, mussles, great beer. If you like genuine NY pizza, go to NY NY.

Have a great time. Ps. if you go to vegaswatch.com and post a question you'll get lots of responses as well!

in july, i'd be less concerned about luxury and pick the one with the best pool area. make sure they have some shaded areas to sit in or you'll fry.

The heat won't be bad...its a dry heat!
Venetian or Mirage will be fine, check out Mandalay Bay prices, that would be my first pick if you like being by the pool in the dry heat. For lunch I always go to Spagos in Ceasars Palace at least once a year just to people watch.

Thanks. I am used to temps being around 100 and very HUMID, due to the fact that I live on the southeast coast. I will look into Mandalay Bay because of the pool.

It is virtually impossible to have high humidity and high temperature simultaneously. That is, at 100 degrees, I believe there has never been a humidity reading above 70 in the USA.
Not that 100/66 combination is anything other than beastly uncomfortable.
But humid in LV is in the 30-ish percent range.
The 90 degrees and 90% humidity combo has never been recorded on this planet.

In Vegas July,4 2001. Had to be 120 and a cool 95 at night.

treasure island did have some great rates then and I thought the hotel was fine

We were in Vegas last July. Temp at Lake Mead was 117 one day. Yes, it's a dry heat, but so is fire!

Were back two weeks ago, temp was about 50 during the day! DJ on the radio said, "it's cold, but it's a DRY cold". That cracked me up!

Of all the Vegas buffets I've had (Luxor, Excaliber, Monte Carlo, Rio) I would say the best by far is at the Rio and the worst was Excaliber. The Rainforest restaurant in MGM was over-priced for the food quality but it is a neat atmosphere.

We liked the buffets at Bellagio, Paris, Mirage and lunch and dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, Spago, Postrio. We had the worst buffet at The MGM Grand.

1. It will be brutally hot outside, but there's little reason to actually go outside, except to change from one megaplex-casino to the other, and even that can be avoided in some cases via monorail, e.g. Monte Carlo-Bellaggio.
2. I would recommend the Mirage as most luxury bang for the buck - it's upscale without being too painfully expensive. Try their buffet; it's excellent.
3. Lunch is wherever you happen to be standing when you realize you're hungry. There's rarely a need to walk farther than 100 feet or so to locate the nearest eatery.

Don't count on the monorail from Monte Carlo to Bellagio or from MGM to Bally's. I believe I read on this forum that both monorails are unavailable at the moment. I think they are working on a system for the entire strip.

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE HEAT! I was there last July........wow....lips were so dry and cracked....it's like gasping for air, lol, the Venetian you will absolutely fall in love it! Don't waste your time on the Mirage, had a terrible experience, new owners don't care about their customers just about their dollars ( and the workers there will tell you so )...the best time to walk around ( and breathe ) was early in the morning or really late at night....have a blast! Great place to eat...P F Changs in the Aladdin...to die for!