My husband and I are going to LV for the first time in June. I am trying to decide between staying at the Mirage or Bally's. I'm not looking for over the top. Just something nice in the better part of the strip. Any thoughts and is it better to go with a package or book separately?

You might want to re-thing the "between". Of the two, I'd say it's hands-down Mirage. To get really insightful answers to your post, you might want to describe a bit what you like to do, are you active, do you want a spa, big rooms, etc. While both are in the middle of the strip the Mirage has better rooms, nicer staff, and much much better restaurants (though I really like Al Dente in Ballys). As for the package, it's interesting but you don't always save by booking a package. Best to decide what hotel you want, when you want, then guarantee it with a credit card. after that, you can surf the net and see if you come up with better packages. Of course, as with any destination (but even more with vegas) you need to make sure the week you're choosing isn't one in which half the world is traveling there. an easy way to do that is to go to the las vegas convention checker website, it'll give you a basic understanding of what conventions are scheduled for the week you intend to go. whether you go midweek or over the weekend will have a huge effect on the price of any package you select.

http://www.vegasfreedom.com/do/index.jsp

you might also want to check cheapovegas.com

Stayed at The Mirage. It was great.

This is for our 15 yr. annv. He will gamble some, but most of the time we will be out of our room sightseeing around the strip. I am not interested in spa stuff or clubbing. I want a big room and nice pool. We are going 6/3-6/7. The pricing on-line for HOTEL and AIR is Bally's $1077 and Mirage $1330. I have been at all the different sights online including Travelaxe and Cheapovegas. I have also been to the individual websites. The hotels I have looked at are Bally's, Mirage, TI, NYNY and the Flamingo. Based on photos online I liked the rooms at the Mirage and Bally's. I liked the pool at the Mirage better, plus they had more restaurants. My husband would say whatever costs less.

If you want a great location, room size matters, and cost is an issue, it's very hard to beat Aladdin these days. The pool is not as nice as Mirage's, but the rooms are bigger and the hotel's barely 2 years old. For what you (usually) pay, Aladdin's a very good deal.

Mirage wins my vote. If you have a choice though TI is much better, than Ballys or Mirage - wonderful rooms and the location is fine.

Stayed at the Aladdin twice. Loved the rooms. When you check in, just ask for an upgrade to a resort room overlooking the fountains at the Bellagio. Also when you make your reservations, just make sure they note this is a 15th anniversary trip. We went for our anniversary a few years ago and got a free upgrade to a resort room. DH did leave a tip. Room was pretty big with a huge marble bathroom. Loved the bathroom. So huge!! Aladdin usually has some pretty good rates. I'd first check with the hotel, then compare with travel sites.

If I had to choose between Mirage & Bally's I'd definitely go with Mirage. Never stayed there, but heard good reviews.

We have stayed at both Mirage and TI - both were very nice. Tram runs between Mirage and TI - so you have easy access to both hotels. Mirage is alot larger than TI - Mirage pool is much nicer. But we enjoyed our stay in both. We got excellent rates going direct to the hotel's website - there always seems to be specials. We did our airfare on Southwest - we found booking each separate hotel/air we got better prices. Check out all the differenct Vegas websites and you will have an idea of the different hotels and places to eat. Vegas is such a fun place - visiting all the different hotels is such fun. If you don't want to rent a car and we didn't - you can take the trolley or the city bus to get up and down the strip. Have a wonderful time.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I have decided to go with Bally's for the money and putting the extra money to dining and entertainment. Thanks so much.