We will be in Las Vegas in the third week of August. We will be four, two adults and two kids. Any suggestions for hotels? How is Mandalay bay or Venetian? Bellagio is too expensive for me. I don't want to spend more than $150 per night.

One room or two? All of the Ventian's rooms are "suites" -- not really suites (not a separate bedroom with a closeable door), but they have a bedroom area and a living room area (if you consider them one room, the room is huge). The bedroom area has either a king or two queen beds, and the living room area has a queen sofabed.

I liked the Venetian in all its faux elegance. My biggest objection was that at the pool the chaises are "cheek by jowl" -- there is no room to walk around them. I don't know if that's a problem in August (when it's extremely hot) - I was there in April.

Just stayed at the Palazzo which is the extension of the Venetian and although the rooms/suites are big we will never stay at either place again. The housekeeping is so bad- there was a q-tip on the floor in our bathroom when we checked in and it stayed there for 3 days! All service was really bad and it took them 4 hours to bring our bags up. ugh!

Check out Paris or Bally's for good value at mid strip- we have been able to get connecting rooms there. You can get a king in one and 2 queens in the other

Also Planet Holly wood, next to Paris, has decent prices this summer.

I like the Luxor, my daughter and her DH always stay at Treasure Island. No complaints on either.

We recently stayed at the Desert Rose, a time share/condo property next to Hooters Casino, just off the strip. 2br condo was ~$100/night, including full kitchen. Worked out great for the family.

Flamingo has great pools for the kids.

travelzoo.com has good Vegas deals.

Generally, Luxor and Excalibur are cheap.

I wonder *why* you let there be a q-tip on your bathroom floor for 3 days, stormy?? I would have called housekeeping immediately upon check-in. People simply must insist on proper service and that is an egregious (and disgusting!) dereliction of duty on the part of housekeeping. Mistakes can happen, but you do not have to let them continue.

We always stay at Paris. Good prices and good location [across the street from Bellagio].

They accept discount cards over the phone.

There is another thread on Vegas hotels today.

socialworker- we did call housekeeping, multiple times in fact! we unfortunately had to speak to people about service issues in all areas of the hotel- pools, housekeeping, casino, spa... it was painful.

How awful!! We, luckily, did not have any housekeeping issues when we were there on two occasions, but that last visit was about 3 years ago.

What response or recompense was offered to you when you spoke of the problems?

I'm not sure you'll be able to get the Venetian for under $150, but my husband and I enjoyed our stay there more than any other hotel in LV in six trips there.

That said, however, we now stay at more inexpensive properties (especially the Flamingo) to save our money for other things. We spend very little time in the room when we're there.

Good for your Postal, its the most sensible thread I have read yet.

Good to hear the Desert Rose is good. I have my dad booked there for a trade show at a great rate.

I would try Paris and Monte Carlo. We enjoyed both. I have heard rumors that Monte Carlo has gone down hill though. Is that true?

Not a Mandalay Bay fan here. I found the service to be much worse than the Venetian, which I liked much more. And it's way south on the strip.
Another option is checking out vrbo.com for jr. suites at the Signature, which is attached to the MGM Grand, has gorgeous rooms, and is my favorite place in Vegas right now. You'll find great rates on vrbo, renting them directly through the owner.

I thought Mandalay Bay was out of the way too, but they have a nice lazy river pool. The Venetian sometimes offers GREAT free room upgrades, and I prefer the location of the Venetian hotel over the Mandalay Bay area. The Mirage has some great rooms as well, nice pool.

If you can get a room at the Venetian for under $150 jump on it! Great price for a great hotel. Something more affordable would be Flamingo and New York, New York and I think your kids would have a great time at any of these hotels

STACY
www.edufire.com

The MGM Grand has a new "ultra pool" called Wet Republic. It's like a nightclub, but under the sun and poolside. Fun pix: http://www.newsday.com/travel/destin...4.photogallery

Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, Flamingo, MGM, Luxor, and NY NY are all at the south end of the strip at the corner. I stayed at Excalibur. Last year Sun-Thurs it was $85/night, $160 on Fri, over $200 on Sat. You could get that through the hotel website or expedia. It was great to stay at the end. You can be first on the bus to take you up the strip without the lines. Also if you want to go to the outlets or airport, it's closer to that end. I thought the airport would be too close but we couldn't hear them and our room faced it. It's only a few blocks to TI, all the major casinos are in between TI and the corner whre Excalibur/MGM is. Definately need the "Douce" bus to the old part,over 2 miles away from Excalibur. You WIN BIG on slots in the old casinos than the new. I did and only spent $10 total. But it's not family anymore, that 90's movement is over. Provacative billboards w/suggestive movements, smoke is horrible, and stripper pamphlets on the sidewalks.