We are a group of four couples looking for a long weekend getaway in Las Vegas. We'd like to stay somewhere upscale, but not at the "breaking the bank" level. We'd appreciate suggestions for where to stay, where to dine, and what shows we should try to get to. We'll be flying in on a Friday at noontime, and out on the midnight redeye flight back to NY on Monday night. Any advice? Thanks!

What weekend are you thinking about? March is an extremely full month vis-à-vis conventions (check out the Conventions 2004/March link on lasvegastourism.com). Even on a non-convention weekend, you're coming in precisely when the rates are highest (lots of people from southern CA drive and fly in Friday evening).

If you want to stay on the Strip, I'd be looking into places like the Mirage, the Venetian, maybe Aladdin. Monte Carlo is competent and completely unmemorable, despite the name; but it will do for clean, comfy digs. Others will have other recommendations. But all I can say is: Check your calendar, cross-check with the convention schedule, and reserve DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY. Some of the March conventions are very large.

There is tons of advice on this site. Check out the Paris, Mirage, Venetian, etc.

Food at Aqua is fabulous, Olives is fun and semi casual, Bertolinis is inexpensive and festive in Ceasar's forum, Picasso is over rated IMO, Mon Ami Gabi is good for lunch or dinner!

Any of the cirque shows would be awesome. My friend swears by the Celine show, even though she says she isn't a fan of the woman herself. She is going for the 2nd time this March.

Have fun!!

I've had a lot of experience booking hotels through websites, but I'm finding it tough with Las Vegas. Most of the places I've tried were $300 per night and over. Is this a typical rate? I'd appreciate suggestions for high quality lodging, but maybe there are ways to get a better deal? Is booking four rooms a way to get a better rate?

I don't know if you've been to LV before or not, but you should know that rates in LV vary more than any city in the world. They vary from day to day, week to week, etc based on convention business and season for the most part.

As mentioned above March weekend rates are terrible unless you book early.
I suspect you're not going to find anything nice on the strip for a good rate given the timeframe you're looking at.
Check Aladdin and Paris...not the most luxurious, but great location and good quality for the dollar.
Check Mandalay Bay's THEhotel (on the MB website). It's new and still hasn't got much name recognition. Weekend rates still won't be low, though.
Treasure Island is also frequently a good value.

Or you could shoot for a better weekend later in the spring and probably save a lot of money.

From what I can see on expedia, the 2nd weekend in March appears to be MUCH cheaper than the 1st, and the 3rd & 4th are also considerably less. I don't know what date your thinking of, but you may want to try another weekend, and check the prices.

I also found LV prices to fluctuate constantly and vary much form booking sites, to hotel sites to hotel phone reservations.

3-4 * trip casinos are exhorbitant for that weekend. The best I could find was the Travelodge on the strip for $112.00 on that weekend--free parking so that helps. Going midweek, you can stay at the top spots for $100-$150/night.

We actually ended up changing our trip from March to February because the rates in MArch were outrageous comparitively speaking with MArch Madness, colleges' Spring Break and there is a huge NASCAR event there in early March. We found the best rates through the hotel itself though. Pick a hotel and then try their website and 800 number.

Plans are made, and we will be staying at Ceasar's, and going to see O and Celine Dion. We have dinner for our first night booked at Circo, because I've seen rave reviews on this board. Any other dinner suggestions? Also, being that there are 8 of us, should we rent a van for the weekend? Are all the "people movers" moving? Thanks.