Las Vegas Spring Break
 

Please suggest a central strip hotel that will be suitable for 8 (21 years old) college students during Spring Break, with good prices. Any ideas for activities are also appreciated.

It depends on what you are looking for quality-wise. My husband and I are in our early twenties and have been to Vegas many times. Imperial Palace can give some incredibly cheap rates at times- it is not a luxurious hotel by any means- Holiday Inn quality- but it is very central. We stayed there once and it was perfectly fine if you don't plan on spending much time in your room. Same thing for Flamingo- very central, nicer pool, basic rooms. Bally's is also central and can offer good rates- the clientele is a bit older there I believe but their rooms are more spacious. In my opinion, with a group of 8 people your age you won't be in the room much at all so I'd just go where you get the best deal at either of these three properties. You are dead in the middle of the action on the strip.

Hmmmmmm.... Your requests are incredibly broad. Define "good prices", first of all. Since it sounds like you're on a real budget, I'd think about Bally's or MGM or Harrah's-- lowbrow but just glitzy enough. You might get a deal at Aladdin as well-- although by Spring Break time it may be a Planet Hollywood resort. Heavens help us.

Activities? You're kidding, right?

First stop: Hit the cheapovegas.com website for a fairly up-to-date critique of Sin City's riches, such as they are, and how you can get the best bang for your buck.

Second: For young people such as yourself, the "hot" places are the Hard Rock resort (especially the pool) and the Palms Casino (although it's trying so hard to be "hot" and "trendy" it smacks of desperation). Both off-Strip, but they're "hot". Give them a year, they'll be "passé" and "hagged out", but for now...!

When is your spring break? March and April are notorious for high room rates in Vegas due to conventions.

My brother and his friends stayed at the Rio during thier spring break about 3 yrs ago. They had 6 or 7 guys in the room. They said the room was huge, though it is off strip so they had to take a short cab ride to the strip. The Hard Rock is also a fun place to stay and has a great pool. Unfortunately this is off strip too. I've stayed at NYNY a few times. If you book early enough you can get a room during the week for $60-80 per night. It tends to have a younger crowd then some other places. Its not mid strip but it is in a pretty active part and I've walked from there to Cesars in about 20 minutes. Like one of the earlier posts said, check out cheapovegas.com for hotels. One more thing to consider is if there is a night club that you really want to go to. Some clubs let hotel guests have front of line privledges which can save you hours of waiting in line.
As for things to do, I always like to bungee jump (next to Circus Circus) and go indoor skydiving (Convention Center drive just off the strip). Vegas.com and LasVegas.com have a bunch of activities listed on them as well as tons of information on bars/nightclubs.

bostonguy is right about "front of line" privileges for paying guests at some casino-based nightclubs. The Palms' clubs (Ghostbar and Rain) are specific cases where it's really helpful.

The Rio is a great deal for its money, but right now it's a little past its "Use By" date. Actually, that may make it a better deal...!

As LV is now getting year-round convention business, you're going to have to schedule carefully to avoid room rate hikes due to big citywides.