I am planning a visit to Vegas for 5/16 - 5/20 for my annivesary. This trip will be the first vacation with just my wife (children staying with grandparents!!) since our son was born 3 years ago. This will also be both our first visit to Vegas so we are anxiously awaiting. However, I am looking for advice as to when I should book my hotel room?

I do not want to spend all my money on a fancy hotel room that I don't plan on spending a lot of time in, and from what I've seen on the hotel websites, most of the standard rooms look about the same regardless of how much you spend. We are just looking for a clean hotel with a good pool, preferably on the strip.

I've been thinking about the Flamingo since rooms are going for $ 75/night that week and they seem to have a nice pool. I would appreciate any feedback as to how long I should wait to book the room and suggestions on where. Thanks!!

I would book the room ASAP as Las Vegas is also a popular convention destination in addition to a vacation destination, so rooms can get booked early. The Flamingo does have a nice pool and the rooms are not bad either, at least from what i have heard. The Center Strip location is also great. I have stayed several times at Harrahs which is close to the Flamingo. I would suggest looking at www.cheapovegas.com to familiarize yourself with the different hotels.

Have a great trip.

Have been to Vegas twice, and stayed at Treasure Island both times. Really liked it. Fortunate to get a room with a veiw of the strip last time. Good size room, and a larger than expected marble bath.

A co-worker stayed at Paris LV and really liked that. I like that atmosphere at Paris. Really enjoyed dinner at their restaurant - I think the name is La Provencal.

If you want to treat yourself to a great show, try O at the Bellagio. It's expensive, perhaps about $120 per ticket, but worth every minute. It's part of Cirque de Soleil, and the stage is sometimes a hard stage and sometimes water. Hard to describe, but worth it.

Last week was Vegas week on Travel Channel. Hope you watched it. They had a peice on a couple booking at Mandalay Bay and getting a very good deal on the room. The bad part about that is that it is at the very end of the strip, so you could end up taking a cab to other places. But, I also think I heard that there is now a monorail that runs from there to places in the center of the strip.

Have a great time! I was suprised at how much I liked Las Vegas. We plan on going there every few years.

For the money and to stay on the strip I would try TI (used to be Tresure Island) - very nice hotel - and has a tram to Mirage. Mystere is a good show at TI and is cheaper than "O" and I think probably easier to get tickets for. TI is always running special promotions - you can look on line - but can call them and they will give you the same price as what is on their website.

Treasure Island often has specials on their website under "promotions".
Book the Flamingo now as long as it is not a non-refundable special. You can always change it.

The Orleans is a nice hotel with a nice and not-crowded pool area, off the strip but with a free shuttle to the center strip. Also, very reasonable dining choices here which you don't find center strip. www.orleanscasino.com

I would recommend the Flamingo for a first-timer not fussy about a fancy room. It's a great location, and easy to navigate. Great pool area too.

Pay $20 or $30 more a night and stay at the Mirage. It is a beautiful hotel, much nicer than the ones you mentioned.

I have stayed at the Flamingo several times and was there last month. It is an excellent choice. The rooms are good, location is the best, and it has a fabulous pool area and wildlife habitat. I would book the room now and then monitor the prices for the next few months before you go. They are always offering specials that change almost weekly. If you find a better deal then cancel and rebook. Caesars Entertainment ( formerly Park Place Entertainment ) owns the Flamingo as well as Ballys, Paris, Caesars Palace, and the LV Hilton. Below is their web site for Las Vegas which will have all the specials and info for their Las Vegas Properties.

http://www.caesars.com/Corporate/LasVegas

We have a 3 yo too. The Flamingo is a decent hotel. Not great, not gross. One thing it does have, a great pool. It's probably one of the top 3 pools on the strip, with Caesar's and Mandalay right up there with it. In May, it'll be nice for the 2 of you to be able to be by the pool. Don't wait to book. Guarantee with a credit card now, you can always cancel later and this way you've locked in the rate. You can always check for specials and even consider whether going for a room on Priceline makes sense for the dates you've chosen.

Some things to consider: book his and her spa days (check out the Venetian's spa -- it's unbelievable) and a day trip to Red Rock Canyon for a hike or trail run. Make a reservation for an anniversary dinner at Aureole in Mandalay Bay, and after dinner head out for some dancing at House of Blues (all for about the price of 2 tix to "O"). Make sure to hit the dinner buffet at Bellagio. Most importantly, sleep in!!!

I appreciate everyone's advice. I think I will go ahead and book the Flamingo to ensure I have a room. Then I'll watch for specials to see if anything better comes along. I would love to stay at Mandalay Bay or Bellagio, but I can't justify the extra money when I would rather spend it on a romantic dinner or tickets to "O".

$75 is a great rate for that week. You really can't beat the flamingo pool, either.

I just reserved a room at the Flamingo to guarantee I have something. I paid the extra $ 20/night to guarantee a Strip View so the total came to $ 95/night which still seems to be a good deal.

Went to Vegas with husband for first time in October. Stayed at the MGM, which was nice, but very large. The Monte Carlo, (in-laws went), Treasure Island come recommended and I would probably stay next time. It's fun seeing the lobbies and don't miss the Venetian.

I would look into the Monte Carlo if I was you. I have stayed at both Flamingo and MC as well as Treasure Island. I would rate Monte Carlo first in that group.

Since this is your first trip, I would go for location becasue you are going to want to see as much as possible and hyou want to be centrally located-- I think the Flamingo is an excellent choice. That is where we stayed our first trip to LV. It's locationis perfect.

If you are willing to spend $95 a night, i would suggest that you up your total to about $125 and stay at a newer property. Venetian sometimes has rates as low as $99. the Mirage, TI, MGM, Mandalay, Paris, & Aladdin offer better arrangements, better food options, and arguably nicer rooms. You will appreciate a better room, better bed, food options. The Flamingo does have one of the best pool complexes in LV. Keep looking.

If you want to stay at Mandalay Bay keep checking their website. We stayed there Monday-Wednesday nights for $89/night. While it is at the end of the strip, we rode the tram to Excalibur and then walked where we wanted to go. The wave pool is awesome.

Hi Craig-I just wanted to let you know that we stayed at the Flamingo earlier this year (and have stayed at the Mirage Venetian, TI, etc. before) and I think you will think the Flamingo is fine.......the only things we thougth were just a bit odd is that the entrance from their self-parking lot is really dumpy-puts you in the hotel by the garbage area and is smelly and kind of yucky and that whole north end of the lobby seems to have an odd smell-down by the video games and the Japanese restaurant. But honestly, it was no big deal-in particular if you aren't driving in.

What I also wanted to let you know is that the poolside view rooms are also really great views-they are over the wildlife habitat and very pretty-also a bit lessy noisy than the strip rooms since the hotel is on a busy corner. The windows in the Flamingo are gold tinted-so you can't see in from the outside-so you can leave the shades open and enjoy the view in privacy. Just thought you might like to know if you don't want to spend the extra $$

I appreciate the continued responses on my post. I am really looking forward to our first trip to Vegas and I think the Flamingo is still the best bet for the price/location. Also, I'm a big Jimmy Buffet fan so I'm looking forward to having a drink at Margaritaville inside the Flamingo.

I'm still looking for better deals at the newer hotels, and I did find a good price on an Air/Hotel package at Treasure Island that I'm considering. However, I'm going to wait to see what else comes up.