Vegas - Stratosphere or Sahara?
 

I am traveling to Vegas at the end of next month with my fiance and my parents. We are on a budget, so we will all 4 be staying in one room...
I have it narrowed down to the Stratosphere or the Sahara - which one do you think has better rooms? I'm hoping to get a response from someone who has stayed at both... I have been told I can receive a room with 2 beds from the front desks at both hotels, and I don't remember either casino being better than the other. We will be in a basic, run of the mill room, we don't have the money for suites or anything.. Location does not matter, as we'll be spending the week walking the strip anyway, and if I remember correctly, these 2 hotels aren't too far from each other anyway...
Does anyone have any advice as to which one I should book?
Thanks! :)

I should add that the prices are pretty much the same for the week, only a total difference of about $15, the Stratosphere a little higher.. Thanks.

I believe the Sahara may be closer to the strip, Stratosphere is a further hike. I've been to Vegas a few times now and would never recommend the Stratosphere, but I have not stayed at the Sahara. I've stayed at the Riveria, it wasn't bad and is much closer. Have you checked that one? Good luck!

8-)

Also, maybe the Tropicana?

8-)

I just stayed at the Sahara. My room was fine there. Never stayed at the Stratosphere. The Sahara is closer to the monorail (stops right outside their back door), so if you're going to use that it might be more convenient. And if you're planning on walking the strip, both are too far from the rest of the strip to walk, so you'll need transportation to get closer to the action, or else you'll be dead tired and your feet will fall off.

You can't walk anywhere from the Statosphere. It's too far off the Strip. Have you tried the Imperial Palace? It's not fancy, and the center Strip location is great!

www.cheapovegas.com has reviews of all of the hotels and links to their websites.

To clarify since I keep getting posts that we can't walk the Strip... I was in Vegas in August in the 100 degree heat and my fiance and I stayed downtown, and we walked from downtown to Mandalay Bay pretty much every day (we're in our early 20s).. and I don't even consider myself as in shape as my 40-yr-old-ish parents, who walk at least 2 miles a day.. so it's possible.. Thanks for all the great advice though. :) I looked into Imperial Palace and the Riviera and we may be staying there instead.

P.S. I didn't mean for my last post to sound rude at all.. keep the posts coming, even if you don't think we can walk from the Stratosphere. :) THANKS!

Didn`t care for the stratosphere at all. The area between that and the strip isn`t nice either. You might also consider the Orleans. It`s just off the strip but there is a shuttle back and forth. We requested a room with a strip view and got it at no extra charge.

What are your dates and budget?

I ask because there may be better deals out there for you that you haven't discovered. If you're staying in Vegas on quiet nights you can still pick up some good deals at better hotels. I'll be in Vegas next month at the start and end of my trip and have booked 2 nights at the MGM for $59pn and a night in Aladdin at $59 with deals I found (both including 2 for 1 buffets plus various other offers).

Sorry, I can't help with the rooms in either the Strat or Sahara. The location of the Sahara seems better to me with the monorail station being there. While you can walk the length of the Strip, I find there are times I need to get somewhere much quickly than walking (eg for a show). I'd also do what I could to find somewhere mid- or lower-Strip, especially if you are there for a week.

I'd give the nod to Sahara. The Sahara is a bit older and it shows. The the rooms and casino are pretty evenly matched. Given all that, I'd give the nod to Sahara based on it being connected to the monorail and a bit closer to the action.

I run marathons / half marathons and can't imagine walking from downtown to Mandalay Bay. I prefer to stay on the Strip and gamble downtown so I usually rent a car. However this last time I didn't and instead used the bus system (called the Deuce). For $5 you can ride all day. The Deuce, double decker buses that give a nice view as you ride, runs the strip and goes to downtown. The one downside, it stops a lot. It took me nearly 30 minutes to get from the Venetian to downtown. However, if you're not in too big of a hurry and like a nice air conditioned ride, the Deuce is good / inexpensive option.

Lastly, unless you're absolultely sold on one of these hotels, check out the Excalibur (use their direct website). I recently got the following deal there: $49 a nt (w/ a $10 per nt credit back so it works to be $39 a nt), a $15 food voucher for any restaurant/buffet, and $20 off any spa treatment or fee towards the workout facility (which is very nice and costs $15 a day). So, by using all the above, my one nt stay at the excalibur cost me $10). FYI- Rooms are pretty comparable but just slightly a notch above Sahara or Strat (IMHO). Enjoy!

Tricia, we are saying you can't walk the Strip from the Strat because the neighborhood between it and the end of the strip is not safe to walk through, especially at night. I wouldn't stay there unless I had a car.

I also cannot imagine walking from downtown to the Strip, again because of the not-so-nice areas you go through. The CAT bus runs a route down the Strip, to downtown, and back. It's about $2.50 per person, and MUCH better than walking!

We'll be there from Feb 27 - Mar 3 (4 nights). I'm looking for the cheapest possible place to stay on the Strip, and so far the cheapest I've found is the Sahara for a total of $212 - I found this on Vegas.com. I would love to find something that includes buffet tickets, as I know my parents are big fans of buffet eating, lol.. I looked on the excalibur website and only found rates of $309 total, which isn't very good in my opinion.. maybe they are not running the special any more that Pumpy got. :( I am interested to know where where2travel got such great deals.. this is kinda stressful - so many websites and tricks.. Thank you for all your help though.. and ChristieP, I did notice that the area between the Strip and downtown is kinda scary - we didn't walk it at night and I wouldn't want to.. Thanks again!

tricia-I'm sure you know this already as you've been to LV before, but if you sign up for the player's clubs in the casinos you'll usually get a book full of coupons, including discounts or free buffets. If all 4 of you sign up, you should be able to get enough tickets between the various places if you can't find something included in the hotel package.

If you'll be there during the week, the Palace Station (off-stip, but there's a shuttle at Harrah's) has very good and cheap buffets. Their weekday breakfast is just $5!

I can provide a code for you so that you can get a $59 rate on their website at the Aladdin if that's any good for you (fully cancellable until 2 days before arrival). At the moment it works for all your dates too (I'll be there on 26 Feb).

Please note that I don't know if you will be charged extra for 4 people in a room (often you are charged extra for more than 2 people in a room). When I put 4 adults into the website it still says $59 so you may be okay.

Part of the offer is that you get 2 breakfast buffets for the price of 1 (but you will only get one voucher per room so you may not get vouchers for all of you to go).

Please let me know if you need any further information and I'll help though I'll be away from my pc until tomorrow from fairly soon (UK time).

I would love to have that code.. can you share? Please? <bats eyelashes> lol :)

Tricia - I've dug out the following link to the Aladdin website which details the "Early Bird Special" promotion they are running at the moment (and for your dates):

http://sdm3.com/viewmsg.cfm?n152s298...6t2105e3207631

If you prefer to call, the webpage also lists the code you need to mention. I hope this works out and you get what you're looking for. Let me know how you get on.

Why is the Aladdin so in expensive? Is it under construction? This rate seems too good to be true. I checked Aladdin a couple months ago (I'm going to Vegas first weekend in Feb), and it was not any where close to this.

Also heard a rumor it may be going out of business...the rate is just unbelievable, has to be a catch?

/:)

The regular room rates for Tricia's stay are $179, $149,$149 and $149 so I agree it's a fantastic offer. I'm only staying one night for my stay but was glad it coincided with this offer.

I think the hotel is becoming a Planet Hollywood very soon but I don't know if this impacts on any guests staying there.

I'd be more than happy to take this compared to a stay at the Strat, Sahara or Excalibur. From what I have seen on previous visits to Las Vegas, it's a nice hotel in an excellent location and friends that have stayed there talk positively about the rooms.