I saw that quote in the article. Suffice to say they are full of ****. There were entire herds of people wandering around with no staff members in sight to direct them. It was actually a little dangerous.

The only place they were organized was at the front lobby, where they had a person direct guests to the left of the flooding. From there, we were completely on our own.

Wow. Hope they have this sorted out by Tuesday 11 July when I arrive there for 5 nights.

Two hotel comparison questions in planning our next trip:

1) Please rank: MGM Grand, Mirage, Mandalay Bay. Based on standard king room quality, public areas, casino. Pools etc., restaurants, and location not a consideration, we know all that and aren't ever tied down to one property. (I ask because we got an unexpected comp at MB and we haven't stayed there or even been inside afaik. We know the other two well.)

2) Orleans rooms vs. Gold Coast rooms. Stayed at Orleans (basic but clean rooms, a little dated but comfortable). Never stayed at GC but convenience to Rio/Palms might be nice if GC is comparable. Always get Orleans comps which are good on weekend nights - I refuse to pay weelkend strip prices.

MB > Mirage by quite a way in terms of room and casino quality IMO.

Would personally still stay Mirage over MB due to location.

1. MB>Mirage>MGM Grand. I can't imagine anyone would argue this, based on the criteria you gave.

3 I wouldn't fight you if you chose MGM over Mirage with location not being a concern. I like the vibe at MGM better than Mirage. It was the first place I stayed in Vegas, though (think my first 3 trips were there), so I am probably a big nostalgic over it.

MGM Grand to me is like going to the airport. Huge and impersonal. I know personal preference plays into these things, but I truly hate the place.

I feel the same way. The endless corridors were also annoying. Would take me 15 min. to get to the room.

If location isn't really a concern, then Mandalay Bay is >>> MGM.

If you want to be closer to mid-strip, the best value places to me are TI, Mirage, and Ballys for a cheap option. (roughly in order of $ and quality). Ballys isn't that nice or a place you want to spend much time in by itself, but in my last few visits it was at least $30-$40 cheaper per night than the others and has an awesome location right next to Paris, across the street from Cosmo, and close to Venetian.

I stayed at Aria and Encore for a two week spread during the WSOP. My room at Aria could have used a little TLC. The shower leaked, multiple lightbulbs were burnt out and the electronic shades failed half the time. The amazing beds at Aria seemed not as comfortable this year, albeit wasn't terrible. On the positive side, Five50 is still the stone cold nuts for a quick meal.

The valet at Aria also killed my battery by somehow turning the lights on. I will say, that the parking attendant jumped my car and got it to me in record time but it doesn't explain how my lights were left on when I last returned the car to the valet during the day. I complained to Aria via two electronic routes about the inconvenience and heard nothing. On the flip side, I left some comments about a minor inconvenience at my Encore stay via their post stay survey and I received a personal response within an hour from the hotel and was offered some kickbacks for my next visit.

I'd write something else about Encore, but honestly everything is awesome there with some exception to their bedding.

I'm staying at the Mandarin next week for a work conference for the first time, so I'm excited to check that place out and report back. Have some pretty high expectations based on feedback.

Is it a nice car? They probably took it out at night and did a Ferris Beuller. Happened to a friend of mine at the Venetian. His car had an extra hundred miles on it from when he handed it over to the valet.

Nope, an older Acura TL. If they did take it out for a spin, then leaving the lights on would have killed any evidence since my trip meter got reset when it bricked with the dead battery. Would be pretty amusing if they did to be honest. Or perhaps it was a ploy to get a bigger tip, which worked since I sported the kid a twenty. (had multiple issues with the battery earlier this year, long story short never buy a replacement battery through AAA)

Going to Vegas from 11/30-12/4. I have 3 nights at Aria but the Thursday 11/30 date was super expensive there, so I'm doing the first night somewhere else.

My choices are: older room at Monte Carlo for $90 (including all fees/taxes) or Planet Hollywood for $100 (ditto). No brainer to go to PH, right?

both are close enough to Aria so that the move won't be too inconvenient.

BTW I booked Aria in late July. I called today and the three night rate was $150 lower than originally quoted. Is this a post-shooting discount?

Have never stayed at Monte Carlo but PH is solid - only real drawback is the pool but given time of year, that won't be an issue

Monte Carlo is currently under construction. They are renovating and rebranding it due to the sports arena. Personally I would never stay there with this going on. Not to mention no WiFi in the rooms.

Did you get the lower price at Aria? Not sure if the price drop is due to the shooting. I have seen their rates drop suddenly a few times in the past.

Yes, my three-day Aria rate (Fri/Sat/Sun) went down $150. I would recommend checking to see if the rate has gone down if you booked a Vegas hotel awhile ago.

Rates drop all the time in Vegas for many different reasons. After booking I often check that rates because, in almost every case, if they drop the casinos always will honor the lower rate if asked.

I've stayed in many hotels in Vegas (Caesars, Cosmo, Bellagio, Wynn, IP (back in the day), Tuscany, Monte Carlo, Trump, Flamingo -- probably one or two others I can't remember). Cosmo was definitely the nicest.

However, I'd take the best deal I could get mid-strip (or really anywhere on the strip) if I had to pick a hotel. How much time to you spend there, anyway? As long as the rooms are clean, doesn't make much difference to me (and I'm a middle-aged woman). I spend most of my time at the poker table (or snowboarding if there's snow), anyway.

(Lucky now to have a timeshare, though, so I don't have to worry about hotels anymore.)

Just thought I'd share a note on my stay at the Linq last June.

Elevators regularly took 8-10 minutes to arrive when called. Time of day didn't matter. Also, my pool view room on the 19th floor had such a large ledge under the window that I couldn't actually see the pool. WTF?

Location and price can't really be beat, and the room itself, if not large, was clean, nice, and well-lit. But that doesn't make a difference if you can't get to it in a reasonable amount of time.

Whether the elevators are slow or not, it's nice to be on the lowest floor that your bank of elevators accesses. That is, if one set goes from 1-22, and another goes from 23-40, being on floor 23 is WAY better than being on floor 22.

I think most people agree. I personally like a view, so I'll take high floors in general. The issue was not, imo, that the elevators themselves were slow. Floor to floor travel seemed speedy as far as I could tell. There were just so. many. people. trying to get on each car that it took forever for a car to reach ground or get to my floor (admittedly would have been faster on a lower level). They need bigger banks to accommodate people. Regardless, it was off-putting.

I can't believe nobody mentions T. I. I stay there because the rates are decent and I have the option of no resort fee. I never pay that. Saves you a lot of money. I book through the casino host. I always stay 2 weeks. You might want to check it out. Rooms are good and beds are great.

I reviewed it about a year ago. I agree with your statements and was v v happy with it.

I 3rd all of this. Booked the no resort fee special last year during wsop. Great rates, good rooms, free parking for the rental, and very close proximity to the rio right out the back. Highly recommend it also.

I was at the Linq in early December, staying in Tower 2, and maybe the elevators were a little slow arriving, but nothing lie 8-10 minutes fwiw.

Can someone elaborate on this resort fee waiving? Do you have that option always at TI? Anywhere else? What do you lose/not get by waiving it?