Unforunately you can't have your cake and eat it to when it comes to getting a hotel room on the strip. Either you are going to have to budge on price or budge on quality. There are youtube videos of rooms in Bally's as well as tons of reviews online to help you determine if it meets your quality standards.

I have not stayed there yet but what i expect out of Bally's is a clean no frill room in an outstanding location and nothing more.

I have certainly stayed at worse. 3 years ago I stayed at the now defunct Imperial Palace. It actually would have met my low standards except for the fact that it was so dirty. The floors looked like they hadn't been vacuumed and the sheets had noticeable dirt/hairs/stains in them. In the early 2000s I stayed a night at The Boardwalk Hotel and Casino and that room was many notches below anything you will find on the strip these days.

If you are only staying a few nights the one way you can really save on price is just coming up during the weekdays which are substantially cheaper than the weekends. (when you book your hotel you can see the rates for each particular day and you will see the base rate on the weekend came be 2, 3, or even 4 times as expensive as that of a weekday).

There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay in a nice room. Hard to consider it snobby when Vegas suites can run as high as $40,000 a night.

I'm not entirely clear on whether they are absolutely mandatory. It sounds like potentially at some locations you can talk them out of it but it's not something I researched simply because Internet is included in the resort fee and that is something I plan to use.

Ballys is perfectly fine. You're in an ideal location and their standard room is bigger than most.

ROFL

First time in vegas and only 5 days. There will be enough to do and see on the strip that you won't need a car and you won't need taxi's. A center location like Bally's will be better then a south end location like Mandaly bay. But the best thing to do is figure out what is you wan't to do and then choose your hotel relative to your planed activates.
For example the wife and I once stayed in avery nice room at PH, but everything we wanted to do was up near the Venetian. It would have been better for us to stay in a cheaper room at say Harrah's. For me the hard cost to keep down is food, but then all I do is play poker, so I have no other expenditures. I try to keep most of money in my bankroll and not spend it on plush rooms and other extravagances. If you want tour and see the other attractions like hoover dam, etc. then get a car, otherwise why bother.
I take the $7 shuttle to the hotel but with 5 guys it may be cheaper to share a taxi or limo. (Hint put aside enough money to get home and don't touch it.) As far as food goes, there are some good cheap places still if you know where they are, but Las Vegas has gone a little crazy with trendy tizzed up food. So what ever you planed to spend on food
multiply by 1.25. I should point I don't drink (much) I don't chase women I don't do drugs... I just play poker.... your experience might be different.

BTW I like Bally's, but Stayed in the quad (now the link) last time and it was cheap and O.K. I sort of like the Harrah's--linq--Flamingo area now. Bally's is next door.

A whole thread could be dedicated to unexpected costs for a first timer. Actually it would be a decent thread idea.

I agree with what others have mentioned. For me the most outrageously priced item that adds up the fastest is drinks. Average price on the Strip at any bar, casino bar or restaurant is $12 for a mixed drink (Crown and Coke, margarita etc). A few random bars I've been in, (nothing fancy or high end) are $14-$16/each. And what irks me is that you can go to the crappiest little casino bar that services the gaming floor waitresses and get a very small, poorly mixed drink and it's still $12. You might go to a really nice bar in one of the nicer places like the Wynn or Cosmo and get a really good drink for the same $12. And to be clear, $12 is the avg. Order a good margarita on the rocks and it might be $18-$20. And there some some places that are $8-$10 also, but I've found $12 to be very common.

In summary, there are deals to be had on drinks, coupons, happy hours, Casino Royale etc but you've got to be mindful of this and plan it out. Don't be afraid or ashamed to use coupons either. All the bartenders and restaurants are used to this and they give you no grief about it. I don't mean to make a mountain out of a mole hill but if not planned out well, you can drop some money on drinks.

Food can be the same issue but there are plenty of coupons, Groupons and cheap but great places like Earl of Sandwhich, you just need to look for them.

Cabs were mentioned and just plan on spending $15-$25 pre-tip every time you get in a cab. Regardless of what some people say, you can walk up and down the Strip and the exercise won't kill you. It's actually cool to see the sights from the street.

One thing I'd mention is, for a night of cheap gambling, cheap drinks and cheap food, go downtown. It's a cool place to visit and the prices on everything are super reasonable compared to the Strip. But 1-2 evenings down there is probably all you will want.

Hope that helps and I know I sound super cheap but I'm really not. I'm just usually there with my wife and 4-5 nights of Vegas can get expensive for 2 people if you don't watch your wallet.

Have fun!

just degen it up at the tables and get free drinks while you're there. If you're a nit and want to reduce variance play a game like Pai-Gow poker (slow and lots of pushes) so you can get more than your EV cost worth of drinks

You just have to go to Vegas with the understanding that you will get nickel and dimed on everything. It used to really bother me, but now when I go I just accept that I'm gonna burn some extra $$$ on dumb stuff but it's just the way it is. Prices for anything "service" related are guaranteed outrageous...for examples see room service and anything you order poolside.

Both the above posts are spot on.

The old school days of ultra cheap Vegas are long gone.

I generally spend very little on booze because most of the drinking I do is when playing poker. Drinks are free ($1 tip) but I usually buy the first one at a bar so I don't have to wait for the drink server to come around. I ususally play 2/4 limit or the like so I don't lose $300 trying to save 50 bucks on booze.

Note that if you're the snooty type that only drinks single malt Macallan or the like, you might not be able to get that for free. If you plan to do a strip club, I believe a beer is up to 9 bucks now, and you can't get those for free.

He said they were going in the summer, and they may find that walking around in 105 degree desert sun isn't to their liking. Also, there are times when you need to be at the WSOP or Venetian or whatever for a tournament that starts at x o'clock, and walking won't cut it. It's pretty hard to avoid cabs altogether unless you're there for only a short time or a very specific purpose, like the WSOP.

Ya I see your point. A lot of people have said that to reduce traveling costs they change hotels etc. I don't think I'll be too interested in going to see tourist attractions such as natural parks. I'm also pretty simple when it comes to dining, but if I win, I'll definitely splurge on some nice meals to enjoy the experience.

Definitely appreciate your advice! I'm used to the cab fare and know how not to get taken for a ride for the most part, but always good to hear what others have to say. Being from Montreal, I am used to the nightlife and cab fare and all of that, but Vegas is another animal from what I have heard. Do you recommend booking hotels separately or with my flight?

haha, I just might have to do this to take advantage of those drinks

Ya, I understand that and am kind of okay with it. I would just like to prevent myself from being hustled where applicable. For example, by telling cabbies to non-tunnel routes, or by taking shuttles instead.

With all honesty guys, I really do appreciate this advice and positive feedback. I'm a rookie with traveling so trying to figure it all out and have the best time possible!

I'd recommend pricing it both ways and choosing what is cheaper (look at price quotes both on travel sites and the hotel sites and compare). If it is your first trip and you are not getting deals through a rewards program already, it will probably be cheaper to book both flight and hotel at the same time (some sites will offer discounts, food or other comps if you book both at the same time depending on when you are going), but definitely get quotes for both separate and combined then choose the best option.

I've stayed at Aria, Ballys, Luxor, Ecalibur. I like center strip the best, but best bang for you buck is south strip (Luxor and Excalibur). If you're planning on playing lots of poker and like Omaha, Aria is your spot...poker rate is good, but walking out of city center is a pain in the ass.

I'm going in a few weeks with 3 friends that don't play poker at all; and they wanted a suite on the strip for the best price. Through mlife and total rewards accounts, best price for on the strip was at the Luxor. $167 per night total for a double queen (but two couches as well) 900 square foot suite. That price includes taxes and resort fee. So for 4 of us, that's like $44 per person, per night.

Flying into Vegas on Monday from Ft. Lauderdale. Was able to get 3 nights at Luxor and round trip flight for $450. Price is deceptive because I'm flying on Spirit which charges $35 for a carry on. Luxor also charges $28 a night for resort fee I think. So more like $600. That's OK, I don't mind.

Sweet. Got a deal at Luxor next week for 3 days.

Doing a July bachelor party, any thoughts where to stay? Do any hotels do group-room rates for small blocks of 7-10 rooms? Doubtful, but thought I'd ask if anybody knew.

Yup, they do blocks like that for weddings, etc all the time. A co-worker got a pretty good deal as part of a wedding party.

But do not say the words "bachelor party". Most hotels hate that, and some explicitly forbid them. Guess they saw Very Bad Things.

mmmmmmmm Kobe Tai

First weekend of March Madness I am staying with a few friends at the Aria Sky Suites where we are getting a ridiculously cheap room rate due to an industry hookup. I never even knew these places existed, but I'll definitely snap some pics of the rooms. Google them if you have a minute.

Tell them family reunion instead of bachelor party.

Stayed at Harrahs recently for 10 nights (February). I was pretty happy with the hotel, great pricing for what you get. My only complaints:
1) no bar fridge- lol is this standard in vegas?
2) room service would only clean til like 2pm, so if you are sleeping in the day you need to go and ask one of the room service ladies to clean it after this time. Calling room service does fk all because they just say "yeah yeah they will be there in a minute" and dont turn up.
3) check in takes ****ing ages- they are slow as hell at the desk. I cannot understand how the checkin process can possibly be so slow but it is.

I extended my trip by one night and it was relatively easy, a bit slow but okay.

The food court at Harrahs is sick- the 24/7 salad bar is amazing.

The gym is decent, no access to pool at this time of year.

Location is very good for Venetian, Wynn etc, bellagio is walkable and theres also easy access to the shuttle.

1. Yes, that's standard for Vegas.

2. I'd suggest calling housekeeping instead of room service if you want your room cleaned*

3. It's slow because you were at Harrah's.



*i know what you meant. Just ****ing with you.

Heading to Vegas again in mid June, for a week, I'm looking at either PH or Paris. I stayed at Flamingo last time and loved the location but figured I'd "step up" a tier in hotels this time around.

I'm guessing they are fairly similar quality wise? I'm thinking they are a toss-up and will probably just book whichever is cheaper, unless somebody has any advice that would make me lean one way or another. just going to have fun, drink, wander around and gamble, won't be playing poker.

The wild card is Mirage, which I always want to stay at, but I really liked the location of the other two..

PH is my favorite. TI is usually cheaper than Mirage but same thing

Any suggestions for which spots will have the best atmosphere to watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight? I'm assuming it will be showing at every sportsbook in town right? Would love to watch it at MGM but I figure the SB will be 50 rows deep of people standing. We (group of 4) need a good view, seating is definitely preferred. Open to any suggestions besides Lagasse Stadium. Thanks!

Actually, this is not true. I've been in Vegas for 2 of the last 3 Mayweather fights and they are NOT publicly shown anywhere. Believe me, it came as a huge shock when I was scrambling last minute to find a place to watch the fight. We ended up going on CL and buying tix to the MGM "viewing party" for $150 a piece Basically a huge ballroom they set up with projectors where you could buy drinks and hang out.