Quote:
Originally Posted by chopstick
I'd like to ask for general advice on lodging when heading to Vegas for a month or so given a mostly flexible set of criteria.
I have been doing my research in this subforum on where I'd like to play and there seems to be fairly universal consensus on that, so mostly looking for advice on where to stay.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I've been doing a lot more research, including reading pretty much every thread in this forum related to short term stays back through 2009. Also been studying Google Maps to learn where everything is, and reading TripAdvisor reviews nonstop.
I haven't made a lodging decision yet, but I did buy a flight. I arrive on Saturday. I'll leave at the end of February or start of March.
Right now my default plan is going to be to just rent a car and stay at Candlewood Suites, unless I decide on something else in the next week. They have a long term rate of about $50/night, well under my preferred $2k / max $3k monthly lodging budget. They are an IHG property, have decent reviews on TripAdvisor, and the stay may get me my IHG Platinum status stays for 2014. The only downsides I see are that they allow pets there, which I'm not excited about being allergic to dogs and cats, and that they don't guarantee a non-smoking room. I don't mind a 2 mile walk to Aria/B area, will be good exercise. Can taxi back if it's a sketchy walk at night.
Other possibilities include:
Signature - Probably #1 non-Candlewood contender, seems to have everything I want as well, and is walking distance. This may displace Candlewood as #1 after I call that guy Alex on craigslist. I can't tell if he has more than one unit or is just super aggressive on craigslist with the one he has.
Palms Place - Location seems fine. I am not afraid of Mexican grocery stores, I can read Spanish.
Jockey Club - Love the location, but have read a lot about noise there. I did LOL at one of the descriptions of this place in a 2p2 thread - "Let's not forget about the Jockey Club, the way God did."
Meridian - This went lower on my list when I read about the history of some scamming agents there. The 2p2 thread on this place where dude shows up offering to help sue the limo driver is pretty funny.
Staybridge Suites - It's not just the breakfast tempting me, but also the halfway distance between both Aria/B and Whole Foods.
Homewood Suites - Very close walk to Whole Foods. I've stayed at Homewoods before and they are usually very solid. May call and see if they offer a long term discount as both them and Staybridge show as just over $100/night even after punching the full timeframe into their websites. I can live with $3k/month, but if I'm paying that I'd prefer to be on the strip I think. I know I can get Jockey for <$100/night for a month+ stay.
702 Housing - Not sure who these guys are, but they advertise on craigslist a lot and their website seems OK. They do short term executive/corporate housing just south of Flamingo and just west of 15 on S Valley View Blvd. Looks all the units are in the Desert Tides Condominiums complex. The location looks pretty solid from Google Maps. The
reviews on TripAdvisor, however, as superLOLbad. I take all reviews with a grain of salt, since bad reviews are often written by entitled *******s who had their feelings hurt ("Would not let me park in the fire lane!!! 1 STAR!!!"), but this has pretty overwhelmingly bad ones. The
Oyster review is also pretty damning. Their
online rental agreement is also kinda LOL. Probably far less hassle to just go with an extended stay hotel or VRBO.
Still doing my research. Might just bounce around a bit in January while deciding where to stay for February. Looks like it's mostly down to staying at an extended stay place like Candlewood/Staybridge/etc with a car vs finding a easy walking distance condo/timeshare like Signature/Jockey/etc using VRBO or Craigslist. Short term rental places like Meridian are still possible, but probably #3 choice as I don't want to deal with large security deposits, agents, and leases if I can avoid it.
To answer some of the items raised earlier -
I'm not coming to Vegas to grind, just to chill for 6 weeks or so. The poker rooms will not be a workplace, they will be a place to relax and spew some buyins in the evenings. I am a spewy rec-fish, not a grinder.
Grocery delivery is nice, but I prefer doing my own shopping, and doing it often. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies.
I'm thinking my average days will go like this - work during the day from place I'm staying, head over to the strip around 4-5pm to play poker until 11pm or so, then head back. Rinse & repeat. Explore city and interesting stuff on weekends. Maybe some sailing on Lake Mead if I can find a sailboat rental.
The Holiday Royale threads/stories were pretty funny, so thanks for those. Confirmed LOLme for spending more than even 20 seconds reading about Siegel Suites. The
TripAdvisor reviews for that place are hilarious.
doublejoker, Combo-Prof, prototypepariah, Turiya, eobmtns, phunkphish - thanks for your advice. Feel free to hit me up for a drink or sushi roll any time after the coming weekend.
Feel free to keep giving me advice as well LOL
Sorry for the super tl;dr! Figured some people might be interested in some of the research.