Yeah possibly I've spent time in a few other very hot places and been fine walking 30 mins or so as long as I'm not power walking but will have to see for myself once I arrive. Obv if its just too hot to walk anywhere without arriving there dripping in sweat then I'll take a taxi but yeah I can figure that out once I'm there.

Still keen to hear any suggestions about alternative options to Budget Suite style places in that area for around $1k per month. Idk if its possible get a lease on my own place for only 3 months but its more messing round to get a visa longer than that so will just get 3 month Tourist Visa on Arrival.

Wondering what websites are good to look for short term rentals or even room rentals. Have had a look on craigslist and airbnb, would be great to get some more options if anyone has suggestions I appreciate the advice, thanks.

Just FYI, if you're using the visa waiver program and want to stay for the full 90 days, you need to show them proof of where you're staying at for the whole time. They also want to see how you support yourself which ideally means $10k+ in cash or a banking account.

If you can't or don't want to do that, it's easier to buy a plane ticket for 2 weeks with a cheap option to change the return date and then reschedule the return flight after you are in Vegas. CBP gets more annoying by the day, almost as if they don't want to have visitors in the country. Even as US citizen or permanent resident you have to jump through hoops just to get home these days.

Cheers for the heads up, I was thinking having a return/onward ticket for 3 months time + printed bank statement with funds for 90+ days would be enough.

I was under the impression that having a return flight booked for 2+ weeks after i arrive could result in them only giving me a 2 week visa instead of the full 90 days. I read online somewhere that amount of time they let you in for is down to the border security guard.

I have already got the USA Esta granted and on that it was fine with me putting "unknown" down where it asks where will i be staying so didn't think it would be a problem to book hotel for say 1 week and then explain I'll be looking for alternative longer term accommodation once I'm there.

Hard to believe that border security in Vegas of all places gonna turn someone away at the border with 5 figures in the bank who says he wants to gambool it up there for the summer and maybe check out a few other places while he is there.

Still I'll keep that in mind at first I was just going to book a one way ticket but already after researching online a bit more I can see that could end up giving me lots of problems.

Any recommendations for a limo company? Plan on getting one from/to the airport when we visit in late May for my wife's 30th.

bell... is one of the biggest

It is up to the agent, but in countless trips to the US before getting a green card, it never has been anything else than 90 days on the stamp. I just rechecked, and even in a year where another 90 days would have gotten me to way over 180 total days for the year, the last stamp had 90 days on it. I assume they need a specific reason to go out of their way and use anything else than 90 days.

ESTA is nothing other than an e-version of the paper you had to fill out in the plane previously. Doesn't mean anything unfortunately. There's only a single person that decides if you're getting in or not and that's the CBP agent. In general, the more money you can show, the less problems might arise from not having a hotel booked for the duration of the trip. For most people, there aren't any problems if they can show cash and a job at home that you are going to return to. But if you google for it, there are plenty of horror storries of people who have been denied entry.

Without a return ticket, they won't even let you board the flight to the US. I've seen people being forced to either book a return flight before getting checked in or cancel the flight.

The spouse and I use Bell and have been very happy. They are very prompt, very courteous, and the vehicles are very clean.

I cannot speak to if they are the most affordable as they are the only service we have used in Vegas.

I am not sure what your budget is, but if you want to make her birthday extra special, look into the cost of a fountain view penthouse at Vdara. If you book that type of room, they throw in airport ground transportation and two one-time use spa facility passes.

The cost of your current room plus the cost of a limo might be close enough to the cost of a penthouse to where you can swing it.

I have no idea what it means by spa facility passes and if it means they charge people who book a lesser room.

Spud - at $1k/mon your options for walking distance to the strip are pretty limited. Mostly to what you have already identified. If you are able to budget $1.5k/mon, your options increase a fair amount. You can find a studio at Meridian, one of the non-sketchy extended stay hotels, etc. You could also consider getting a 3 month lease somewhere off strip and using the savings for Uber or a short term beater vehicle.

living on las vegas blvd is a real rich man/poor man scenario

Uber is so cheap. I live by palace station (Sahara/15) and I pay $3.50-$8 to get to paradise and flamingo, depending on time of day, events, and whether I pool. Save the $$ and live off strip and uber everywhere imho.

Cheers for the info everyone certainly learning some useful things here

Funny enough I just checked myself and i even got 90 day stamp when i stopped in San Fran Airport just for a 5 hour transfer. I'll think some more about the advice you have given me before I book anything but I'm now leaning more towards booking an earlier return and then changing it depending on how long i stay for.

Yeah I was hoping there were some other options I hadn't discovered yet. I'd think about increasing the budget to around 1.5k if i could find something in a better location on the strip that would do monthly leases.

I just looked at Meridian Condo's website i assume that's the place you mean but it says there they only do 1 year lease minimum and there are no prices there so idk lol

Wondering just how bad people think the cheap extended stay hotels are ? They look ok from the pics I've seen but most reviews online are terrible although I dont plan on spending much time in my room which is one of the reasons I'd like to be on / near the strip.

Definitely seems that way, I'm somewhere in the middle it looks like so not sure what the best option is atm

Hmmm maybe this could be a better option, how easy you think it would be to get a 3 month lease off the strip and where would be good place other than craigslist to start looking ?

Have you tried http://airbnb.com ?

You can get a room in someone's house or condo for 800-1200 a month. A private apt will run from $1700+ per month.

There is also https://www.frbo.com/rentals/usa/vn/...rture=07/31/17
but the cheaper ones are in sketchy neighborhoods and may not be fully furnished.
Move the map around to see places closer to the strip.

Cheers for the frbo link I see you even put my intended arrival and departure dates in that's much appreciated

Looks like there are a few options in a central location around the 1400-1600 mark available for min 3 month rental so I'll prob go with something in that price range so i can be near the strip.

While they are a little over the 1k i was looking to spend per month, seems like a much better option for me to spend a bit more, rather than spending under 1k and living in a dodgy area near the strip or living off the strip having to get taxi's / ubers every time i want to go downtown as would prob be twice a day most days.

airbnb I wasn't that impressed with last time i looked, you never know what you going to get living with random people and while I've had mainly good experiences in the past I think I would prefer spend a bit more and have my own place.

No locals have any intel on any advertised closed caption viewing or anything being advertised off strip? Cant imagine sports books being able to show this and esp doubt they would during march madness.

Did you call Lagasse Stadium like somebody suggested? They usually have the PPVs on.

Off-strip, you could call one of the Buffalo Wild Wings to ask if they show it. In general, most BWW show less PPVs than in the past but still some.

One problem is that the PPV portion of the card starts at 6PM PT which is pretty early.

Anyone do the Cannery first $200 on us deal? Any way to gin it up?

I called Vdara to get an answer as to what a spa facility pass was. If you want to enter the spa, there is a $28 charge per person which is waived if you book a penthouse suite or if you are having a treatment. It isn't really waived if you are having a treatment as it is built into the price of a treatment.

A spa facility pass charge, to me, is almost like if McDonald's started charging for you to come in the restaurant and you had to pay it if you didn't buy anything.

Spud, you can also check out vrbo.com if you haven't already. I've never heard of frbo, maybe the same thing?

I was under the impression the Spa pass lets you use all of the regular stuff like hot tubs, sauna and steam room?

What really annoys me about that area at Vdara is the fact that it feels like half the time they don't have anybody at the counter. So not only do they charge $1 for an apple or a banana, you also have to waive around the bill for the person at the smoothie bar to see it, before putting it on the counter so nobody can accuse you of stealing the fruit. Maybe sometimes one person is responsible for both counter and smoothie bar and they are too lazy to walk over for a stupid $1 transaction?

Thanks for the info but we've already got a room booked at MGM. Maybe next trip.

I would suppose it does. Sorry if my McDonald's analogy threw you.

On an unrelated to the spa note, people should be aware that Vdara has an early cancellation fee of at least one night's stay.

So, my wife and I and an English friend are in Downtown from Wednesday night through very early Sunday morning, and then after some time on the slopes my wife and I are back on the Strip from March 23rd through 28th. Myself and the English guy are very early 40s, my wife is mid-30s. If anyone wants to meet up with us for a craft beer at any stage, shoot me a message; am guessing it's gonna be lots of fun in Vegas over the next two weeks and being Irish I love to go out in company and meet cool new people.

are you saying that you and your wife are swingers?

Pics of the wife and the English guy

Ha, no we are not swingers! Does my post come across that way, Jesus! I guess it is hard as a couple to say 'does anyone want to hang out' in a non-weird way Defo only interested in casual drinks. LOL, I better not tell her that this question even arose, she'll murder me!