Veeeeeeeeeegas Baby!!

amandaf6383 · April 2014

Tom is turning 40 in December. He hates hates hates parties for himself and being the center of attention. He's been mentioning he wants to go back to Vegas so I'm thinking of planning a surprise trip with us, BIL and GF, and a couple of friend couples. The last time I went was 4 years ago. We stayed at the Mirage and besides a little walking around, we really basically stuck to the hotel grounds.

Pleeeease give lots of suggestions on hotels/casinos/shows/other awesome things and also let me know what you think is touristy and not worth it.

sgautschi · April 2014

Awesome!! That sounds so fun! I know @wiggylilsis is going to vegas soon, maybe she has some tips for you.

I do know that the Flamingo (?) hotel is inexpensive but the pool is public, so not really worth it IMO, my parents didn't enjoy it. They really liked staying at Treasure Island though.

nfp147 · April 2014

We stayed at the Monte Carlo when we last went to Vegas. It's in a good location and it reasonably priced. We ate at Joel Robuchon's restaurant, but it's VERY expensive. We also had an amazing meal at Craftsteak.

We went to see Crazyhorse Paris while we were there. It's a tasteful topless show. It was pretty entertaining.

poppies717 · April 2014

I've been twice! We stayed at Mandalay Bay (awesome but sooooooo far) and Caesar's Palace (awesome).

We loved the fancy Eiffel Tower restaurant, and we saw O. It was flipping amazing!!!!! I highly recommend it!

ETA: http://www.eiffeltowerrestaurant.com/

Mmmmmmmmm

stephkf · April 2014

We stayed at Bally's in February and really enjoyed it. Its in the middle of everything (connected to Paris). It was affordable, even though we booked only a month before, plus we found a deal on their website for their new Jubilee tower rooms as we were staying for 3+ nights.

zamboni00 · April 2014

I've stayed at Mandalay Bay (agree with @poppies717- sooo far!), Luxor (cheap- in every sense of the word- i really hope we just had a bad experience), and Bellagio (amazing, but not cheap). I have also stayed just off-strip at the Weston and the platinum (both times for a national kickball tournament so we made our own party).

I would definitely recommend checking out all of the free 'shows' like the fountains at Bellagio, the volcanos at the mirage, the sirens at TI, etc. touristy, but fun.

We like just walking the strip, and ducking into the casinos to check them out, too.

Last time, we did the zip lining down Fremont st, which was really cool, and some of our group did indoor skydiving.

As for shows, we have seen O which was pretty awesome. We heard great things about Absinthe at Cesar's palace, but never made it.

H and his family never leave without getting shrimp cocktail at Golden Gate in old vegas. They still call it $.50 shrimp cocktail even though I think it is like $3 now. Still worth it!

abt8113 · April 2014

We stated at Treasure Island a few years ago and loved it. We saw Zumanity and Peep Show. We loved Peep Show (DH loves to tell people he saw Holly Madison's boobs). We ate at the Country Club at Wynn which was really expensive, but totally worth it.

Aimothy · April 2014

omg. Let's see, I'll be going to Vegas for my 10th time on Friday, so I might know a little bit about it.

The Sirens of TI are no longer. Sorry.

I've stayed at Luxor, Monte Carlo, Aria, Flamingo, Venetian, Wynn, Rio, Golden Nugget & El Cortez (the last two are downtown)

My favorite rooms were at the Aria (Thank you FB myVegas game!) and the Venetian. The Venetian is more spendy but the room was awesome. Flamingo is in the middle of the strip, the rooms are nice and the pools are amazing. The Wynn was excellent, but the age limit between you and Tom will not be quite enough to fit in. You need to be about 24 and he needs to be about 60.

I would NEVER stay at the Luxor again. Horrible, cheap and a bad customer service. The Golden Nugget downtown is a favorite. They have a great adults only pool. And the best Bloody Mary on the planet.

You definitely have to hit the Bellagio Fountains at night.

Just north of Encore is the best little taco joint called Tacos el Gordo. It was about a half mile walk...and SO worth it. Jim and I both had a taco and split one of their taco fries, plus a drink and it came to $11.00. I was full and it was SO good. In Cosmo, you should get a liquor shake from Holsteins. And there's a place called Secret Pizza in Cosmo that is on the second floor that gave you Sbarro size pieces for about $5-6. It was a great afternoon snack.

Buy the All day (24 hours) bus pass to ride up and down the strip for $8. You can get on and off of different hotels and not have to walk the whole way.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

BruinsBabe33 · April 2014

Celine Dion

iteachkids81 · April 2014

We stayed at the Mirage and loved it (back in 2008 when the volcanos were being reconstructed so we missed out on that)

We also saw Zumanity and enjoyed it.

We saw Penn and Teller at the Rio and that was a lot of fun.

Hoover Dam was good for a day trip- we rented a car and drove out there to do the tour. I do recommend eating at the Bellagio buffet at least once- they had amazing food!

sweetpotato123 · April 2014

Sugar Factory has ridiculously good drinks. They're a bit pricey for the big ones, but so worth it if you can get a table outside (it is across the Belagio Fountains).

Mon Ami Gabi- amazing food and again, if you can snag an outside table, you have great seats for the fountains.

Hyde Bar in the Belagio- great as long as you leave by 10.

Battista's Hole in the Wall- down by Ballys and for $25 each you get salad, entree and bottomless wine.

Have a blast!!

MRads · April 2014

No suggestions. But sounds awesome!

nfp147 · April 2014

Also, I can't wait to see what you plan for my 40th in February!!!

lindsayandjamie · April 2014

We stayed at Ceasars last year and it was amazing but pricey. Friends of mine stayed across at harrahs and said the value vs price was good. Just a note, as far as I know the pools are closed in December so would not be a deciding consideration which is important. My BFF BIL is in Zoomanity and I'm dying to see it but it's always on hiatus when I go

I love Vegas and thinking of going in June so I'll let you know if I learn any gems cause i came up short, haha.

seahorse01 · April 2014

I hated the Mirage. I really liked MGM, but we had a fancy suite. The Wynn and Palazzo were nice too. The only buffet I've been impressed by was at the Wynn. That said, I have zero interest in going back, so maybe go with Aim's suggestions.

FutureMrsWright2012 · April 2014

We are heading to Vegas on Mother's Day weekend... Staying at the Riveria this time (next to the Wynn but at least 1/2 the price). We haven't been in a couple of years either, but we usually stay at Bally's (fairly cheap/affordable and great location).

Also, not sure if it's still there, but we went to the Beatles Cirque de Soilel show which was pretty good!

brij2006 · April 2014

We've stayed at Luxor, Excalibur, and Cosmopolitan (our friends live there and work at Cosmo). By far Cosmo is much nicer and more expensive than the other 2, and is at a great location. However, if you both like to play table games then the cheaper hotels have lower limits on the tables.

As far as food Stripburger is amazing! I will also ditto Aim's recommendation for an alcoholic shake at Holsteins at Cosmo. Their burgers there are yummy too.

We also loved Gordon Ramsey Steak.

One of the best places to spend a night and rack up a nice bar bill is Toby Keith's Bar. Especially when he randomly shows up and plays for the night. :-)

As far as shows Absinthe was decent and we also enjoyed Bite (not sure if it's still there), but it's more risqué. Of course Thunder from Down Under is fun, but definitely for a bachelorette party or girls night.

We really enjoyed going out to Hoover Dam and going on the larger tour (the cheap one isn't worth it). Go up in the Eiffel tower at sunset, and the roller coaster that hangs off the top of the Stratosphere is a huge rush. Of course there's the free things like the Bellagio fountains. Also just going into the different casinos and looking around is neat. My all time favorite is Caesars Palace.

Since you're looking at going in December, I wouldn't worry about a hotel with good pools. Although I would highly recommend going for New Years Eve. They shut down the entire strip and set off fireworks atop the resorts. It's a blast.

seahorse01 · April 2014

Oh I forgot about Trump, it had a great tub and no smoky casino to walk through. Why have I been so many times?

mrsvedo · April 2014

PPs have already listed tons of great options. We went last year as a group for a ton of 30th bdays in our friends circle. We stayed at the Aria and it was aaaaaaaaahmazing. Loved the room and the location was great.

We saw Zumanity which was really good. A bunch of people in our group also went to see the UFC fights which they absolutely loved (the fights were the main focus of the trip as those turning 30 are all huge UFC fans).

As far as food, the Bellagio buffet will change your life. We also loved Mon Ami Gabi for brunch and the tapas place in Aria (name escaping me now).

The Todd English Pub in the mall next to Aria had a really good happy hour.

Otherwise, it was just fun to wander the strip.

Ditto @Aimothy about the MyVegas game on FB. We got tons of freebies and even though we're not planning on going back to Vegas anytime soon, I still play regularly because now I have enough points to get any free room I want if/when we do go back.

Also check out Groupon/Living Social for deals as you get closer to the date of the trip.

amandaf6383 · April 2014

Are all of the pools in Vegas closed in December?!?! Is it not hot then??

LooneyLife · April 2014

I've only been to Vegas once. Part of the week we stayed at Main Street Casino/Hotel near Freemont. The rest of the week we stayed at NYNY. It was so long ago that I'm really no help.

This sounds like a great idea though!

lindsayandjamie · April 2014

@amanda6383 - no the pools are closed over the winter cause it gets pretty cold. My friend's sister lives there and when she went at Christmas is was colder in Vegas than in Vancouver. Sorry to break it to you hun....

amandaf6383 · April 2014

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

brij2006 · April 2014

Sorry, but it's chilly out there in the winter. Especially at night. Browse my FB and there should be an album called "Vegas Baby" in there. It's when we went over NYE and we're all in winter jackets and pants. It was probably in the 50-60's on average and would get down to the low 40's at night.

Xan921 · April 2014

Send Tom off to a casino and go see Britney!!!

LooneyLife · April 2014

@xan921 I'm dying to see Britney's show!

wiggyslilsis · April 2014

I am just seeing this and definitely taking notes because we are going in a couple weeks. First vacation with DH since our honeymoon! We are staying at the Excalibur. We went for inexpensive and my mom has stayed there and said it wasn't bad. I really want to stay at the Mirage but not worth the extra money this go round. Other than that not much.

Oh @amandaf6383 definitely get the myvegas slots game app. I got it a few weeks ago and already have enough rewards to get a free ticket to zumanity!

Veeeeeeeeeegas Baby!!

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