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Which Vegas hotel and how many days?
The search function doesn't work for me so I apologize for another Vegas question! I went back 10 pages but still didn't find quite what I was looking for. DH and I are planning a trip to Las Vegas early next year. Neither of us has ever been and we are in the early planning stages: when, where, and for how long.
When: January, February, or May 2013? We want to avoid the spring break madness of March and April. I know Jan and Feb are cooler months, but we are coming from Hawaii so laying by the pool isn't high on our list of things to do.
Where: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Wynn, Cosmopolitan? They are all within our budget, which would you pick? We definitely want to be on the strip as we are first timers and just want to be right in the middle of it all. I am so overwhelmed with the amount of hotels, I don't even know if I narrowed it down to the best possible choices.
How long: Anywhere from 7-14 days is what we can do. We are also wanting to rent a car for a couple of days and venture out to see the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Red Rock, Valley of Fire, maybe Death Valley or Zion National Park (any recommendations on one or the other? Worth seeing?) Again, we are just starting to plan and I don't want to cram in too much, but Grand Canyon is a must, everything else is just things I've read about, thought they could be interesting, and jotted down in all my notes.
Assuming we took 3 days to do day trips to different sites outside of Vegas, how many days do you think is sufficient to do LV on top of that? There's so much to do, I don't want to burn out, but I also don't want to feel like we didn't do/see enough.
Re: Which Vegas hotel and how many days?
Out of those 4 hotels, I would definitely go with the Cosmo! I haven't stayed there yet (hopefully this summer!), but have heard nothing but rave reviews, plus it's in a great location on the strip. Wynn would be good too, but my total fave is the Palazzo.
My H and I did a side trip from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, then to Sedona for a couple days. I highly rec doing this, both are stunning!
So I'd say 4-5 nights in Vegas (to give you time to see Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Red Rock park, etc), 1 at or near the Grand Canyon, 2 or 3 in Sedona, and I'm not sure what else...lol. Here to help!
My favorite hotel in Vegas is the vdara, same location you are looking at its connected to the bellagio and right next to cosmopolitan. If not vdara, on your list I would choose the Cosmo.
As far as the when we went in January and it was great, but it was only about 65-70 everyday. That might be on the cool side for you.
How long is tough, we stayed 4 days saw all of Vegas and took a day trip to the grand canyon and Hoover dam. Vegas has lots of great shows (we loved O) and food so I would plan 7-10 days just so I could eat at all the amazing high end restaurants!
i've stayed at all of those places and cosmo is easily my favorite. get a terrace room - it is a great Vegas experience! You will have a better view of the fountains than you would if you were actually staying at the Bellagio. You won't be disappointed with any of these hotels. Just don't get a Classic Room (their lowest level room) at CP, they are far under par than any of the basic rooms at the places you've listed. Somewhere else on par with your choices is the Venetian/Palazzo, although Cosmo, CP and Bellagio all win for location.
I don't prefer Vegas in the winter, but I am from Pittsburgh and enjoy lots of pool time when I can get it. I've been to Vegas almost every month of the year and it definitely gets COLD at night in Jan/Feb.
I personally get burnt out on the Strip after 3 nights. We hit Vegas pretty hard though, lots of drinking, good eating, and gambling. I am more than ready to leave by the time we're on our way to the airport.
I don't have any recs for outside activities, although i would love to do a trip to the GC. We have a very specific agenda when we arrive in LV!
Have a great trip.
Of those months, I would personally recommend May only because of the warmer temps. However, we just went in January and it was sunny every day and in the 60s so if the temps don't matter to you then choose whatever month is cheaper.
Of your hotel choices I would go with the Cosmo. I also love the Wynn but Cosmo is much more center strip.
I had visited Vegas three times prior but all trips had occurred 7 plus years ago so we decided to stay for three nights/four days. One of those days we traveled to the Valley of Fire, which I highly recommend. I personally wouldn't recommend staying any longer than four nights in Vegas or else you will likely get burned out. With as much time as you have I would visit as many of the National Parks that you can in Utah and Arizona including Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and the Grand Canyon. You could also stop in Sedona.
I have entries in my travel blog on our trip to Las Vegas including the Valley of Fire here: http://wanderlusttraveler.blogspot.com/search/label/Nevada
Thanks for the recs, I've been reading a lot about The Cosmo and have been leaning towards that, so I'm glad to see that a lot of you give it a thumbs up. Truth be told I had never heard of it until I watched Real Housewives the other night hahaha..but I liked what I saw on tv so I decided to look it up.
TravelingJen -- loved the pics! You and your man are super cute..and heck yea to the free vodka drinks at that club! Hopefully we stumble across something like that going on
So it sounds like anywhere from 7-10 days for the whole trip is sufficient..with 3 of those traveling outside of Vegas.
Best Cirque du Soleil show? I've seen Cirque twice before, but obviously not in Vegas. I love them though and want to see them there. I keep seeing "O" and "Love" as favorites everywhere. And amongst the thousands of places to eat, does anyone have any MUST EAT HERE picks? I'm the type of person to go, go, go on vacation..so the more we can see and do, the better
City Center is new and looks really nice. H and I don't prefer Vegas (been there done that too many times) but if we go back again, we'll probably try out City Center. Wynn has the Red 8 restaurant, definitely stop in for dinner one night.
Hoover Dam and Death Valley is neat to see but not much there. There was Snow Mountain that H wanted to go to the time that we went to Death Valley but we didn't have time to make it all the way up the mountain.
I think 7 days in Vegas is plenty long enough if not too long. You could shop during the day and go to shows at night. There are lots of shows like Cirque du Soleil, Blue man group, etc. Treasure Island does a free show. I would stop by there at dusk when they have the lights. MGM's water show.
I've been to Vegas in the winter and I was miserably cold. Since you're from Hawaii, I imagine it would be the same. Spring and fall is probably the best time for Vegas...not too hot and not too cold. So I'd go in May. Though 1 year is pretty far out. I don't think I've ever planned a vegas trip more than 2 week in advance haha.
You can't go wrong with O or Mystere for Cirque shows. Don't see LOVE unless you like the Beatles. I greatly enjoyed it, but I also really like the Beatles. CDS is also starting a Michael Jackson show at Mandalay Bay - i think it starts next year, but not sure when. That will be a must see for me!! Another must see IMO is Absinthe at CP. It is a hilarious, raunchy vaudeville type show. Pretty cheap (Vegas standards) to0.
There so so many great restaurants in Vegas that you could do a whole post on them - from fine dining to tacos. One of our favorites is Mesa Grill at CP. If you like mircobrews, check out Public House at Venetian. Mon Ami Gabi at Paris is good/reasonable for brunch (View of the fountains). The Wynn has an amazing champagne brunch.... highly rec. SW Steak at Wynn is also phenomenal.
have a great time
We go to Vegas yearly & always take a side trip out of the city. I've never stayed in any of the hotels you mentioned but we walked around the Cosmo the last time we were there (January) & I was impressed.
When we go it's usually 3-4 days in Vegas & 1-2 days side trip.
We did Grand Canyon this last time & stayed @ the Best Western in Tusayan, a small (& I mean small) town just outside of the park. Very basic hotel but free hot breakfast which was nice. And much less expensive than staying in the park.
Previously we did a day trip to Death Valley. Awesome Mexican restaurant in a little trailer in Beatty, NV; can't remember the name though! Anyone?
Zion can be a day trip or an overnight; it's only about a 3 hr drive from Vegas. There's a bunch of hotels in nearby Springdale; again, less costly than staying in the park. Bring a Nalgene bottle to fill up @ the natural spring spigots throughout the park. We were there in August & you'll need it!
Caesar's is my favorite but Bellagio and Wynn are good too-I've never stayed at Cosmo but have heard only good things about it so you can't go wrong with any of those choices.
I'd say a week is def plenty of time to see everything in Vegas and the other places you want to see. Many of the places outside of the city can be seen on bus or helicopter tours so that could help you save on time and save you from renting a car if you didn't want to but I understand if you'd want to take your time and see the sights on your own time schedule.
Have a great time!
I'd go with either Wynn or Cosmo. I've never stayed at Cosmo, but my friends stayed there last month and the room was amazing. We always stay at the Wynn when we have a staycation, but the location is definitely not as good as the others on your list.
I think 3-5 days would be perfect. You could check out Hoover Dam on your way to Grand Canyon. I LOVE Zion, but if you don't have the time for it (2.5 hours away), you could do some hiking at Red Rock or Valley of Fire.
I would choose May out of the three months you suggested. Prices are usually really low in May, especially if you come while school is still in session. Also, January and February can get cold. I'm from Hawaii originally and I freeze during those months! The weather here is absolutely perfect right now but tends to get hotter towards the end of May.
Try to make some time to hit Fremont Street downtown. It's definitely worth either a night or a half day, plus it's hugely popular with folks from Hawaii.
For shows, there are lots of options. I would definitely recommend one of the Cirque shows. I have seen almost every major show in Vegas (except Absinthe--seeing that in a few weeks), so if you have questions about particular ones you are interested in you can let me know.
Thanks y'all! I really appreciate it. I've copied and pasted all of your recommendations into my Vegas planning on the computer.
I think we'll do 9 days in early May, 5 in Vegas, 4 exploring outside of Vegas, and I'm pretty sure The Cosmopolitan is our pick..so I'll hold off on making any type of reservations for a few months unless I come across some crazy deals. Can't wait to go!!!
I think all of those are great hotel choices and I don't think you'll be disappointed with any of them.
As others have said I think 4 days/nights in Vegas will be enough. I also recommend May as the travel time. I got 'stuck' in Vegas overnight at the end of December on the way to Phoenix due to flight delays and had to buy GLOVES to wear walking around because it was so darn cold.....and I'm from WI originally and live in IN so yeah......you would be freezing! lol
DEFINITELY do Grand Canyon and if you have time I would do Sedona too! Sedona is soooooo gorgeous and it's romantic too ;-) We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast when there and hubby constantly talks about how he wants to go back there. This is it: http://www.casasedona.com/ The food was awesome too!!! If you do decide to do Sedona you will want to exit the highway near Flagstaff and take the senic highway into Sedona. I believe it's State Road 89A. It will take you a while longer but the views are AMAZING. You'll go past slide rock too which is a touristy spot in Sedona. In the summer people slide down this natural rock waterslide!
Harrah's is a nice hotel and it has the tram that goes in between a few of the hotels. My hubby and I took the tram a few times and it was nice and convenient besides walking...But we did enjoy the walking on the strip lol..
I definitely recommend going to the Grand Canyon. We ended up taking a day trip to the Hoover Dam and then went to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was so beautiful there!! We took a helicoptor tour down into the Colorado River and then a boat ride as well....Well worth the money we paid. We did a package and also it included the Skywalk which is a glass walkway suspended over the Grand Canyon...The views are breathtaking. It was on an indian reservation which I believe the indians there own the skywalk...A definite must!!
I hope you enjoy your trip there!!