Two Vegas Trips - Hotel Suggestion?

So I'm finding myself in a pretty awesome situation: I'm flying down for one of my best friends bachelor parties September 20th through the 23rd, then my girlfriend and I are taking a road trip around the Southwest which will bring us into Las Vegas October 15th through the 18th.

The first trip is planned and purchased already, and since I'm splitting a room with a friend we chose the Flamingo. I'm trying to book a room for my girlfriend and I and I'm having a much harder time deciding, as we're doing this road trip as cheap as possible.

I've almost pulled the trigger twice on a Circus Circus West Tower room for $105 + $27 in resort fees. I've also thought about Imperial Palace, which is very close at $110 total. One thing I'm worried about is our car and the parking situation at the cheaper places. It's a nice BMW and I'd hate for anything to happen to it. Her and I don't care about gaming much, we usually wander around the strip and do whatever looks interesting at the time. Imperial Palace has the better location, but I've heard security is better at Circus Circus. Both of these places get horrible reviews, but they're in our price range.

Depending on what sort of deals we can find for lodging in the other cities we visit, we might decide to stay in one of the slightly upgraded casinos. I've also considered possibly somewhere off the strip, but this has never been a consideration before and I don't know if it'd be a good idea.

I appreciate any input you guys have for us!

 

If you have a car maybe downtown is for you.

rooms are a lot cheaper.

 

Do people who stay downtown and want to see the strip generally drive there or take some other form of transportation?

 

I was gonna suggest downtown too... If you like to explore, Circus Circus is sooo far from everything that's gonna make it hard. IP has a lot of construction going right out side and that whole area is congested. I think both places are dumps, I'm sorry... others speak decently of IP, especially for the price, but rarely does anyone glow about CC. Downtown is a lot less expensive and fun in it's own right. A cab ride to the Strip isn't that much or you could take the bus... or drive down, if you're not a big drinker. The Golden Nugget is the class of downtown, but Plaza has spent some $$$ sprucing-up, as has The D (Fitzgerald). Lot's a cool bars at the end of Fremont St.

 

Thanks for the advice so far

My girlfriend doesn't drink at all, so driving is an option, but where do you park on the strip? I think the bus would probably be our best bet. Does it take long to get from downtown to the main strip? Do we have to worry about more crime in the area?

 

Just about every hotel on the strip has free valet/self parking.

 

Luxor is dirt cheap!

 

Oh, so you don't have to stay at the hotel to park there? I know this may be an odd question, but can you guys suggest which casino parking structures in the middle of the strip are 'nicer', if we do stay downtown?

 

bus from downtown

From DT to strip, i would estimate about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on time of day, traffic and if you are on the Deuce or SDX Express bus. Bus is affordable; 7 bucks for 24 hours. The Deuce runs 24 hours a day; the SDX stops at 1230.

The IP is a dump..you can get practically the same cost downtown...

Look forward to the trip report!

 

Dont' even consider walking it... yes it can be done, but WHY? There's nothing really to see between downtown and The STRAT (except Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which is now an "attraction") and then you have the walk from the Strat to Wynn, before The Strip starts (please don't anyone tell me the Strip starts at Circus Circus).

I've always thought either the TI or Mirage are really easy in and out (parking structures), but again for a couple bucks you can pull into valet at any of the strip resorts and I'd feel comfortable leaving my vehicle there.

I'm not a "bus" type person... many here are... lots of other visitors do take the bus, but so do many of Las Vegas' "dregs"... it's safe, don't get me wrong, but don't be surprised if you sit in the vicinity of someone who talks to themself the whole trip... Lotta weirdos.

A cab is quick and not that expensive... straight shot.

 

Joe, I checked Signature (at MGM) and the regular rate for your dates is $103 + $25 per night resort fee. Yes, the walk is a bit further to the strip but the area is good and your room will be much better than Circus Circus. You may be able to save some cash by signing up for their email list too. Regardless, book your room and keep searching for a better rate. The hotels charge your card for one night but refund that night if you cancel 72 hours prior to arrival. Another tip, run your search on Expedia for a general idea of the rates and then run a search at the hotel site and most times you can beat that price. Regardless, you want to book at the hotel site so you can cancel and re-book at another property. For example, Expedia is showing Monte Carlo at $85 per night for your travel dates and Golden Nugget is $69 per.

Like smartone, I am not big on riding the bus but for differing reasons. The things are always crowded.

 

I'm sure happy I found this site. Great to get ideas and bounce new ones off you guys. I talked to the girlfriend about staying downtown, which she veto'd, but did say off-strip is an option. Then we found Bills Gambling Hall, which seems to get great reviews and is only a bit more than Circus Circus ($131 vs $175). What do you guys think?

 

You drive a "nice" BMW. You are taking your girlfriend, who (sensibly) rejects downtown. Yet, you are considering the absolute worst hotels on the Strip and are talking about taking the bus. This is setting yourself up for a very lousy experience.

Why not "splurge" on a slightly better but still cheap hotel like the Luxor or the Tropicana or the TI, which would give you a decent room and position you well to have nice fun walks around the Strip?

I would say your car is reasonably/very safe in any of the large, well lighted, and security patrolled (all) structures on the Strip. If she does not drink--why not just stay at the very reasonable Palms/Rio/Hard Rock and drive around. Valet the car wherever you want to go--which you can do for free at any Strip hotel--and file a claim with the deep pockets if anything happens. 99.99% chance nothing will, which are the best odds you will get on anything in LV.

Even if you are on a tight budget, I would just simply avoid taking any girlfriend to any of the dumps you are mentioning if I had any interest in keeping her around. Pay a LITTLE more and get yourself, your car, and your GF into a decent place.

 

If you gamble when you are there with the guys get a Total Rewards card(or whatever it is called now) and then check your rates when you get back. I know it's cutting it kind of close but you could have a back up plan booked. I checked your dates for October at the Flamingo and now it's showing 242 this could go down once you gamble a bit. I think GF would like the Flamingo..especially if you are any kind of pool people. It's center strip and great for walking to other casinos

 

Yes, do the strip for your first visit. Do not do downtown. Do not do off strip. Do not do Strat or Circus Circus.

IP is marginal, but some are okay with it. Double check all the hotels along the strip. Log in to their website and see if you have picked an expensive date - sometimes the price from one day to the next can double or triple.

Valet vs self park? I do not always trust those car jockies, so I do self park. All the big hotels have just fine parking for free and you do not have to stay there to park there.

 

You guys are really helping me out, I appreciate it.

I understand what you're saying 100%, and I agree completely. The issue we have is this trip has grown from 5 days and three destinations to two weeks and seven destinations, so we're trying to keep costs down wherever we can. I talked with her last night and, though she wanted me to just do Circus Circus, I told her this is one area we need to splurge a bit (again). We ended up reserving a room at Bill's based on the recommendations here in other threads. It has a central location with parking, access to the pool at the Flamingo, and we got three nights for $175 total. What do you think? I've heard the biggest drawback of that place is that it can be noisy on that intersection, which isn't a concern.

I'll definitely keep that in mind, and I'll sign up for a TR card when I get there. I'm not much of a gambler but we'll see

We've both been there a few times, but I think we both prefer the strip over the other options. I'd like to plan a trip down there where we know going in that we're staying downtown, but she's concerned because I guess it's next to the jail and somewhat seedy? Ah well.

Based on what I've told you guys, do you think Bill's will work for us?

 

so you drive a nice Beemer, but are looking at staying at CC or IP? seems a little strange to me ... i can understand trying to stick to a budget, but going with 2 of the worst places in the city?

 

Calm down guys, you've already talked us out of CC or IP

This trip we're taking is already over $3,000, we were just trying to stay in LV for a little longer.

I would like to get some feedback on Bill's though

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT stay at Circus Circus! The place stinks, as in smells disgusting! And tha parking garage is like a giant urinal!!

I just looked at Total Rewards site and even booking without a TR cards, most of the rates are lower than what you were looking at for Circus Circus. Everything I have heard about Bill's is that it is fine, but it doesn't really have a Wow factor. I think that the Flamingo will be nice, but you might want to think about upgrading to the GO room which I show at $267 for the 3 nights, and there may be better rates on other sites.

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip!

 

Bills--never stayed there, so cannot comment on the rooms. The "biggest drawback" is not noise, it is that you are still firmly in the lowest tier of strip hotels. The casino is a small, cramped place that would seem more at home in Reno or Downtown LV. They appear to have no real resort facilities--do you really want to walk down the street to get to "your" pool? Location is good--but I would still look a little harder for a good rate on a better hotel.