On a Budget -- Which MGM Hotel?

Well, the husband and I are planning on going to Vegas for our anniversary in December, which is going to be our more luxurious trip.

However, we have decided to take a road trip and bring a friend with us, who has never been to Vegas. We are planning on going in August.

This trip is going to have to be on a tight budget because we don't want to touch the money that we have set aside for our anniversary trip. We are going to use MyVegas rewards for food and such.

Anyway, we want to stay at an MGM property (makes it easier and cheaper to use the MyVegas rewards, plus we are Mlife members but aren't Total Rewards members yet), and we want to do it cheap. Which cheap property would you suggest? We aren't that picky -- as long as it's clean, it's fine with us, especially for this trip. We stayed at Excalibur last time and were satisfied. We want to stay at the Mirage or the Bellagio for our anniversary -- or maybe even Skylofts -- but again, we are going on a super budget for this trip.

I've actually thought about Circus Circus, but I've heard so many bad things about it? We could do Excalibur again -- Mlife keeps sending me "buy one, get one free" offers -- but I wouldn't mind doing something different, too. So...Excalibur again? Luxor? New York New York? Circus Circus?

 

And all of those bad things are well deserved.

 

I am pretty sure the prices per night would be on the web site under your card number. For adults I would stay with Luxor or NYNY

 

The obvious answer is go with the cheapest. But of the four properties you listed, I like NYNY the best. The rooms are fine. I like the casino. And its closer to other MGM resorts that have great restaurants (which hopefully myvegas will let you eat at)

 

Circus Circus can be a fun place to visit but I wouldn't want to stay there.

I think MGM is the best bang for buck unless you can get a good deal at Mandalay Bay.

From a process of elimination:

Out:

Circus Circus - too hectic and far from other casinos
Luxor - place just creeps me out.
Mirage - A fine property but tends to be overpriced in my opinion
Bellagio - Expensive

Maybe:
Excalibur - it's ok
NYNY - nice place to visit but seems too hectic for me to want to stay there
Monte Carlo - stayed there last year and didn't care for it.

In:
MGM - huge property, great pool, very nice rooms for the price
MB - would cost a lot more in a better location

 

If you were satisfied with the excalibur last time, then why not stay there again? If you stay in a remodeled "contemporary room", those are very nice for the price.

 

That's true, but we have only been to Vegas twice -- the first time, we stayed at the Riviera. Last time, we stayed at Excalibur. I was happy enough with Excalibur but kind of wouldn't mind staying somewhere different, ya know?

 

Thanks for all of the helpful input, everyone! I

 

On the cheaper end of the mgm spectrum, I've only stayed at the excalibur, Luxor a couple times, and nyny. I would recommend all of them. Monte Carlo is also at the cheaper end but I've not stayed there. really, if your expectations are not set at bellagio levels, I doubt you'll be truly disappointed with any property.

 

I stayed in a Monaco Suite last summer at Monte Carlo. I was able to just pay an upcharge from a myVegas free night (I think it was $40).
PROS: Larger room, extra half bath, right off elevators, mini-fridge.
CONS: Didn't like the vibe in the casino so played at NYNY mostly. Also furniture is worn but our room was clean.

 

If you like pools. Monte Carlo or MGM. Monte Carlo will likely be cheaper.

 

I've done Luxor a few times- I personally would stay there over Excalibur, circus circus, or Monte Carlo- I don't know why but those 3 just rank lower to me even though I haven't stayed at them. Last summer I got midweek grand king rooms at mom for $29 plus resort fee and I'd definitely so that over Luxor, so make sure you check prices on all of the hotels because sometimes random deals pop up. No matter what I recommend booking direct with the hotel over a 3rd party site bc you can usually cancel/rebook if need be.

 

You didn't mention if the friend traveling with you will be sharing the same room as you and splitting the cost or separate rooms? If sharing, and you are staying a week night instead of weekend, you could consider MGM Grand or Mirage at a decent midweek rate.

Either way, I would call: Mgm Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo, NYNY, and Luxor just to compare the cost difference. Then decide which fits your budget and needs best.
MC - clean but a little worn, may have construction going on, but pretty cheap weeknight rates.
NYNY - decent casino, rooms kind of small, easy to walk to other casinos on that end of strip, a little noisy for my taste.
Luxor (ask for tower room, more recently renovated, and not as funky as forum).
Mirage- a little far north, but still easy access to casinos on that end of the strip.
MGM Grand - never stayed there - too large & hard to get to get around for me - but friends who stay there like it.
I'd never consider Circus Circus for many reasons, and you've done Excalibur so it might be fun to try something different.

Watch for half off or discount happy hours/ appetizers which can turn into an inexpensive dinner. Ellis Island has cheap breakfasts that are good - some not on the menu so ask!! Also read the "frugal" posts on the board for some really helpful tips...

Hope you have lots of fun and score some great meals!

 

Mandalay Bay is without a doubt the nicest hotel you can get at a reasonable price. It's the only luxury strip hotel that offers rates comparable to mid level properties like Mirage, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood and NY NY.

Bellagio is almost always over $200 per night (plus resort fee plus tax) ... Mandalay Bay and all the mid level properties are generally around $100 per night (plus resort fee plus tax,)

Luxor rooms are small and cheaply furnished but it is the only pyramid hotel in the world. Stay above floor 10 to avoid casino noise and below floor 25 to avoid the closed off "cap" which separates the top 5 floors from the pyramid.

Luxor pyramid rooms are the only rooms where you can step out of the room and instead of being in a hallway you look down over the casino floor. I've stayed there three times and while it has declined from a mid level to budget property it's still a fun and unique experience to have a pyramid room.

I paid extra for strip view when I stayed at Mandalay Bay, here's a photo I shot.



here's one from the same window but at high zoom...



Looking at Mandalay Bay's rate calendar for August, they have some way too expensive nights (August 4 and 5 are at $613 per night) and very inexpensive nights (August 13, 19, 20, 23 and 26 are each only $76 per night).

So I suggest staying Aug 19 - 20.

 

If you plan on driving during your stay, Luxor/Excalibur have the easiest in/out of their parking lots.

 

MGM is great. For just a little cheaper you can go across the street to NYNY. I love the uniqueness of NYNY. I have never stayed at Monte Carlo but my best friend almost exclusively stays there. Inexpensive and basic room. He doesn't send time in his room so why spend on something you won't use when you can save the spending money on things you want to do? I still vote for NYNY. I've stayed at 4 MGM properties and when I go in September NYNY will be my first repeat stay.

 

One thing you might consider is the ease of getting around. Monte Carlo has a free monorail to Aria and Bellagio although you might find yourself walking a long distance within each building to get to the station. Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay have a free monorail amongst those three places. The express goes between Mandalay Bay and the Excalibur station on the bridge closest to the corner of LV Blvd. and Tropicana Ave. The monorail that stops at Luxor doesn't stop at the corner of Excalibur on the bridge but near the middle of Excalibur where you have to walk into and through Excalibur to get to the corner. And it stops at Mandalay Bay in the same location as the express.

If you walk between the free monorail and the monorail that you pay, you might as well walk to where you want to go because the monorail which you pay, although it goes farther down the strip, is in the back of the casinos on the other side of LV Blvd, and it is a long walk to get to it.