Page 1 of going to las vegas tips wanted

i am going to las vegas in december staying at the luxor any tips about the hotel or vagas itself would be great .please bear in mind the wife is going as well.thanks

We stayed there in April - it was awesome!

Ask for a room in one of the towers (these are the newer hotel extensions on either side of the pyramid) because they are newer and nicer! The actual rooms in the pyramid are getting a bit worn (but still good - depends on what you want) and they are right above the casino so can be very noisy. But the balconies do have excellent views into the casino if you don`t mind the location.

Mandalay Bay and Excalibur are both connected to the Luxor (owned by the same company). The Luxor`s buffet is reasonable - the breakfast is great, but we found Excaliburs to be better value for money, if a bit more "canteeny". Mandalay Bay`s buffett is VERY good and hence a tad more expensive.

The monorail is now finished so you should be able to get from one end of the strip to the other quite cheaply. It hadn`t been finished when we went, and a cab ride cost a good $20 from the Luxor up to The Hilton.

There is so much to do we didn`t actually fit it all in! Each hotel is a mini resort/day out in itself. The highlights for us were:

The Venetian - the canals/shopping centre is just unreal. It`s all indoors above the casino.

Hilton Star Trek Experience - OK, we`re sad trekkies :D

Excalibur - Tournaments of Kings. It`s the one where you eat you dinner with your fingers whilst knights joust in the arena in front of you. Great fun.

Bellagio Fountains - they go every half hour or so. Very spectacular. The Volcano outside the Mirage is a bit dissapointing.

Pirate Battle outside Treasure Island - it`s free and amusing. But get there early to get a good view.

Rollacoaster at New York, New York. Whizzes you out onto the strip for excellent views.

Honestly, there`s too much to mention - I bore my workmates with all the stuff we did. Get a good guide book and look through, so you can see what appeals most. A lot of the attractions are free as is wandering around the casinos seeing the sights.

If you wanna do some shopping, then there are a couple of malls on the strip - The Forum Shops at Ceasers Palace and Desert Passages at Aladdin. Good shopsm but the prices are high cos it`s a tourist area. Get in a cab at the hotel and go to the Boulevard Mall (where the locals shop) to get clothes and stuff at good US prices.

Always have loads of single dollar bills in your pocket too. It`s a service cultuure - especially in Vegas. You can get away with not tipping, but if you`re at a bar or something and tip the bartender a buck a drink, you`ll find the service top notch for your next round. Likewise, we left a couple of bucks out a day for room service and they`ll leave you extra shampoos and stuff (if you need them).

Carry your passport or driving license (if it`s a photo one) everywhere! Especially if you`re using a credit card. They check your ID to prevent fraud. I even got "carded" by a bartender trying to buy a beer - an I`m 32 (the age there is 21 to buy beer or be on the casino floor)! They`ll refuse to serve you if you can`t show them ID if asked, even if you`re a pensioner!!!

I recommend the Chili Cheese Dog with Cheese & Bacon Fries from the Nathans Famous Hotdogs in the food court in the Luxor. But there`s a McDonalds if you ain`t that adventurous :D

Are you going with Virgin? Go to the meeting they have on your first morning. They have maps and stuff. I would recommend trying to book any trips you want to do beforehand, rather than when you get there. We booked trips to Bryce Canyon, The Grand Canyon and the Tournament of Kings all online before going. We also got a free helicopter flight up the strip from Virgin too - so it`s worth attending the meeting to book that.

We are going back next April. We loved it so much we booked it within weeks of being back! You`ll love it.

Put up any specific questions here and I`ll try to answer them too. But there`s bound to be other people here who loved it and can give more advice.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 15th September 2004, 16:34

Good choice of hotel - the wife and I stayed there last November. Do you know if you have a room in the pyramid or one of the towers? The pyramid rooms have sloping windows and are reached via the glass "inclinators" that go up the sides of the building - very weird experience, but they are a bit smaller than the tower rooms. The tower rooms also have baths as well as a shower if that makes any difference. Just ask at reception when you check in - they gave us the choice and we went for the tower as they only had pyramid rooms with twin beds left.

Overall the hotel is excellent - very open and not claustrophobic like some of them. The main casino is huge and I gaurantee you will get lost trying to find the exit. The breakfast buffet is great as is the Pyramid Cafe for general snacks. We didn`t actually eat in any of the main restaurants in the hotel - we went down to some of the other casinos but they all looked great.

There`s a good little shopping mall to keep the missus amused just next to the Luxor in the Mandalay Bay - it was just opening when we were there. Alternatively head up the strip to the Fashion Show Mall - it`s bloody huge with all the main department stores.

Definitely check out the Bellagio and it`s fountains - they are truly spectacular. There`s a great restaurant in there too called Olives. We had a superb meal there on the night we got married (yes we took the plunge in one of the little chapels on the strip - fabulous experience)

If you`re up for ridiculously scary thrill rides then go on the Manhattan Express rollercoaster at New York New York - it was unbelievably fast and violent - I felt very dizzy afterwards but wouldn`t have missed it for the world. You could also check out the X-Scream ride at the top of the Stratosphere tower. We were too scared to go on it so I can`t comment further!!

In terms of seeing a show - there are always hundreds of them. We opted for `O` at the Bellagio - a really mind-blowing circus performance on water that was like nothing I`ve seen before. Recommended.

If you get the chance get a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon - take lots of film/memory cards for your camera though - you`ll need them. Awesome place.

As you can probably tell we loved it there - I`m sure you`ll have a blast whatever you do. Enjoy!!

The Topless Girls of Glitter Gulch, on Fremont Street, is quite interesting! ;)



"Stan is my best friend at church"

We went to the Luxor 2 years ago and loved it. We are going back again this December too - going for new year which is a massive event with the entire strip closed to traffic and fireworks from the roofs of all the casinos.

As you are staying at the Luxor you must make sure you pay a visit to Freemont Street one night - it is basically downtown vegas, but the free light show is awesome. The fountians at Bellagio are great, and i can highly recommend going to the top of the Eiffel tower one night for the view. If you haven`t booked your flights yet, try to get a flight that gets in after dark, as you get to see the place from the sky for free! It will cost a fair whack for a nighttime helicopter flight.

If you fancy it, its worth hiring a car and taking a trip out to the Hoover Dam - we went on the way to the Grand Canyon which will take your breath away, but it could be a trecherous drive in december, it was quite snowy when we went in October.

If you fancy rollercoasters, the manhatten express at New York New York is good, but there are 2 rides at the top of the stratosphere tower (the highest 2 rollercoasters in the world) which are even better! :D
______________________________

...some kind of superstar*

Yeah,stayed at the Luxor two Christmases ago.Great place.Take a comfy pair of walking shoes.You will need them.Check out the Cheesecake Factory in Caesars Palace.More flavours than you can think of.Take a trip out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway too.They do tours and run a driving school too.Great stuff.You will love the place,GIT!

Here`s a couple of piccies of the above for ya`:


The tower, X-Scream, The New York New York Rollercoaster, The Luxor etc etc (taken earlier this year):

















Hope these get your juices flowing.....:D


You will LOVE every minute you are there.....make sure to get ready to walk MILES & MILES every day and you will never get bored.....One night, if you can, head to "Harrah`s"...they have a large outdoor stage there with brilliant bands playing all sorts but inside they have two guys who have half the audience each, who give them suggestion after suggestion and they basically battle all night with the two pianos facing each other - top top night. I`m back in Vegas next month for a wedding and we`ll be heading there again without a doubt.




__B8__

I agree with all that`s gone before. Regarding the tours - a good one is the tour of celebrity homes (past and present) in and around Vegas. Hopefully, your flight arrives at dusk/night as the sight as you come in over Vegas is fantastic.

I`ll get me coat...

I`m jealous of you !
The place is great, stayed at the Venetian in October with the lads, but I think going with the missus is a good idea as you`ll probably see and do much more than we did, they`d all been before so dragging them out to the Grand Canyon wasn`t going to happen. Just about got them up to Fremont Street ( only coz they knew of a nookie shop on the way ) . Your wife will love the shopping but try to drag her to one of the two outlets as you`ll save a bomb, one is not too far from the Luxor, off south strip going towards McCarron.The place is huge, we drove there from LA and you can make out most of the hotels about 15 miles away. Some people say that a week is long enough, thats because you wear out. It is deffinately the most 24 hour place I`ve been and I`d say gambling isn`t the only reason to go there. Friendly people too, even the badlands at 4am don`t seem as bad as London at 4pm.
Eat cheap and drink for a tip, can`t say better than that.
I want to take her indoors in the new year so she`ll understand why I don`t stop going on about the place.
Enjoy.

my advice is just go and have the best time going.. linger around the cashinos to get the free drinks, then eat until you are as rotund as the americans at the buffets - the one in the bellagio is the business.. .
carrying around single bills is a must, but you should also try the shooting range where for not very much money you can stand witha cigar in your mouth shooting a large machine gun and saying things like "look atchu now" and "let me innduce you to my leetle friend"..
oh, and always bet on black... unless you think red is going to come in - then you should bet on red...