I'm celebrating my birthday with a trip to Vegas with friends and family. This'll be my 5th trip so hopefully I'll get a few more things right. What am I missing or what would you change:
Flight: non-stop RT $205
Hotel: Caesars Palace $119/day
Car: Renting SUV for $27/day
Planned: First night we'll get dinner at The Steakhouse at Circus Circus (tradition for us) followed by my first cirque show -- Mystere. Second day is my birthday and I'll have dinner with a couple friends at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. I hear the tamales are awesome. My friends suggested this even though I'm ambivalent about it.
Other than that I don't have any set plans. I want to get a barber shave at the Art of Shaving. I'm going to spend a bit of time at the craps table because I've gotten sick of the people at BJ tables. We'll look for discount show tickets at the 1/2 price places. And I want to drive out of the city to run at a cool trail -- maybe red rocks or something.
So far those are the plans...
Red Dog
02-10-09, 03:11 PM
The Steakhouse is very good. Certainly a diamond in the rough that is Circus Circus.
Is $119/day a Total Rewards rate? That's a good rate. I've never seen a Caesars room. How does it compare with Venetian or Bellagio?
Alyoshka
02-10-09, 03:21 PM
The Steakhouse is very good. Certainly a diamond in the rough that is Circus Circus.
Is $119/day a Total Rewards rate? That's a good rate. I've never seen a Caesars room. How does it compare with Venetian or Bellagio?
I found the room on Travelocity of all places. It came with one day being comped so the $119 is an average daily price. This will be my first time staying at a nicer property. I've stayed at NYNY, Luxor, MGM Grand, and Harrahs in the past. So I won't know how it compares in that regard. But the rates for Bellagio was $214. I don't recall how high the Venetian was.
pedagogue
02-10-09, 03:32 PM
1. If you don't have a player's card...definitely get one.
2. Why the SUV? Everything is walkable or a short cab-ride away.
3. $119/night isn't bad...though things are really in the crapper in LV, so you may want to poke around some more and see if the prices drop. Make the reservations through Caesars, so you can cancel a few days before if you find a better rate.
Alyoshka
02-10-09, 03:47 PM
1. If you don't have a player's card...definitely get one.
2. Why the SUV? Everything is walkable or a short cab-ride away.
3. $119/night isn't bad...though things are really in the crapper in LV, so you may want to poke around some more and see if the prices drop. Make the reservations through Caesars, so you can cancel a few days before if you find a better rate.
I agree that the car might be a waste of money. I haven't had one before and always do fine. I just decided to get it because some of our group might want to drive out to the Grand Canyon or out to a national park for the day. Also, some of us are arriving and leaving at different times so instead of cabs/shuttles we'll just hope in the rental.
I just looked up rates again and damn it's a cheap week in Vegas. I hope that means the casinos won't be packed full. It was nice when I went in September because I could actually walk down the strip.
El Scorcho
02-10-09, 04:01 PM
The Vegas economy is struggling hard -- you're not going to find jam-packed casinos right now.
Red Dog
02-10-09, 04:59 PM
Bad economy + middle of the week + late February = you won't have to worry about people at the BJ tables....you'll be the only one on the table.
pedagogue
02-12-09, 01:14 PM
If you want some cheap food....I just got this in my e-mail:
http://www.excalibur.com/offers/2009/02_25buffet/images/offer.jpg
Excalibur Buffet.....not awesome, but not a bad deal @ $25/day. I think they also have 2 for 1 specials at certain times.
Alyoshka
02-17-09, 12:12 AM
I might give that a try on one of the later days I'm there, Pedagogue. I have been by their buffet, but I've never stopped to eat. My GF's uncle is a horse race handicapper and he scored us a couple free buffet passes for Mandalay Bay from a friend who works at the sportsbook there. That'll be our first buffet but I haven't heard bad things about Excalibur so that'll work.
Red Dog
02-17-09, 08:40 AM
If you want some cheap food....I just got this in my e-mail:
http://www.excalibur.com/offers/2009/02_25buffet/images/offer.jpg
Excalibur Buffet.....not awesome, but not a bad deal @ $25/day. I think they also have 2 for 1 specials at certain times.
It's scary to think what some people could put down at an all-day buffet.
pedagogue
02-17-09, 09:34 AM
Any idea how the "Planet Hollywood" buffet compares to the old Alladin one? I'm not a big buffet person, but the Spice Market (?) was really good.
Alyoshka
02-19-09, 12:16 AM
Any idea how the "Planet Hollywood" buffet compares to the old Alladin one? I'm not a big buffet person, but the Spice Market (?) was really good.
I've only been to two buffets in Vegas; one was Planet Hollywood and the other was Paris. Planet Hollywood was ok, but I wasn't impressed. Paris was pretty awesome.
This coming week my girlfriend and I will go to the Mandalay Buffet with a couple free passes. I've heard good things about it.
Buy: