| Archive for holidaychat.myfreeforum.org A holiday community. |
| Scarlett |
Las VegasWe dont think we will get away for two weeks next year as my son is getting married.We were toying with the idea of maybe trying Las Vegas for a week next Easter............or even before!! Anyone been, and if so any tips???................we havent even started looking yet! Also any recommendations for hotels would be greatly appreciated. |
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| joolz307 |
Oh this is my most favourite place on earth - and Im not a gambler!!
Its brilliant, so much to do and see and the place is open 24/7. Depends on what you want to pay when it comes to hotels - we stayed at the Luxor (pyramid) and it was fab. There are many to choose from!! You have to do helicopter over grand canyon - we did the 'getaway' break - where you go via helicopter and then stop at the ranch - bit of horse riding - meals and a choice of either teepee or log cabin in the grand canyon - fantastic!! We saw so many free shows and by the end of the week we were shattered - Id go agian tomorrow if I could. |
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| Scarlett |
Thanks for that Joolz, it sounds wonderful, and as Im a big Elvis fan I wont be short of them over there!!!!
Im getting quite excited at the idea now................we will do some research over the next few days. Really fancy the helicopter ride though! 
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| joolz307 |
Well your right about that - you can Elvis to bless your marriage, marry you, play blackjack at The Imperial Palace with him and there are some good tribute acts out there to see as well.
If you want to be in the heart of the action the Imperial Palace is not plush as some hotels but its central and not too pricey. If you want something fun you could have Excaliber/New York New York/Treasure Island or luxury Ceasers/Wynn/Bellagio. If you think about it your not going to be in there very often so its not worth spending all that money on a room your not going to fully enjoy. There are really cheap hotels in Downtown Vegas but they are a bit out of the way and in my opinion a bit too old fashioned such as Circus Circus and Golden Nugget. Let me know how you get on - Im only happy to help!! |
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| Scarlett |
Thanks Joolz, you may come to regret that, as I will probably have you tortured!!!
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| medot |
ooo sanchos going to love this when he gets back.
my friends just come back....i'll find out the name of the hotel she stayed in. they did the helicopter ride over the canyon. a bit expensive but one of the things you have to do. she also saw lots of first class shows in the evening. after speaking to her i've realised it isn't the sort of holiday i thought it was..she didn't go gambling once!! |
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| Scarlett |
ooo thanks Dottie!!
Looking forward to talking to Sancho............we talked about this last night and David is very keen! We dont gamble (well the lottery and the odd geegee) but I know there is SO much more to Las Vegas than gambling. One question though, will it be suitable for Nathan (he will be 12 then).............would he be allowed (and would he enjoy) the shows, or are they for adults as I know a lot of them are in the casinos etc. Also heard that you can buy some georgous cheap jewellery in some of the pawnshops that people have sold to gamble their dosh 
Takes all sorts I suppose
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| medot |
funnily enough guest...i was thinking about nathan as well...i'll ask my friend..i'll see her tomorrow.
the shows she saw were MAMA MIA....brilliant show...and the magician david copperfield...she said they were both great shows. |
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| Scarlett |
Dotty it would be great if you would.
We have to take him into consideration as well, and I dont want to drag him around if he would be bored. Saying that I know that he would love the Grand Canyon trip etc. Isint there a trip to the Hoover Dam, or am I thinking of somewhere else  Im a complete newbie, never been to the States before!
Anyone else who took kids (12) if they would also let me know if its somewhere he would enjoy. Many thanks!
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| joolz307 |
You go over the dam when you go to the Canyon.
Advice here...If its a show you can see in England dont bother as you will be wasting your precious holiday time - go and see something you cant see here. I saw David Copperfield the Illusionist at MGM - he was out of this world - kids would love this but not sure if he is on. There are other illusionists that are there all year if its your bag. Im not into it but Hubby is - so I went - and I was mesmorised! Kids - they are not allowed to stop in the casinos - they can walk through but cant linger. If you want a fun place to stay for kids Id say Excalibur would prob be good. They do a jousting show with horses and the meal you eat with your hands as they did back in those times and they have the roller coaster outside!!There is also Treasure Island - I only went to see the pirates show (which is outside for free) dont know what the hotel is like. If you like thrill rides go to Stratosphere - my god I bottled it - but Hubby did them all!! I have video of him going over the edge on X Scream- I would have poo'd my pants! There are also rides inside Circus Circus and free circus shows - that would be good for the younger ones. Check the rides out here http://www.stratospherehotel.com/las_vegas_stratosphere_ride.html; Click on 'tower' and you will see them - OMG!! |
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| Scarlett |
Sounds fab Joolz, I think there should be more than enough to keep him occupied for a week!
Am doing some homework over the weekend, and will let you know what we decide to do! If Sancho is around it would be great to hear how his holiday went! Thanks everyone for your input!
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| GoldenChippie |
my brother took his 2 boys who were 8 and 10 at the time and said they had a fantastic time
i so want to go -we are talking about it for our silver wedding - combined with a Harley trip!!! |
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| sancho proudfoot |
My two penn'orth.....We arrived back from LV yesterday......I would firstly say:
We stayed at Circus Circus; it is not "downtown" - downtown starts north of Sahara Avenue/Lake Meade Boulevard. Circus Circus is on The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard; it is at the North end of The Strip, opposite the Riviera, and next door to the famous Stardust. I agree the hotels at the north end are older, and therefore not as 'glamourous' as say the Bellagio or the Wynn; however, Circus Circus gave us an excellent room, with a stunning view over LV, offered a wide choice of restaurants, and in our view, one of the advantages of it being at the north end was that we therefore saw the entire strip- we walked from the hotel all the way down the Strip as far as Mandalay Bay at the far southern end. Possibly if we had stayed mid-Strip we wouldn't have seen as much of the Strip. As for out of town sightseeing, we hired a car for a week - $390 with all the extra insurances - and petrol is around the $3 a gallon mark. You can drive to the Hoover Dam in 20 minutes. Well worth it, a spectacular visit; beware though - the car park at the dam (and you'll want to get out and wander round) is a whopping $7 and the visitor centre (again well worth a visit) is $11. However you get to visit the generator rooms and walk through the eerie tunnels. There is a new highway being built which will cross the Colorado River 900 foot up; it is due to open in 2008, at which point the dam will become foot passengers only. The Grand Canyon is about 3.5 hours drive away - either to the South Rim, or - as we did - the North Rim. Again, beware - you cannot easily get from North to South without a 250 mile journey. YOU MUST NOT MISS THE GRAND CANYON, it is the most amazing sight you will ever see. About 90 minutes north of LV is The Valley of Fire. This is a deep valley with rocks and sand of the most startling fiery red colours; little known or visited it is well worth a day trip. Further afield, Bryce Canyon in Utah - again about 3.5 hours drive from LV - is a wonderful place. A deep canyon, with the rocks carved by erosion into wierd and somehow unsettling columns, you can easily spend all day there, it is a wonderful place. Not far from Bryce is Zion National Park; again a deep canyon, and, although not far from Bryce totally different in outlook; huge looming mountains with stunning sheer cliff faces dominate this park. These parks- Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion - are all national parks, and charge entry fees. However the park warden at the first one you visit should offer you the National Park Annual Pass at $50 per carload (!) it will save you $20 even on just seeing the three parks I've mentioned. LV itself - well what hasn't been said about it? A spectacular place; be sure and see the free outdoor shows at Treasure Island (a pirate battle, complete with sailing galleons and sinking ships) The Mirage (an erupting volcano) and the musical coreographed fountains at the Bellagio. It's fun to wander into all hotels and casinos - some are spectacular - MGM Grand has live lions, another has live Siberian White tigers.The Venetian has a huge indoor, second floor Grand Canal - just like in Venice - where you can sail in a gondola and be serenaded by your gondolier. One fascinating thing is that the casinos are remarkably similar; they all have subdued lighting, and no clocks anywhere. The idea is of course that gamblers don't know whether it is day night morning or afternoon and will keep on gambling. In all the casinos, whether you are sat at the tables or playing the slots, there are waitresses wandering around offering "cocktails". (It doesn't have to be cocktails, you can get a beer or a whisky or a pepsi) - these drinks are free - just tip the waitress $1 or so. there are many many places to eat. Most hotels have three or four resturants, many offering massive buffets. The best buffet we found is at the Alladin; there will always be a queue but the food is excellent. For more expensive dining the China Grill at Mandalay Bay or several hotels' steakhouses are good - in fact Circus Circus' steakhouse has won "best steakhouse in LV" for 17 straight years. Equally there are also McDonalds everywhere or I can recommend Panda Express - fast food chinese style. There are several outlets in some of the casinos and you will get excellent chinese food, no frills style for about $7 a head. Try their own Orange Chicken - yummy! It's perfectly safe to wander the Strip; it's always busy with pedestrians, and although the traffic is busy they seem to move at a sedate pace. The one drawback of walking the Strip is the hoards of touts - usually immigrants - thrusting cards at you. They congregate in gangs of eight or ten, at the areas of the Strip where they aren't banned (most hotels have obtained banning orders) and the cards are advertising the services of local hookers. By late evening the sidewalks will be littered with hundreds of discarded 'adult' leaflets and cards. there are many many shows running at the moment; The Venetian has Phantom of the Opera and the wonderful Blue Man Group; Ceasars Palace has Celine Dion, the Flamingo has Toni Braxton the MGM Grand has David Copperfield and Elton John is coming soon. Other hotels have lesser known artistes -some magicians, some hypnotists, some song and dances (like Mama Mia) You cannot be bored in Vegas! |
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| Scarlett |
Wow!!!!! Loads and loads there, Im printing it all off to show David at the weekend.........
Will report back next week on our decision! Thanks so much
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| numberplease |
Sounds fantastic! | ||
| sancho proudfoot |
Fuller trip report elsewhere in this forum | ||
| joolz307 |
Sorry Sancho -RE Circus Circus - its just the way that the bottom end of the strip was described to us on the night tour trip - 'Heading Downtown we have some of the oldest hotels on the strip.... yadda yadda' Didnt mean to cause offence!! | ||
| sancho proudfoot |
I gather that these days they regard "downtown" as North of the Stratosphere Hotel - the area does start to look a bit seedy and run down up there! | ||