Best Vegas Strip accommodation?

[fourohfive]

Agreed with Alanslegal - Cosmopolitan wins in the battle of Vegas accommodation. Definitely the freshest of the Strip hotels - balconies are very rare at the older establishments. And the gaming and entrance areas don't have that stale ciggy smell that all the other major hotel/casinos have.
I have stayed at MGM Grand, Luxor, Mirage, Paris and Cosmopolitan.

MGM grand rooms have had fresh renovations and are quite nice and modern. Their pool area is the best in vegas, with it's "lazy river". A large 1 bedroom spa suite-thing here is pretty swanky - higher floor with a lot of space!
Luxor is good if you are on a budget and happy to walk a little extra distance to get to the main hustle and bustle of the Strip. Pool area not so flash - but bearable.
Mirage has a great pool area and pretty good rooms.
Paris the rooms are a bit dated now... the pool area is unique as it is right below the Eiffel Tower, but if you get a room with a view across to the Bellagio, you will get a great view of the fountains.
Cosmo - amazing. Was very lucky to stay in a 1 bedroom wraparound suite - that was back when the dollar was at $1.08 so it wasn't too bad. If you go midweek the prices can be half price. The views are the best. You could get a terrace suite here instead as you will get a similar experience with a balcony overlooking the strip.

Overall though, consider how much time you will actually spend in the room... as there is SO much to see and do in Vegas, i have really only ever found myself getting changed and sleeping in the room. Hardly any time to enjoy the decor.

If you care about the pool then MGM, Mirage and Mandalay Bay are your best bets.
If you care about being in the middle of the action then Caesars, Planet Hollywood, bellagio, Cosmo are all right there.

 

[amaroo]

Mandarin Oriental.

 

[vetrade]

Stayed in Vegas in May at both the Signature at MGM Grand Apartments and the Mandalay Bay Resort. Both rooms were spacious, nicely furnished, clean and “up market” with lovely big bathrooms (we gotta have a spic bathroom!!). Would be happy to stay at either again. And both are at the southern end of the Strip close to McCarran Airport.

It’s not hard to find good sized rooms in Vegas but I suggest you check the pics and reviews on Tripadvisor because some hotels are showing their age. Be aware that resort fees of about $25 – 40 may not be obvious when you get quotes – they tend to be tacked on to the price later. We paid just over $200/ nt all up for the Mandalay Bay and around $180 for the Signature mid week.

Signature comprises of 3 apartment-only towers separate, but connected, to the MGM Grand itself. Easy valet parking (free, but tips expected) but the views were bland. We booked cheaper through jetluxe.com which is a broker for rooms not actually owned by the hotel. Service, check in etc. was identical though.

Mandalay Bay was very nice too (has a wave pool) but they did try to “stooge” us, so that’s a trap to watch out for. Getting into their self-parking area was a confusing maze of twists and turns though. Arrived about 4pm to be told our king room wasn’t ready but that they had “upgraded” us to a newly refurbished room at the Delano next door. Once we got there we soon realised that the Delano was the poor relation and went back to reception to get what we had paid for. Met several other couples who had been spun the same Delano “upgrade” story so it seems it’s a ploy they use when they’ve overbooked the Mandalay Bay.

Even though we got back to reception within about 45 minutes (it’s a long walk dragging spinner cases across acres of carpet), it turned out that they didn’t have any king rooms left. Surprise! We took a queen room instead which was still miles better than the Delano – and got a $75 buffet voucher in response to my displeasure too.

We drove to the Grand Canyon and stayed at Red Feather Lodge in Tusayan, just south of the GCNP, where the chopper flights take off from. Accommodation is generally better motel style in the area and ours was quite acceptable but basic – OK for 1 night. Accommodation inside the park tends to be significantly more expensive and we did see that the main iconic hotel there (can’t remember its name) was undergoing significant restoration works – so it’s probably better avoided.

 

[vetrade]

Mandarin Oriental.

If you have deep pockets!

 

[blackcat20]

MGM grand rooms have had fresh renovations and are quite nice and modern. Their pool area is the best in vegas, with it's "lazy river". A large 1 bedroom spa suite-thing here is pretty swanky - higher floor with a lot of space!

I want to stay there next time just for the pool...

 

[BAM1748]

I'd suggest the MGM or budget Luxor or NY NY they'll do the job for you. Catch the monorail out the back of the MGM to the other end of the Strip and walk back. The monorail is $5 from memory.

Matt

 

[Alanslegal]

If you have deep pockets!

Not us, so we're off to the Mandarin Bar in 30 minutes as that's all we can afford .... I hear their high tea is pretty impressive and highly recommended.

 

[VPS]

Glider - thanks for asking this question - I'll be there for a few days at the end of September and I was looking for suggestions

 

[fourohfive]

in my previous research - the best thing i did was look through youtube videos that people have posted of the rooms there. You can pretty much find every type of room with a little guided tour on youtube.
Give that a shot if you are weighing up between a few. It is better than the photos on tripadvisor, as it gives you a better idea of the room size and lighting and views all at once.

 

[amaroo]

If you have deep pockets!

Worth every penny ... IMO.

 

[vetrade]

Worth every penny ... IMO.

I certainly don't dispute that but the OP made mention that their budget had a $300 per night upper limit.
Would only get to sleep in the corridor at the MO for that much!

 

[coriander]

Grand Canton ..... we did see that the main iconic hotel there (can’t remember its name)

El Tovar. Wonderful old hotel, squeaky floorboards on stairs, but warm and comfortable. Dining Room windows are 20m from the rim.

 

[amaroo]

I certainly don't dispute that but the OP made mention that their budget had a $300 per night upper limit.
Would only get to sleep in the corridor at the MO for that much!

Ahh, I see. It's only a little blowout random date showing as low as $480 ... maybe there is a little wiggle room in the budget to get the best on the strip.

 

[vetrade]

El Tovar. Wonderful old hotel, squeaky floorboards on stairs, but warm and comfortable. Dining Room windows are 20m from the rim.

That's the one! Didn't look very impressive clad in scaffolding on the day we were there. It was cold and snowing too (in May) which didn't help its appeal.

 

[coriander]

We stayed at Four Seasons Hotel on our last visit to LAS: an oasis sitting atop the Mandalay Bay. No pokies and a separate entrance to the Mandalay Bay makes it a pleasant stay. Both Mrs C and I thought their beds amongst the most comfortable we'd ever slept in. Service was excellent. Coming back from a walk on the Strip, I asked concierge for a kettle to be able to have a cuppa ("oh, you're British, are you?"). By the time we got to our room, there was a kettle in its alcove, along with a tray of Twinings tea bag varieties. The 4Seasons/Mandalay Bay is at the southern end of the strip and a monorail gets you to Tropicana Avenue and New York New York fairly easily. Last time we were there was in February, so cool nights and we generally walked to/from Mandalay Bay to the main part of the Strip.

The view is pretty neat as well by day or by night.






We've booked the Cosmopolitan for next March. After trawling through various booking websites, we went to the Cosmo's own website and found that they offer a AAA discount which was about $40 less than hotel booking sites. On checking, it turned out to be a Desert (ie nil) View. Mrs C rang the Cosmo direct to ask about rooms and over the phone was offered a Fountain View room at the same AAA no-view price. Whilst I'm going there for a conference, Mrs C (from previous experience) didn't mention the conference, saying how exciting it would be to visit LAS blah blah (she is a marketing guru <g!>). Booking clerk then said "oh I've just found a suite available, would you like that?" so we now have a Fountain View suite for about USD210 per night (which is ~$150 less than the conference rate).

 

[cove]

We picked Caesars as 2 of the shows we booked are there so it is convenient.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

So how are you dissecting responses so far Glider? 36 responses to date with 85 Best Vegas Strip accommodation recos so far.

IMHO definition of BEST will mean a 100 different things to 100 different members. I think you could easily mount an argument to substantiate any on strip accom as the BEST if it suited your reqs and budget. When I was visiting Vegas as solo male I often stayed at the Imperial Palace - cheap as hell - right in middle of strip - old / dated / less than salubrious - but it suited me perfectly - I will never forget the stay that I was upgraded to a 'Luv Tub' room - dodgiest thing you have ever seen but jeez did I get some laughs out of that - but YMMV.

I have stayed a number of times at Flamingo - I love it's history and location - but YMMV

I have stayed at Venetian - huge room but everything else did nothing for me - but YMMV

We have stayed at Caesers and our room was really shabby and all the staff we interested in there was tips - but YMMV

In Sept we are staying at Bellagio - others here are not impressed - we chose it because again it's right in middle of strip - it houses one of Cruiserettes very favourite restaurants in Sensi - and it has a great cigar bar on ground floor where we both enjoyed a cigar last year and some fabulous fun with staff and other guests - so this year it is Bellagio.

So many options - so few stays - it aint easy.

 

[russ]

I am in Vegas right now

Ha! So am I! Off to see Chris Angel tonight. Tomorrow night is "O" with some sort of Insider Access backstage tour in the afternoon. Back in a couple of weeks to see some more shows. I keep coming here to try to see Penn & Teller, but miss them every time! Oh well, there's always another time!

 

[blackcat20]

Coming back from a walk on the Strip, I asked concierge for a kettle to be able to have a cuppa ("oh, you're British, are you?"). By the time we got to our room, there was a kettle in its alcove, along with a tray of Twinings tea bag varieties.

At the Luxor I asked for a couple of champagne glasses so we could drink bubbles in the tub. $10 charge per glass plus delivery fee. :shock: Thanks but no thanks....

 

[Glider_]

The thread has deffinitely taken off - thanks to all who have and are still contributing.

Great tips about the Cosmo, I'd never even heard of it before. From what people are saying about it it's definitely the kind of hotel we like, modern luxury and good views. MrGlider and I are great subscribers of the Karl Pilkington approach to accommodation - Stay accross the road from the place you like in the cheaper better no-name that looks at it. However, the good room at the Cosmo is incredibly expensive for the dates we'd be there ($1k for Friday night is just not justifiable if we're going out to dinner and seeing shows too).

I'm really interested in the Bellagio mostly for the 'experience' as well as the location and that the high floor rooms overlooking the fountains are in my pricerange for the dates. The room walkthrough on the website looks good, but I can see not everyone is impressed.

There's certainly no shortage of places to consider, Vegas seems to be basically a city made of hotels. So I'm looking at everyones suggestions and at some point will find the perfect combo between experience, location, style, convenience and price. I think I need a spreadsheet!