First trip to Vegas...any tips? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Falasco]

Hey, all. A month from now I am going with my wife to Las Vegas for a week. As this will be our first time there, I was hoping some of you who have been there before could share a few "don't-miss" attractions? We are going from May 4th to the 11th, and staying at a timeshare in some Hilton Grand Vacation thing. We are also planning on driving down to the Grand Canyon for an overnight stay, and possibly touring Sedona the next day before heading back to Sin City.
Neither of us are terribly fond of losing money, so while we will visit the casinos, I don't think we'll be spending a bunch of time at the tables or the slots. Any shows that you would recommend? Restaurants not to be missed? Other attractions that you really enjoyed? I have heard that the jeep tours in Sedona are great fun, has anyone tried 'em?
Thanks, all!

 

[DonRoeber]

Don't miss the Blue Man Group.

 

[DaveBB]

I guess you're looking for a non-Vegas junkie viewpoint. There are tons of boards and other places here on the web that specialize in Las Vegas. Tons of info there.

When I was out there last year I enjoyed the following:

Zion National Park: about a 2 hour drive from LV in southern Utah. As impressive as the Grand Canyon, is I enjoyed Zion immensly. The Angels Landing trail is amazing.

Hoover Dam: very cool. However I believe their best tour which took you into the bowels of the dam has been canceled since 9/11. If it's still on make sure to make reservations for it.

 

[Glenn L]

My girlfriend & I enjoy the Star Trek Experience attraction at the Hilton. We usually go there a couple of times whenever we visit. I'd also recommend Lance Burton's magic show.

Since you're seeing the Grand Canyon, you might also want to visit Hoover Dam.

As for gambling... change a $20 bill into a cup full of nickels and have fun on the nickel slots. You'll lose that $20, but it takes a long time.

 

[Andrew W]

"O" at the Bellagio.

Outrageously expensive tickets. Worth every dime.

Call and order by phone now, The show is sold out every night.

 

[Shawn C]

Since this is your first time, let me give you some advice. I've lived in Las Vegas since '98 and these are some things that I have learned.
Do's:
1. Fountains at Bellagio.
2. "O" at Bellagio. Awesome, and yes, worth every penny.
3. Blue Man Group (Luxor).
4. Looking for an AWESOME steak? "Prime" at Bellagio is awesome. It's expensive at something like $34.00 for a New York steak, but worth it. I make it a point to go at least once every 6-9 months.
5. Madame Toussad's at Venetian. Yeah, it's a wax museum, but it's a good one. It's really pretty cool.
6. Grand Canyon/Hoover Dam/Zion/Red Rock Canyon
7. Mirage. Check out the tigers and all that stuff.
8. Treasure Island. Check out the free show out front.
9. Forum Shops at Ceasar's to check out all the cool shops. You can eat at the Cheesecake factory there.
10. The shops in Venetian. More expensive shopping. I would recommend the "Grand Lux" for lunch or dinner. (Owned by Cheesecake Factory, different menu). Somewhat reasonably priced.
11. Good chinese food in the new Alladin at P.F. Chang's.
12. Go to the shark reef exhibit at Mandaly Bay. It's better than you think it would be. Also, they have a restaraunt in Mandalay Bay with a huge tower of wine. They have a person that rides up and down a wire to get the various bottles.
13. House of Blues is at Mandaly Bay.
14. Eat at the "Pink Taco" at the Hard Rock hotel. (Excellent people watching at the Hard Rock)
15. Lots of cool things to see at New York New York. Check out the ESPN restaraunt/bar.
16. Stratosphere. Awesome at the top of the tower, crappy everywhere else. Just go up to the top so you can get the view. Look out to the Nortwest and give me a wave..hah
Don'ts:
1. Circus Circus. Stay away at all costs.
2. Excalibur. Yeah, it looks neat from the outside but it's pretty cheesy inside.
3. I would recommend staying away from 'downtown' altogether. Fremont street is O.K., but a block either way and you are in bum central. (The strip where all the big hotels are is NOT downtown. Downtown is in the City of Las Vegas at the north end of Las Vegas Blvd.)
4. I really don't like buffets, but the one at Alladin is pretty good. Buffets are good for lunch sometimes.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Oh yes, Blue Man Group--I forgot they had a show out there. Excellent suggestion!

And I will look into "O" as well. Thanks for the thoughts, fellas. I know there are a lot of Vegas specific sites, but they all seem to say the same thing about each attraction--"Spectacular! A Must-See!!". I was kind of looking for a more personal viewpoint, that's all. Something that an HTF'er has actually seen and would recommend.

The Hoover Dam is another thing I was debating on stopping at; sounds like I should make time for it. And I've never heard of Zion National Park...looks like a little research is in order for me... Thanks again, all!

 

[Zen Butler]

as buffets go, the Rio has a famous one.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Here's a link to my Vegas trip photos from last year.
Don't go in the summer - it's damn hot!

 

[Matt Stryker]

I'm going in July, and I'm definitely going by this place: http://www.thegunstorelasvegas.com/rental.htm . I'm a semi-gun nut, and the opportunity to shoot a submachine gun (and not go to jail for it) sounds fun to me.

 

[Dave Falasco]

Wow, Pat, great pictures!!! I only hope the night shots I take come out half as well. If I wasn't pumped up to go before looking through your album, I sure am now!

I guess I didn't realize how B-I-G everything is...on the map it looks like you can walk the entire strip in about a half-hour, but now that I see how freaking enormous some of those resorts are, I better plan on doing a lot more walking...

Wow, I am just so impressed with those shots. Nice job, man! And thanks for sharing.

 

[KyleS]

Damn my list looks pretty damn similiar to Shawn's
BIG NOTE: If you are planning ANY of the shows buy your tickets NOW. Do not wait till you get to Vegas and then try and buy tickets because you either wont get them or your going to get crappy seats at near the same price.
I used to live in Henderson/Las Vegas and you learn quickly from doing things yourself and with friends that come to town what is good and what isnt. Here is my list with a couple of additions.
1. Fountains at Bellagio.
An absolute must see. They are good during the day but if you can go after dark, but before they close at midnight, is best since the lights under the fountains are pretty damn cool.
2. "O" at Bellagio. Awesome, and yes, worth every penny.
Although this is probably one of the top 3 shows on the strip it is a bit pricey at over $100 per ticket (still worth every damn Penny. If you want something just as good IMO but less money check out "M" at Treasure Island which is Mystere ($85 or so per ticket) and is like the sister show to "O". Both shows will take your breath away and leave you stunned.
3. Blue Man Group (Luxor). What a fun show with Audience involvment. I would recommend getting your tickets close down front but if possible about the 3rd or 4th row up if your short so you can see over the stage.
4. Lance Burton Magician (tickets $55 or so)
Out of all the Magic shows on the strip he is the best and also the best priced which makes the show more enjoyeable
At all costs unless you just want to see a lot of dancing and donate money DONT go to see Sigfreed and Roy sp?. Tickets to this show run 110+ and are not worth it IMO.
5. Pirates at the Treasure Island (Out Front of the Hotel on the Street) You will need to plan for this since the shows are spread out throughout the day. Very good show but hard to catch. I would recommend coming early if you want a good seat since every piles in.
ROLLERCOASTERS
1. Stratosphere Big shot (just make sure to bring a change of shorts with you)
2. Speed the ride (Sahara hotel) terrible hotel with $1 black jack but a great rollercoaster near the back of the hotel. Short but fun.
3. MGM Check out the fun park they have in the back they even have the large Green Arch which has a swing on it (what a rush just as long as you dont mind heights).
4. New York New York Coaster. Great coaster But and its a BIG but its really, really rough so hold on tight (Whiplash is the word that comes to mind)
5. Circus Circus Asventure dome. There is 1 decent coaster here but stay away from this hotel its garbage. Note that they also have Bungee jumping in the front of the Hotel which would be the biggest rush if you trust the hotel.
Buffet Food
1. Bellagio buffet: Were talking King crab legs (pre-cut) Huge Prawns, steak, Lamb, etc. A bit spendy at $25 per plate but if you want great stuff its all there.
2. Paris buffet: Almost all the same items as the Bellagio buffet but not quite as nice. Little price drop at around $23 per plate.
3. Luxor buffet ($12 bucks) but not half bad.
Fine Dining:
Almost all the hotels have 2 or 3 really good restaraunt. There is an especially good selection at the MGM and Mandalay Bay (great restaraunt Areole which has the huge wine Rack in the middle).
Don'ts:
1. Circus Circus. Stay away at all costs.
Unless you want to do the Adventure Dome (more for kids) or bunjee jumping I would whole heartedly agree.
2. Excalibur. Yeah, it looks neat from the outside but it's pretty cheesy inside.
What a dump and Damn you can easily get turned around inside.
OUTSIDE OF the STRIP
If you want to Gamble the local casinos are much better and kinder then the strip casinos. Of the Station Casinos especially the Sunset Station, as your heading south of the strip towards the Hoover Damn.
The Hoover damn if you have never been there before is a must see. They have 2 tours the regular and the hard hat tour. First tour is like $8 and the hard hat is $25. The hard hat tour is a lot better but more expensive and you get to keep the Hard Hat.
Grand Canyon: Its farther away from Vegas then it looks because most people go to the South Rim. But its also really a site to see. If you are planning to Hike to the bottom you either need to stay the night OR be in damn good shape and take off down the Canyon BUT ASS EARLY. Remember it may only be in the 80's when you start hiking but it could reach well into the 100's by mid day.
Red Rock Canyon North of the Strip: very cool rock formation and not far away from the strip.

 

[Mark Lee]

Also, they have a restaraunt in Mandalay Bay with a huge tower of wine. They have a person that rides up and down a wire to get the various bottles.

That would have to be Aureole -- those people doing the Ethan Hunt impressions (I believe they're all women) are called "wine angels." I haven't eaten there yet (never seem to budget enough money aside to blow a big stack there), but I had to see the wine tower for myself. Quite a different vibe from the NYC mothership. You can take a quick look-see here:
http://www.aureolelv.com/wine.html
Also, while the Bellagio buffet is regarded by many as the class of the bunch (it's definitely an artery-clogger!), the last time I went (a month ago), the weekend dinner buffet had become a "super-deluxe-gourmet" buffet, or something like that, and the price was $5 more (making the tab around $30 a head). Still a great meal, but just that more expensive than the usual tally for a Vegas buffet.
I've heard the Aladdin buffet is actually quite good (get there before the casino goes into Chapter 11!), and I liked the Paris buffet quite a bit. Also, the Paris has an outpost of the sublime French pastries of Gaston Lenotre -- a great way to wind down the day (assuming you're not already engorged to bursting from one of the buffets).
But honestly, if you and your better half like Thai food at all (and you have wheels), I strongly recommend you go to Lotus of Siam (953 E. Sahara Ave., east of Paradise Blvd., in a rather garishly-lit Asian mini-mall). Considered by many amateur (like me) as well as professional food critics to be among the best Thai places in the entire country!
As far as the non-foodie, non-gambling attractions, I think everyone else has them pretty well covered -- a nice, touching, informal 9/11 monument has been put together at the New York, New York casino. Outside, there's a large water pool in which the casino has always had a mockup of a FDNY fireboat. During my last visit, I saw that visiting firefighters from all over the country have left their company T-shirts attached to the steel railing around that pool. Even the City of Sin is able to find an appropriate gesture once in a while....

 

[Joel Mack]

What a coinky-dink. I'll be making my first jaunt to Vegas next month, too. May 10-13th...
Lots of good info this thread for me, as well. Thanks, gang!

 

[Francois Caron]

Kudos on Hoover Dam. It's simply incredible how such a huge and beautiful dam could have been built during the depression era.

I don't know if it's still playing today, but at the time of my visit, I saw "Les Folies Bergères" at the Tropicana. If you like variety shows with plenty of showgirls, this is a reasonable show to watch that's not too expensive when compared with the other mega-shows in Vegas.

As for the "free" shows, the pirate ships at Theasure Island are a must see! For a better view, go to the upper-level of the wooden sidewalk. This will allow you to see over everyone's heads.

 

[Shawn C]

as buffets go, the Rio has a famous one.

Yeah everyone used to rave about the buffet at the Rio. It's not all that special anymore. It's just hype and not worth the money. There are many other better buffets for less money.

I really like regular restaraunts more than buffets.

99.9% of ALL the hotels have at least one of each type of restaraunt:

Italian

Steak

Chinese

Mexican

Coffee Shop - The better ones have selected items from each of the other restaraunts. Most are just like a normal american restaraunt. These are the places that I normally eat. Some of them are quite good.

Oh, I almost forgot. Another nice little trip is up to the Valley of Fire. It's a nice little drive right up Interstate 15.

Oh, and if it gets too hot down in the valley while you are here, just head up I95 and follow the signs for Mt. Charleston. It's usually 20-30 degrees cooler up there than in the valley. I usually head up there every weekend on the motorcycle when it's too hot in the summer.

 

[Vickie_M]

driving down to the Grand Canyon for an overnight stay, and possibly touring Sedona the next day

Oooh Ooooohhh, I get to promote 89A, my 2nd favorite scenic route in the US!! (The first being Hwy 1/101 on the west coast)
If you're driving to the Grand Canyon, then I assume you're also driving to Sedona. I'm looking at maps trying to figure out how you're going to do that. I assume you're going to drive from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Village, which would mean 93 to Kingman (that would also take you by Lake Mead, good chance to stop and see Boulder Dam), then I-40 east to Williams, then 64 north to the Grand Canyon. Coming back, 64 south to 180 south to Flagstaff, which is known as N Fort Valley Road as you get close to the city. I don't have an in-depth map of Flagstaff so you'll just have to watch for signs or ask for directions to I-40 and 89A.
IMPORTANT POINT #1: START SOUTH VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING. YOU'LL WANT TO MAXIMISE DAYLIGHT.
IMPORTANT POINT #2: *89A* *89A* *89A*!!! "A" stands for "Alternate." There is a highway 89, 50some miles west of Flagstaff. Don't let anyone steer you to that one. It doesn't go directly to Sedona and it's really boring.
When you turn south onto 89A from I-40, you'll be starting a journey into one of the most wonderful areas of the United States. 89A is a little-known stretch of road that takes you through some of the most amazing scenery in the country.
First, you'll travel into the Coconino National Forest. 89A twists and turns down down down to the Canyon floor ("changing spectacle of steep canyon sides and wooded valley" to quote a web page). You're entering the wonderous Oak Creek Canyon (trivia: Zane Grey wrote about OCC in THE CALL OF THE CANYON). Soon the forest gives way to the type of desert and red rock landscapes you've seen in countless Westerns. I assume you know what the scenery is like around Sedona, why else would you go there? There certainly is plenty to see and do around Sedona, but if I can provide an extra tip...
...continue on 89A west, through Verde Valley to Cottonwood (pull over and look behind you, the view back east is breathtaking) and Clarkdale. You're driving toward Mingus Mountain and the destination is Jerome, about 30 miles from Sedona. When I first went there as a kid, my dad pulled over at the bottom of the mountain and we got out of the camper and just stared up. Jerome is a copper mining "ghost town" built on the side of Mingus known as Cleopatra Hill. When the copper played out, the town died, but then was re-discovered in the 60's by hippies, artist-types and people just into living in a town built on the side of a mountain (which, really, would be pretty cool).
I was last in Jerome in the 80's. At that time it was an arty community, though not as touristy and obnoxiously new-agey as Sedona. I hope it hasn't changed too much. I went to the museum and ate in the corner "saloon" (used to be). You might recognize it if you've seen the movie Bless The Beasts And Children.
No matter what the town itself is like now, the very best reason to go to Jerome is the absofreakinglutely SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR view of Oak Creek Canyon and the San Francisco Peaks (located N of Flagstaff, so named because you're supposed to be able to see the lights of SFO from the top), which is why you must save some daylight for Jerome. I've avoided linking to any pics of Jerome because the ones I've found on the net DO NOT give you any kind of feel for what the place is really like. They don't show how STEEP the town is, and they don't show how great the view is. I don't know why.
There's more to 89A...traveling further west through Jerome, over Mingus Mountain, down into Prescott Valley and on to my favorite small city in the US, Prescott. It's a historic and well-preserved town, and it's just wonderful. I have relatives there and that's how I found out about all this. I'd live in Prescott (pronounced press-cut) if I didn't love the big city so much. It's a nice-sized little city, and has every kind of terrain-desert, mountain, forest-close in every direction. For movie geeks, Billy Jack, Junior Bonner (which I got to watch being filmed during one visit), Bless the Beasts and many other movies have been filmed there.
You can bypass Prescott to get to the "regular" 89 highway which will take you back up to I-40, but going a few miles out of your way to take at least a quick drive into the heart of Prescott and a circle around the Yavapi County Courthouse will let you say "I was there!!" the next time you see that town square in a movie.
Have fun, whatever you do!
Vickie

 

[Eve T]

I haven't been to Vegas in about umm....5 or six years.
When I was there I stayed at the Luxor in the penthouse suite. If you get a chance go there and check the place out, they have a boat that takes you around the inside of the hotel that is pretty cool, also the elevators are on an incline which I thought was kinda neat.
I saw the George Carlin show when I was there and when I left got out of the show I sat down at a slot machine with a buddy of mine when a lady sitting at her machine next to me asked:
"can you watch my slot machine for me? I need to get change."
We just looked at her I mean...they bring you change after all...so she gets up to leave and I stick a silver dollar in the machine and guess what I won? 2,000 dollars. Security swarmed around and I had to fill out tax papers, boy that lady was ticked off...her loss though, I'm not a slot machine baby sitter.
If George is still there his show was pretty funny. I also enjoyed the MGM park, and I did lots of shopping at czears mall...I'm sure I spelled that wrong (I always do):b
Oh hey...BTW there are lots of neat strip clubs on the golden gultch. Don't know how your wife would feel about that though

 

[Vickie_M]

When I was there I stayed at the Luxor in the penthouse suite. If you get a chance go there and check the place out, they have a boat that takes you around the inside of the hotel that is pretty cool, also the elevators are on an incline which I thought was kinda neat.

We stayed at the Luxor a few years ago during CES (Comsumer Electronic Show) and were about 3/4 of the way up and behind the sphinx's butt. I agree with you about the elevators! Penthouse suite....wow, I'm envious. How cool is it? We liked the Luxor proper (as opposed to the glass boxes beside the pyramid where some unfortunates have to stay) quite a bit.

The indoor river is gone though, unless they re-installed it after our visit. We saw pictures of the indoor river and boats and were told that it was taken out because of safety issues.

 

[Dave Falasco]

You know, this is why I love this forum so much. Vickie, Shawn, Kyle, Mark, everyone, this is fantastic! I never would have considered "O", or Rte 89A, or the Aureole, or Red Rock, or many other of the fantastic ideas you have all shared. Everything looks pretty homogenous in the tour books, and it's hard to really get a feel for which experiences stand out without talking to people who have actually been there. And you guys have more than come through for me! I am so grateful for the time you have all taken to share your impressions with me. I'm sure my wife and I will have so much more of a memorable time now that we can take heed of some of your suggestions.
I am just blown away by the effort you have put into your responses!! (Sniff) God bless the good people of the HTF!
Thank you all so much.