HELP:Hotel Decision in Las Vegas (Luxor/Rio/Flamingo)?
We'll be traveling to Vegas for 3 days from the 5th of august. We are a family og 2 adult and 4 teenagers. We have never been in Vegas before. We have found 3 "hot deals" for the accomodation. Which would you recommend between:
1) Luxor: Pyramid Spa Suite: Luxor MVP Offer, 382,00 USD per room for 3 days excl. tax
2) Flamingo:GO Luxury with Strip View, 360,00 USD per room for 3 days excl. tax
3) Rio:Premium Studio Suite, 348,00 USD per room for 3 days excl. tax
(also taking into account the quality of the pool facilities)
Thanks for any and all responses!
Best regards Orla Olsen, Denmark
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Here is a pretty good map of the strip
http://www.lasvegasmaps.com/stripmap.html
You can also use Google Maps to get Satellite Pictures.
You can not appreciate the Scale of the Hotels until you have visited.
The price of the room depends on the Day you Check in (Weekends are more expensive).
I see no problem with the prices you have been quoted. They seem to be "in the Ballpark".
The type of room you request makes a difference in the rate as well. A suite may work out better for a large family. I can only asume you are looking at getting a couple of rooms as 6 in a room would be cramped unless it was a large suite.
After visiting the maps you may want to reconsider your Hotel Choices to include more Hotels.
You can always check Hotels.com and Expedia.com to see if you are getting a fair rate.
Then you should go to the Hotel owned property and see what kind of deals they offer.
You should have plenty of time to find what is best for you. Keep in mind August is Scorching hot so most people choose to visit in a cooler time of the year. There may be more deals popping up. It's a fine line between booking early enough to ensure you get what you want and booking too late and not getting in on the best opportunity.
As far as teen activities go you'll find a list here (It's where I refer family when they come to town)
http://www.kidsinvegas.com/activity-guide.html
As far as my own family goes they like to Stay at the Mandalay Bay (This is because the company usually springs for the trip and the kids like the Pool so they don't stay with us).
I can also recommend that you check out http://www.ratelasvegas.com/
They do "Trip Reports" where people write about their experiences with different Hotels and Activities.
You may still end up choosing one of the Hotels you have on your list. But there are so many more choices so make sure you are making a good decision.
You have some time before you need to make a final decision.
Hope you have a good time. Vegas is something you need to experience once in your life.
Hello, Denmark!
Let me see if I can help you out. The first issue is that the Rio is not on the Strip and it too far to walk to the Strip. If you have a rental car it is not a problem otherwise, it can be a hassle getting to the Strip and the Strip is the place to be.
The Flamingo is an older but beautiful property. The pool is great and it is in a good spot on the Strip. The Luxor is also on the strip but farther south. However it is still within walking distance and is served by a free tram that runs from the Luxor to Excalibur and Mandalay Bay.
The reason I mention this is because most first time visitors do not understand the scale of Las Vegas. For instance the Luxor Hotel has 4,408 rooms. The Flamingo has 33, 626. The Rio has 2,500.
Remember there are 28 hotels of this size on the strip. All have attractions, Casinos, shows and restaurants. The Luxor has 10 places to eat, the Rio has 11 and the Flamingo has 7. But remember, all 28 of these hotels have restaurants some as many as 17 or so.
What you need to do is break this down into easy to handle bites. The problem is you are only in town for three days. For that reason I have to recommend the Luxor. Primarily because of the location.
You can easily walk cover Excalibur, Mandalay Bay as I said using the tram. Within walking distance you can vist the MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, the Paris, and Bally's. (Paris and Bally's are connected with a walk-through where you can see a million dollars in 100 dollar bills in a glass case).
Across from Paris is the Bellagio. This is where the dancing fountains perform in the evening every 15 minutes. You want to see that. Heading back south from Bellagio, there is the Monte Carlo, New York-New York and you are near the Luxor again.
There is not a lot to see in the Monte Carlo but it is a very pretty hotel. It does have a nice Chinese restaurant called the Dragon Noodle (it also has sushi) the food is fresh and light and the prices reasonable.
The best buffets are at Planet Hollywood, Bellagio and the Wynn. But by all means, have at least one breakfast at the buffet in Paris. It is huge and fantastic. It is set up to represent five regions of France each serving up the food according to that regions traditions. There is also a made to order omelet station and a made to order crepe station, a fresh fruit and cereal station and a pastry station. Ooo-la-la!
Important tip. If you intend to see one of the top shows order your tickets at least a few weeks before you come. Most are sold out once you get there. If you want to dine at any of the fancy five star restaurants, you need a reservation. . You must see the Strip at night. I recommend hiring a limo for a tour of the Strip at night. Your hotel concierge can help you with these things.
Good luck!
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Your prices are all very good if they are the total for 3 days but if they are per day, the price is a little high. If you are pleased with the price, The Luxor has the best accommodations, clean, nice pool, attractions,etc. Although bit on the southern side of the Strip. Rio is off of the Strip and you will need a taxi to get to the Strip, too much traffic, not safe to walk because of the traffic! The Flamingo is a great location and looks great, great pools, but...... very run down rooms. Dirty rooms! We have stayed at the Flamingo many many times and were very disappointed in quality when we stayed there in March of this year. MGM, Harrah's, Mirage, New York are all others you may like to look into for mid level pricing and good quality and decent location. Have a great trip! There is nowhere in the world like Vegas! Don't forget to see all of what nature has to offer outside of the town such as The Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam {man made! }... outlet malls!
First, Vegas is not really the place for anyone under 21 since they cannot be in (even watching) the gaming areas, lounges, or clubs.
Of those three, I would say not the Rio because except for the pool there is nothing for teens. They can cross the street and go to the Gold Coast where there is bowling and movie theatres. The Flamingo has nothing but a pool either.
Luxor does not have anything for teens; they removed all "minor" attractions to encourage 20's to come for fun. But they are connected by a free tram to Mandalay Bay and the Shark Reef, near the NYNY scream rollercoaster.
The best place for teens to enjoy a long day on The Strip is Adventure Dome at Circus Circus which is an indoor amusement park for all ages. And Circus Cirucs has nice pools.
Check out www.lasvegasnow.com for ideas and links.
BTW I would get tickets to Mystere at Treasure Island, a family Cirque show, where even the cheapest seat ($60) is fantastic. There are no bad seats there.
Be aware that Vegas has aftrer 9:00 p.m. rules that says NO one under 18 permitted outside on Strip without a parent.
Rio definitely.
While it's not located right on the strip, it has free shuttle to the strip and it takes less than 5 minutes
Rio has the best seafood buffet in the world. That's a place that you should go for sure.
There are two buffet place in Rio, one is the seafood place and one is the normal buffet which is one of the biggest in Vegas but not as good as the seafood.
Rio also has very great shows, both the free ones and the paid ones.
Never likes feeling or the interior of Luxor, it's fine to visit but I won't spend any money staying there.
Flamingo is older hotel, nothing really special in there other than it's location in the middle of the strip.
Rio also has the best facilities among all the others. Luxor is alright facilities wise, Flamingo has very limited ones.
Make sure you visit Bellagio for it's flower garden and dancing water.
Check the Venetians too and compare the Madame Tussaud there with the one in London (if you've visited the London ones)
Enjoy Vegas, oh and btw from my experience, you have better chance to win when you play in the casinos where local plays than if you play in the big touristy ones like the ones on the strip.
There's a casino next to Rio called Gold Coast. They have decent meal deal there and I have good luck playing there :)
Flamingo is in the best location on the strip but is an older hotel. It has one of the best swimming pools in Las Vegas.
Rio is off the strip but a great hotel. You'll need some trasportation to visit the sites on the strip, and with kids, that's a pain.
Luxor is at the southernmost end of the strip, literally adjacent to the airport. Good hotel, odd location.
If you want to be able to walk to the better sites, take the Flamingo, but it's got some years on it.
Circus Circus is a rathole. Stay clear of it.
When you look for a hotel in Vegas consider this. All of the big hotels on the Strip are great, including the 3 that you are considering. The most important things to consider are location, price, and in the summer you want to consider the hotel’s pool area. So, the best thing to do is stay on the strip in the center of all of the hotel locations so that you can walk to see all of the hotels and casinos, and all of the free attractions. The best place to stay to do that is in one of the hotels on or nearest to Flamingo Rd & the Strip. At that corner is Caesars Palace, Bellagio, the Flamingo, Ballys, and the Paris hotels. I do recommend the Flamingo and have stayed there about a dozen times. It has a great pool area with a small water slide and a waterfall. Its great for kids. You will be able to walk to all of the other hotels on that corner that I have mentioned, plus some others.
The Rio is an all suites hotel and I have stayed there also. It is off the strip about a mile and it is walkable (have done that) but the RIO also provided a free courtesy buss to the Strip that drops you at Harrahs. The bus runs all day about every half hour. From the Rio you can walk across the street to the Gold Coast casino and also to the Palms. The Palms casino has a food court and also a multiplex movie theater. The Rio has one attraction that you'll want to see while there, their Carnival in the Sky parade. Otherwise for everything else you need to head to the strip.
I have not stayed at the Luxor but its a nice hotel. It's main problem is its at the south end of the strip, a pretty good distance from the center of action. If you stay there you may want to get a rental car. Parking is free all of the time at all of the Vegas hotels so paying to park is not an issue. But there is traffic congestion many times on the strip so the going can be slow.
One other bit of information to consider as you shop for a hotel. In the summer you probably want to spend some time at the pool areas, which in Vegas are fabulous. All of the big hotels have great pool areas. But the Mandalay Bay, and Monte Carlo hotels have a wave pool and a lazy river for tubing or body floating. The MGM hotel has a huge lazy river and a water fall. The Flamingo has a water slide (not big but nice and refreshing) and also a water fall. The pools at Caesars and Bellagio are good because they have multiple pools and plenty of places to sit. So consider these as you make your decision. For THE best pool experience in Vegas I recommend the Mandalay Bay.
I have stayed at Mandalay Bay, Paris, Excalibur, MGM, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Caesars, the Rio, the Flamingo, Ballys, and Harrahs. But the BEST place for me when I go is who has the best price and in the summer the best pool experience.
When I shop for rooms in Vegas I look at the hotel rate calendars which are available on line. Many of the web sites will let you compare rates for the same time period at various hotels. Its also more expensive in all Vegas hotels on Friday and Saturday nights by $40 to $60 more. So to get a lower rate plan to go to Vegas on Sunday and stay through Thursday night. So use the hotel web sites to do some further looking and go when you can get the best price.
These would have been great rates if they were weekend rates but they are not that great for a weekday check-in. Remember Vegas hotel room are cheaper during the week. I will shop around some more. Look for hotel promo codes and book directly from the hotels to avoid any hidden fees. Here are a few codes. http://www.lasvegas-how-to.com/special.html
Look at rates at the Mirage, NY NY or Mandalay Bay. Also remember there is so much to do in Vegas you will be spending very little time in your hotel room.
Sky, the only place to stay for the occasion is The Hotel at Manadalay Bay. The Hotel is owned by Mandalay Bay, but it's pretty much its own place. The rooms are so incredibly nice you guys won't want to leave. Also, there's no casino in this hotel so it's nice and quite and it's only a two minute walk through the lobby into Mandalay Bay. Believe me, you guys will love this place.
Quick answer; I have stayed at all three.
RIO: biggest rooms, nice pool, easy shuttle to strip.
But they are right; shop around; those prices are not that great.