5/8     I've gotten very good feedback before on ski resorts at tahoe.  So
        I'll try again with las vegas hotels.  Please comment on the good/bad
        things on the places you've stayed.  Don't troll this please.  I'll
        start with one recent visit.
        Stratosphere:
        Major card key problems when I was there.  Couldn't get into my room
        after checkin TWICE.  After I got pissed I complained and they upgraded
        my room to a suite.  The hotel is also in a bad side of the strip.
        I wouldn't go there again.
        --
        \_ Bob Stupack is evil.  I would never stay at the Strat.
        \_ Olympic Garden is only a block away. Only real upshot.
        --
        \_ Let's do this backwards. Name a hotel and I'll tell you about it.
           \_ if you wish.
        Mandalay Bay:
        \_ I never understood the attraction for this hotel.  I guess they
           execute blah well.  The beach is amusing, if you're into that
           kind of stuff.
        \_ Good mid-week deals on suite on the top floors.  Otherwise I'd skip
        \_ Very nice sports book, standard new strip rooms. Agree slightly
           overpriced, also a little out of the way. Okay experience.
        \_ I liked Rum Jungle, the restaurant by day, club by night joint.
           Hot women dancing on top of the bar... doesn't get better than that.
           \_ Agree. Nice to visit this and Hard Rock's Baby's during night.
        Luxor:
        \_ Good mid-week deals on suites on the top floors.  Otherwise I'd skip
           it too.  The diagonal elevator is amusing, but strictly for one
           ride only.
        \_ Older strip type room. Decent access to the outside, but problems
           with non-hotellers wandering the halls. No, it's not sinking.
        Excalibur:
        \_ This is the cheapest strip hotel I'd stay at, but that might be a
           legacy effect.
        \_ Oldest of the "new" strip hotels. Older room setup. Cheap, and
           showing it's age. Long distance to casino, car, outside.
        MGM Grand:
        \_ Not the most expensive, not the most posh, but quite acceptable.
           A good all-around hotel.  Good sports book.
        \_ Agree sports book. Okay room, but long, long haul to casino, car
           and outside. Good prices if you catch them.
           \_ Agreed about the long haul. It should never take more than five
              minutes to reach the damn elevator. Dunno why my parents love
              staying there so much.
        Caesar:
        \_ The hotel is old.  They've done a good job updating it, but it
           still feels old.  The tower is better.
        \_ It's a good upgrade. Okay sports book, cramped feel in places,
           casino and hotel farther out from strip than most places.
        Bellagio:
        \_ Bellagio seems to have an inordinate amount of static electricity.
           I get zapped there far more than any other casino.
        \_  Loved my stay there.  On the middle of the strip, and try to get
            a room with a view of the Fountains.  Bally's is across the
           at the TI.  Much more expensive than what it should be.
            street and it's connected to the mall.  Plus it's close to
            most everything, as it's on the middle of the strip.  Not the
            cheapest hotel, but worth it.  I think the Venetian has bigger
            rooms though.  (Never stayed at the Venetian).
            \_ The Venetian rooms are all officially "suites" and they are
               bigger than the Bellagio's.  The "suite" thing just means
               there's a cast iron railing between the sleeping area and
               the sitting area, so I wouldn't get terribly excited over that.
               \_ True, but the bathroom is awesome. Huge and with a large
                  tub and separate shower. Two televisions. Nice decor.
        \_ Bellagio has an excellent poker room, for those that care.
           \_ The Mirage and the Orleans have okay ones. Binions if you want
              some old time feel to it (Now especially during WSOP). Others
              have poker for the sake of saying they offer poker. Oh, and
              some places offer "poker rates." You play X hours and they give
              a discount on the hotel price. Have to ask about beforehand.
        \_ Excellent place to stay. Well executed. Nice new strip rooms.
           Pricey though.
        Paris & Aladdin:
        \_ I've had good experiences @ Paris & Aladdin. At Aladdin, just
           because I was being nice, I got a free upgrade to a suite
           (apparently, I was the only one all day who didn't ask the girl
           for an upgrade, so I got one). If you get a room with a view @
           Paris, you can watch Bellagio's fountain show all night until you
           grow utterly sick of it, like I did.
           \_ I quite liked the Paris casino.  The painted ceiling makes it
              seem less claustrophobic.  The casino hires faux French guys to
              hang out for ambience.  Highly amusing.
           \_ Paris: Nice rooms, When I went, I thought they were about
              average priced. The casino IS the best part.
              \_ IMO, the casino is the worst part of the hotel. It's too
                 small. I stay there, but go somewhere else to gamble.
        \_ To wrap up the other major strip hotels.  Mirage: Still quite nice
           when I stayed there last year.  Treasure Island: Never ever stay
           at the TI.  Much more expensive than what it should be.  NYNY:
           I think the best design and execution of a theme on the strip.
           Good deli at the food area.  The lack of elevators is somewhat
           annoying.
           \_ Mirage: Agree. TI: Agree, overpriced for an okay room. NYNY:
              Is okay, but the jumble of rooms to match the facade is a bit
              disconcerting. Food area, while good, can get VERY crowded.
        \_ So what's the best deal for around $100 a night weekends?  The
           newer ones like Venetian, Bellagio, etc are quite expensive.  I
           don't want to stay at an old dump either.  Thanks.
           \_ You have to pay for what you want. What's important to you?
              Access to the strip? Casino experience? Sightseeing? Gambling
              self silly? Are you going to spend a lot of time in the room?
              Bally's, Monte Carlo, Hilton (off strip) are newer, but slightly
              cheaper. And you can get deals on most all of them. Personally
              I gamble a lot and don't expect much from my room. I stay
              downtown where the rates are closer to <$50/wkend night and
              cab it to the strip if I feel like playing overpriced tables.
           \_ Venetian is about $120 on Sundays, which is not bad. I go to
              Las Vegas a lot. Mirage and Venetian are my faves. Paris is
              okay as is Mandalay Bay. Avoid Bellagio. For a cheap place,
              I like Bally's. I'm mostly a gambler, too, so YMMV if you like
              other stuff, although food is important to me. Also, I haven't
              seen anyone mention Rio yet. --dim
              \_ I passed by Rio on my way to check out Palms. Nothing but
                 a bunch of old geezers in cowboy hats. Very subdued
                 environment.
                 \_ How is Palms? It looks like the new Big Nightspot...
                    \_ Unfortunately, I only saw it during the day. The casino
                       is rather small, nothing special. I'm not too fond of
                       how everything is in puke green, including the limos.
        Hard Rock and other off-strip:
        \_ The Californian is smokey and full of middle aged Hawaiians
           playing slots. It is one of the least phoney places in Vegas.
           \_ Downtown is different from the strip and off-strip places.