Hi Pandora and welcome to HT!

First of all, Vegas is very safe. We have always felt safe there in 7 visit with the 8th one booked for April.

As for immigration, it will depend on whether you're at the front of the plane or the back, anything from 30 mins to an hour to clear, but the line moves quite quickly considering the amount of people.

I would recommend the Venetian or Bellagio for a special night, but I would also recommend booking direct with the hotel before you go. You will only pay the first night's accommodation and it will be refunded if you cancel 48-72 hours before arrival if you need to cancel. Also if you book and then see it cheaper you can call the hotel and ask for the rate to be adjusted which you can't do if you book through a 3rd party site such as Expedia.

We have booked the Venetian for as little as $119 and the Bellagio for $179 although I have seen it at $149, but it all depends on your dates.

When are you going as this will have a bearing on hotel costs? Rates typically double and more for Friday and Saturday.

Keep checking FAT WALLET. That link will take you to Page 1 which is updated with the latest deals, but if you check the last page new deals are posted there.

There is a lot of information on this site re restaurants, shows, hotels, etc. Rather than repeat it, if you use the Search facility at the top of the page and put in Vegas and select the America forum you will find all the information you could need. Any further questions then please ask away.

luci

Hi - Thanks luci made me feel better! I will also do a search as well!

Pandora x

Terrible's is just fine. We have stayed there three times. My Mum particularly likes it because she didn't get lost in it. We stayed on the strip with my Mum and Dad this (last) year, and she said she preferred Terrible's to the Imperial Palace.

Luci is right about booking a special hotel in advance. You will get a better deal that way.

Vegas is extremely safe. We have been there nine times now and have never felt threatened or worried. We have used the CAT bus system and have been to some"Interesting" areas, but never scary areas.

Thanks again, great advice, I have also registered with MGM signature for offers,so I may get some discount codes back from them. At the moment with them it's about $219.00 a night in May a week day. I'll keep an eye outfor fat wallet too.

Oh about Terrible's - it's not clear if Airtours do a transfer, as the invoice is a bit confusing. Would I be able to ask the hotel to pick me up?

What would a taxi cost or a shuttle bus? Sorry about all the questions

Many thanks
Pan

Terrible's has a shuttle that will take you to and from the airport. I think you should be able to book it online before you go. The day before you leave, you will need to go to the bell desk and reserve your shuttle for the return to the airport.

Don't get an Airtours transfer, they charge far too much for them. I think the brochure price is £22 per person!!!

If you decide on a taxi from the airport it shouldn't cost more than $10 - $15. This website quotes $10 or $11.86 with a short wait.

As pebbles said, you might want to consider just taking a taxi - as it will be more convenient. I would probably do this even if I did have a transfer included (although you should tell Airtours at the airport if that is the case so that they don't wait on you and hold everyone else up).

You should get somewhere at a good price for a one night stay in May - hopefully you don't need to stay at another hotel at the weekend though. You may well get a good rate at Bellagio, or good chance of Venetian given their extra capacity since Palazzo will be open. Or Palazzo will be nice too!

If I remember correctly Terrible's is at Flamingo road??? This would mean that you're near Tuscany Resort and Casino http://www.tuscanylv.com/, and also not that far from Ellis Island http://www.ellisislandcasino.com/ Ellis Island is good for cheap eats (they do a steak special for about $5.95 was $4.95 but I heard it went up). There is also coupons in the American Casino Guide (available for £8 on Amazon) which will get you 2/1 menu items at Ellis Island, plus one for 4 free drinks at the bar in the casino. There is also a 2/1 terrible's coupon for the buffet in there too! Here's a list of all the coupons. http://bourie.casinocitytimes.com/americancasinoguide/coupons.htm

If you walk a lot or don't mind walking, you could walk to Hard Rock. The strip is also walkable (up to 30 mins), as is Boulevard Mall and surrounding shops on Maryland Parkway (again 30 mins or so). You could possibly walk up to the Hilton too if you don't mind a 30 min walk north. You might even consider getting a CAT bus pass for 30 days $40 if you are there more than a week. We used to buy it when it was $30 and found it good value when we went for about 10 days. http://www.catride.com Should allow you to use all the regular CAT buses and the deuce (I've not had this pass since the deuce started though, I used it on the old strip bus though). Website would suggest Deuce is included. Also day passes available for $5. Monorail is good, but no stop really near Terrible's. Might not be that far to walk up to the convention centre though...although it's probably about a mile. Again depends if you like walking!

Hope this gives you some things to look at - and if you have any questions we'll all be glad to answer! Weather will be nice in May by the way - not too hot!

Maybe you should ask mytravel how much it would cost to upgrade yourself to the Monte Carlo which I see on their list and then compare that price to staying in Terribles then upgrading yourself for a night or two in the Venetian.

If you can afford it then go for the Monte Carlo.

Another option is as you have been told is to keep checking for offers on Fat Wallet and hopefully you will get a dirt cheap off on the strip such as the Imperial Palace or Bills Gambling Saloon.

As for transport it has got to be a cab for less than £10 between you.

What are your dates btw

John

Hi John

Monte Carlo tend to have good rates, however I have heard that there is lots of construction down there right now and I don't know when it's due to end.

Mytravel also do NYNY, MGM, TI which might be other options. However, I suspect they will be quite a bit more than Terrible's and that Pandora might be happy with that given the price. On our first two trips we stayed off strip (Mardi Gras and Key Largo). Ok, Key Largo was a dive, but we really enjoyed Mardi Gras. However we prefer the strip now. At the time when we went to Mardi Gras we were just so pleased to get a week in Vegas for under £500! On that basis, those types of deals are great if that's all you want to pay. Mytravel would probably charge a fee to change the hotel now anyway.

Hi Lesley,

The reason I asked about the dates was because last year, sorry 2006 we booked the flights then an offer from Caesars for a Palace Tower room for less than £500 per person for the 7 nights.

If I had never been before to Vegas and couldn't drive then I wouldn't like to stay off strip as in Terribles or I think its called Red Rose Resort for just the totally knackerring experience that it will give me getting to the strip every day.

Even staying centrally i.e Bills, Ballys or Caesars is tiring as we still do the walks every day to all the other hotels.

Due to other commitments we can only get to Vegas after October and I have just been pming Luci to tell her about my new booking which the flight bit is actually down to her.

I saw her post the other day about BMI flights and sales so I went on the site yesterday and found a direct flight from Manchester for £318 which is a great price and after a bit of snooping I found a premium seat for £523 and for that I get 49" leg room, free booze all the way and a kind of private cabin with only 30 seats.

Then I looked on my Harrahs Total Rewards page and found I have 4 nights free at Harrahs so that me booked flights 16th November for 9 nights and accommodation for the first four.

I will check the deals nearer the time and will book the other five nights in my favourite Caesars Palace.

Thank you Luci.

John

You're welcome John, glad I was able to help.
luci

Terribles is not a bad budget hotel but compared to some of the strip hotels is quite small.We had three nights there and quite enjoyed it.The bonus about being off the strip is the prices for food and drink are cheaper.

One thing that may annoy you about Vegas is that Nevada has not got around to banning smoking in public places so if you are a non smoker it can really be bad.

Terribles does have a non smoking floor but as it is a low rise hotel you can still smell the smoke in yor room.

The pool area is small and when we were there the pool was freezing(shaded and unheated)

Regards
Papa

Hi - Would like to say thanks for all the great information, there's so much to take in though. Think I'll get a taxi, hope immigration let us in
One last question (sorry) on the Airtours invoice it say's I have to put on the same address they send off to immigration? But the Visa waiver form,there doesn't seem enough boxes to put it all in, not even my departure airport which is Manchester.

I'm a terrible worrier.

Pan x

Hi John

That was a fabulous price for Caesars! I paid that sort of price for the Mardi Gras years ago.

I probably have to fly from Glasgow, but may check out the BMI sale from Manchester. Do you know if it is on in September, and also where is best to book? If I can fly for £400 or less it might be worth the journey down there. Current prices are £540 from Glasgow. I hate the drive home from Manchester though, and depending on flight times probably includes a one night stay on the way!

Lesley I replied to you on the LVtalk site last night

John

I don't know what dates you want in September but just a quick look gives you a direct flight from Manchester 16th November 7 nights for just over £400 and the 9 10 12 or 14 night is about the same.

John

pandora59 wrote:

One last question (sorry) on the Airtours invoice it say's I have to put on the same address they send off to immigration? But the Visa waiver form,there doesn't seem enough boxes to put it all in, not even my departure airport which is Manchester.

I'm a terrible worrier.

Pan x

You need to fill in the address of your first night's accommodation on the visa waiver form, inlcuding the Zip code. You will probably find it on the hotel's website. No there aren't enough "boxes" on the form to fill in "Manchester", but I just squish it up a bit towards the end and haven't had it refused yet.

luci

Hi John

Are you called Icmeler over there? I actually thought you were John4Vegas and I asked him last week and he'd never heard of this site! Thought I might get more response about Platinum over there, as it's quite a small hotel. It looks quite nice, but I'm still scouting about for a better deal!

The BMI flights from Manchester would only save me £100 each, so not really worth it for the hassle of going to Manchester. It's a 4 hour drive for me - and not much fun after the flight home!

Hi Lesley

Icmeler over there (I wonder why) and Platinum is big if you look up.

Actually the Platinum is straight up but not what I would call a holiday place

I actually thought about the Meridian resort which is nearer the strip but then I was swayed by my own reasons to be in Vegas whcich is to be in the throng of it all if you know what I mean.

Don't think of booking anywhere off the strip, just book your flights then a few weeks before you go get the accommodation which will suddenly appear online cheapish.

John

Hi John

I did also spot the Meridien at one point. I'll probably book a flight with some nights accomodation with expedia (if the price is right). Saves a little bit for booking together, plus I have a discount code through my work to save another £50.

If I was closer to Manchester then BMI would definitely be an option. But once I factor in an overnight stay, petrol and then the time it takes to drive which I don't like on top of the long journey already... At the price I'd stick with Glasgow just now. Good deal for those closer to Manchester though!

I have just realised that Meridien is probably sort of across the road from platinum (across flamingo), and just past westin, meaning it's what I saw on google earth and was wondering what it could be as it wasn't labelled!