I thought the IP pool was very poor in comparison to Flamingo. Whether it's worth £500 extra is up to you. The IP pool is very concrete biased. There were plenty of sunbeds available, but we were there in November.

Las Vegas Pools Gives Flamingo 3 and a half stars and IP only 1 and a half stars.
Destionation 360 doesn't have pictures of IP pool, but does have some of Flamingo.

If a pool is important, go with Flamingo. JMHO

Hi Pebbles

Thank you for your reply. As to whether a pool is important or not, i dont think its worth £500 but i am more interested in the hotel rooms. I hate smelly rooms, and rooms that stink of smoke(ex smoker). Do like good air conditioning though especially the time of year we go. I thought want a base with good clean rooms, not bothered if it hasnt been painted for years, as long as its not a disaster hotel.

Michelle,

It's a standard reply for Vegas but if you can avoid booking the hotel as part of a package you will probably save a bundle of money. I know last year when we stayed in the MGM Grand, Expedia were looking for £140 ($280) a night for a standard Tower room, yet we managed to find a deal for £72 ($144) a night for a Celebrity Spa Suite.

This year (in just over 4 weeks time) we will be staying at the MGM again for the princely sum of $69 (£35).

With regards to flights, when are you intending on going? Even at worse case scenario i.e. this August our flights were only just over £600. Last September we paid £375 for returns to LA and then $150 for two returns to Vegas.

Even allowing for an upgrade to PE etc, I still think that £3889 sounds a lot of money. I think somewhere nearer £2750-£3000 would be more reasonable and might actually get you a higher end hotel in Vegas.

HTH
Ju

i have never done a proper diy holiday. We want to travel june 09.

8 nts at the sheraton park anaheim los angeles
8 nts at the Ip or something similar on price - central.
We need internal flights from LA to LV and shuttle bus or cab to the hotels in each destination.
So basically a 2 centre holiday.
I wouldnt have a clue to start

Ok, well June was interesting for flights this year as Virgin had a sale. Whether in the current climate this well happen next year is debateable but if you can hold out on flights then do so. I saw flights for £400, but obviously you will have to add onto that for PE.

Internals are easy. Book with Southwest from LAX to LV return. http://www.southwest.com. You won't find seats released for a while but sign up to their website and they will keep you updated. I got flights from LAX to LV in September last year for $49pp each way, which is about as cheap as they go. Check Expedia.co.uk also for other internal options but Southwest normally beat all major carriers, especially as there is about 10 flights per day to LV from LA. Alternatively, drive. It's an easy journey, and you won't be charged a drop fee normally if taking to Vegas.

If flying into Vegas, a cab fare will cost you between $10-$30 depending on location. In LA, I would recommend driving but if that is not an option you would need someone like Super Shuttle http://www.supershuttle.com/default.aspx Despite an indifferent reputation in other cities they are normally very reliable and I have used in Boston, Denver, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Fun part, hotels. Vegas deals for June won't be up until a few months before. My advice, book direct with the hotel of your choice on one of the long dated discount codes (MGM for example has a code which goes upto Feb09) and then check back nearer the time to beat it (you will). Then just book the new rate and cancel the original. Everybody does it. With the MGM you can actually do it all on line, I'm sure that would be the case with other hotels. For example I got a rate initially of $89 for our stay, but have since cancelled it and rebooked twice at $79 and $69 respectively. Each time the hotel just takes a one night deposit with nothing more to pay until check out. If you cancel, they refund you the deposit. Simple. I LOVE VEGAS HOTELS.

As for LA. Check Expedia.co.uk for rates, thats a good starting point. If you find a good deal, book it. Chances are it won't go down. It is worth checking with the hotels website direct as well. I have found far better deals on official websites than on Expedia.

I would recommend Hotwire for LA, but as you are quite specific on your hotel choice it will be better to book it direct. Hotwire allows you to book in a specific area (Anaheim for example) but you book only knowing location and hotel class (3* 4* etc). That might be too much of a risk for you, but for example this year we have booked our Atlanta and Santa Fe hotels using Hotwire and have got $54 and $39 respectively (Hilton Atlanta and Holiday Inn Santa Fe).

Have I totally confused you, or just a little?>

I agree with everything that's been said, we always book direct with the hotel to take advantage of the great rates that are available.

There are far, far better hotels than the IP and you can usually get somewhere better for just a little more, but we like to stay there at the weekends when the rates elsewhere can be sky high.

luci

mmmm I.P. - if you are on the 'wrong' side of the hotel ie: the Carnival Court side, you will have banging music and screaming and shouting until about 2am if I remember rightly? Might be a bit earlier, we were on a high floor too but it was pretty bad to be honest. Overall, it's ok, nothing more than ok and I would rather stay somewhere better for £10 a night extra which is probably all it would cost to get a better hotel.

Cheers,

TC

michelle,
phone united vacations,as we have had a quote off them,for the 4th may next year.flying from manchester to heathrow to los angeles.then los angeles to vegas,then vegas,to heathrow to manchester,for £799.this is for economy though.
you could then,book your hotels separately.the transfer in vegas,is next to nothing,not sure about,the transfer in LA though.
i am sure you will have a big saving,on your quote.
we are going to san francisco,this year,for 4 nights,then flying to florida,for 10 nights.for 2 adults & 1 child.we have paid £2100,with united.
in 06,we went to hawaii,then flew to florida,with united.i can't remember the figure exactly,but virgin quoted about £2500 more,than united.we actually thought,it was well out of our price range & i'm really glad,i shopped around.
i found their planes,really comfortable as well,because i'm not exactly a size 10.
we have booked our accomadation,through united this year,but looking,we could have got it.about half the price independantly,as they charge per person,not per room.
hope this helps.
how many people,was your quote for?
tracy

Hi Michelle, have booked flights with US AIR for this Aug[most expensive time] flying from
Heathrow to Miami. Orlando to Phoenix and Las Vegas back to Heathrow cost £725 adult
£590 child[11yrs] this came out at around £80 per person cheaper than most operaters.
Booked with US AIRWAYS direct for the best quote.hope this helps ,also booked all our hotels
direct
Ann

we have also used us airways & they were also a great price.definately worth a look!
tracy.

I have uploaded a photo of the pool area at the IP along with some other photos of Vegas. There are already photos of the rooms in the galleries.

luci

It's tough to look anywhere else than the pool at the MGM Grand.......and no I'm not on a commission!!!!

Thank you for all your replies, i am looking at all aspects and doing the diy. Everyone has been very considerate with the information received

let us all know,what you decide,as it is something,we are interested in!
happy planning
tracy

I have made a semi decision with Sam that we will be going with the Flamingo as opposed to the IP. We do like a good pool and intend in the 100 degree heat to use it each day. We have also decided to go with the Sheraton park in Anaheim, trip advisor gave it 8th out of 100 hotels.
Prices so far for 16 nights, transfers, internal flights etc comes to under £3000, but because i like my comforts i need to insist on extra legroom seats which i know will bump up the price, or premium econmony. I have gone on a few sites to get prices, but a lot of them fly via New York (Newark), i prefer to fly direct. I did get the price on normal seats, but the price was £3300 with expedia I am going to investigate the web addresses i have here as well.

Does anyone know when the school holidays are for next year?

Thanks

Michelle x

Sorry forgot to ask, does anyone know what seat pitch united airlines is? I am ringing tomorrow, although i dont think dates go as far as when i want to book, but will get a quote anyway.

Check http://www.seatguru.com

As suggested already, you should get a quote from http://www.unitedvacations.co.uk We used them the third time we went to Vegas and were happy with the price. We actually booked it with a travel agent http://www.barrheadtravel.co.uk

luci

Yep thanks Luci, i am ringing them tomorrow, they use united airlines aircrafts don't they? Already looked at the brochure online, and noticed they do free stopovers etc, so thats good news. Do you get all free drinks and food etc on the flight do you know?

Thanks x

You usually get a meal a couple of hours after take off and a snack about an hour and a half before landing. Non alcoholic drinks are free transatlantic, but alcoholic drinks are paid for. Everything is payable on the internal flight if I remember correctly.

luci