Is there a reason why you have chosen to split your time between the Strip and Fremont Street?

I personally wouldn't stay on Fremont Street. If I did, it would be the Golden Nugget hands down but that is just a Downtown Vegas hotel trying to match the Strip properties (and doing an alright job). When we go to Vegas we always head down to Fremont for an afternoon or evening, but I'm of the belief that you've got everything you need on the Strip, why bother? Yes it's good to see "old" Las Vegas and there are often good deals to be had ($10 slot play at the Nugget being one of them) but I never feel totally comfortable in the area, and waiting for the Deuce back to the Strip is shall we say "interesting" in the evening.

If you want to split your time between properties I would look for a different hotel on the Strip. Although I would probably not go as far as recommending the likes of the Sahara or Stratopshere, you probably aren't going to get better quality rooms in Downtown Las Vegas. The benefit of the Sahara would be the monorail station (whisking you anywhere on the Strip) and not a bad walk from the likes of the Wynn. I've not stayed there but I am always impressed by the friendliness and cleanliness of the public areas, plus the hotel can often be very cheap. If you can bump your daily rate up a bit, you can even start looking at the likes of the Excalibur, Luxor etc.

Harrah's @ $39 seems a good price btw.

Sorry if I have gone slightly with regards to the Fremont Street part of your question. Best of luck.

That's an excellent price for Harrahs!

If you want to stay downtown then I would suggest the Golden Nugget. I have stayed there twice and personally I love the place. It is head and shoulders above any other downtown property. Yes you can get cheaper then the Nugget downtown, but nowhere near as nice.
What I would say is I don't think you'd want more than 2 nights downtown really, you'll see everything in that time and would probably want more time on the strip.

I would try to extend your stay at Harrahs and work just a couple of nights downtown if poss. Another alternative would be to stay off strip, somewhere like Orleans, which is a nice hotel with big rooms and a free shuttle bus to the strip, the bonus is you can get VERY good deals for Orleans.
Only thing with that is that you don't really want to change hotels twice from Harrahs.

Cheers,

TC

jwhiting wrote:

Is there a reason why you have chosen to split your time between the Strip and Fremont Street?

To be honest, I'm not particularly bothered about staying downtown but my husband wants to because several friends and workmates have said that they prefer Fremont Street to the Strip, although I don't think any of them have actually stayed there. Also, some have suggested that it might be easier for me getting around as I'm only able to walk a short distance at a time. We arrive in Vegas on a Tuesday and will be at Harrah's until Friday (if I remember correctly, the offer was for a maximum stay of four nights and didn't include weekends.) We thought the weekend rates for Fremont Street would be cheaper than the Strip and that we may as well stay there instead of moving back to the Strip for the last two nights of our trip.The Golden Nugget would be our preferred hotel but I've not found any offers for our dates and the rates on the hotel site are $336+tax for the four nights so that is why I was asking about other hotels.

TeeCee, I think staying at three hotels in just a week would mean an awful lot of hassle, wouldn't it? I quite like the idea of the Orleans as almost everything I've read about it has been good and as you say, they have some very good deals. I'm going to have a go at persuading hubby to go there from Harrah's and then just visit Fremont Street.

Thanks to both of you for your input, I really appreciate it even though it is making me rethink our plans. This planning a trip lark is turning out not to be as easy as I thought it would be - maybe I should have just booked a package!

Thanks for giving me the background to your planning. It helps to offer advice that is specific, rather than just rant on with what I believe to be correct.

Ok, first things first, Fremont Street is not superior to the Strip. It does have some charm and is well worth a visit, maybe even a short stay but I think you are going to be enjoying the Strip better. In saying that if mobility is an issue, the area around Fremont Street allows easy walking whereas the Strip can be tiring. It's certainly something to think about.

I actually quite like Teecee's idea about the Orleans and although it is off Strip, the shuttle bus will whisk you Mid Strip in no time at all and you can then decide on where to head from there. There are cracking rates for the Orleans available, I've not stayed there but was very close to plumping for a Friday night there last year where the Strip properties were coming out expensive. I do tend to agree with you about the three way split, maybe too much, but certainly splitting your stay up between Harrah's and the Orleans would be a good idea. I would try and persuade your Husband to go with this and save Downtown for a visit rather than a stay. $84 a night for the Nugget seems heavy to me (although it is obviously a weekend), but it would certainly be your best bet for a property in that area.

Let us know what you decide on.

I also would advise against staying Downtown and would recommend just going for a visit. If I was to stay there then it would be at the Golden Nugget. $336 isn't a bad price if it is over a weekend as rates typically double or more Fri & Sat. I can't say I've ever seen many offers for the GN as there are for strip properties.

We like to hotel hop, but I wouldn't recommend doing it for less that 3 days at one place as it's not worth unpacking otherwise.

I haven't stayed at the Orleans, but it is always well recommended.

If you have difficulty walking then I would highly recommend you hire an electric scooter. The hotel should be able to arrange it for you. You will see them all over Vegas and even for people without walking difficulties, Vegas is very hard on the feet as everything is so far apart.

luci

I have stayed at the Orleans twice and I have booked it again for September for a group of 6 of us. I wouldn't do that if I didn't think it was up to it!

I agree about Fremont Street/Downtown not being as good as the strip. The surrounding areas are seedy and I wouldn't stay there. By all means go up there one evening and see the light show.

After reading all your replies, we have decided to scrap the idea of staying Downtown and will now go for the Orleans or another hotel on the Strip, depending upon what deals I can find.

Luci, my husband laughed at your suggestion of hiring a scooter and reckons I'd be a liability on one but it is certainly worth considering if the walking does get too much for me. I have arthritis in my spine and hips so walking long distances or standing for long does affect me but I should be fine if I'm able to have a little rest as I go along.

Once again, thanks for all your helpful replies.