first time to vegas staying at the strat
is it to far from everything
should i be closer to the middle of the strip
"first time to vegas staying at the strat"
Congratulations, have fun.
"is it to far from everything"
Unless you have a rental car, yes.
"should i be closer to the middle of the strip"
Yes.
Strat is all by its lonely in the middle of one of the worst areas of Las Vegas. With a car its fine, without you will spend a lot of money on cabs or take a lot of bus rides to see any other casino/hotels.
cinjama: For a first trip, you are probably as far away as you could get....plus, I don't think that is the best part of Vegas...you either have to walk (long!!), take the monorail from the Sahara, or the bus (2.00 each way, and usually very crowded)...For just a little more money, you could stay at The IP, Ballys, or a little off-strip, the Orleans or Gold Coast....I think you would miss the best experience for a first trip and that is staying in the middle of the strip, where the action is...Course, just my opinion..On later trips you could stay far away or downtown (where I now stay)...Either way, you will have a great time..jj
thanks
any suggestions without breaking the budget
you far in advance are you booking your trip? unless you are here during high tourist or event weekend....try Paris, Monte Carlo, or Flamingo.
Take the monorail located in the Sahara to travel south on the strip.
($3.00 each trip or $10.00 a day)
The Sahara is about two blocks south from the Stratosphere.
I walked to and from the Sahara and the Stratosphere with no problems last week.
Check out the rides and the tower at the Stratosphere.
"Viva Las Vegas" was also a fun and inexpensive afternoon show there.
I didn't have any problems navigating the strip from the north end. I didn't find the monorail any more annoyingly busy than the sidewalks of the strip.
Note: Staying at the Stratosphere is closer to the downtown area (Fremont Street) so that may be a plus for you.
To and from the airport- find a shuttle that serves the north end of the strip to get quicker service. A cab ride to that end may be +$20 versus a $5 shuttle ride.
Use Priceline--you may be able to get the Venetian for $99.00 a night. Do your research first on http://www.biddingfortravel.com Check the list of hotels Priceline uses in each part of Las Vegas and the *level of the hotel. You'll see that there aren't all that many; you really aren't taking a chance; you'll get one of 3-5 hotels in each location, and Priceline won't switch you from what you bid. If you bid 5* on the strip, that's what you'll get.
After you see the list of hotels used, check out the www.biddingfortravel forum for Las Vegas and find out what bids are currently being accepted on Priceline for the *level hotel you are interested in that is in the location you want. After that, go to Priceline and bid-----and save a lot of money.
thanks for the tip
cinjama,
If you go to their website and check out the webcams you'll see everything looks very far away. Thats because everything IS far away. (relativly speaking). I must say they have some great deals but this is your first time and its not a short trip for you. In fact its already half way through today in Australia. If you join/ed their slot club online the deals are even better and if thats your budget then go for it, but I also recommend a rental car.(please stay right) Otherwise if you do your homework you may find great deals elswhere. Google images of your hotel choices so you have some idea of the rooms and if they meet your needs, and dont listen to anyone that tells you that a 4 or 5 star hotel is the only place to stay.
Matt
It is really distant. However, it is a more solid choice compared to the hotels in the same price range. You could look at the reviews and pricing for the Tropicana, Boardwalk, and Stardust (maybe Imperial Palace) to see if they would fit.
Try the Hilton. They sometimes have good prices. You'll need the monorail, but it's still a great deal if there's no convention in town.