#37
Post
by KillerTomato » Fri Mar 20, 2009 4:44 pm
OK, here's an off-the-wall suggestion for you:
Hooters Hotel and Casino.
It used to be known as the San Remo, and is basically next door to the Tropicana, just southwest of the airport. Yes, it's from Hooters, but it actually has very nice hotel rooms IN THE TOWER (do NOT get a bungalow room), and is about the same price as a Best Western, and much closer to the Strip.
For that matter, the Trop itself isn't that pricey, nor (usually, depending on when you're going) is the Excalibur, right across the Strip.
I would recommend keeping your car until you actually leave, since the rental car center is about 1.5 miles south of the airport, and it'll cost you the same to keep the car as it would in taxi fees.
Driving in Vegas is not that big a deal, except at night. The secret is a road called Koval Lane, which runs parallel to the Strip, one block to the east (that is, towards the airport). It runs from behind the MGM all the way up to (I think) the Venetian, about 2 or 3 miles. Many fewer lights, much less traffic.
You've gotten some good suggstions on stuff to do (I completely agree re: the dueling piano shows, although I prefer Harrah's to Paris's....although like Uly, I may be swayed by the cute blond twins that do it most nights). But they don't start until 9:30, so if you're planning on an early night, that might not work. I also HIGHLY recommend trying to see the Bellagio fountains from the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris, but at the very least, watch it from the Strip, at least twice (it's a different song every 15 minutes).
If you're into buffets, may I suggest either of the two at the Rio, or the one at Planet Hollywood Casino. Very good, and (at least the last time I ate there) good value/quality ratio.
If you like fish, I liked the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's about $25, but they have a TON of fish.
Make sure you head up to the Venetian and walk through the Canal Shops. They're on the second floor(!), and the gondoliers singing and the cute architecture make for a nice time. Also, one of my favorite restaurants is there: Canaletto is all the way in the back, in St. Mark's Square. Excellent Italian food, moderately priced.
If you're into rollercoasters, I can recommend Speed: The Ride at the Sahara (0-60 in 3 seconds) and, to a lesser extent, the Manhattan Express at NY/NY. Then there's the stuff at the top of the Stratosphere, but realize that the coaster is very very tame.
I'll try to think of some other stuff, but that's a start.
There is something wrong in a government where they who do the most have the least. There is something wrong when honesty wears a rag, and rascality a robe; when the loving, the tender, eat a crust while the infamous sit at banquets.
-- Robert G. Ingersoll
