AboutTom Expertise I can tell you detail of every major hotel in Vegas, such as the restaurants they offer and the attractions they maintain, on the Las Vegas Strip. The kind of patrons each hotel attracts. How to play blackjack, both etiquette and strategy. How to obtain comps and make the most of your money when in town. Any Vegas general knowledge.
Experience
Past/Present clients Caesar's Palace, Flamingo Las Vegas, Bally's, Paris and Las Vegas Hilton.
Question I'm heading to Vegas in late sept with 5 college friends (we're early 30's). Not sure if we'll all get together again in vegas so we were thinking it would be great if we can get a bigger, more plush room and keep the per-person rate down by filling it up. Any suggestions?
Also, in regards to nightlife... we have a broad mix of tastes from piano/martini bars to clubs. I see there are several "club" packages that knock the prices down considerably vs waiting till the day of... what other options are there?
Thanks!
Answer Darold,
Sometimes you can consolidate people into a suite and it will save some money, but usually the suites are several times more expensive than just a regular room, and it ends up being more expensive to have a suite.
Most "suites" in Vegas have a king size bed and sitting area, so even though the room is bigger and more plush, it really doesn't allow for lots of bed space. Some of the larger suites do have two bedrooms, but even then they usually have a king, and maybe the other bedroom would have two queens, still making it hard for a party of six. And, those huge suites are usually in the thousands for weekend nights.
I have two suggestions for you on finding equitable rooms... the first would be to get adjoining rooms where you can get connecting queens, and if you're lucky the room will also have a fold out couch. Offhand, I think the rooms at Venetian would work for you - pretty sure they all come with fold out couches. Not sure they actually connect, but you could get two rooms side by side, and each room has a sunken living room with couches and plasma TVs. Another hotel that would work is MGM, they have an upgraded room called a Bungalow Suite, and you can get two queens there. Get a connecting queen room and you'll have four beds plus a sofa. You could also try Bally's and Luxor - many of their rooms have fold outs and you can get connecting queens.
Second idea would be to get an off-strip condo, which would be more like an apartment, with bedrooms and fold outs. There are so many hi-rise condos in Vegas right now that they can't sell them all, so the ones that aren't sold are offered as hotel rooms. Check into The Platinum, The Signature (at MGM) and Fairfield Grand Desert. All three of those are only a couple blocks from the strip, and they'll all have the kinds of rooms you're looking for at reasonable rates.
For clubs, if you're looking to save money, the multi-club pass is not a bad way to go. The pass usually only works at less popular clubs, but "less popular" in Vegas just means more manageable. You can actually get inside without waiting two hours in line. So if you figure that cover charges are $20-30 each, and you can get a multi-day pass for $100, it could save you money. Another method is to get paper passes from cabbies and curb barkers. They don't always work, so make sure you read the fine print to see if you qualify. Most of the time, the free admission is for women only, or locals only. Another way to get into clubs for free is to sign up for the guest lists at www.NapkinNights.com or www.ClubPlanet.com. Those usually work pretty well and you usually don't have to pay cover charge.
All the nightlife I mentioned above relates to nightclubs and lounges. If you're looking for cigar or martini bars, sometimes they have cover charges if there is a band, but most of the time not. There really aren't any passes or lists for the smaller bars, so if you see a place you like, then sniff around to see what the cover charge is.
Hope that gets you started, let me know if you need any more specific information. I'll be glad to help if you want more specifics.
