Hotel Dilema

[internetjef]

Hello all

Organizing a trip to Vegas from UK. Went for 1st time 12 months ago and it was great, stayed in MGM and loved it.

Would happily stay there again, but at the same time seems sensible to mix it up a bit, plus wouldn't mind being a little more central strip rather than down on the south end.

Probably be 15-20 of us, all guys around 30 years old (its a bachelor party). Problem is the 15-20 prob depends on the hotel choice.

Myself plus some of the guys with better jobs would happily pay the premium to go for Cosmopolitan which seems to get the vote on here as the best party hotel, or the Wynn/Encore which looks awesome (albeit more north strip) plus would make going to XS/Surrender/EBC easy.

However there's a couple of guys who might get priced out if we did that. Dropping down to a 4 star place like MGM again would probably keep them in.

Do people think it would be worth using somewhere like Planet Hollywood as a cheaper base? I know people say rooms are looking a bit dated and the pool is rubbish, but its looks MUCH cheaper. Any other good cheaper options around the centre?

If we did take this approach, is it possible to use other hotels pools (such as Cosmos?) or are they exclusive to residents????

So.....
Go 5 star Cosmo/Wynn/Encore and possibly price a few guys out on the fringes
Go MGM again and accept the south strip position
Or go for somewhere 4 star central?

Over to you good people of JC

[artedm]

Jef-
If you guys are mostly going to nightclubs/ pool parties I would say go lowest end hotel possible (hopefully with no resort fee) so you have a bigger party budget.

If your not going to spend much time in the room pay as little for it as you can.

[Mr. Bing]

Obviously Cosmo and Wynncore are better if money is not an issue, but Planet Hollywood is a SOLID option.

I've stayed there on a couple trips and the place always has a young hip party vibe - kind of like a "middle class man's Cosmo."

[Brooklyn Marc]

At this point there are VERY few hotels with no resort fees left on the strip. I however do agree with that many people in town for a bachelor party I don't see you being in your rooms too much anyway (I hope not anyway, you guys should be tearing it up), and with a group that size a few guys are always bound to be priced out of certain places. Agree that planet Hollywood is a solid about mid strip option that is always full of people and not far too from most of the spots you guys would likely want to hit up. Also, if you liked the MGM last time and didn't find it too much of a hassle being south strip nothing wrong with a repeat performance, Wet Republic is always a good time (and bound to be some members of the opposite sex arou d for your large group of dudes) and the collection of restaurants under one roofIMO are worth the stay.

[SelfMade]

If hotels prices is going to break some guys, how are these people going to handle the costs at clubs.

The money you can save on an entire stay by going from, say Wynn --> Planet Hollywood, is less than what you'll spend each in a night in one of the better clubs.

So, to be fair, either you have to spot these guys or they are not going to make it. You don't want to end up at the Tropicana for your friend's bachelor party because some guys couldn't get the dough.

[Brooklyn Marc]

Everyone has a budget just some peoples are larger than others, to be fair he didnt necessarily say that guys couldn't afford the clubs rather that perhaps they don't have the ability to stay at one of the higher end hotels and the added cost of clubs...

[chrisbru]

IMO - Check out Flamingo. Typically a lot cheaper than Cosmo, but still has a really good pool. Also it has a great location in the middle of the strip.

[Tara Denise]

I've had this dilemma many many many times...as long as these guys are people you want on the trip (lol cause budget is a great way to ditch people who annoy you) and as long as they aren't opposed to chipping in for partying, I'd say just go with a cheaper hotel. Planet Hollywood, Flamingo and MGM all work. Don't end up at one of the theme park 3 star places (Excalibur, Luxor, etc), or ten thousand light years away from the action, but swanky hotel rooms aren't really a deal breaker for a good time in Vegas. If a girl intends to have sex with you- she will have sex with you. Unless you're in one of the high roller penthouses, your hotel room isn't much of a crucial panty-dropping factor.

And I didn't have to show my room key for any of the pools at Cosmo when I was staying there, so I think you should be fine.

[internetjef]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. Really helpful.

Big shout out to artedm who helped me lots with planning my first trip, good to see you are still here. Is ocam still on here also?

Good to hear that planet hollywood (or flamingo - cheers chrisbru) are genuinely decent good location mid price options.

Brooklyn Marc - fully agree on MGM, it was definitely the right choice last time. Only issue is there was so much going on in the hotel, we almost didn't leave lol (unless heading to other clubs). It was a bit like a holiday to the MGM rather than Vegas ha ha.

Selfmade - fully understand what your saying. Difference is we tend to go presale rather than bottle service at clubs, and are fine with that. If we come for 5-6 days (likely) the saving between premium hotel vs somewhere mid price can be as much as $400-$500 it seems. For us guys on presale, who dont mind pre-gaming, that could easily cover two big nights out at XS or somewhere similar. Either that or a big night in the Rhino on the post pool party pre 8pm early bird ha ha

Tara - no worries we def wont go for the 3 star places. Interesting to hear that sneaking to another hotels pool could be an option.

Overall we will clearly be spending very little time in the rooms, between clubs/pools/casinos/general vegas craziness, but i do think we will spend a fair bit of time in whatever hotel we base ourself from.

Just having some generally decent amenities and a few good bars/restaurants/pools to use as a rendevue each day is pretty important. MGM was very decent on this front.

Interested to hear any more comments but big thanks to those who have taken time to post so far

[internetjef]

Also just thought of another issue. One of the best men is massively claustrophobic (spelling?), so elevators are a no go.

At mgm we got him a ground floor room, and nearly everything there is on that level so no issues at all.

Looks to me like some places have rooftop pools (like planet hollywood), and if they are 20 floors up, and he wont do an elevator, then that's a total non-starter.

At the risk of asking one of the weirdest hotel requirement questions ever, which ones that we might be looking at have most of their important amenities on the lower levels ha ha

is there any that should be totally knocked out by this.

[bzl]

Can't help you with a hotel with no elevators, but I would ask front desk when you make reservations if they can make an exception and let him use the stairs, or maybe get a lower floor so that he won't be in the elevator for too long?

For hotel budget - try sites like Travelzoo, they usually have some good deals. Another option is the Venetian, they have spacious rooms and good location, the pools are nice too. And you're next door to the Wynn/Encore, where the best clubs are.

And another tip, avoid Hakkasan! Your claustrophobic friend would die. That places makes "normal" people claustrophobic.

[artedm]

Hi Jef
glad it was helpful!! haven't seen posts from ocam in a long time

My best suggestion for budget and no elevator would be
motel 6 on tropicana across from mgm or
howard johnsons on tropicana across from mgm

Both of these are two story buildings where the hotel room door opens right up to the outside
and both of these are about $30 a night for a room with two beds with no added resort fee!!

why I like them
1. low price
2. easy access from/to the airport- can take the WAX city bus for $2 a person each way
3. across the street from Wet Republic/ Hak- but realize hak is a five story club with elevators- so you might want to skip?
4. easy access to encore beach/xs taking koval instead of the strip- city bus runs down koval.
5. no resort fee

Neither of these is a "resort" but if you have activities/ pool parties/ nightclubs lined up- will provide you a cheap place to sleep.

[SelfMade]

If a girl intends to have sex with you- she will have sex with you. Unless you're in one of the high roller penthouses, your hotel room isn't much of a crucial panty-dropping factor.

I'd argue that it's not so much about the hotels themselves as the logistics they enable. If you're at XS/Surrender/EBC then obviously the biggest chance of a snug after party comes if either has a room at Wynn/Encore.

If you're at Marquee/dayclub then playing doctor is a foregone conclusion if a room at the Cosmo is available.

Etc

This is also why I always stay at Wynn/Encore these days since town's best poolparty and nightclub are on the premises. Not to mention all the vegan menus that bring in healthy, good looking people.

[Tara Denise]

I'd argue that it's not so much about the hotels themselves as the logistics they enable. If you're at XS/Surrender/EBC then obviously the biggest chance of a snug after party comes if either has a room at Wynn/Encore.

If you're at Marquee/dayclub then playing doctor is a foregone conclusion if a room at the Cosmo is available.

Etc

This is also why I always stay at Wynn/Encore these days since town's best poolparty and nightclub are on the premises. Not to mention all the vegan menus that bring in healthy, good looking people.

If a girl wants sex and is agreeing to disappear for any amount of time with a stranger, she will travel for it. Of course, it's convenient being close to where the party is, but that's not the deciding factor. If I meet a guy at Marquee, and his room is at Planet Hollywood, and I want action from him- I'm gonna go back across the street with him. My point is that it is absolutely not worth breaking your wallet or leaving friends out of the trip over.

[Brooklyn Marc]

I have NEVER had where I was staying factor into my not having sex when I am in Vegas, I have never even thought about it and I doubt anybody I met and was ready to go thought about it either. That's what cabs are for ( if necessary). If your attractive and the other person is attracted to you the last thing on either persons mind is oh no they are staying south strip etc.